She'd never thought that she'd die with a stupid movie quote stuck in her head.
Death was supposed to be beautiful, tragic, dramatically lit with a slow symphony of melancholy melody as the score. That was the death that she'd been built up to in her decades on earth she'd spent in front of a technicolor screen, but that wasn't what she found for herself. There were no violins slowly building in the background swelling over the sound of the rushing wind. All she heard was the deafening roar that swallowed her, only cut through by a wail that came either from her, or the sirens below. It all blurred into static as the night sky fled from her.
Then there was silence, and then there wasn't.
Her vision returned to her slowly, cold concrete beginning to focus through the clouds of red that had blinded her. Through the ringing in her ears, came the sound of life, which was impossible. She's just thrown herself off the top of a building, at least six stories, there was absolutely no way she'd survived that. It took all her energy to lift herself from the ground, feeling her elbows grind against the rough surface as the rest of her body screamed in protest. Everything hurt, her bones cracking back into place with a pop that sucked the breath from her lungs. Through the fog came the sound of cars honking, wheels squealing and people yelling over the rest of the soft chatter of city life, drawing her to the edge of the concrete and over it's edge.
Below her sat a city, the lights blurring in bleary eyes as she tried to make out the shapes around her. Has she imagined it all, disassociated and never fell at all? Was the rushing wind and deafening crack of hitting the ground all in her head, blurring the lines between reality and wishful thinking in a sick way that made her stomach sink.
No, probably not. The city below her was nothing like the harsh, filthy midwestern city streets she'd stared down at previously.
It was worse.
Below her safe spot on the rooftop was a bustling, bloody chaos. The shapes she determined to be people screamed, cursing through arguments and throwing elbows into the fray as bodies funneled into the building below her. The neon glow obscured the rest of the scene, blurring her vision as a limo pulled up below her and her stomach dropped at the distance down. Saving herself vertigo, her eyes turned to the sky with some hope of answers, but only found the source of her short-lived blindness in the glaring red pentagram that hung above the city.
"What the hell?"
Her voice was foreign to her own ears, hoarse and strained to carry through the fog as she turned to the rest of the rooftop in search for a way down. She found it in a creaking fire escape, damning her funeral attire as the metal caught the weave of her tights as she made her way down to the street below. Muscles screamed to life, already forming their soreness from the physical exertion and wailing miserably as she lept the last few feet into the alley way.
Timid footsteps crumpled newspapers and tin cans beneath her feet as she made her way towards the street. The roar of the crowd around the corner pushed back against nervousness, her curiosity beating down flight instincts that called for a swift retreat to the lonely rooftop with it's desire for answers. All it took was the banging of a kitchen door opening into the alleyway to send her scampering out onto the open sidewalk, and directly into someone's side.
"'Ey! Watch it toots, I'm walkin' 'ere!"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sor-."
"Alright, calm down, it's no fluff off my fur, just look where ya' going'."
She couldn't help but gawk at the person in front of her, for they were not a person at all. Balance stuttered, neck craning back to look up the few feet that they towered over her. Fear would probably be the correct reaction in this situation, but it was so strange already she didn't think she could be anything but confused. She'd already taken the literal leap, what else was there to lose? Still, she stood gawking up at the being in front of her. Whoever they were, they looked down at her with equal confusion as multiple arms crossed across their chest.
"If ya' keep staring I'm gonna start chargin' ya' sweetheart."
"Wha-"
An ear splitting whistle made them both jump, a flash of fear obscuring the curiosity on the other person's face momentarily, and she was shoved past and left alone with the swing of a neon pink door. It didn't take much more commotion to usher her down the street, looking over her shoulder at every chance until she was far enough away from the crowd to catch her breath.
Wandering past a large display window with televisions behind them, she paused to take in the state of herself. Her clothing was only mildly marred, tights ripping in all the wrong places to reveal pale flesh beneath, the chest of her dress soaked through and clinging right above her hammering heart. She didn't dare test to see what had sunk into the fabric, may it be her own blood that came back on her fingertips. The thought was pushed aside when she looked down at her own hands, blinking rapidly in case the vision would disappear. Her palms were a soft pink, but beyond that faded into pale claws that caught on the lace of her skirt as she clung to it. The movement of her shaking reflected back at her from the window, only mildly obscured by the technicolor flash of pixels and teeth that decorated the televisions behind it.
The face that looked back at her was familiar, and a squish of tear stained cheeks between her palms proved that it was indeed hers, but from behind her glasses blinked bright pink where there had once been hazel. Dark rims settled on a nose that now ended in a small black heart, and they slid down dangerously as she hurried closer to her own reflection. Her hair, though sticking out in all directions, was still the glossy faux black that faded into a scarlet that she'd given herself in a last-ditch effort to maintain mental stability, but instead of the overgrown roots that usually sat on top of her head…
They were ears.
Long, twitchy, black and crimson bunny ears.
She nearly fell from the curb as she scampered backwards, twirling in front of the reflection in hope that maybe things would become clearer. If anything, the window became more foggy with each panting breath, and she finally pulled herself away after thoroughly smearing the glass from peering through the condensation. Tearing herself away from the visage, she did the only thing she could think of doing at a time like this.
She walked.
It was hard to tell how long she walked, winding around street corners and peering into shop windows and bars. It was the early hours of the morning surely, the darkened streets reflecting back the glowing red from the sky above. After narrowly avoiding a group of cat-callers, complete with hole-ridden ears and scraggly whiskers, and following the edge of what the signs signified as a "cannibal colony" in order to gaze fondly at the clean antiquated streets, she found herself sitting in front of a small coffee shop. An hour or two lost in her thoughts passed quickly, the clinking of keys opening the small shop from the inside drawing her attention as the sun began to rise.
Inside was quaint, much cleaner than much of the city she'd passed through. The barista eye'd her nervously, looking over her dark ragged clothing and clearing his throat softly when she stood idly for too long in the warm entryway. He was almost plain looking compared to the other's she'd seen in the night, bright yellow eyes following her movements as she walked towards the counter. Either not minding her ogling his scales or just ignoring her rudeness entirely, he began to speak.
"What would you like?"
She could only blink at him, looking over the menu and it's prices before softly shaking her head and stepping away from the stained wood countertop.
"I'm sorry, I- I don't have any money, I, uh,-"
"Water then."
It was quiet as he poured a glass and pushed it towards her, watching as she slowly took it. The tables nearby looked too nice for her street-warn form, but he nodded her towards them anyway before continuing the conversation.
"So, you seem fresh."
"Excuse me?"
"You're new, just fell into town?"
"Oh, I guess?"
"...Do you not know where the fuck you are?"
"No, not really."
The barista fell silent suddenly, save for a soft hiss, slinking further behind the shining silver coffee machines with slitted eyes trained on the windows. She turned quickly, following his gaze out the frosted windows and sputtering as a new found fuzzy ear flopped across her face. Even as she strained upward over the bookcases, whatever had spooked her reptilian acquaintance escaped from her, the only movement on the street a swishing pair of coattails disappearing around the street lamp. The silence held for a while longer, the barista edging his way around the counter to stand at the doorway to anxiously gaze down the street before turning towards her again.
"You're in hell sweetheart."
"You can say that again."
"I mean it, this is hell. You remember dyin'?"
"...Vaguely."
"Well, you did something that pissed off the men upstairs before then."
He hissed a laugh as he walked towards her, fangs catching the fluorescent pinks that hung above their heads. Picking up her empty glass, he folded a towel over his shoulder.
"Welcome to Pentagram City, and good fucking luck."