The Second Form of Proteus (RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 fanfic)

Settling In

The red haired girl walked into the hotel in front of her, taking in the hard-wood floors as she stepped into the establishment. The oak wood floors shined underneath her feet as her boots clacked onto the floor. The green and white wallpaper flashed in front of her face and surrounded her peripheral, with its mint green flash. The clerk of the hotel sat behind a dark wooden desk, his brown hair swept back and his upwards brown mustache curled into the ceiling. He wore a pinstripe brown suit and a red tie.

The mans eyes gazed upwards and caught the young lady admiring the scenery inside of the first floored room. He smiled gently as seeing her child-like wonder, and coughed softly to draw her attention.

"Oh! Im sorry, i was admiring the.. uh.. decorations?" she chuckled sheepishly.

"Its alright darling, was just trying to see if you wanted to rent a room or not" he spoke softly, a man with small or no words at all..

"Hmm.. maybe a room... depending on how much it is.." she muttered the last part under her breath, unsure of the amount she needed to spend for one night.

"2.00 a night" he stated looking at the girl with wonder in his eyes, glazing his eyes over her beautiful and massive hair to her beautiful eyes, to her freckles upon freckles. She was indeed a one of a kind. Not hearing the young ladies response, he snapped himself out of train of thought and saw her holding the few dollars out towards him.

"Here sir.. id like to rent a room for tonight and draw a bath.. please" she muttered, hiding her face slightly.

"Of course" he took the extended money, and smiled warnmly.

He pointed down the hall to his right and stated that the bath was the last door to the right. She thanked him and tied her satchel shut, walking down the hallway towards the bath.

She shut and locked the door behind her, seeing a wide tub in front of her. She gathered two towels for her hair and body and filled the tub with water. Waiting for the steaming water to fill the tub she unrobed.

Her navy blue dressed fell to the floor and she stepped out of it. Her chest was flecked with freckles, including her shoulders, back, and rear. As she stepped out of her robes she put her hands and arms behind her back and reached upwards towards her shoulders. She closed her eyes and her hands began to glow blue. The eerie light warbled around her hands and she pulled her hands downwards. Wings clear as glass and shaped like a cicada draped gracefully to the floor, the tips lightly folded on the floorboards. She shuddered as the warbling light faded from her back. She ran her hands over her ears as they began to grow upwards into points. Her ears unfolded and pointed like an elf from a fairytale.

In her new form she spun gracefully around, thankful she could be her true self for a few moments out of the day. She sunk down into the bath and let her wings fold around her in the hot water. Sighing contentedly, she was at peace finally.

Soaking for a while she eventually sat there until the water had cooled from her bathing so long. Her fingers were wrinkled and her hair was extremely curly and wet. She rose from the cooled water and reached for her towel. Wrapping a towel around her hair and body she stepped from out of the tub. Sitting down on the bench near the bathtub, she sighed and started to cool off.

Peering at her surroundings she found the bathhouse to be quite.. bland. A small painting of a landscape was above her on the wall and a dresser was pushed into a wall by the tub. Soaps decorated the top, probably for customers she guessed.

Drying herself off she extended her wings and stretched. She then fluttered them a tiny bit, only a flutter. That flutter turned into a flap, then into a fly. She slowly ascended off of the floor, still nude, and fluttered around the room for a moment, eagerly wishing she could do this more often. She craved flying, and she missed it so.

With flying she had to be cautious, and with her peculiar gift she could usually disguise herself to fly. She often disguised herself as a swallow, or a bluebird if she felt like it. But her true self with her natural wings and ears out felt.... whole. She felt amazing, and hated that she needed to hide her gift and peculiarities.

Sighing, the zipping of her wings flittering at rapid speeds made her come back down to the ground, hoping to not draw attention to the room. Draping her arms and hands over her shoulders and onto her back, she cloaked her wings and ears once more, sighing and wishing she didn't have to.

She clothed herself and laced her shoes in a hurry, hoping no one else needed a bath. She neatly folded the towels and sat them on the bench and drained the tub. After making the room look nice she left the room.

Walking back down the hallway and passing the gentleman at the front desk, she politely nodded at him and went up to her room with the key in hand.

Room 2A, she thought, excited to see her new room. Upon entering the room it was a quaint little room. Decorated enough to look cozy, it stretched upon the street and captured the busy life of the people below. The room had a full bed, with a dressed and mirror to accompany it. There were paintings of fields and flowers spread across the room, and a single shelf laid rest above the bed. The bed had a beautiful quilt spread upon it, with two pillows on each side.

She sat on the mattress and it groaned in return. The young lady fell backwards onto the bed and fluffed out her hair, collecting her thoughts and surroundings. Hearing the bustle of traffic and daily life below suddenly sprung her into action. She completely forgot her original purpose to come to the town..

To start a new life.

word count: 1064
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