[IC] Stranger Beetles

[Metronome]

A girl a few years older than Lydia marched up to the stand. Her punkish attire stood out from the normalcy of the crowd around her. She smacked her gum and looked Lydia up and down, as if sizing her up.

"Cool dog," She said flatly, "Where'd you get it?"

Beetlejuice stood and growled softly from under the table.

[Beetlejuice96]

"I didn't steal him if that's what you're indicating." Lydia replied defensively. She didn't know what to think of this girl as she placed her hand on his back to calm him. "He came to me when I needed him most. Animals have that sense, you know."

[Metronome]

"But he's not an animal, is he?" The girl leaned in a little. Beetlejuice's hackles raised. What was this girl's deal? Why was she so pushy? The girl straightened up and looked at the booth with an eyebrow raised. "You have all that power right there," She gestured at the demon. "And you make a lemonade stand? Why didn't you rob a bank or something?"

"Told you," Beetlejuice muttered under his breath.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Look, I don't know what you're getting at, but I'm trying not to get noticed by authorities for a reason. So why don't you just back off?" Lydia growled, her eyes slowly changing to gold. This girl couldn't possibly know Beej was a demon...could she?

[Metronome]

The girl noticed her eyes and smirked a bit. "You have the powers, too, huh?" She looked at Beetlejuice, who was pulling on the hem of Lydia's shirt, trying to remind her to calm down. "What about him? What can he do?" The demon dog looked at her and huffed. "Look, I didn't know there were others out there like me, and I wanna' help. You two seem...new to the streets." The girl paused. "I'm Ignacia. But my friends call me Iggy. What about you?"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia glared at the girl for what felt like hours before her eyes returned to their caramel color. "Lydia, but depending on who you ask I'm called Lyds or Kid. This is Beetlejuice." She spoke, knowing she might get a snarky comment about his name. It wasn't her fault he was called that, nor was it his. It's just what his horrible mother gave him.

[Metronome]

"Beetlejuice, huh?" The girl looked down at him and smiled. "I have a place not to far from here. My family and I are a little on the eccentric side, but we take care of each other. We could take care of you two, too."

She glanced around. "Ash?" She called.

[Beetlejuice96]

Ash? Why did-? Oh no. Lydia thought before seeing the same cat that Beetlejuice almost tore to shreds appear by Iggy's feet. Upon seeing the two, Ash froze while letting out a strange mix of a hacking up a hairball hiss of surprise.

"H-Hello again, darling." Ash said, tail twitching nervously.

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice growled softly. So it was true...Ash did have a human. But, he reminded himself, this also proved that they probably had nothing to do with the facility. His ears fell back.

"I'm...sorry about earlier," He swallowed his pride enough to apologize. "I can explain when we get wherever your kid is taking us. If Lyds wants to go, that is," He looked up at Lydia.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Long as it's safe from authorities, I'm in." Lydia replied, glancing over at Iggy. So there were other humans that had demons. Were they the only ones or were there more she didn't know about? She brushed the thoughts aside before putting her tarot cards back into her bag. "Let's go."

[Metronome]

Iggy led them a few blocks from the downtown area. It was starting to look like a rough neighborhood. She stopped at what looked like an underground entrance to a subway. It was gated with a solid iron gate, but Iggy produced a key to unlock it.

"This was part of a subway system they never built," She explained, letting them in and locked it behind them. "The tunnels go on for miles. But the part we claimed is right down here." She led them down some stairs, and into what was clearly an unfinished subway station. Neon signs and lamps made a soft, colorful glow against the dark walls. Parts of the hide away had been sectioned off with plywood and other assorted things to make rooms.

"It's not much, but it's home, you know?" She smiled. "Hey guys, come meet the new girl!"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia didn't reply as she looked around the hideout, only having heard faint ideas of what it looked like. Her attention was drawn back when a girl with short ginger hair walked out of a makeshift room. She sized Lydia up before looking over at Iggy. "Kinda scrawny, don't you think, Igg?" She asked teasingly.

"Come on, Max, give the kid a break." An African American guy said as he walked over.

[Metronome]

"What's with the dog?" A man with a copious amount of tattoos slunk from somewhere down in the tunnel. He smelled of smoke and cheap booze. "And the child?"

A younger woman emerged from the ticket booth, where the windows had sheets strung across them. She crossed her arms and looked the two of them over with a silent, judging eye.

Beetlejuice took this as his cue to shift back into his normal form. "Some times I just like getting away with being naked in public, you know?" He said with a shrug and a grin.

This elicited a howling laugh from the tattooed man. "Whoa! I like this guy, Igs. Can we keep him?"

"I hope we'll be keeping both of them," Iggy turned to Lydia and Beetlejuice, smiling.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia grinned back at her, a little excited to have a ragtag group as her family. "I figure you guys want to know why I'm a runaway." She said.

"Let me guess, asshole foster parents." Max said.

"Well, you got the asshole part right." Lydia replied before telling them everything.

"I knew we couldn't trust the fucking government!" Malcolm exclaimed.

[Metronome]

"Yeah, screw the government," Riff Raff said, hopping down off the giant wire spool he'd perched on. "Buncha' fuckin' hypocrites." Nine rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, we have plenty of food and clothes here, if you want to check those out," Iggy said, pointing to a wall of stacked, metal boxes. "Just keep the boxes latched, or else the rats will get in there."

"Rats?!" Beetlejuice perked up. "This place is feeling more like home, already!"

[Beetlejuice96]

"They're a delicacy to Beej, along with any creepy crawly." Lydia explained with a chuckle. He was right, it did feel more like home. She jumped as someone let out a yelp seconds after hitting something. "Max! What the fuck did I say about leaving your toolbox laying around?!" A girl with black hair exclaimed as she limped over, one of her hands outstretched.

"How many times do I have to remind you I'm blind?!"

[Metronome]

While the humans mingled, Beetlejuice scanned the room until he saw a white tail disappear around the corner. BJ poof'd in front of Ash, floating slightly off the ground and looking sheepish.

"Hey..." He said, "We should...talk, I guess."

[Beetlejuice96]

The cat shifted back into an androgynous human with pale eyes and long white blond hair. "I understand if you're angry at me for leaving you, but Iggy needed me. I couldn't just leave her alone with the raw power she has. She could have hurt someone or...or ended up like your Lydia; trapped in a cell." Ash whispered before looking away in shame.

"I wanted to come back for you, darling, I really did. I couldn't leave someone who called me family."

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice once would have held it against Ash for choosing a human child over him, but after adopting his own, he couldn't fault them. "I get it," he said, a bit glumly, "I woulda' done the same for Lyds. Something about these human kids...they turn ya' soft, you know?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"Something about them drew us to them, now we wouldn't dare leave them for the world." Ash said with a faint smirk as they looked back at him. "I heard about your living style before escaping. Hard to think such humans exist; moreso someone is gallivanting around as me."