Waiting to Die

*They gradually float to the surface, the lights of the town briefly shimmering on the surface of the water before their faces break into the night. The monster flies higher to avoid being spotted by townspeople, & it becomes unclear whether or not it's still following them.*

*Tirea swims over to the nearest bank then struggles out of the water. Eve is close behind, shivering in the cold. They look over for the others and/or monsters*

Astarte pulled herself out of the water and forced herself into a jog towards the town.

*They can't see the White Monster, since it hasn't deigned to reappear, or Astarte. They can hear someone running, moving away from them & into town, but it seems to be on the opposite bank. The street signs, barely visible in the gloom, reveal them to be in a residential area, not far from where they concluded Grimm was.*
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*Likewise, Astarte cannot see the others. As she runs, she finds out that she's in a residential area, not far from where they concluded Grimm was.*

Astarte addresses the primary concern of her ass literally freezing off by looking for discarded clothing, clothing left hanging out by careless homeowners, or a clothing collection bin for the homeless.

*Eve and Tirea also look for clothes/a way to get warmed up, Eve trying to figure out if they are on the right bank for their final destination or not*

*If they're familiar with the area, they'll know that they are. In my experience, none of those things are common.*

Astarte found herself a dark corner and stood in it- hopping from foot to foot and rubbing her hands up her arms to try warming up.

*Eve takes the battery out of her phone as she walks, Tirea leading the way and scanning for trouble. They head for a local community center if there is one, and meander towards the homeless shelter if there isn't*

*Not far up the road is an alley leading to Bürgerhaus Buckenberg-Haidach, or "Buckenberg-Haidach Mansion," Pforzheim's community center at the fork of the river Enz. As far as the glow of the street lamps illuminate, there is no one around, but there are lights on inside.*
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*It helps a bit that Astarte is blocked off from most of the wind, inside of the steep shadows of 2 tall houses & a brick wall joining them, but her fingers & toes are still going numb.*

*Tirea and Eve head up to the entrance and head inside*

Astarte began furiously rubbing her hands and extended fingers together and took off at a jog looking for Grimm's home while still watching out for anything she could replace her clothes with.

*Passing one of the houses, she can dimly see a tarp that's being used to cover firewood just inside of the cast iron fence.*
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*At the front desk is a lanky, 20-something year old male with horribly over-gelled dark hair. He looks up at them, green eyes behind square-rimmed glasses.*

<Can I help you with anything, Ladies? Is it raining out there?>

Astarte tried to carefully and with minimal noise pull the tarp over the fence.

*Tirea puts on a big, flirtatious smile and approaches the front desk, Eve trailing behind*

Tirea:<My friend and I thought we saw a kitten drowning in the river, so we went down to try and help. We ended up slipping and falling in over a log.>

*She laughs and twirls a lock of her hair*

<Do you mind if we warm up in here? Our parents are going to kill us if they see us like this.>

*His look suggests he thinks she's stupid.*

<...Sure? There's a radiator in the bathroom. That might make it go faster.>
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*She is successful, though a white blur shooting from roof to roof just barely inside of her field of vision catches her eye.*

Astarte quickly rolled the tarp and put it under her arm, scurrying as quietly as possible away from where the white blur had been and trying to get somewhere concealed while looking out for Grimm's home.

*Tirea winks at him*

Tirea:<Thanks!>

*She drags Eve off to the bathroom, looking around for a clothing donation box, since this is the kinda place there would be one. As long as the coast is clear in the bathroom, they shed their coats and put them as close as is safe to the radiator. Eve opens her backpack and spreads everything out, then starts taking the battery out of her laptop*

*They see the shadow of what's either that or a dumpster just outside of the building.*
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*The signs indicate that the street is on the other side of the bridge. Also, her steps are becoming clumsy as the numbness spreads up her hands & feet.*

Astarte paused in a sheltered spot to remove all her clothes except for her underwear as quickly as possible, then wrapped the tarp around herself all while wiggling her toes and hopping from foot to foot to promote blood flow. She then took off towards the bridge.

*Once her electronics are out, Eve puts her backpack near the radiator and takes off her shoes and shoes, placing both her her backpack. Tirea does the same, but removes her jeans as well since they will take a while to dry. Both remain on guard*

Tirea:<I think I saw a clothing donation bin outside. We should check it once we get warmed up.>

Eve:<...Maybe you should put your pants back on?>

*Tirea huffs*

*Not sure what counts as a sheltered place, but Astarte crosses the bridge to see the same community center as the others did, only now a pair of police officers are entering the front door.*

*Tirea groans and puts her pants back on, then quietly walks over peeks out the door, listen for a moment, then silently starts putting on her clothes as fast as possible while gesturing at Eve to do the same. Eve immediately complies, even though she is very confused*

Eve:<(What?)>

*Tirea shakes her head, motioning Eve to follow. Since there is likely no alternative exit to the bathroom, Tirea quietly opens the door and the pair sneak off to find another way out*

Astarte looked around for a concealed place to watch the front of the community center.

*It's an open parking lot, the best she could do is get behind the box, hide behind a support beam, or find the nearest copse of trees to hide in. Luckily for her, the occasional car driving by seems to be keeping the white beast at bay. For now.*
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*They find another exit near an auditorium and a pair of vending machines, with an elevator opposite. It is on the same wall as the front entrance, though anyone who looked at that picture will know that the building is very strongly curved.*