(no subject)

[tendnottoweep]

Characters: Natasha, Olivia, and Rikki - OPEN
Date: ALL THIS MONTH
Location: EVERYWHERE
Situation: PEOPLE ARE DOING STUFF.
Warnings/Rating: Possible monster violence

Comments

MAINLAND, mid-month

[tendnottoweep]

Natasha headed out to the mainland on the first day of landfall, and has mostly remained alone and out of contact for that time. She's got her Stark-issue phone on her, of course, but barring an emergency, she'd prefer to do this preliminary investigation alone. Having made it to one of the old cities, she turns her focus to exploring it from the foundations of the warped buildings to the rooftops, hoping to find some clue as to what happened here. So far, she's found a cache or two of weapons, some documents she took with her on the off chance someone learns how to translate the written language, but nothing especially illuminating. It's starting to annoy her.

Anyone who stumbles on this particular city will probably get a redheaded spysassin investigating them in pretty short order, and she may introduce her presence with a gun aimed at their head. Hey, she's already run into a daemid or two; it's put her a little on edge about running into any other living things out here.

[wholenewstory]

Cass didn't venture out into the mainland, at first; she knew it would be thoroughly investigated, and the city still needed protecting. But eventually, sheer curiosity gets the better of her.

She wears the costume she's grown accustomed to in Keeliai - a form-fitting black jumpsuit, fabric obscuring her lower face. She wears the boots of her Batgirl suit, and loads supplies into her utility belt.

She wanders for some time, avoiding several attacks and keeping track of where she's going, how long it's taken. It reminds her, a little, of the days before Gotham - when she just wandered. Back then, of course, she had no place to go back to.

The city is almost familiar. The destruction is different, but the sheer devastation reminds her of No Man's Land. It's why her steps slow when she enters, her gaze solemn as she examines her surroundings.

Maybe she can find something here - something she can take back to Bruce. Something that can tell them what happened.

[tendnottoweep]

Not long after entering the city, Cassandra gains a tail. Natasha moves almost silently, and she's been here a few days already, long enough to learn the place and how to stay out of sight when she wants to.

The girl's obviously human (or kedan, for all their reluctance to even approach the mainland), not daemid, but that alone isn't enough to convince Natasha to show herself just yet. She's interested by the way she moves, the simple black costume that's almost a mirror of her own - whoever or whatever this girl is, those things alone place her in the category of people Natasha likes to keep an eye on, either as potential allies or possible liabilities.

KEELIAI, the 20th

[tendnottoweep]

This is a little earlier than Natasha had planned to return to the mainland. However, she also hadn't planned to catch a glancing blow from one of the llothi's claws - she'd escaped more than that one blow, what would be a minor scratch if it were anything else, but when the gash on her shoulder was hot and swollen within a few hours of acquiring it... Yeah, sometimes plans require a little revision.

At the moment, she's slinking back to her suite in the Fire Sector after the cart ride back to the city, one hand pressed gingerly against the wound to protect it and giving dark looks at anyone who so much as looks like they might bump into her on the busy street. She probably should have called someone for help. Probably shouldn't have headed out alone in the first place. Probably should have done a lot of things, but she's back now, her arm hasn't fallen off yet, and the rest... she can deal with.

Oops?

[trainwrecked]

Bucky blinks for a moment as he catches the familiar red hair as he makes his way across the city on the bike - a moment later, he catches sight of her shoulder and turns about without hesitating, pulling up beside her.

"Want a ride?"

Because... it'll be faster and safer, right?

Bucky why do you do this to her?

[tendnottoweep]

Natasha turns as soon as she hears the engine - even in the Metal Sector, bikes are uncommon enough that it's worthy of note - and she pulls to a stop when she sees just who's on the bike, well before he actually makes it to her side. There's a hint of surprise on her face as she takes in Bucky, and the bike, and a momentary pause before she actually answers his question.

"As long as you take it slow. I only have one arm to hold on with at the moment."

... because you've left him in the dark, Tasha. Obv.

[trainwrecked]

"I think," he makes a bit of a face, "that I can manage that, considering. Fever?"

He actually isn't asking because he doubts her ability to take care of herself - she's here, after all, and that's saying a lot - but because he's already had a run-in with Steph and her residual infection. Days after the fact. And he'd rather check early on than miss something important.

And he's already shifting forward in the seat, giving her space to settle comfortably, even with only one arm to hold on.

...okay point. You are still killing her.

[tendnottoweep]

"Hard to tell, but I think so. Thank you."

Natasha swings into the seat behind him without any apparent hesitation now that she's made up her mind, and the moment she settles her arm around him, he'll be able to feel the heat radiating off her body. Yeah, she has a fever.

She keeps her injured arm held against her - moving it enough to wrap it around him hurts more than she's willing to deal with right now, and as small as the actual injury is, she's a little worried by that.

MAINLAND, locked: Capfam :|

[withoutaworld]

Rikki's awake when they're theoretically supposed to be sleeping. Again. It's not that she's not tired, because she is, God, she's not sure she's ever been this exhausted in her life. And it's not that she doesn't know, logically, that she's... well, not perfectly safe, but at least as safe while asleep as she would be while conscious, because there's always at least one of them on lookout for the freaky nightmare creatures. Logically, she knows that, and she knows she should be sleeping if she doesn't want to be dead on her feet tomorrow.

She knows that, but her body is not getting the message, and after tossing and turning for a while, she finally gives up and slides out of her blankets, taking care to move quietly so as not to wake any of the others. Really, she figures, it's probably the open, blasted, empty landscape making her twitchy. And the quiet. The quiet is definitely a part of it. She's always been a city kid, with the sounds of traffic and neighbors and everything always present, and this much quiet... It feels unnatural. Oppressive. She's almost afraid to breathe in it because something might hear her.

Rikki growls softly under her breath and starts walking - she's not planning to go far, not really out of sight, and it's not really safe to go for a run like she would at home when she couldn't sleep, but maybe she can walk out a little of the restless nerves and remind herself she actually is tired. Maybe. If she's lucky.

O HAY

[shootingshields]

Peggy is a light sleeper at the best of times, and it's not very hard to fully wake when she realizes Rikki is walking off somewhere. Unfortunately for the teenager, Peggy noticed the tossing and turning prior, too. Carefully, she disentangles her hand from Steve's (where their fingers found each other hidden away under blankets, even as they slept apart) and climbs from her roll without a sound.

She trails after Rikki in the same silence, to avoid waking any other of their mission mates. And she's damn good at sneaking around.

It's not that she doubts Rikki in the slightest, but she can't help but be a little concerned. She lightly coughs to make her presence known once they're out of eavesdropping distance of the camp, purposely takes a loud step just after. To avoid potentially completely startling her.

"Rikki?"

OHAI

[withoutaworld]

Rikki doesn't exactly jump when Peggy coughs, but she does start a little guiltily, shoulders hunching and head ducking before she spins around to face her with a slightly apologetic smile.

"...hey. I promise I wasn't sneaking off or... planning to go far, even, I just... couldn't sleep." She shrugs a little awkwardly. "Thought I'd get some air."

Stale, ashy air. Yep.

[shootingshields]

She holds up one hand in a gesture of surrender and offers a small smile. "I never thought you were. Though I did notice the latter."

Peggy takes a glance around. It wasn't exactly the clearest air, but walking around is better than combating insomnia by simply rolling around. "Too much on your mind?"

The question is broad enough to avoid an exact answer if unwanted but also an open door. But genuinely, she is a little concerned.

[withoutaworld]

"Heh. Yeah, I guess."

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair, glancing out over the empty ground surrounding them. There's nothing moving out there, not that she can see, and somehow that makes it worse - even if anything moving would probably be something that would want to eat them.

"This place is just kind of... freaking me out? I mean, I'm... I'm totally fine, I don't want to go back or anything, just..."

Hello, little girl...?

[trainwrecked]

They were not sleeping out there without a sentry. And it's Bucky's watch. As soon as he realizes somebody's stirred, his attention slips. But he waits for her to step away from those still resting before he slips beside her quietly.

"Can't sleep?"

Easy question, right?

[withoutaworld]

She expected Bucky to come after her, really, so she doesn't start even a little when he appears at her side, just looks up at him with a faint, tired smile.

"Not really, no. Guess I'm just kind of... jumpy. Anything happening out there?"

[trainwrecked]

"Not yet." There is a smile back, but the tired expression on his face makes him move a little closer, offer... comfort? Reassurance? Something like that.

Though his eyes return to scanning the perimeter quickly enough.

"You haven't had many nights camped out like this?" Easy question. Still getting to know her, because he wants to.

[withoutaworld]

"Not really, no," she says, shrugging. She is glad to have him closer - even when she knew he was keeping an eye out, even with Steve and Peggy sleeping close by, it's different having someone right next to her talking to her through the twitchiness. "I went camping with my family a few times when I was younger, but it was pretty close to the city and... y'know, a normal campground. I guess I'm not much of a wilderness person. And definitely not a... spooky empty wasteland person."

METAL SECTOR, late month

[withoutaworld]

Rikki never thought she'd be so happy to be back in Keeliai, of all places. It's not home, not even in the weird way her second world became her home, and she doesn't particularly want it to be her home either, but what it is is extremely welcome after the ash and emptiness and freaky hellbeasts of the mainland.

The first thing she does after getting back is collapse into her bed and sleep for almost an entire day. When she wakes up, it's night, and she's actually pretty glad for that; something about the lights makes it feel just a little closer to home, somehow, even if the stars overhead are unfamiliar.

She drops by her workplace after heading out of her suite, letting them know she's back from the mainland and will be back to work soon, and snags some food from the kitchens there before heading up to the rooftops. She ends up perched on edge of a roof overlooking a street that's still busy at this hour, watching the traffic go by. She's not making any particular effort to hide her presence, and occasionally lifts a hand to wave cheerfully at the kedan who glance up at her.

Re: METAL SECTOR, late month

[controlledvariable]

At some point in the evening, it's not a kedan that glances up at Rikki, but rather one amused looking Stephanie. She's out for the sake of being out, enjoying the fresh air and the dumpling she picked up at a little street cart.

She waves at Rikki, then casts an exaggerated look at the building, as if she's searching for the way up, before she looks back up at Rikki and shrugs a little helplessly.

Let's play charades!

Steph clearly has no idea how to scale a building, but would like to join Rikki anyway. She'd like Rikki to point out the easiest way to get up there.

[withoutaworld]

Rikki laughs as she spots Steph and gets to her feet, beckoning for Steph to follow her as she walks along the edge of the roof and around the corner, moving with a cat's easy confidence with heights. She didn't climb up this way, but she knows the area well enough to pick out an easy place for Steph to get up - there's a small metal awning about halfway up the first floor, shielding the stairway to a basement entry, solid enough to hold someone's weight at least briefly.

"Think you can reach that and pull yourself up?" she asks, indicating the awning. "I can give you a hand up from there."

[controlledvariable]

She does follow, eyeing the awning for a moment or two. She could do it with her eyes closed and both hands behind her back on a normal day, and she can pass of the ease of it with her gymnastics training, but her injury gives her pause.

"I think I can manage that," Well, it gives her pause for all of about thirty seconds, and then she grabs onto the edge of the awning and hauls herself up, teeth clenched against the pain, but she manages it without too much trouble, and then she's standing on the awning, her weight balanced carefully.

WATER SECTOR, whenever

[nolimitation]

Olivia's not used to having time to herself. She's not used to having time to relax, time when she's not running herself ragged on one case or another, staying up late going over files and paperwork, getting dragged out of bed early to investigate the latest horrific catastrophe... This has turned into the first thing that could be called vacation at least since she joined Fringe Division, and it turns out? She really doesn't like it that much.

She can be found fairly frequently taking walks along the canals, limping along with her cane and pushing herself a little further every day, or sitting at an outside table in a cafe near her suite with a pencil and pad of paper, sketching the surrounding buildings, passing kedan, or things more distant - Ella, Peter, a familiar and yet foreign landscape, Walter's pet cow...

It's not exactly what she's used to to keep her occupied, but it's the best she's got here and now.

[shootingshields]

Peggy's on her way to speak with a contact in the water sector when she spots the woman walking with a cane. It's not unusual really, just curious. She thinks nothing of it and slips into the cafe with her contact. When she comes back out and starts heading home, she spots her again, this time sitting outside the cafe. Observing and sketching.

Butting in might be rude, but she comes up from the other side of the table anyway. It can't hurt to strike up conversation, see what happens. "Are you an artist? This sector seems visually pleasing for that sort of thing."

[nolimitation]

Olivia glances up when she notices her approaching, and smiles at the question, setting her pencil down for a moment. The sketches on the current page are a mixture of the water sector's graceful buildings, a kedan child's half-human features, Peter's hands flipping a coin between his fingers.

"I don't know if I'd call myself an artist, but I do a little drawing when I have the time." Her smile turns a little wry, and she nods to her cane as she adds, "I've had a lot of time lately."

[shootingshields]

She steals a glance down at them, nothing truly intrusive, and offers a smile in return. "They're still quite good."

Then her eyes flash to the cane as the other woman gestures to it. "Were you injured here? Or perhaps the mainland? Not to be prying, and do feel free to tell me so if I am."

Though the surge in gang violence had diminished, there were still shady areas and dangerous encounters out there. And the chances of injury on the mainland were certainly high.