Summary:A lion, a tiger, and a Lexi walk into an alley… Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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As usual, the Pride are gathered in a handful of alleyways in the heart of Mutant Town. They keep watch over each other, and all of Mutant Town, while some attempt to beg, and most just stay out of the way and largely out of sight. The homeless are far more accepted here than anywhere in the City, but they still aren't considered a lovely addition to the ambience.
One of the more unusual bits about the Pride is their organization and teamwork. This expresses itself in their helping of each other, but also in other ways. In tags on the walls: stylized lion's heads. Also in the fact that they tend to move together, all going to one of the food kitchens in the area - different ones on different days at different times - at once.
Two other things that stand out are the fact that there is always one of them on watch, even while the others eat. She stays out of the way, and as often as not actually stays on a rooftop across the street. But she is always there. And though most tend to ignore it, the Pride often have a sizeable collection of feral cats of domestic breeds around. Around, and rather well fed for being street cats.
Catseye wanders all of New York City, and the tunnels under them were where she grew up. So for her it's perfectly normal to pop up a steam tunnel lid in a back alley and climb out. The fact that her backpack is mewing and a tortoiseshell cat is clinging to her shoulder, well, it's just another day. She replaces the lid, and sets down her backpack, removing the kittens and setting them down next to the momma cat with a sigh, and a soft trilling chirp. The momma sniffs over the kittens, giving them admonishing licks, chirps back to Catseye and then herds her kittens down the alley to another nest.
Lexi is…well. Lexi is in a bit of trouble that she's spent about half the night dodging to get back to Mutanttown unmolested. mostly. Luckily she seems to have lost her pursuers for the moment…she's still not quite sure why they were QUITE so upset with her, but then, they're Nazis so expecting rational thinking is a lost cause with them, she figures. She turns the corner down the alley, whistling to heself, dressed in a backless black top that ties at the neck and lower back, hugging her curves and toned stomach, not to mention highlighting the quite mauve skin that covers her, slightly pointed foxish ears twitching as she takes in the scene. Golden pupils watch Catseye curiously as she unloads her precious cargo, before she grins. "Awww…that's sweet of ya…did ya go find them for her?" she asks curiously.
The Pride are allies of those that make the tunnels their homes, as they have so much in common. So when someone emerges from the tunnels below, the Pride's watcher - Hunter - notices. Notices, and decides to get closer. That would lead to two bits of observable evidence: first, the feral cat population tends to move with her, so more of them are moving into Sharon's area than were there when she came up. In addition, there's another scent, and an aura about it. The scent is, and is not feline. Powerful. Dangerous. A tiger, and not just a Bengal, either. And the aura is that of a predator.
Catseye smiles at Lexi, "MommaTorti knew where kittens were, but tunnel-nest not safe, need to move them. But hard to carry little kittens up and through one by one. Would have to leave them unwatched, rest of colony had already moved. Catseye follow MommaTorti down, and brought them up all together." She pauses, trying to think of how to explain, "Cat colonies know Catseye. Catseye is Cat. Trust Catseye to help." Another feral, this one a ginger tom, slinks out, sees it's Catseye and chirps. She chirps back easily, the sound on the upper range of human hearing, and turns easily so that she is keeping an eye on the direction she scents the tiger from. Her tail stops moving in lazy s-curves and goes still, all except the quivering tip. "Catseye grew up with cat-colony in tunnels under central park." Wait… those crazy rumors about a shadow-lion in the tunnels under the city have been around more than a decade. And well… Catseye is a purple lion girl. "Have to live with smooth-skins now, not as cat. But still keep track of colonies, and help."
The tom, utterly unconcerned now the he's seen it is Catseye in the alley, begins licking himself well… where male cats are prone to lick themselves.
Lexi's nostrils flare slightly as she sniffs the air, one ear flicking back as smells the cats, and that familiar tiger-y scent, turning around to look back to where the swarm of cats and Diya in the middle are approaching. "Huh. Well. That was nice of ya." she says curiously. Granted, she's heard rumors of the shadow lion, but she kinda puts it with the albino alligators…possibly exist, but she hasn't personally seen them or not. "Well, nice ta meetcha then…Catseye? I'm Lexi." she offers. She nods respectfully to Diya as she approaches. Well. She's not /scowling/ scowling yet, so she proooobably doesn't know what Lexi's been up to. That's for the best, really!
The tiger scent approaches over the rooftops, and then comes down a rusted fire escape. Then it resolves into the figure of a taller than average (but by no means giant) woman in threadbare army surplus gear. She is not super clean or spiffy. She moves with a loose-limbed and easy grace that belies great power, confidence and agility to those with keen enough eyes to see it. And she is surrounded by a milling, haphazard gathering of feral cats. All of them seem to respect her, and consider her a source of food and protection.
When the woman gets within about ten feet, she stops approaching, offering just a slight nod towards Lexi before concentrating on Catseye. "Thanks. Kindness." she offers in a soft, mush-mouthed manner that sands all of the edges off of her accent. She kneels, making little 'meh' sounds and the like to the cats around her. They stop, one at a time, here and there, and then they move off to check on the new colony, almost like a nestwarming party.
That done, the woman looks back up at Lexi. "Running?" Apparently she is a professional at this laconic scarcity of words, as she seems able to conclude entire paragraphs with but a single word.
Catseye smells somewhat of lion, definitely of cat. "No thanks needed. Catseye raised by cats. Will always help." Her tail is quivering differently now, less 'something is stalking me' and more kitty-curious. She is trying VERY hard to keep smoothskin form, and it is NOT easy right now. Too many interesting smells, new interesting smelling people and stupid smoothskin noses are half blind and too far from the ground! She wraps her tail tightly around one leg and clutches her backpack tightly as she tries to focus on her breathing and staying in stupid ANNOYING smoothskin form.
Lexi's ears flick back slightly. "Running? Me? Why would I be running?" she says innocently. Annnnd…DISTRACTION! "I was just talkin' ta Catseye, is she new with th' Pride?" DEFLECTION! "Um, I mean, I haven't seen her before though she's definitely got th' whole talkin' ta cats theme down." she muses.
The homeless woman watches Catseye carefully, curiously; she doesn't quite so visibly vibrate with curiosity, but it's there and strong. And the tiger scent is definitely centered on her, not just on something she is carrying. It's not an old or dead scent, but live, living and still active. "Is question." she responds a bit distractedly to Lexi's comments. She wants to know why Lexi was running. And she's not going to be fooled; as if she ever is.
"Not yet." Diya answers about Sharon. She comes closer, bit by bit, judging the reactions and clearly trying not to be too physically aggressive. Trying to show respect for the lioness she can smell. Then she lifts a hand and presses it to her chest, clad in that oversized olive drab army surplus coat. "Hunter." she offers. And then? She reaches out her hand … not to shake, but palm up at about chin-height for Sharon. That'd make it easier for her to smell out someone; she's hoping it does for the other.
"Catseye." And she begins to purr, not the trilling of a tongue that some people do to mimic a cat, this comes directly from Catseye's throat, on both the inhale and exhale. She offers her own hand to Hunter to sniff then… *FLOOF*. In human-form at six feet tall with lavender hair and tail, Catseye attracts attention and can't pass as normal. In half-cat form, her whole body is covered with lavender fur, and her hair goes from 'full and wavy' to 'ridiculously fluffy and curly mane'. Even her TAIL is fluffier and cuter! Of course, she now has claws and teeth that are much much larger which probably would scare most humans. She squeaks adorably in embarrassment! "Sorry! Usually can keep smoothskin form. But harder with so many cat smells."
"Uh, it's kind of a long story." Lexi temporizes, watching as Diya approaches Catseye…then her ears perking foward as she blinks at the transformation, looking Catseye. "…huh." is the only real response other than that, as she giggles at the apology. "Hey, no worries. Be whatever form ya like, we won't judge." she says simply. "'Sides, we like cats."
Diya smiles a lazy, contented smile at Catseye's transformation, apparently not really feeling threatened or upset. "Easier." she mentions, gesturing to the transformation. Then she taps her chest. "Long. Hard. Pain." Hence why she is not transforming right now. But she doesn't want Catseye to feel she is being rude by hiding her nature. "Beautiful." Diya murmurs, watching. She had not heard the old rumors of the shadow lion; but she loves this look.
Catseye's tail switches with annoyance at herself. "Is easy to go smooth skin to half form or to fur-form, back to smoothskin is harder. Fur form dangerous in city, except in tunnels, on rooftops." Her whiskers arch forward in amusement, "Rooftops different /kind/ of danger, but furform best, yes? Fastest, strongest, best senses. But have to not be seen." She glances at the main street, but no one seems to be coming, and this -is- mutant town. "Sometimes go run in disaster zone or mountains. Hunting better outside city, and fewer smooth skins."
Lexi hmmms. "Well, we're not gonna mind if ya wanna change. Just you'll only be talkin' ta Hunter there if ya only speak cat, ya know?" she points out, leaning back against the wall of the alley behind her. "But yeah, it's pretty. I like th' purple, obvs." She raises a brow. "So yer livin' in th' tunnels here? Are ya a Morlock?"
"Physically." Diya offers with a nod, agreeing with Catseye's evaluation of the benefits; she would agree that her feline form is far superior physically to her human form. Those very advantages are a bit part of the superiority of her human form as it bleeds through. But there are consequences, too. Of course, Diya doesn't talk much in human form, so the lack of linguistics for her feline form is less of a problem than it should be. Than it would be, if she weren't hiding.
Diya pretty conclusively shakes her head as Lexi asks if Catseye is a Morlock; she could be, of course, but the nose knows, and it says this girl doesn't spend nearly enough time down in the muck and mire down there. Her underlying scents are pretty clean, and include things like lightly scented or carefully unscented soaps and the like. Diya touches her chest. "Hunt." Then she turns and points north-northwest. "Westchester." It's not something she tells many; very few in fact. But Catseye is not the first to know this.
Catseye shakes her head, "Not live in tunnels anymore. Birthmother abandoned Catseye, few hours old, in plastic bag. Shifted to kitten, feral momma cat finds Catseye, takes Catseye to tunnels. Catseye grew up Cat. No language, yes? Morlocks just see purple lion, are scared of Catseye. Was 15 when MotherMotherFrost found. Goes inside head, shows Catseye how to shift, gives Catseye -language-, teaches Catseye how to use -hands-, how to be smoothskin. Human. Live with MotherMotherfrost now when not at school." She grimaces, "Catseye think -cat-, not talk right because language just… laid on top of Cat. Math easier."
She perks her ears at the mention of hunting in Westchester. "Yes. Wild boar! Deer sometimes, but boar is better." And is a damn nuisance and a danger to the humans. So hunting boar is HELPING.
Lexi blinks slowly at Catseye's explanation, something shadowed running over her eyes for as she gets a far away look, then walks over slowly, before she reaches out and very gently scritches behind one of Catseye's ears. "Huh. Well. Us trashbabies gotta stick together." she murmurs softly, her right ear flicking a bit.
That is one thing Diya cannot share with these women, however much she commiserates with their pain: she had a family, a real family, from birth. They loved her. They supported her. And only the fact that the Russians cannot find her has kept that family safe for over six years.
Good thing? Diya doesn't talk much at the best of times. So the fact she says nothing to all of this shouldn't be terribly surprising to Lexi, although Catseye is still learning her laconic ways. She does get a wickedly pleased gleam in her eye, though, at the mention of boar. Oh yes. She loves hunting boar. And boar fight back!
Uh-oh, now Lexi had done it! Catseye damn near knocks the girl over as she leans into that scratching and purrrrrRRRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRs. The sound VIBRATES like a motorcycle engine, scaled up from the tiny purr of a housecat to something human-sized. If Lexi even pauses in the scritching, Catseye headbutts her, and looks up at her from under her long purple mane with the most pitiful kitty expression in the history of sad kitty eyes.
Lexi lets out a laugh at the kitten eyes and returns to scritching…she seems to know just where to dig in, like she's had another big cat to practice on or something! She smiles. "Well th' two of ya will have ta go huntin' t'gether sometime…I'm not a huntin' boar girl myself. I prefer huntin' cheeseburgers or pizza." she admits without any shame in it.
The Hunter merely shrugs and nods. If in fact they do go hunting together, it will be an opportunity to safely introduce Catseye to her feline self, and that's not a terrible thing. She does rather smile at the scritching and Catseye's love of it. It's cute, and she's not immune to cute, just highly resistant.
Proof? Diya turns towards Lexi again. "Running?" Yep. That's right; she didn't lose track of that question, and now she's back.
Catseye peers questioningly at Diya from under her mane. There is scritching going on here! Is her question really that important? She sighs. Probably. She peers up at Lexi. "Someone chasing PurpleLexi? Catseye can hunt." She says that with adorable cheerfulness. "MotherMotherFrost not get too mad as long as only hunt badmen, not get shot again." The cheerfulness of her tone and the subject matter are at such utter odds with each other that it may take a moment to process.
Well, darn it. SHe ALMOST distracted people from that question. The mauve mutant sighs a bit. "….fiiiiine…." she grumbles, glancing towards Diya. "Yes, some people were chasin' me, and I lost 'em. It's just the Evos, anyway." Who are a lovely bunch of people that show that even when you're a mutant, you can somehow be a Nazi. And a mutan supremecist." I don't even know /why/ they're after me so bad anyway, I just snagged a few things from one of their drug houses. An' an emergency generator from one of their safe houses." She pauses. "…an', you know, Momma Krun's gold-handled skull cane and a memory stick she had just lyin' around."
And the worst part for Diya? She cannot even blame Lexi entirely; she did ask the girl to find some emergency generators and steal them for the use of Mutant Town against the fearsome terror of the possible incursion of the Black Razors. She stares intently at Lexi, and then rolls her shoulders and sighs. Damnit. "Again?" she queries. They dealt with the Evos once. It was quite a while back, when they first met. She watches pensively for a bit, and then lowers her head and hoods her eyes to think. What to do? What to do?
What Mother Krun wants most, though she has no idea of it, is Diya herself. Diya is the one who obliterated her son and then got rid of all the evidence. So he is just gone. Disappeared. Lost to time.
Catseye tilts her head, looking up at Lexi thoughtfully. "Where?" There's a tension in the line of her body, the curl of her tail. She pulls off her t-shirt, boots and pants, rolling them up and shoving them in her backpack. No underthings, but with her half-form she's covered in thick long fur that covers… well, everything. And then she stretches, and shifts again, and… DAMN, lions are NOT normally that big! She's more the size of a Bengal tiger, at LEAST 500 lbs, maybe more, though given the size of her claws and teeth you probably wouldn't ask this lady her weight. "Where PurpleLexi lose these Evos?" She can still talk in Lion form? And a pastel lavender lion with a fluffy curly mane should be cute… ok, kind of is cute… but the size of her and the tension in her body suggesting that she is fully ready to go fang-and-claw after these people hunting Lexi… that's less cute.
"Wow, you talk more than Hunter does when she's NOT a tiger." Lexi says ruefully, though she looks fascinated by the change. "Ooooh no. Nono. Don't go running off to hunt Evos. Lots of 'em are mutants wit powers, they're not lightweights. An' the rest are pretty well armed usually." She switches out to start petting Catseye's head, rubbing against that one spot on her forehead that feels so relaxing to be rubbed.
Diya's response to this is to walk slowly, deliberately, around Catseye's lioness form, taking in every tiny nuance and detail with a clear and avid eye for the form, shape and particulars of felines. It's true that her own feline is larger; Amur Khan is ginormous. But she finds Catseye's size and her coloration fascinating.
After a bit, the homeless woman backs off and leans against the wall, giving the lioness the maximum amount of room. "Mother." she mentions, pointing at the lioness. "Worry." As always, she of few words still somehow manages to communicate a wealth of messages while parceling out words like they are priceless art objects being unearthed from the Gobi desert.
Catseye rumbles and walks slowly around Lexi, inhaling the scents off her clothing. "Handguns or rifles?" There's a tendency to growl her r's in this form, and the fact that she would be facing armed opponents doesn't seem to bother her. Her build is lion-like, as is the face, though the tail… the tail is more cougar or housecat, and female lions don't normally have manes. The lavender of her coat blends better than one might think with the shadows of the alley. She permits Diya's circling, keeping an eye on the other woman. The reminder that her Mother would worry brings a rumbling growl from Catseye. Then a sigh. "Catseye not stalk. Catseye not run either." She headbutts Lexi's hip, careful of her strength. It's easy in furform to knock people over. "PurpleLexi nice. Evos start fight, Catseye finish." The tone is flat, a simple statement of fact. She gives Diya a cynical look, then it becomes almost playfully teasing. "QuietDiya -nag-."
A silvery brow raises as she watches herself be sniffed. She personally has an odd scent, mostly human but with a spicier predator's scent that is just on the tip of your tongue what it might be, but without actually being clear enough to identify. Then again, she doesn't actually change into anything - she just is what she is. "Yes. An' mutant powers. LIke one guy turns into this huge armored bug guy, sorta. Though a…um, barkeep I know sorta slugged him an' then a spider girl person dragged them off ta eat or turn into the police or something." she says thoughfully.
Likewise, when Catseye bumps her, most people would be off balance…Lexi just rises slightly on her toes and doesn't even wobble as her center of gravity automatically shifts to accomodate. "…y'know, I keep meeting interesting cat people who want to kill people bothering me." she notes ruefully, then sighs. "Well…um, maybe. I mostly am tryin' ta find out what's got them so riled up. I mean, it's not th' first time I've…we've pissed 'em off. I mean, without them knowing it was us, mostly." she amends.
Diya gets down on one knee to face Catseye amber-glowing green eyes to the same. "Nag horse." Then she touches her chest. "Tigress." And that's as playful as 'QuietHunter' is going to get. But she does play back. She does have a sense of humor.
The homeless woman eyes Lexi for a bit, considering and weighing. She asked for the generators; this is partly her fault, and the responsibility is visible upon her. "Search loot."
Catseye purrs and headbumps Diya playfully. "QuietDiyaTiger, yes." She seems to give people descriptive names, and it makes sense given that cats don't give each other names, it's mentally more 'that orange-and-white-tom-that-smells-spicy-and-has-three-stripes-on-his-right-front-paw' She peers around for the loot, and given the chance she'll sniff at that too. Her sense of smell is much keener in this form, and she'll take advantage of that.
Lexi mmphs, then shifts, reaching back to unzip the backpack she's wearing, before tendrils sprout from either side of her lower back, curling up to rummage in it as she…well, rummages in her cleavage. From the pack is produced a rod, in black, with a golden little skull as the top of the 'cane' with emeraldes for eyes and elongated canines. Well made, if a bit macabre, and obviously expensive-looking.
The cleavage is note /quite/ so extensive as to conceal a rod, but it does turn out there's a memory stick that was apparently stashed in Lexi's bra that she tugs out. Nondescript and black. There may be a theme.
Diya examines each of the items, as much with her nose as her eyes, but she does not touch them. Nopenope; not polluting with her scent just now. "'Nother metal." she comments, pointing at the cane. There's something else there, but what she is not sure. Cannot be with just her nose. Her last? "Airgap." and she points at the USB drive.
Catseye rears back as if slapped. "Drugs." Her fur is standing on end, bristling. "Cocaine. Meth. Others." Her tail lashes, and she starts to groom herself trying to regain her composure. She has a sensitive nose, and it is greatly offended by the scent. She paws at her nose, licks her paw, repeats until finally she seems to settle down.
Notably, tendrils don't have fingerprints, which is why Lexi is holding the rod with one. "Yeah, it's like spooky cool and those /are/ real emeralds…might gotta melt it down an' pry 'em out, since it's kinda memorable as a piece." she muses. "Th' memory stick has files on it, but they're encrypted, an' I haven't found someone ta decrypt 'em yet. Could be bank records, or deals, or blackmail, or lotsa stuff…comes down to if she's pissed I took her stick, or that I'll pass on what's on th' stick." She pauses. "…or, ya know, both."
Diya nods in agreement to Catseye's upset and exclamation, without saying a word. But she looks pensive, even grouchy, about something. She is struggling, right now, to figure out how to say what she needs to say, in as few words as possible. Finally, she reaches out and points at the rod again. Other other finger touches the corner of her eye. "Closer."
It's a subtle thing, very easily missed. But the gold of the head - quite real - is mounted onto a knob of another metal. A much harder, stronger metal.
And that knob can actually unscrew. Assuming one can look close enough, and then has the bravery to try to unscrew it.
Catseye settles down, glaring at the cane and USB drive. She then nods at what Diya is indicating. "See what QuiteDiyaTiger is saying. Head of can unscrews, PurpleLexi." She pauses, and tries to scent if there is a trap. Explosives. Acid. Anything that might indicate a trap. It's hard to get past the drug scent, but she'll try to keep these new friends safe.
"Whoa, you translate Tigger? Handy." she says wryly, lifting the rod to look at it with a faint frown, letting Catseye sniff at it. There's an…odd scent from it. Medicinal? It doesn't smell like a drug Catseye recognizes, but there's some sort of liquid in there. It vaguely makes her nose tingle a bit, like she's sniffing champagne.
In spite of herself, the ever-serious Hunter actually grins at Lexi's comment about Catseye translating her. "Not bounce." she comments to Lexi, an age-old debate between them. She does not like most of the nicknames the purple girl comes up with for her.
Catseye bristles. "Trapped. Smells… electric and… liquid. Burns nose little." She headbutts Diya in a friendly-like manner, giving a little chirp. "QuietDiyaTiger speaks cat. Is body language, where looks, how stands." She look at the cane, and lashes her tail. "Be careful, yes?"
"Hey…it's me!" Lexi quips, flashing a grin towards Catseye, then carefully twists and pulls as the rod makes a faint 'click' noise, then pulls the skull off slowly. And inside is…well, it's a syringe. With a odd looking bluish liquid with red sparkles in it. "…huh." Lexi says, holding it up to peer at it, her brow furrowing. "Well, it's not meth crystals…"
And Hunter just points at the syringe. "Hunting this." she comments. That's it. Again, woman of very few words. But she does seme to enjoy Catseye's nonverbal communication skills. She even takes to ruffling through that purple fur with friendly adoration. And wow does she know all the right spots.
Catseye shivers, her fur bristling at the sight. Kittygirl does NOT like drugs. She ponders the thumb drive. "Catseye can take home, work on cracking. or get help if trust furrydoctorhank to help. Or can try on own. PurpleLexi found." The scritching does calm her down, and man… if her half form purr was loud, her furform purr is like one of those huge jacked up trucks idling. PurrrRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrRRRRRRRR.
"Taking the drug and stick home, you mean?" Lexi looks unsure. "I don't know if I wanna pull someone else inta this mess, if they're looking for this stuff." She frowns, waffling a bit as she considers, her ears flicking back, before she carefully slides the syringe back in place, locking it closed. "But I got no idea what this is. I've seen a LOT of drugs - people hide that shit away with their valuables a lot - but I got no idea what this, and that worries me a little." She glances to Diya. "…what do you think?" she asks. Because she does respect Diya's views, even if she's often the sort who does the opposite of what Diya would consider wise.
"Need science." Diya answers. She keeps up the scritching, and nods. "Hank." Hank could examine that syringe, figure out what it is. She'd trust him with that. But he should be warned; he and others should not be endangered without warning. "Warn first."
Six words. It's a dissertation!
Catseye nods, and frowns. Shifting back to half form is slower, yes, and she has to THINK about it. Then she gets out her cellphone from a side pocket and launches a non-standard icon, a phone with a lock behind it. Then pulls up a listing that literally says 'FurryDoctorHank' and hits call. "Hello? is Catseye. NewFriend had trouble with gang. Evos. Found -drug-. Not know it, is… odd. Shimmery. Can Catseye bring to lab to have DoctorHank look at?"
Lexi's ears visibly perk forward as she listens curiously, idly flipping the memory stick into the air and catching it as she lets Catseye talk, glancing at Diya. "…Hank?" she says uncertainly.
Hunter nods to Lexi. "Blue." A beat. "Tiger." Yes. He met the tiger. In fact, he gave her a name. A name that, in spite of herself, Diya actually quite likes. And then she holds up her wrist, skinning down a sleeve to reveal a slim, sleek and totally uncharacteristic electronic band. A gift.
Hunter then listens in over the phone call … because yes, her hearing can hear both sides of that call quite clearly. So unfair!
Catseye says to the phone, "Friends fine. Fast, clever, unhurt." She grins at Lexi at that. "Just… worried what might be. All agree is bad, yes? FurryDoctorHank needs to figure out what bad. Will drive up tonight." Once she hangs up, she tells Lexi, "Is Catseye's doctor and teacher. Catseye will take FurryDoctorHank the drug, and let him figure out."