Otherworldly Feeling

Troublesome Condition

It'd be an excruciating few hours. Hours? Days? For all I knew, weeks could've passed. And my situation with Brannon hadn't gotten any better. It'd been mostly quiet, interrupted by the sudden attempt at and subsequent shutting down of conversation. We were stuck here, but that didn't mean we had to become friends. I had no intention of becoming friends with him, especially since that'd hinder my chances of being accepted back into the Heavens.

I was thoughtful when Brannon puts his arm in front of me, out of nowhere blocking me from stepping forward. I saw it and stopped moving abruptly. With his arm so close to me, his smell was also more intense. I'd gotten small traces of it when the breeze came from a certain direction, but now the smell of sweat and just general bad odor was so close to my nose, it took all my strength not to gag. I looked over at his face, confused and annoyed.

"Excuse you, what's the meaning of this?" I barely managed to finish my sentence before he shushes me and turns his head away. His face looks concentrated and his breathing is quiet. After a bit of silence, he starts walking in a random direction ahead of us. I followed, in case he'd found something useful. When I reached him, he stood at the edge of a street. A street.. A town! A city! I'd reached my initial goal. It had been so long since we started walking, I almost forgot where I was going.

Brannon was about to throw himself in the street and run to the other side, but I quickly grabbed his clothing and pulled him back. We glared at each other and he spoke.
"What're you doing? Let me go! We need to go there!" He clumsily tries to free himself from my grasp, but when he slips from one hand, I grab him with my other.

"Don't just throw yourself in the middle of traffic! You could cause an accident. Besides, don't forget you're mortal now, you wouldn't be able to survive that. Best case scenario for you, you'd end up in the hospital with multiple broken limbs." I look him in the face as I speak, my fear of him completely gone at this point. I had dealt with him for so long now, I knew he wasn't the most coordinated. I looked down at his knees, scratched and bruised from him constantly tripping. My hand frees him and he takes a step away from me, annoyed.

I roll my eyes and look around for a crosswalk. When I catch sight of one, I begin walking toward it, Brannon reluctantly following behind me. He was much more pleasant when he did what I told him. We crossed and reached the sidewalk on the other side. We were officially in town now! I began walking forward, holding my hands together.
Okay, I'm here. What should I do now?  I began thinking. How did one start their life in the city? Especially when I had no identification, money, or.. I look down at my body. Clothes. I let out a sigh as I leaned against a wall. We looked ridiculous, me and Brannon both. Odd and dirty clothing, messy hair, bare and scratched feet.

When I looked up, I realized Brannon had disappeared. Good. One less thing to worry about.. is what I would've said if he didn't walk up beside me right as I thought that. He speaks. "Hey, feathers, come over here."
Ugh, that nickname. He'd been calling me that since we encountered each other. It was beginning to get on my nerves, but I wouldn't let him get to me. That was exactly what he wanted. He began walking and, seeing no other option, I followed him.

He lead me to an alleyway. What were we doing here?The floor was humid and a bit sticky, and there was smell of trash coming from all around me. Why did he want me here? Whatever it was, I felt unsafe. Brannon stops in front of.. Two men. They're both sat down at the end of the alleyway, seemingly unconscious. Were they dead?! Follow up question, had Brannon killed them? I wouldn't put it past him, considering his demonic nature. He turned to face me, with a proud smirk.

"We can take these guys' stuff! We can't walk around looking like Halloween came early." He chuckles softly and turns to them. "I mean, the clothes might be a bit big on us but it's marginally better than being naked." Brannon looked back at the entrance of the alleyway to check if anyone was looking before beginning to undress one of the men. This felt.. wrong.

I realize I've been silent this whole time, and decide to voice my concerns. "Are these men dead? What did you do to them?" I step closer to one of the unconscious men, and listen closely. He was breathing, so that was a relief. But what were they doing here? I look beside him and see plastic bottle of an unlabeled drink and a few small bags on substances that I don't know the nature of.
"Oh, these guys? Nah, they're probably just junkies. I think they started drinking, ended up here, and passed out. It's fine, they don't mind. Do you, pal?" Brannon speaks and looks at the guy he's undressing, grabbing his jaw and making him nod affirmatively. "See? It's fine, just take their stuff, pussy."

I stood straight, looking down at Brannon  and the two unconscious men. I didn't doubt Brannon for a second, as when I'd stepped down to hear their breathing, their breath smelled horrid, as if all their teeth were rotten. But I still didn't want to stoop down to the point of stealing these poor men's clothes. Brannon looked up at me, as I stood completely still, and rolled his eyes, as he got dressed in the other man's outfit. He was right, the t-shirt was a bit big on him but nothing that didn't look intentional. His shorts would probably have been slipping off if he didn't have the belt. The shoes were big, but the others wouldn't know the size of his feet so it didn't really bother anyone but me.

I snapped out of my thoughts when he threw the other man's clothing at me. I hadn't even noticed he was stripping him. I was startled and almost dropped the attire. I opened my mouth to refuse him, but he cut me off. "Don't even think about it. Just get dressed so we can get the fuck out of here, I'm not in the mood to listen to your whining." I frowned but did as he said. I didn't really have any other choice if I planned to stay here.
My pants were slipping due to being a bigger size than me, and there wasn't another belt, so I tied the golden rope that had been around my waist when I was wearing my robe around my waist. That should hold it, for now. Other than that, everything just felt so big and unfitting. I hated it, but it was the best I could do.

When I looked up at Brannon, he was turned away from me. But he stood in a way that covered me from people that might be passing outside of the alleyway. I stood still for a second. It was probably just by coincidence. "I'm done. What now?" I ask and he turns to face me once more. Brannon clicks his tongue, looking me up and down before making eye contact. "Check your pockets. The guy should have something. Mine had like 30$ and his ID."

I hesitate for a moment, before checking my pockets. Brannon watched. "Anything? Money, keys, ID?" He raised an eyebrow, impatiently.
"Wait a second, I'm searching." I shut him down quickly, and remove two things from my pockets. A slim wallet and house keys. When I saw the keys, I immediately knew what Brannon was thinking. I looked up at him, and he looked up at me in sync, with an excited smile. I knew what he was thinking. And he knew I knew what he was thinking. And he should immediately have known I was going to say no. I shook my head in disagreement and he frowned.

"Come on, feathers! It's temporary, alright? It's just until we get enough money to buy a place just for us, alright?" He tries to convince me but I respond.
" 'Just for us'? No, there is no 'us'. This, here, is purely temporary. I've no intention of staying with you much longer."

Brannon rolls his eyes and rips the house keys from my hand, laughing.
"C'mon, live a little! Let's play a game, if you catch the keys before we get to his house, you can have them." He winks and begins running. I grunt in annoyance and stumble after him as well.