Personification Life - IC Part VIII [open]

[New Aksarben]

"Oh, hello.... I think you are.... Neil? Sorry, I have difficulty telling you apart." Jacob said sheepishly. He was a bit scared of the raptors, mainly because they were dinosaurs, but they had never done anything to harm him, so he wasn't quite sure why, but he was. "Well, the marble slab is surprisingly light.... So we should not have any trouble bringing it to your home, Neil. Also, all we did with the stone was to drop it; which caused a sonic boom; dripping water onto it; which made a very loud noise and sparks; and drawing on it with a marker. The marker did nothing. I am sure you will be able to think of more scientific tests than we could, though." Jacob shrugged, and picked up the marble slab easily. "Oh, and I would be careful touching it. It makes everything very bright except for the stone, which makes it very difficult to see anything."

"I am Neil, the feeling is mutual. So, that is all you've done so far? Well, let's try to see what it looks like inside. get some x-rays, some ultra sounds, pop it in the anti-mass spectrometer for a bit, try to cut a sample. All the good stuff." Neil said as he put on thick rubber gloves that were not cut by his claws. He then put on some goggles in case the blinding light appeared, but mostly because it made him look scientific and professional.

Jacob indeed did think it made Neil look more scientific. "Where should I take this, then? To your home, or somewhere in the building?" Jacob asked, still holding onto the piece of rock. "Oh, and it has this strange script that I cannot read on it, Neil. Maybe you will recognize it?" He held the marble out towards Neil so the dinosaur would be able to read it, if Neil recognized the language anyway.

[Giovenith]

"Shhhh, don't be afraid..." hushed the very tall lady behind the little soul, who knelt down to become closer to the little soul's size. "I will not harm you. You were so close to ceasing to exist. Tell me small one, do you remember your name?" Despite her ethereal appearance, the lady was exactly like if one had super-sized and matured Giovenith. Her hair was significantly longer and had diamond-shaped patches along it in various colors, but the eyes, for example, were clearly the same. "Don't tell me you've forgotten your name so quickly...."

"Y-yoshi" he squeaked, she had saved him just in time. A few more seconds where he was, and he would have been gone completely, replaced by a creature of darkness. He was an angel, he remembered his past quite clearly, but it was painful. He thought of Gio, this lady looked so much like her. Could it be her mother? Her sister?

"Thank goodness you still have that," she said. "Forget your name, and you're gone. Keep that name close and tight. Oh, poor thing, how disturbed you are..." The lady raised her hands and the little Yoshi soul was lifted and placed in a little, nest-like structure that had appeared. "My name is Pearlelei, I am sorry about what happened to you."

[Urran]

I-It wasn't your fault... he trailed off and began weeping again. He was an angel once more, the corruption had left him. He wanted to return home but could not. He hugged his knees and wrapped his, no snow white, wings around himself. He was in pain, he was afraid, he just wanted to be held. This name was familiar though...this WAS Gio's mother. He had met her after all.

[Torsiedellious and Sturmovosk]

Katya didn't want to respond to Dora, but she felt that she had to. No matter much it hurt, she had to tell him.


"Y-Yoshi.....Yoshi's dead...."

Torii quickly mumbled "no he isn't", and loom at the floor.

[Giovenith]

I-It wasn't your fault... he trailed off and began weeping again. He was an angel once more, the corruption had left him. He wanted to return home but could not. He hugged his knees and wrapped his, no snow white, wings around himself. He was in pain, he was afraid, he just wanted to be held. This name was familiar though...this WAS Gio's mother. He had met her after all.

"You're cold from the inside," said Pearlelei, suddenly standing up, scooping the little soul Yoshi up, and holding him like a small child. "Shhh, it is okay to be sad. It is okay to be upset. It is how we deal with our feelings that defines how they change us, however. You are much better now than you almost were before I nabbed you... you're not mine, no, but I'm happy to hold you until we can sort things out." The goddess cradled him a bit. "You probably have so much on your mind right now. Would you like to talk about it now, or perhaps after you've calmed down a bit...?" Her scent and presence felt like a spring day, laced with the sweet feelings not unlike those brought up when experiencing nostalgia.

[Urran]

I-I want to go home the tiny soul whimpered. It was happy for the comfort, he wasn't alone anymore. He was secure, he was happy to be cradled. She reminded him of Gio, she was her mother after all. He buried his face into the goddess's shoulder.

[Giovenith]

I-I want to go home the tiny soul whimpered. It was happy for the comfort, he wasn't alone anymore. He was secure, he was happy to be cradled. She reminded him of Gio, she was her mother after all. He buried his face into the goddess's shoulder.

"I know you do. They all do... but I think you know better," she said, tapping her finger soothingly on the soul's 'head.' "I am very sorry that my child did not help you. But she was incapable, unfortunately. Serina could not have saved you anymore than another human could. Luckily though, because you prayed to her, I was able to know what happened and look for you before you faded."

[Primordial Luxa]

"I am Neil, the feeling is mutual. So, that is all you've done so far? Well, let's try to see what it looks like inside. get some x-rays, some ultra sounds, pop it in the anti-mass spectrometer for a bit, try to cut a sample. All the good stuff." Neil said as he put on thick rubber gloves that were not cut by his claws. He then put on some goggles in case the blinding light appeared, but mostly because it made him look scientific and professional.

Jacob indeed did think it made Neil look more scientific. "Where should I take this, then? To your home, or somewhere in the building?" Jacob asked, still holding onto the piece of rock. "Oh, and it has this strange script that I cannot read on it, Neil. Maybe you will recognize it?" He held the marble out towards Neil so the dinosaur would be able to read it, if Neil recognized the language anyway.

The stone would depict a large woman standing triumphantly with a single eye in the center of her forehead. Her hair was raised and flowing around her head like a bonfire, while she smiled revealing a set of razor sharp teeth. She had a set of six arms each ending in a palm holding a blazing orb of fire, with another set of six wings against her back. At her feet was a strange "U" like with two human figures kneeing each confused in flames. the artsman ship resembled that of Arab design but seemed unlike anything that they had produced based on the detail of the lines. Above each of the woman's hands, wings, her head, the "U" and the people their was a single symbol that Neil would not recognize no matter how hard he thought about it.

[Urran]

I-I-I w-wanted to be her first prayer. I-I knew she couldn't save me, b-but I called out to her to help her along her trek to godhood. he sniffled. I-I love her..little Gio he said softly, hoping that the goddess would understand. I-I know I'm not part of your pantheon, b-but what do I have to do? O-or is it too late?

[Giovenith]

I-I-I w-wanted to be her first prayer. I-I knew she couldn't save me, b-but I called out to her to help her along her trek to godhood. he sniffled. I-I love her..little Gio he said softly, hoping that the goddess would understand. I-I know I'm not part of your pantheon, b-but what do I have to do? O-or is it too late?

Pearlelei smiled gently, and placed her free hand on her face. "My, that is so selfless of you... I can see why everyone loves you so, you may act meek, but your heart shines brilliantly." Her smile fell however, and she looked to the side. "It is too late for you to go back, I am afraid. I can bring you to whatever afterlife you'd like, whenever you want, if the pantheon in charge will accept you. But I figure that there might be some things you'd wish to witness first, to make the transition with no loose ends."

The goddess sat down with the soul, placing him in her lap, before reaching upward and swooshing her arm up at the ceiling. As if she had pushed a globe from the inside, the dome-lime ceiling began to rush forward, abandoning it's blank slate and rolling out a flurry of live-images from across the universe, looking less like a ceiling and more like a complex night sky. All different stars, galaxies, planets, it was if the sky was at their fingertips, to zoom in on and explore at a whim. She eventually allowed it to slow down and stop, focusing on one galaxy from a distant point of view.

"Tell me Yoshi, what were your favorite parts of your whole life?"

[Urran]

Yoshi had to think. He sat in the goddess's lap and pondered that question. H-home in the apartment, just being with friends, with people that cared. he sniffled again, his tears were drying now. For some reason, he wished he was a god, that way he could go back. But it was too late. He felt sick.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Jacob indeed did think it made Neil look more scientific. "Where should I take this, then? To your home, or somewhere in the building?" Jacob asked, still holding onto the piece of rock. "Oh, and it has this strange script that I cannot read on it, Neil. Maybe you will recognize it?" He held the marble out towards Neil so the dinosaur would be able to read it, if Neil recognized the language anyway.

The stone would depict a large woman standing triumphantly with a single eye in the center of her forehead. Her hair was raised and flowing around her head like a bonfire, while she smiled revealing a set of razor sharp teeth. She had a set of six arms each ending in a palm holding a blazing orb of fire, with another set of six wings against her back. At her feet was a strange "U" like with two human figures kneeing each confused in flames. the artsman ship resembled that of Arab design but seemed unlike anything that they had produced based on the detail of the lines. Above each of the woman's hands, wings, her head, the "U" and the people their was a single symbol that Neil would not recognize no matter how hard he thought about it.

"I don't know what it is, but it is clearly either a depiction of the entity that owns this rock or a tribute to it. I know most earth languages, but this is either really old or not from this Earth. Take it to my house, I'll show you to the lab." Neil said and proceeded to lead Jacob back to his house right next door to the apartment.

[Giovenith]

Yoshi had to think. He sat in the goddess's lap and pondered that question. H-home in the apartment, just being with friends, with people that cared. he sniffled again, his tears were drying now. For some reason, he wished he was a god, that way he could go back. But it was too late. He felt sick.

"Shhh..." Pearlelei stroked his hair again. Yoshi as almost dollish in the goddess's handling of him, though she remained gentle with the soul. "And, if it is not too hard for you to tell, what was your least favorite?"

[Urran]

Yoshi cringed. M-m-my parents death a-and being with Akito, m-my cousin. he said with a quivering lip. He lot her basically do whatever she wanted. It was pointless to resist her anyway, anything that she wanted to do, he could not stop her because of what she was. Oh well.

[New Aksarben]

The stone would depict a large woman standing triumphantly with a single eye in the center of her forehead. Her hair was raised and flowing around her head like a bonfire, while she smiled revealing a set of razor sharp teeth. She had a set of six arms each ending in a palm holding a blazing orb of fire, with another set of six wings against her back. At her feet was a strange "U" like with two human figures kneeing each confused in flames. the artsman ship resembled that of Arab design but seemed unlike anything that they had produced based on the detail of the lines. Above each of the woman's hands, wings, her head, the "U" and the people their was a single symbol that Neil would not recognize no matter how hard he thought about it.

"I don't know what it is, but it is clearly either a depiction of the entity that owns this rock or a tribute to it. I know most earth languages, but this is either really old or not from this Earth. Take it to my house, I'll show you to the lab." Neil said and proceeded to lead Jacob back to his house right next door to the apartment.

Jacob nodded, and followed behind Neil. "Are you coming with, Chrys?" JAcob asked the conservator, squinting over in her direction as the stone was making it very difficult for him to see things clearly. "It should be interesting seeing the experiments while being mostly safe from harm..." He also didn't want to mention that he didn't want to really be alone with the raptors, mainly since Neil was there at the time. He honestly thought they would try to kill him or something if he was with them all alone.

[Giovenith]

Yoshi cringed. M-m-my parents death a-and being with Akito, m-my cousin. he said with a quivering lip. He lot her basically do whatever she wanted. It was pointless to resist her anyway, anything that she wanted to do, he could not stop her because of what she was. Oh well.

"I see," she said, giving his head a little nuzzle of comfort. "Little Yoshi, what do you define strength as?" She propped up the little soul on his own two feet, and simply looked up at him, waiting for him to explain.

[Transgravitas Directorate]

"Well, Tas, I am single once more." Kei grinned and returned the gesture. SHe blushed slightly as she removed her clothing, as she wasn't really used to doing that in front of Tieria, but hey.

A second more, and her dress appeared on her. It might have been a bit elegant, but she loved it nonetheless.

"Once more?" Tasia repeated, intrigued. "Sounds like I came at the right time, then. You'll have to catch me up on all the latest adventures...and that's quite a nice look!" She noted Tieria's courtesy, and commented on it.

"Such a gentleman...rare nowadays."

---

Katya didn't want to respond to Dora, but she felt that she had to. No matter much it hurt, she had to tell him.


"Y-Yoshi.....Yoshi's dead...."

Torii quickly mumbled "no he isn't", and loom at the floor.

Dora's lips parted slightly and she drew in a quick, sharp breath. She stepped forward. Almost stumbling, but no, that would never do, not in public.

"Sands, I'm sorry, Katya," she said, taking her hand. With her other arm, she reached out to Torii and pulled her in gently, mind whirling.

---

Chrys trailed along behind Jacob and Neil, fascinated to hear what the raptor could come up with, and amused by his more scientific and professional look. She fought the urge to do something she'd always wanted to do.

Jacob nodded, and followed behind Neil. "Are you coming with, Chrys?" JAcob asked the conservator, squinting over in her direction as the stone was making it very difficult for him to see things clearly. "It should be interesting seeing the experiments while being mostly safe from harm..." He also didn't want to mention that he didn't want to really be alone with the raptors, mainly since Neil was there at the time. He honestly thought they would try to kill him or something if he was with them all alone.

"I'm here!" she answered brightly, padding right along rather than clanking for a change. "What do you think will happen?"

[Urran]

Strength? he asked her. Some say physical power, others say power of the mind. I-I like to think it's the power of ones character. The ability to love and forgive no matter what wrongs are dealt to you. Never giving up despite the odds or what others tell you...why do you want to know? I-I cannot possibly interest you. Y-you must be a very busy person..wh-why are you wasting your time on me? I-I'm already dead, nothing that I say or do matters anymore.


Tieria smiled softly at Tasia's "Thanks" he aid mildly.

[The BranRiech]

"I think I might be overdressed, but I saw this dress back home and had to get it." Kei said and giggled a bit, forming her striking orange hair into the same style as the picture posted earlier, as she didn't think her hair was adequate enough. Truthfully, if she had tried it without using magic, she'd never forgive herself for it when it would snarl beyond all recognition.

"Not much with me really. I went to rescue a good friend of some of the people here, and that's about it, otherwise, I've been out at some nightclubs recently, wanting to try some things besides Chaos."

She smiled at Tieria, still seeing him as somewhat of a friend.

[Fennec]

Thriller gave the twins their pieces of candy they wanted before he grabbed onto his two bags of Raisinets in one hand while rapping his arm around the popcorn to hold onto that, while also holding onto his drink in his free hand. He looked at Swith and gave a small smile.

--

"Easy enough, my sister, who I left behind against my own will, made a deal with a witch, which turned out to be a not-so-good idea. Anyway, I made a deal with the devil that I will "work" for him so as long as no harm comes to my sister. He was good on the deal for a while, then he did his usual routine. I saw through that though and decided to stray away. Of course he didn't like that so he sent Superbia to "control" me. Now, before I go any further, I met Superbia before that event. In fact, I had to fight him. And I did. I also had to kill him. Which is what I did."

--

Though poor Blythe would come to find out that the aerodynamic Superbia would come screeching after her as he flew down the halls. Gaining a considerable amount of speed too.

"You're adorable,"Swith laughed. She took the box of popcorn from him and slipped the Raisinets into her pocket to free up at least one of his hands. "Um, which theater do we go to? And where do we put our tickets?"

--

Xanthe's eyes widened. "What happened to your sister? And you killed Superbia? How did you meet?"

--

Blythe's ears picked up Superbia's screech. She'd evaded him once before by going to the roof and jumping, then gliding to safety. She didn't think he'd fall for that twice. Instead, she decided to play it Chaos style. Laughing, she put on a burst of speed, rounded a corner and ducked into an empty apartment.

Volturius was clearly pleased by the stock- while he doubted that they had unfortunately not murdered anyone or were gangbangers and thus had a lust for extreme violence- they would do. Besides, in order to desensitize them and give them a love of wanton slaughter- flash cloning would be an option with the tech of a forgeworld. All in all- it was good. Quite good. The stock would fit well for Astartes Neophytes, and their numbers were large enough to absorb the losses of those that rejected the gene-seed. He'd get his serfs out of those that were unable to adapt the changes but survived the process, and this stock would likely yield a gifted praetorian guard of Terminators.

"Seeing that in history, or the future technically, the Night Lords drew their ranks from murderers, gangbangers, and serial killers- being a bastard would rank on the same level as jaywalking. Any of them killed anything sentient yet?" Volturius inquired as he folded his arms and returned his gaze to Will- his bright red ords for eyes seemingly piercing through Will's and into the brain behind them.

Looking into Will's eyes was like looking into a murky water puddle. It wasn't that he avoided the stare or that he had anything magical about him. His eyes had a dull film to them like a corpse's. To Volturius' heightened senses, it would seem that one pupil was possibly slightly larger than the other, and they didn't expand or contract to changes in emotion or light. They resembled glass eyes, like a doll's eyes, and when he blinked, it was almost as if his eyelids pushed the eyes back in place before opening to reveal more of the lifeless stare. Two thoughts always came to Swith's mind whenever she chanced to look into Will's eyes... one was that worm would pop an eyeball out where it would dangle by an optic nerve until Will poked it back in. The other was that someone would slap him on the back and both eyes would fly from his head and roll across the floor. Will didn't seem to mind Volturius' stare at all. He smiled at the Raptor.

"They've never killed a sentient being. This timeline isn't conducive for it. Night Lords may draw their ranks from the violent of society. These children are born of Chaos. That is to say, they're sired by Daemon hosts. They aren't in any way tainted by Chaos... yet. What they are is fiercely loyal to the Gods, specifically Slaanesh. If they aren't chosen, they'll grow up and become cold, calculating killers who move in shadows and slaughter by design rather than wanton rage. They might seem like little children, but they've been assessing us ever since they ran up. They've assessed our weaknesses and determined how best to strike. They aren't permitted to kill until they're of age. They learn how to kill before they can read or write. They're motivated to be a deadly army."

[Giovenith]

Strength? he asked her. Some say physical power, others say power of the mind. I-I like to think it's the power of ones character. The ability to love and forgive no matter what wrongs are dealt to you. Never giving up despite the odds or what others tell you...why do you want to know? I-I cannot possibly interest you. Y-you must be a very busy person..wh-why are you wasting your time on me? I-I'm already dead, nothing that I say or do matters anymore.

"Because little Yoshi, you have done just that kind of strength," said Pearlelei, reaching up to pat his head. "Think about what you have been through... soul-crushing experiences. Experiences that would make many rot within themselves. You came close to that yourself a few times, but you did not do that. You searched, and your perseverance found you better, better love, better qualities. Who can call you a nothing when you have the ability to clear your thoughts enough in the middle of dying pain in order to lift up a future god? A being most think unimaginable, and yet would hardly be anything without their first steps, you participated in the creation of a god. Who can call you worthless when you have exchanged hearts with so many others?"

The goddess stood up again, though she had shrunk down to a normal height, still above Yoshi's head, but at least feasible for a normal human woman. "You are small, yes. But why feel bad about that? Most things are small. Yet it is all the small things that make up the universe, more so than the few and in-between big things. We are all important to one another, even if we can not see it on a small daily basis. Not everything will be kind, or sweet. Much of it will be cold and frightening. But neither of those experiences last forever. Your life did not last forever, but neither did your pain... can you really look at your most cherished events, and say that you would forsake them all for the numbness of having never been?"

[New Aksarben]

Chrys trailed along behind Jacob and Neil, fascinated to hear what the raptor could come up with, and amused by his more scientific and professional look. She fought the urge to do something she'd always wanted to do.

Jacob nodded, and followed behind Neil. "Are you coming with, Chrys?" JAcob asked the conservator, squinting over in her direction as the stone was making it very difficult for him to see things clearly. "It should be interesting seeing the experiments while being mostly safe from harm..." He also didn't want to mention that he didn't want to really be alone with the raptors, mainly since Neil was there at the time. He honestly thought they would try to kill him or something if he was with them all alone.

"I'm here!" she answered brightly, padding right along rather than clanking for a change. "What do you think will happen?"

"No idea. But it should be interesting, no? Seeing as Neil is an actual scientist, he should have better ideas than we did for experimenting on it." Jacob nodded, as he continued holding onto the stone. "And we will be less likely to get injured in the process." He gave a smile to Chrys as they walked down the sidewalk between the Building and the Raptor's house. He then noticed something strange behind the building.

There was now almost a carpet of large flowering plants; It seemed to Jacob as if someone had planted a garden in the backyard. The plants were beginning to creep towards the Raptor house and were beginning to inch up the facade of the Building. They were also encroaching on the forest, and many trees were beginning to teeter precariously as their trunks mysteriously corroded for some reason. A few were growing towards the pool in the back yard, and the whole mass of plants sent out a sweet scent, not unlike that of honey or chocolate. Jacob, Chrys and Neil were too far away for a normal human to smell the scent, but Jacob could catch whiffs of it, making him wonder why something smelled so sweet.

If Jacob had given more than a cursory glance, he would have noticed dead animals of various sizes and species on the edges of the growing mass of flowering plants, and that it wasn't organized in a way that would make sense for a garden. There seemed to be a variety of appearances and flowers, but in reality they were all from the same species, and came from the same original plant.

Jacob just believed that someone who lived in the building had begun making a garden, so he turned his attention back to the raptor they were following. He didn't even find it important enough to tell the others, so he started humming to himself as he followed Neil.

---

Albert continued wandering around the building, not doing very much. He was a bit bored, and was thinking about getting back to making those models he had started earlier. As he walked, he hummed to himself, mostly oblivious to the world as he wandered around the Building's halls.

[Germanic Templars]

Thriller gave the twins their pieces of candy they wanted before he grabbed onto his two bags of Raisinets in one hand while rapping his arm around the popcorn to hold onto that, while also holding onto his drink in his free hand. He looked at Swith and gave a small smile.

--

"Easy enough, my sister, who I left behind against my own will, made a deal with a witch, which turned out to be a not-so-good idea. Anyway, I made a deal with the devil that I will "work" for him so as long as no harm comes to my sister. He was good on the deal for a while, then he did his usual routine. I saw through that though and decided to stray away. Of course he didn't like that so he sent Superbia to "control" me. Now, before I go any further, I met Superbia before that event. In fact, I had to fight him. And I did. I also had to kill him. Which is what I did."

--

Though poor Blythe would come to find out that the aerodynamic Superbia would come screeching after her as he flew down the halls. Gaining a considerable amount of speed too.

"You're adorable,"Swith laughed. She took the box of popcorn from him and slipped the Raisinets into her pocket to free up at least one of his hands. "Um, which theater do we go to? And where do we put our tickets?"

--

Xanthe's eyes widened. "What happened to your sister? And you killed Superbia? How did you meet?"

--

Blythe's ears picked up Superbia's screech. She'd evaded him once before by going to the roof and jumping, then gliding to safety. She didn't think he'd fall for that twice. Instead, she decided to play it Chaos style. Laughing, she put on a burst of speed, rounded a corner and ducked into an empty apartment.

"Well," He started "We go to the one that has the same movie title and time as it is shown on our ticket. We to that side of the theater. There will be a guy or girl who will take our ticket rip a certain part off and hand back the small tid-bit."

--

"Sister was held in His lair, which was in the center of hell itself. And yes, I killed Superbia. Though his body was placed in The Wall. And we met on that field of battle."

--

Superbia landed on the ground in front of the empty apartment. He stuck his snout in the air and sniffed around. He gave a low grunt before vanishing into a portal.

[Swith Witherward]

"Well," He started "We go to the one that has the same movie title and time as it is shown on our ticket. We to that side of the theater. There will be a guy or girl who will take our ticket rip a certain part off and hand back the small tid-bit."

--

"Sister was held in His lair, which was in the center of hell itself. And yes, I killed Superbia. Though his body was placed in The Wall. And we met on that field of battle."

--

Superbia landed on the ground in front of the empty apartment. He stuck his snout in the air and sniffed around. He gave a low grunt before vanishing into a portal.

"A sacrifice of paper for admission into entertainment. I like it!" Swith looked at her ticked and and followed his direction. The young man at the booth was more than happy to rip the head off her ticket and place it in an offering box. He handed the ticket back to her and told her which theater to go to. Swith absentmindedly nibbled the torn edge of her ticket and waited for the others to complete the ritual.

"C'mon, Daddy," Sydney called. She sprinted back to tug on his pant leg again. "We'll miss the movie!" Siduer held his own ticket up for the man to tear.

--

"The Wall?" Xanthe asked. She knew of only two. One was the Wailing Wall and the other was the Great Wall. "Tell me the story, please," she pleaded.

--

Blythe stood at a doorway, her back to the main room and her hand resting on the door frame. She seemed to be transfixed by something in the room beyond.

[Giovenith]

Albert continued wandering around the building, not doing very much. He was a bit bored, and was thinking about getting back to making those models he had started earlier. As he walked, he hummed to himself, mostly oblivious to the world as he wandered around the Building's halls.

"Albert!" Giovenith spotted her feline friend from across the hall, making a b-line right for him. "Albert, Albert, come here! I have something to tell you." She stopped right in front of him.