Being Human
She wondered what had become of her body. Her real one, that is. So much so that she even began to dream that she was back home, in her rightful place, in a body that she'd become familiar with, lived with her entire life. Of course, that dream ended once there was an annoying chirp on her ear. She reached blindly for her iPhone sitting on her nightstand, glaring at the screen.
Lyra's phone had been activated. There was a red blip on the screen, signalling her location.
She sat up on her mattress in her apartment. A bottle of scotch and a glass with melting ice was set out on a coffee table next to an ashtray. The room was littered with cigarette butts that she'd flicked away.
Yes, she had lost Lyra the moment they'd landed, and yes, she had been foolish enough to let her escape. This time, she would not let her get away.
The entire process of wearing clothes was unfamiliar to her. Pulling on a white tank top took several tries as she slipped her arms into the wrong holes. She'd nearly fallen and cracked her head on the coffee table as she yanked her feet through her black jeans. Tying her shoes took ten minutes.
She wasn't in any rush. Lyra wasn't going anywhere.
She grabbed her black motorcycle helmet with a tinted visor and climbed onto her Suzuki sport bike. Riding it had become second nature in a matter of minutes as she learned to keep her balance and switch gears. It was the closest she would get to that intoxicating sense of danger and excitement that was achieved soaring through the air. The engine was loud enough and had enough horsepower to get her where she needed to be, weaving through traffic.
Imagine her surprise when she'd tracked her down to a department store, shopping for clothes with some boy. Lyra had gone off the radar for less than thirty-six hours and already she was making friends with a paranoiac who couldn't stop checking his six every five minutes.
Midnight, darker than black. She cut the engine of her bike and coasted into his neighborhood, parking it across the street two houses down the road. There was his Accord in the driveway, and she could see him moving in the window, the light still on. His silhouette filled the frame of the window, and she ducked before realizing he wasn't looking at her. In a world that was so dreadfully foreign, hostile even, she could take solace in the night. Here, in the darkness, the shadows, she was safe, invisible to the naked eye of these pitiful humans. At the same time she reminded herself not to underestimate them.
There was no point coming here besides figuring out where he lived. She contemplated storming in, guns blazing, deciding against it for practical reasons. A homicide was the last thing anyone needed. Humans had entire organizations devoted to investigating criminal activity. No doubt they would link it back to her and Lyra.
She watched the house go dark across the street.
A gentle breeze whipped through her hair and she blew an offending purple lock out of her face. She wrapped her leather jacket tighter around her body, the chilling sensation of steel pressing against her bare skin, reminding her what lay concealed under. She reached into her pocket and fished out her iPhone and dialed. Two rings later:
"Hello?"
She growled, "It's me." Her voice was rough and her tone, aggressive.
"Who?"
"Don't play dumb. You know who it is."
Stunned silence. "I don't know what you're talking about. Who is this?"
"You ran. Why did you run?"
"Who are you?"
"You stupid pony, why did you run?" she hissed. "We're in this together. I know where you live and I know where your boyfriend lives too."
"Who?"
"Don't be stupid, Lyra." With that, she delivered a final ultimatum before ending the call abruptly. "Do your job, or I'm coming for you."
The entire neighborhood would soon be woken up by the sound of a motorcycle engine screaming down the street into the blackness.
Lyra held the phone up against her ear, listening to the sound of the line cutting, and dropped her hand. She stood by the window, leaning her forehead against it and looking down at the streets and at the rest of Seattle. Her breath fogged it up, her breasts pressing against the cold glass as she stood naked.
There was a crack of thunder in the distance. Seattle received plenty of rain year-round. Summer was an exception. The weather in this world was not perfect, not scheduled. There was a prediction for a cloudless night yet right before her eyes the sky contradicted her. It frightened her, excited her, how unpredictable this place was. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Rain streaked down her window.
Pulling away with a sigh she stumbled across the room to her office chair. Walking on two feet had already taken some time and effort to get the hang of. Part of the reason why she wanted to hold Adrian's hand was so that she could stay balanced.
Plus, he was cute.
The glow of her iMac cast an eerie light on her face, numerous tabs and web pages opened to Wikipedia and such as she began taking in more and more knowledge of this new world. On her other screen there was another screen opened to a word processor. It'd taken her a bit of time to get the hang of using the keyboard. Already, two pages had been written, half-diary and half-research paper describing the environment, the people. She didn't mention Adrian. Several encyclopedias and a psychology textbook were open as well.
This brave new world was something else. Not at all what she had expected, but she wasn't disappointed in the slightest. It was fantastic, with incredible, sentient creatures and technology that boggled her mind.
She was in the process of trying to accumulate such knowledge. History was something that could be learned in due time, but technology played such a large role in this society that it was crucial she grasp it, the electricity that powered the lights, ran the entire world, combustion engines that powered their cars, plasma television screens, interactive communication devices. Popular culture would be next, and then social norms and psychology. The last two were crucial to her research. In fact, she'd learned her first lesson on the subject of nudity firsthand. Now it was just a matter of studying relationships.
She played idly with her...iPhone, Adrian had called it? It was fascinating, how the touch of her fingertip to the glass would trigger a program. She'd already gotten the hang of the game called "Angry Birds" and had just sent a text to Adrian not less than an hour ago and was surprised when he actually replied back.
Adrian Ross. The boy with the glasses. The boy with the messy hair and chocolate brown eyes. The boy who'd picked her off the streets and saved her life. Let her sleep in his bed, gave her clothes, gave her a ride. A faint blush rose to her face as she recalled that moment they held each other. Something compelled her to embrace him in her arms, to hold him tight. She'd felt him go stiff, felt him tense up as she held him until she felt him hug her back. It hadn't meant to last that long. Two seconds, tops. Any longer and it would have turned awkward. Instead, it took a turn for the more intimate. For that moment, there was nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat and his as she pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his breathing. Her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck as they closed whatever distance there had been between them.
She uncapped her fountain pen with a click, signing her name on a legal pad. Her earlier attempts at penmanship had been horrendous. A lifetime of not having hands would do that to you. For now, she'd settled on sharp flicks of the wrist, violent and lacking in polish. Adrian's handwriting, on the other hand, was smooth, elegant, with flourishes and loops and curves. He wrote at a slight angle, italicizing all his words. Besides trying to relearn the alphabet, she'd spent at least an hour tying her shoes until she got it just right.
The intended reader of the document would use it to their benefit, no doubt. She dared not speak their name, not even think it. At the same time it was hard to reconcile their malevolent intentions and their generosity. After all, they had provided everything. All of this was the fruit of their labor, her luxurious Seattle penthouse flat, her money.
Lyra gave a sidelong glance and pulled her drawer out, lifting the false bottom and emptying the contents onto her cluttered workspace. She sifted through the items: manilla folders containing cover IDs with passports and driver's licenses and prepaid ATM cards, and a burner phone. She reached down underneath her desk and hefted a briefcase, thumbing the clasps. They flicked open with a click, and she lifted the top, studying the contents with repulsion.
She closed it and set it aside, out of sight, out of mind.
In Europe she would be Lara Hartford, an American girl following U2 on their tour. In South America, she would be Laura Hernandes, a Brazilian-American visiting her relatives in São Paolo or Rio de Janiero, depending on her story. In Asia she would be Lang Huang, and in Russia she would be Lydia Herr.
For this, she would be eternally grateful. For now, she was going to enjoy this new life, for what it was worth. It seemed that there was no eluding her old life. There was no love lost.
She crawled upstairs, collapsing onto her bed. Lyra wrapped her arms around her body, running her hands over her smooth skin, hoping that this new life would not be cruelly taken from her. She'd made the deal with the wrong devil.
And yet it felt so good, felt so right, being human.
An entire day had passed since he'd taken Lyra shopping, taken her home. He didn't bother calling her the next day, assuming that she didn't want to be bothered, or didn't want to bother him.
Light streamed through the blinds, catching him in the eye. Adrian was woken up by the faint sound of ringing in his ear. Why was he so tired? Right, he'd gone out last night with his friends.
The discussion in the car had eventually veered toward Adrian and his current bachelor status, to which he quickly ended. Unfortunately, one of his buddies had spotted him holding hands at the mall the day before. He couldn't help but brag.
"Scale of one to ten, how hot is she?"
"Eleven," Adrian had answered without a beat.
"Bullshit. Ten is like, Megan Fox—"
"You're the only one who thinks she's still hot."
"Ten is like a porn star!"
"She's got an ass like one," Adrian had said with a grin.
He later regretted his words.
All in all, a good way to spend the night. In the long run, unimportant and a waste of time. The only thing on his mind the entire time was Lyra.
Lyra, Lyra, Lyra. Lyra Hartstein.
Her name just rolled off his tongue. It was a beautiful name, belonging to an equally beautiful person. It was unique, much like who she was.
The ringing, however, stopped. He fell back down and turned over and buried himself deeper into his sheets. That is, until his alarm rang again. He slammed a hand down on what he thought to be the culprit, but found it was something else: his phone.
"H-Hello?" he asked groggily.
"Adrian?"
His eyes snapped open and he sat up. "Hey, Lyra! Good morning, morning."
"Are you okay?"
He'd been slurring. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I-I, last night. I just went out last night with my buddies."
He stood up, stumbling over to his medicine cabinet shirtless.
"Is this a bad time? You sound sick." She sounded genuinely concerned.
He took a moment to down two Advils. "Nah. I'm good. So, what's up?"
"Listen, I'm...going to be around for quite a bit."
"That's good," Adrian said.
"And I don't have a car."
Where is she going with this?
"Do you remember anything?" he suddenly asked.
"No," she said. "But anyways Adrian, like I was saying, I think the best way for me to, you know, get back my memories is remembering everything. I've been reading all those books, using the Internet..."
"Okay?"
"I was wondering, since you're a Seattleite...would you, maybe, take me around Seattle?"
"Take you around?"
"Sightseeing. Museums, landmarks, attractions, things like that?"
He kept quiet, letting it sink in. "Like a taxi driver?"
"Tour guide," Lyra laughed. "Until I get a car, at least."
"So that's it? Just drive you around and show you places?"
"A restaurant here or there too. I mean, I'm going to be keeping a little journal, taking pictures—"
He interrupted her. "Lyra, I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"I'll pay you five-hundred dollars!" she blurted suddenly.
Whoa.
Her words stunned him. He choked, "F-Five hundred?"
"Up front!"
"Lyra, what is all this for? Tell me the truth."
"Research!" she chirped.
"Research?" He stood up and circled his room half-naked, wearing nothing but a pair of black slacks, rubbing his face.
"Humans." She rattled off a list like counting her fingers. "Their history, evolution, societies..."
"I thought you said you were trying to get your memories back," Adrian said lowly.
"I am! And what better way than to learn about the world around me? I'm bound to remember something," she said.
He considered her proposition. In a way, it made some sense. It was unorthodox, for sure, but there was some twisted form of logic that made it seem possible. Could you really get your memories back by triggering them?
"So, how about it?"
"I don't know."
"Pleaaase?"
"One second."
He looked around his dump of a room, locating his planner that he opened frequently and ran his life around. He flipped through the next three months. Blank, all of them, blank. No plans, nothing worth fussing about. These were his last three months of freedom before university. What better things did he have to do? Nothing. Unless his entire summer consisted of long nights and Mountain Dew, being around Lyra was infinitely more favorable.
"I..." He sighed. "Okay."
"You'll do it?"
"I will."
"You're game?"
Adrian heaved a sigh. This was going to be a mistake. "I'm game."
"Alright!" she cheered. "Yay!"
Adrian held the speaker away from his face with a cringe and brought it back. "So, when do we start?"
"Whenever you want!" He could hear the excitement in her bubbly voice.
"How about...I come pick you up at eleven?" He looked out his window. "We could go the beach."
"It's a date!"
"I—what?"
"Bye!" A pause. "How do you end a call again? Do you press the re—" Her voice cut off.
He couldn't keep a grin from spreading across his face. He silently cheered and pulled a fist pump. "A date!"
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1660371
No, it doesn't
It's twilight it's gotta be twilight sparkle
, btw I love this fic 
Huh. So she's Equestria's official anthropologist or somesuch.
Why do I have a sinking suspicion that this is going to turn into a fic about Equestria trying to take over the Earth? I've got a bad feeling, man.
this cannot possibly end well.
Another fantastic chapter! I have always been a huge fan of you stories and this one does not disappoint
1660421
Let the wild mass guessing begin
ME GUSTA EVERYWHERE
I'm glad it has a Bourne Identity feel rather than a James Bond one. Keeps it more interesting, in my opinion.
Good story, but Adventure and Slice of Life are conflicting tags. Since this seems to be leaning towards Adventure, you should remove the Slice of Life tag.
1660384
Nope, my money's on Rainbow Dash. Reference to soaring through the sky :p Or some other OC pegasus.
edit: Or a griffin/dragon... The disregard for killing points more towards those species.
1660451
Slice of life can entail things like awkward Lyra not wearing clothes in public places and everyday things.
This is...shorter than the other ones.
Deliberate choice to break up pacing or just a piece of filler before the shit hits the fan? YOU DECIDE.
So... seems like Lyra made some arrangements with a certain goat-faced malefactor, intending to see our world with new eyes, and with all the amenities to do so undetected, and in style.
The perfect plan. If only she hadn't let a few details slip through the cracks.
Ooh, this is gonna be good.
Someone was going on about flying and a need for speed in there...
Renbodesh u cant into earth
wat r u doin renbodesh
RENBODESH
STAHP
1660464
I could have added another 1000 words of her visiting the supermarket and doing inane bullshit, but it adds nothing to the story.
1660506
I may have used the wrong term, but recall that he thinks he has a swimmer's physique, "maybe", hinting at his slim and lean body type.
I'm going to go prep my imagination for next chapter. Yay, Lyra at the beach!
"A gentle breeze whipped through her hair and she blew an offending purple lock out of her face. She wrapped her leather jacket tighter around her body, the chilling sensation of steel pressing against her bare skin, reminding her what lay concealed under."
It's Scootaloo, right?
1660541
Oh, the foreshadowing is everywhere. A single word placed here or there. It's all foreshadowing something
I'm officially calling it: It's Rainbow Dash, since purple is part of the spectrum of colors in her mane...
Unless BonBon is color blind, has suddenly sprouted wings and has decided to become a total badass
*Finishes the chapter*
Lyra is terrible when it comes to asking humans out on dates. She probably should have researched social norms first, at least technophobia is believable.
Awkward Lyra is adorkable and this conflicts with my pre-established Philosilyra. This fic may very well change my headcannon, good job sir!
"It was the closest she would get to that intoxicating sense of danger and excitement that was achieved soaring through the air. "
Um it is a pegasus so it is not twilight sparkle.
1660384
I don't think it's Twilight, maybe an older Scootaloo? I don't know, but it's getting interesting!
I'm calling it: the mysterious biker chick is Gilda.
It's sporadic, eccentric, mysterious and kinda hard to follow. A good amount of fluff with what must hold some semblance of story-line. I love it, keep the chapters coming!
All fans, incoming shit! Take cover before it hits!!!
((That was supposed to be a pun running offa "the shit hits the fan".))
((I'm still practicing my pun skills. Did it work?))
1660447
what about me?
1660488
I wouldn't have minded. More mentioning of ass is needed.
1660511
sounds like me XD
1660469
It should have some sex, because really: WHO DEOSN'T LIKE SEX?
Also it doesn't help that the author named this after a movie that has sex in it, DUDE.
O.K.: here is my two cents;
1cent. add sexual scene, as if you hadn't gotten close to that already
2cent. needs moar relationship development, as in BEFORE the sex.....
the sex must happen.
IT MUST!
Whoever the one working with her is it has to be a pegasus, or a changeling, or a griffin, or something that has wings in general
Nope, biker chick has to be Luna.
1660637
A sexual scene should only be placed in a story if it is a plot device or would help tell the story. Nine times out of ten sex is thrown into a spy or thriller story simply to take in more viewers and/or start controversy, which in itself is just more useless filler and hype. None of which needed in my opinion.
When the shit hits the fan, I'll—woah! *holds up umbrella, which is immediately splattered with brown sludge*
1660547
I'm gonna second Scootaloo.
- Purple hair
- Penchant for danger/flying
- Quick learner on a motorcycle
1660676
While I'm seconding things, I may as well second this. As it's written, this story doesn't really need a sex scene. The awkwardness and teasing are more fun anyway.
1660384 i doubt its twilight, it has to be bonbon i mean for pete sakes theyre associated together everywhere so no duh
1660676
sex not needed?
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR WITS?
sex is always a welcome addition in my opinion, it adds to the reading time!
oh, and more people like a sexual scene, EVEN IF THEY DENY IT.
But in all reality, I would be dissapointed if he didn't add a sex scene, because, AGAIN, he named the story after a movie that just so happened to have rather nice sex in it!
And don't get me started on the book XD
Well, you write really quick. That or you're holding out on us. Either way, the fecal matter will definitely be striking the cooling unit soon.
1660373 What a terrible world!
1660707
It's been nearly three days. I think.
1660722 I mean, each chapter is within 2 days of each other, unless you edited them to look like so.
1660580 Same. Gilda all the way.
While I was reading this story this song felt good to fit in
[youtube=youtube.com/watch?v=EQ_I4cbVG6I]
Alright I'm calling Gilda. Lock of purple hair and she wants to kill Adrian.Also the soaring through skies remark helped out. Plus she sounds like a total bitch.But she is probably really hot. I am conflicted.
1660453 I say it's a magical radish enchanted by... uh...
Why do I try to look smart and witty in front of a few hundred readers of the comments.
I agree with whoever said scootaloo, called it!
It's mine!!
1660384 My money is on Gilda. The character just seems like her.
1660696
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m42epimi6p1rue690o3_1280.jpg
I disagree. It'd be filler in my opinion and predictable.
BUT To each their own.
1660686
Agreed.
1635687
stickerish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/NowKissBlackSS.png
1660844
I had an entire scene planned out of Adrian going to a nightclub with his friends wearing a swanky black suit. But it got cut out. Why? Because it added abso-fucking-lutely nothing to the story.
1660637
's occasionally on their comments.
I disagree about the sex scenes. For a story like this, I'd say that sex should be implied, rather than explicitly written. I'd have no complaints if the protaganist and Lyra have a sexual relationship, but for stories like this, the 'bedroom door' philosophy should usually be observed.
However, if the sex itself is part of the plot(not just 'they had sex so...' but actual actions taken during the scene), then yes, it should be included.
As an example, the Ghost series by John Ringo(published, not fanfic or anything) includes sex scenes, but as a very important character development tool, while his other series' simply let the bedroom door close, because the sex itself isn't that important, so much as the fact that it happened.
1660801
Haha, no worries. Everyone
1660568
Never thought of Scoots because of the flying part, but yeah. That makes a heck of a lot of sense. I guess I was trying to think in a 'present day' Equestria rather than near future.
1660765
I already called "griffins, dragons, and pegasai"
1660852
I concur. nextlol.com/images/2979-58149-discord-artist-briskby-artist-rose-monocle-quite-reaction-face-season-2-spoiler-spoiler-alert-spoilers.png
1660852 What this needs is a Space Needle dinner. Absolutely akwardorkable. (three words yessss) I mean really, Adrian has hundreds 'o' dollars! images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121114050622/mlp/images/thumb/e/ec/Applejack_collecting_bits_S01E03.png/200px-Applejack_collecting_bits_S01E03.png
Yo Dennis some friendly advice from you Amis, UPDATE MORE! CAN'T STOP LOVING THIS STORY!!!
1660852 Hey, you still looking for that editor?