survival of the fittest

[advanced]

who: Bucky and anyone!
what: Bucky is a big old thief, tracks down his name twin, and also goes monster fighting with Clark
when: Anytime between March 8th and March 12th
where: Around Quarantine
warnings: Probably violence

[i: Around Quarantine; open to anyone]

[Bucky has chosen to eschew the communal housing gifted to him, as well as all the benefits that affords. Like food, shelter, and access to a shower. The last two aren't such a big deal, but he needs a lot of food to keep him going, the bastardised serum in his veins makes him burn through calories at a ridiculous rate.

Which is why he's ghosting through Quarantine on the look out for empty housing or possible a not very well attended street food stall, in order to snatch a hand out and take something. He can be found shoplifting in the street; or, if you'd prefer, breaking into your character's housing in search of food.]

[ii: Down a back alley somewhere; closed to Bucky Barnes]

[Ever since he saw that name on the network, his own name, Bucky has been in overdrive trying to figure out what's going on. It takes him a day or so to track down who owns the username, and then another day to just follow them around and try and figure out who they are. It's only when he catches the imposter out alone, whatever he might be doing, that he reveals himself by trying to drag the other man down an alleyway in an explosion of movement and bad decisions.]

[iii: Monster hunting; closed to Clark Kent]

[The perimeter is of interest to Bucky, partially because it means an escape from this town and partially because he knows that Stark is going to be making upgrades to it. It's why he's scouting around it today.

He's too focused on the possible security measures, trying to find surveillance equipment or defence mechanisms, that he has completely failed to notice the large monster shaped like a monstrous caterpillar creeping up behind him on silent feet.]

Comments

i

[dust_of_life]

[Merali girls don't do well in captivity. It's not one of the many axioms Fatima's grown up with, but it's proving, nevertheless, to be very true. Being told she can't do something--in this case, can't go home--is making her want to crawl out of her skin.

So she's doing the only thing she can do, short of drinking, to relieve the tension. Which is to say, she's throwing herself into work. Hard.

Today's task is investigating the local fruits and vegetables, with an eye toward seeds she can cultivate. She walks along the stands, stiletto heels clicking in a reassuring way as she makes little notes in a notebook. The one she was using only a little while ago for her community college coursework.

She pauses by a stand that seems to have something similar to pears, her favorites. And she glances up to spot a guy helping himself to a five-finger discount at the stall across the way.]

[advanced]

[Bucky is extremely careful when he takes things, the last thing he wants to do is get into a brush with the law because that would inevitably end up in a fight. He is not, after all, about to let himself get captured again, not by anyone.

It's just bad luck that the woman with the notebook looks up at the wrong moment, and his eyes lock with hers for a moment. Perhaps she won't do anything, a lot of people don't want to get involved when things like this happen, so he can only hope she'll let him walk away without making a fuss.

That's what he's trying to do, just backing away casually.]

[dust_of_life]

[Okay. Well, see that's kind of interesting. Fatima still doesn't fully have the lay of the land, of course. But it's the first instance of "lawbreaking" she's encountered. And it seems kind of ridiculous, seeing as they're being boarded and fed at the moment.

Option one, he's some kind of native that she hasn't encountered yet.

Option two, he's secretly the teenage girl she used to be, swiping things from Hot Topic for the thrill of it.

Option three, something else entirely.

Okay, option two probably not so much. But still, she's hungry for information. After all, knowledge is power and blah-blah-blah all the things that Arty likes to say.

Slowly, she tucks her notebook into her bag, taking a careful step in his direction with both hands up, palms out. In spite of how loud the heels were clacking before, they're strangely silent now.]

[advanced]

[He notices the way her heels have gone silent, he's attuned to details like that because they could mean the difference between life and death. It tells him that she's experienced, maybe an assassin of some kind herself, and that he probably doesn't want to let her get any closer to spring whatever trap she has in mind.

He takes another very definite step back, brow furrowing.

Bolting isn't something he wants to do, it'll convey to the whole area that there's an incident going on, but he's obviously tensed and ready to flee at a moment's notice.]

[dust_of_life]

[She paused mid-stride when he backed up. She didn't want to spook the guy. That was always the way it went. The people who had information tended to be a little twitchy.

That was generally how you knew they had information.

New options. New possibilities. Unfortunately, Fatima was feeling impatient. So she went with her favorite way to be utterly and completely ignored.

By being obnoxious as hell.

She gave the guy a subtle wink. And then subtle went out the window.]

Sweetie! There you are! I've been looking all over for you! You have got to see this cute new shop I found! It's the most precious thing ever. You'll love it!

[There's a change in her tread again. Now she takes dainty, Paris Hilton-esque trots toward him, her hands out to either side and her fingers splayed. Not a care in the world.]

[advanced]

[What the hell was she doing?

His brow just furrows further when she changes her demeanour all over again and quite clearly addresses him, this makes no sense at all. It just draws more attention to them, is she trying to make it so he can't escape without a scene? A possibility.

He tenses up further and shakes his head, a minute gesture.]

Stay back.

[It's a low warning in a voice that's gravelly with disuse.]

[dust_of_life]

[Much to her satisfaction, the passers-by look away, embarrassed at the possibility of a public display of affection. Less to her satisfaction is the fact that the guy is clearly not getting it.

Apparently, not everyone's as good at being undercover as Fatima is (a thought she will likely come to deeply regret later).

She dials it up to eleven, giving the guy a coquettish smile, blowing him an air kiss.]

It has those little porcelain figurines you love, sweetie pie.

[Carefully, she tilts the opening of her messenger bag toward him, showing off a collection of fruits and vegetables she's been picking up. They're his if he wants them, but he's gotta figure out to play along.]

I know we've only been dating a few weeks now, but you have to let me spoil you sometimes, honey bear.

[Oh yeah. No one wants to look at them right now. Fatima can see blushes of embarrassment rising on the backs of people's necks.]

[advanced]

[He can see what she's trying to do now, and it's so obviously a trap. He wants her to believe that food is for her so that she can get close enough to catch him, and the people are no longer looking because of her ridiculous display.

A knife appears in his gloved hand like quicksilver, obviously expertly drawn, held down by his side defensively for now.]

I told you to stay back. I don't want what you've got.

[dust_of_life]

[He is quickly starting to prove more trouble than he's worth. But Merali girls don't back down when threatened. And that is an axiom that she'd been taught her whole life.

Her eyes flick down to the knife, then back up to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Unpleasant. Her expression remains firm, her mouth forming a line. If he wants to threaten her, he can. But she isn't going to cover for that.

And if he attacks, she will fight back.

Which isn't to say she's spoiling for a fight. She'd outgrown that phase, along with her shoplifting from the Hot Topic.

Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a kiwi-like thing, kneeling down to roll it across the ground, toward him. Even assholes don't deserve to starve. Or something like that.]

[advanced]

[The look he gives that rolling kiwi is the same look that a man might give to a rolling mine, and for a second or two he appears to be waiting for it to explode. But then he bends to scoop it up, eyes never leaving her face.

It's really a fruit.

What's her angle? He doesn't understand, and that's plain on his face, but he's not threatening her to stay back any longer.]

[dust_of_life]

[It's almost kind of funny, really. In a morbid sort of way. Like he thinks the kiwi is a grenade. Like she would randomly just blow up a total stranger simply because he was rude.

Well, actually, there are plenty of Cainites out there who would do something like that.

Fatima isn't one.

She takes a moment to weigh his reaction. Then decides to maybe test it a little bit. She reaches into her bag and pulls out another piece of produce. She picked it up earlier in the day. It reminds her of eggplant. only a little rounder and--from the sample the vendor gave her--sweeter. Taking careful, slow, measured movements, she leans over, rolling that to him as well.]

[advanced]

[This is ridiculous now and, no matter how uncomfortable people are with public displays of affection, someone is bound to notice the random rolling of fruit and vegetables across a street.

So he steps forward just a single pace to intercept it, picking it up more quickly this time and raising his eyebrows at her in a question.

What does she want? What game is this?]

[dust_of_life]

[She raises her eyebrows right back at him. Is the knife really necessary? She's armed with tomato.

And, okay, yes, she has her Thaumaturgical powers too, but it's not like she was ever threatening to use them. She just wanted to talk to the guy she caught stealing.

Maybe still does. But he seems a little volatile. A volatile thief. Go figure.]

Sweetheart.

[Her voice isn't quite so high and loud and squeaky. She's just committing to her initial gambit.]

We should talk.

[advanced]

[He really doesn't want this to escalate further, not when there are people milling around in the fair. A fight here could so easily become a bloodbath, and he doesn't want that on his hands.

He's still half convinced that she intends to lure him into a trap, but he has numerous weapons on him and he's fairly confident that he can take her if it comes to it, so he finally gives her a wary nod.]

Alright. Where?

[dust_of_life]

[The shrug she gives him is, perhaps, the most genuine interaction they'd had so far. He's as twitchy as an internet troll meeting an actual girl or something. And seems to be convinced that she wants to hurt him.

You know, with her evil fruit grenades and stuff.]

Anywhere.

[It's not a smart move, from a tactical standpoint. Arty would definitely object. But Arty isn't here. Or a people person. Or here, damn it. Fatima needs to figure this out on her own. And if that means being more of a person and less of a soldier, she's kind of okay with that.]

You pick.

[advanced]

[He isn't going to take her far, and certainly not to anywhere that he uses as a hideout, so he just nods towards an alleyway a short way down the street.]

You first.

[He's not about to expose his back to her by leading, he's not that stupid.]

[dust_of_life]

[For crying out loud. It's so paranoid, she's doing everything she can not to roll her eyes at him.]

The communal housing? I'm on the first floor.

[And not paranoid of letting him know.

Maybe she should be...]

[advanced]

No.

[It's immediate and firm, there's no way he's setting foot in there. It's far too crowded, and far too full of people that he's trying very hard to avoid.]

They alleyway or nothing.

[He's quite prepared to run.]

[dust_of_life]

[How very Russian spy novel.

Fatima pretends to give it a moment's careful consideration, before shrugging.]

Okay. Any alleyway in particular? Or are you not picky about that?

[advanced]

[He nods again to the same alley that he nodded to in the first place.

It's nothing special, just the closest one by merit of being only halfway down the same street that they're already on.]

There.

[dust_of_life]

Okay.

[She starts to take a step in that direction, but then stops, spinning on her heel to face him again.]

I'm sorry. Did you wanna go first?

[advanced]

No.

[He doesn't want to turn his back to her at all.

He will, however, follow her to the alley if she chooses to actually walk there.]

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima really hopes all the natives aren't like this. She's used to being the most paranoid thing in a room. And even she's getting wigged out.

But with a shrug, she sashays her way into the alley, hips swishing.

Which isn't to say that she's blissfully oblivious to the situation. He might try to jump her from behind. So she's running the math the entire walk there, figuring out exactly how she'll have to ram her heel into his shin to get free, if the worst should happen.

And Arty said it wasn't practical to train in stilettos.]

[advanced]

[He doesn't follow her very far down the alley, just enough that any violence that happens likely won't spill out onto the street to get anyone else involved. Not that he wants violence to happen, he'd rather avoid it, but sometimes things don't go the way he wants.

Often, actually.]

What game were you playing back there?

[dust_of_life]

[She whirls around to face him, eyebrow firmly raised.]

I saw you swiping food from the stall. I wasn't gonna bust you, but I had some questions.

You're the one who got twitchy.

[She holds up both hands, palms out in a gesture of surrender.]

I just wanted to ask you a few questions.