Merrill reels back when he steps in close, holding her paper map up close to her as a sort of shield between them. She flinches once she hits the wall behind her, staring at him with wide eyes and jaw clenched. She barely registers what he's saying, but when she realizes he's giving her an answer she commits it to memory.
Once she has her own space again, she only continues staring at him, completely shocked, mouth agape. After a few moments, after she regains some semblance of composure, she slowly manages, "You-- You sniffed me. And you said... What... are you?"
She says it, and instantly thinks she shouldn't have, and tries to double back, stumbling over her words.
"Oh, er, nevermind, that's very rude of me to ask, isn't it? It's just, you were able to, figure out, or smell, what I was, or am, rather, and oh my gosh. You don't have to answer. This is going fantastically, isn't it."
She's spent much of her relatively (to humans') long life hiding what she was, and here this man can just smell it on her. If it was that easy it's amazing it didn't happen sooner. But maybe London is just a different sort of world. She kept to herself in Bristol, but she's sure there must have been people of various species there. She was just largely unaware of them. She'd almost prefer that here, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen that way.
But he seems... nice enough, and he's trying to help, isn't he? Maybe he doesn't hate her now. But she doesn't lower the map-shield she has held in front of her.
"That might be helpful, yes. The, er... Oh, you already know so it can't hurt anything, um, the Islington Nest. Would you happen to... know... how to get there?" She shrinks back with every word, like she's afraid he's going to just attack her right then and there. She's becoming very aware of her complete inexperience with London's supernatural climate more and more with each passing second.
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Once she has her own space again, she only continues staring at him, completely shocked, mouth agape. After a few moments, after she regains some semblance of composure, she slowly manages, "You-- You sniffed me. And you said... What... are you?"
She says it, and instantly thinks she shouldn't have, and tries to double back, stumbling over her words.
"Oh, er, nevermind, that's very rude of me to ask, isn't it? It's just, you were able to, figure out, or smell, what I was, or am, rather, and oh my gosh. You don't have to answer. This is going fantastically, isn't it."
She's spent much of her relatively (to humans') long life hiding what she was, and here this man can just smell it on her. If it was that easy it's amazing it didn't happen sooner. But maybe London is just a different sort of world. She kept to herself in Bristol, but she's sure there must have been people of various species there. She was just largely unaware of them. She'd almost prefer that here, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen that way.
But he seems... nice enough, and he's trying to help, isn't he? Maybe he doesn't hate her now. But she doesn't lower the map-shield she has held in front of her.
"That might be helpful, yes. The, er... Oh, you already know so it can't hurt anything, um, the Islington Nest. Would you happen to... know... how to get there?" She shrinks back with every word, like she's afraid he's going to just attack her right then and there. She's becoming very aware of her complete inexperience with London's supernatural climate more and more with each passing second.