multiversallogs | Running is something that I've always done [open]

Entry tags:

Running is something that I've always done [open]

Who: Steph Brown. Open
What: Training/stress relief
Where: Mog Hill, anywhere else you might wanna run into her
When: Newdi evening, after work
Notes: Feel free to run into her at any point during her evening.
Warnings: None yet.

Meditation has never really worked for Steph; she hates sitting still and when she tries, she ends up getting too distracted by all the movements she wants to make to actually relax. Running has been her form of meditation, so it's what she plans to do when she finishes work for the day and finds herself still feeling stressed out.

She heads home, changing into her work out clothes - the under layer of her Batgirl suit, a loose, long-sleeved shirt and sneakers - then goes out again. She wishes she had her iPod with her, just because it'd make it easier to tune out the city sounds, but she manages without. The thoughts that have been troubling her the last few days slip away, leaving her with nothing but the thump of her footfalls, the controlled rush of her breathing and the prickle of sweat as she pushes herself to run harder.

Her route takes her out of Mog Hill and in a loop through the nearby neighborhoods until she's back near the Valhalla Inn. Rather than going straight back to the Inn, she stops at a park close by to warm down. She stretches first, then starts going through series of kata; she doesn't get them perfect, but they help work out some of the tension. She would normally practice on bad guys, but she's too tired to risk patrolling tonight; Babs would yell at her if she got herself killed. Babs would probably yell at her for doing something like this in public, but it's not like martial arts is all that exotic, so Steph figures she can just say she learned all this at self defence class or something.

She'll be there until late, until her muscles are sore and her mind is clear, then she'll walk the rest of the way home.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I don't think anyone here is random," they've all been kidnapped by a city, it seems likely that there's a reason behind it.

"Two weeks, just about. And it can be hard to meet people, it's a big city." Her smiles widens, losing the apologetic edge and just seeming friendly.

"I'm Steph," the smile twists at that, turning wry and she shrugs her shoulders lightly, "I'm guessing we're in another universe, maybe one that intersects all the others, to allow for movement between them. And I think someone, or something, is collecting people; maybe it's those Gods the pamphlet goes on about."

Multiple universe theory isn't new to Steph, although this is her first actually experience. And she's had time to talk with people and develop her own theories about Baedal and it's purpose(s).

"Well, I haven't really tried yet. I'm not one t' shy away, I just've been too busy gettin' settled in. Though I'm sure you know how that goes," Kaitlyn grins just a bit wider, though it fades a bit as Steph continues on.

"Another universe?" She sounds more than a little unnerved by this, lips pursing as she thinks on it for a moment. "That's a pretty big leap t' make..." She trails off, looking back out at their surroundings. "Then again, this is a pretty weird place..."

Trail off again, her expression flattens a bit, and she sighs. "I'm used to... time realted stuff, mostly. That's what I was kinda hopin' was going on. Another universe is kinda... different." She reaches up, scratching the back of her head as she looks back at Steph.

"Sorry, I didn't mean t' pull you from your jog so you could tell me the ways of the universe to me. If you want a little runnin' company, I can come with for a bit, though. Be nice t' talk to someone not over the cohort."

"I got pretty lucky, landed a job in my first week so I haven't had to worry too much."

Another shrug, and she looks kind of sorry for having to deliver the bad news, "I've seen it happen before, although the ones I've heard about were more similar than Baedal is to back home." The mention of time related stuff has her raising an eyebrow, "You mean time travel?"

"Don't worry about it, and I wouldn't mind some company, as long as you can keep up." She grins, but it's mostly teasing, she's not in the mood for racing today.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way of putting it." Time travel, that is. A nonplussed expression sits on Kait's face for a few moments before she lets that smile creep back on to her face. She takes a few steps forward before breaking into a jog - she can probably keep up, for a bit at least.

"That's kinda cool I guess, though. Different universes. It certainly makes this all, uh... more lively. So, that means you're form somewhere else than I am? What exactly does that make home?" There's a distinctly curious tone to her voice. "Hopefully not too awful." Not like hers.

"How do you get that sort of experience?" Steph's met people who've travelled through time, but it still seems like such an amazing concept. She moves when Kaitlyn does, setting an easy pace so they can keep talking.

"It'd explain how everyone comes from such different places," she gives a small laugh and a wide grin, "Home is where the heart is." A beat, and then more seriously, "It's hard to work out how to describe what makes your own world different to everyone else's. There's no reference point, you know?"

"By knowing a short little jerk who likes you and your friends on little adventures that pretty much always end badly," Kait replies with a bit of a grumble. "Not that it wasn't a neat experience. I got t' see some cool stuff." She shrugs, clearly not thinking as much of it as Steph does.

"Home is where the heart is," she repeats, looking on ahead. "I guess that's extra true now." There's a bit of wistfulness to the words, a small sigh coming afterwards. "I suppose that's true too... I guess. I didn't really think of that." The reference point. Or much else, this whole new universe thing is still sort of boggling her mind. "I guess the whole idea of whole other worlds is just really neat. It's like a movie. Or something. I mean, mine had people who could control birds or throw electricity from their hands. I can only imagine what the hell else could be out there..."

Kait's eyes seem to glaze over a bit when she says that, as if she's actually thinking about the possibilities. "I dunno. Like I said... neat." She shrugs again, turning her attention back ahead. "Sorry, I don't mean t' get caught up in it. I'm sure you've said or heard this already. I guess I should be focused on here, not other places."

Steph laughs, "That sounds interesting, I guess there's something to be said for befriending jerks, then."

"I know a woman from another world, she sort of... accidentally relocated to mine, and made the best of it." It's meant to be reassuring, even though Karen is one of the few rare cases of mutiverse travel not ending in disaster. But Steph won't tell Kaitlyn that bit.

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I don't mind talking about it. It helps to hash things out verbally, so you can get your head around it," She smiles and with a hint of amusement in her voice, adds, "It's superheroes in my world, like in comic books. That seems to be what's different."

"Nah, jerks are- well, jerks. I guess every now an' again it pays off, but I've known enough t' know it's not worth it," Kait responds with a laugh and a shake of her head. Sliding her glasses back up nose as they slip down doesn't seem to take, so instead she pulls them off and slows down enough to pull out a case so she can slip them in.

"Oh, so you have some experience with kinda thing? Sorta, I guess. That's cool. It must make this a bit easier," or so Kait assumes anyway. She rubs her cheek a bit as she resumes her previous pace, moving to catch back up with Steph.

"Superheroes, huh? None of that where I came from. Not in the traditional sense, I guess." She grimaces a hit, her expression becoming a bit more serious. "I mean, I had a friend who wanted t' be one, real bad. But, we had people with, you know, powers and stuff like that. Anyone who did any fighting was usually branded a terrorist by the government, though."

"Not even for time travel? I think I'd be a lot more willing to put up with them for time travel." She put up with Bruce to be Robin, and he's like the king of the jerks, in Steph's opinion.

"Not first hand, but I'm familiar enough with it that I don't feel completely overwhelmed." She slows for just long enough to let Kaitlyn catch up, then goes back to a regular pace.

Steph nods, matching the seriousness, "Sometimes our superheroes clash with the government, but usually they just let them be as long as they were only going after criminals. It was a lot nicer back home than it seems to be here."

"I'd be willin' t' put up with them for time travel if it'd actually been fun. But when it just ends with you gettin' pistol whipped or thrown into a wall by a guy with superspeed all the time, it stops bein' fun," and that's just the tip of an iceberg Kait just does not feel like getting into. "I'd do it again, I guess," she remarks as she rubs at a phantom pain in her side, "but if I ever do, I hope it goes better."

She chuckles a bit, a small smile on her face. "Well, that's pretty awesome, at least. Where I come from, just bein' Evolve- er, having powers pretty much was enough to get you branded a criminal. At least that's how they made it feel." She rolls her shoulders a bit, exhaling sharply. "In that respect, I guess I'm glad t' be away."

She falls quiet for a moment, just running along, until she closes her eyes for a moment and grimaces. "Thanks for talkin' with me, by the by. Haven't had that chance since I got here. It helps a lot."

"Yeah, can't say I ever enjoyed being pistol whipped," like Kaitlyn, Steph is speaking from experience, "I hope it goes better too, time travel should be fun, not filled with asshole speedsters."

"It helps that they've saved the world so many times the general population kind of owes it to them to not be dicks," she frowns slightly, something between concern and confusion as she puts the pieces together; she's starting to suspect Kaitlyn is talking from personal experience here, but doesn't comment on it just yet.

Steph doesn't interrupt the silence, it seems like Kaitlyn needs time to collect her thoughts and she's happy to give it. At the thanks, Steh smiles, "You're more welcome, I'm always willing to lend an ear to someone who needs it."

Maybe this is something Kaitlyn is still a bit bitter about, pursing her lips as she runs along side step. "You'd think that'd be the case, wouldn't you?" she grumbles again. She lets out a quiet sigh and shakes her head.

"Okay, enough about that, or I'm going t' depress both of us, and that would be totally lame." She a bit, moving a bit to the side away from Steph as she extends her arms out why they run, almost as if she were pretending she's an airplane. "What've you been doin' since you got here? You make it sound like it's not that hard t' get settled in, that's nice to know."

"I'm sorry they're not so understanding in your world. I've never gotten the point of hating people just 'cause they've got powers," The bitterness in Kaitlyn's voice pretty much confirms Steph theory, and now she wants to assure Kaitlyn that she isn't like the people in her world.

Steph huffs out a laugh, watching Kaitlyn with amusement, "I've been working and exploring, mostly. Whoever's in charge seems to want us to get settled, so they make it easy to. The two weeks free accomodation helps, and there seem to be plenty of jobs to go around."

Kait flashes a smile back towards Steph at her reassurance, but doesn't comment more on that particular topic. She really would rather avoid depressing herself, much less her new acquaintance, if she can help it.

"A job? Oh, right, the pamphlet mentioned that, I think. I guess some things never change no matter where you are, eh?" Her smile widens into a big grin, her arms falling back to her side as she moves back over towards Steph. "I'll have to get on that tomorrow, I guess. Then finding a place that won't cost me nightly." She wrinkles a nose at that, it sounds odd to already be looking for a new place.

"I guess I need to stop bein' lazy, get off my arse, an' start gettin' used to being here, at least for the time being."

"You're expected to get a job eventually, otherwise you'll end up on the street," there's an edge of gentleness in her voice, she's not trying to scare Kaitlyn, just warn her, "There's an employment office that can help you out, or you can ask on the network."

"Settling down kind of feels like giving in, but I think it's just something we're all gonna have to do."

"You sound like my mum, just so you know," Kait teases, laughing a bit at Steph. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It just wasn't really the first thing on my mind. I'll have to swing by there soon.

"Well... no. It doesn't have t' be giving up," she remarks after a moment, holding a finger up. "I mean... we have no idea how long we're going t' be here, right? No harm in at least bein' here and, you know, being comfortable and not on the streets. That's how I see it, I guess. Better than just frettin' about it and feeling uncomfortable all the time."

"You're not the first one to say it." She's fine with teasing, and she does have a bit of a habit of trying to take care of people.

"You're right, it just..." she trails off with a shrug, not sure how to word it, "It's been a while since I've had to play at being content with a shitty situation, I'm more used to yelling at someone about it."

So not doing that feels like giving in, somehow, even though she knows that's not very logical.

Kait offers a small shrug, though she doesn't mean to seem dismissive. "So yell at someone if it helps. I mean, if there's someone who'll listen. I mean... I guess it's not that easy, but..."

Her lips form into a thin line as she pauses, thinking about what to say. "I dunno. I guess I think it just helps to do what you need t' do to make things easier. You know, within reason? So if you need t' yell, yell. Lord knows I would if it would help me cope."

She watches Steph for a moment, before smiling again. "If you haven't found anyone to yell at, you can always come by my room in the inn, or whatever."

"I wanna yell at the people actually responsible, and that would end badly for me." What she'd really like to do is find some militia to beat up, but that would end even worse than yelling.

"But I get what you mean, and I'm trying to remind myself that making myself comfortable isn't giving up on finding a way home," she smiles, a little wry and self-deprecating to show she knows how silly she's being.

"Thanks for the offer, I probably won't take you up on the yelling part, but I'd like to come visit sometime."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I imagine that might not go well..." Kait laughs a bit nervously, she should have realised that's what Steph meant. Chastising herself internally, she nods and smiles. "Yeah. That's what's keepin' me from gettin' real upset. I'm pretty sure I can make due here and still keep tryin' to figure out a way home." If such a thing even exists. People can get trapped other places in time, why not universes? That worry, though, she's keeping to herself.

"Sounds like a plan, if you don't mind a bit of a mess. Keepin' clean's also one of those things that hasn't really been at the top of my agenda. And if you don't mind cats." There's not much to be a mess, but there definitely is a cat. "Inger wouldn't mind someone else to bother, I'm sure."

"I don't have any plans to run afoul of the militia," Not yet, anyway. She might form a plan eventually, "I've heard of people going back and forth, but it doesn't seem to be controllable." She's been watching the network carefully, and there were some open discussions about people having left Baedal.

"I can deal with mess, you should've seen my room back home. And I like cats." She seems to have had a lot of exposure to pets recently, but so far she thinks they're great.

"Ha. You should've seen my apartment back home, too. It was just awful. The only reason it ever got clean was because a' my roommate," she says with a bit of laugh that tapers into a bit of a sad pause. She shakes it off after a moment, though.

"Well, it's good to know there's a way back at all, right? That alone's somethin' that can give a lotta hope." She nods as if she had just presented absolute fact, looking a bit proud of herself. "That's really what I think it comes down t'. Just gotta keep hopin' for the best."

"I had my mom to keep me in line," That might be more or less effective than a roommate. She notes the sadness, but lets Kaitlyn shake it off rather than asking about it.

Steph nods as well, smiling a little, "Well, I've always been a 'hope' sort of girl, so at least I'm in my element here. I'm sure things will sort themselves out eventually."

She's not sure if the reassurance is for herself or for Kaitlyn, but it doesn't matter all that much.

From the growing smile on Kait's face, it looks like Steph might be saying all the right things, at least in a manner of speaking. She nods a few times in succession. "Well, sounds like you won't have any problem by me, then. If you haven't got hope, you haven't got much else."

She takes a deep breath, her pace slowing down just a little bit; it looks like she's finally starting to get tired. "I haven't run like this in a while. Well, not for exercise, anyway. You should let me know the next time you go out t' run."

Steph does't entirely agree with that; there've been plenty of times she's been completely without hope and pulled through anyway, but she just smiles.

"Sorry," it's said sheepishly, and Steph slows her pace as well, "There's a cafe nearby if you wanna stop for a drink. And I'll let you know, I could always use some company."

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