does it cause me scarring if the words stay true

[23rd]

Who: Laura Kinney & OPEN
What: Laura leads a busy life. Also, fuck the police.
Where: Specifically mentioned are Aspic, the Arena in Griss Twist, and the Spatters, but she can be anywhere.
When: Ruudary 19th-22nd
Notes: Laura is a highly unsocial character -- I WANT YOUR CR /GRABS HEADS but like, she won't strike up conversations with strangers and she won't say very much at a time if she does speak, so uh. There's that. Doing Stuff she can respond to is probs better.
Warnings: Violence is very possible! Otherwise, to be added as needed.

Laura is not bored. Her days are too full for that, although if asked, she'd have very little to show for it -- because most of it she can't tell anyone about. She leads people to think that she doesn't do much except wander and acquire money from some mysterious sources -- people probably think she's hooking again, but she isn't.

She prefers to get food from the various street vendors, especially down in the city's center; to be polite, they're more colourful than restaurants that tend to play down unique flavours to attract human Earth-native customers. Of course Baedal has very little in the way of food regulations so God only knows what all they're actually serving, but she is neither squeamish nor easily scared, so she tries everything. Every time, she asks for peppers or hot sauce; they sometimes try to talk her out of it, it... is never very successful. Sometimes she stays and chats with them (or rather, lets them chat at her), and she hears a lot of interesting things this way. Small things, like the right way to season wyrmbeast meat, and bigger ones -- missing people. Who's been arrested for what. ... dognappings.

She stops a purse-snatcher in Aspic -- by running after him, breaking his arm, and driving her clawed fist into the wall by his head. He drops the purse and wets himself before the Sheriff gets there and reads her the riot act over it (apparently authority figures dislike it when people take the law into their own hands; who knew?) but she more or less just shrugs and walks off.

She has started visiting the Arena. She doesn't participate and she doesn't bet, but she watches and thinks about it. That kind of organized bloodsport makes her sick -- it's hard for her to extricate her memories of what was done to her -- but she tells herself these people chose this... until she sees the brands on some of them. Hands. Chests. Faces, sometimes. She leaves angry and sometimes she picks fights that she never loses, and after which she never has any bruises. The memory of scars is not enough; there is enough rage and pain in her to flood the city streets, but she does nothing about it.

She has a friend in the Spatters -- a teenage xenian girl who was born a Stranger, her family having refused to integrate into normal Baedal life. Laura visits her a lot, listens to the way she talks about how things are there -- and more importantly, she gets a couple of interesting names. Corruption on this scale can never be stopped by picking off a couple bad apples (they are all bad apples, nobody has ever been able to convince her otherwise) but it's still a good idea to have specific names and faces in mind. It's still imperative to be aware.

The more she sees of Baedal, the less she likes it.

Comments

[controlledvariable]

Steph had stumbled across the Arena by accident. Or, well, she'd heard the shouts coming from it and had gone to investigate. The point is that she doesn't mean to be there and she doesn't want to stay. The brands escape her notice, but even without seeing them it's not hard to guess what's going on -- she learned enough history to connect arena fights to slavery. It makes her feel utterly hopeless, because what can she do against this? What can she do against an entire city that seems to be enjoying the bloodshed?

So she leaves, not getting far before the sound of a smaller scuffle reaches her ears and that might be something she has the power to deal with. The sight of Laura engaged in a fight surprises her but it's also kind of amazing to watch. It reminds her of how Cass fights, except there's an edge of danger to it that Cass never had. Steph doesn't interrupt, just watches; their earlier meeting had been brief, but she doesn't think Laura is the type to hurt innocent people.

She's not sure if Laura has noticed her presence, so when the fight is done Steph speaks up with a quiet, "Laura."

[23rd]

Laura is watching her arm when she hears the approach of another person, and a familiar scent; she rarely forgets them once she's smelled them the first time, and Steph sticks out in her memory more than most. She doesn't turn immediately because she does not associate the other girl with a threat. Instead, she's preoccupied by watching the skin knit together where it had been cut open by the other guy's knife -- of course he had one; Griss Twist isn't exactly one of Baedal's safer neighbourhoods. She hadn't killed him, had barely really hurt him. (By her standards.) He'd been spoiling for a fight as badly as she had, he just hadn't expected to get bested by a five foot girl in fishnets.

When it's closed, she looks over her shoulder.

"Batgirl." She won't use her real name in public when Steph is in costume -- Laura's known her fair share of costumed vigilantes, that would be a dick move. Even in Baedal, where secret identities are harder to keep secret.

[controlledvariable]

"Here," She pulls an antiseptic wipe from one of her pouches and walks closer to offer it to Laura. Even if the wound has closed, there's still blood to be wiped up.

"Should we call the cops on him, or do you thnk he's learned his lesson?" She's trusting those decisions to people who have been here longer, Steph still isn't sure whether involving the authorities is a good idea.

[23rd]

"Do not alert the Sheriff." Who would probably not actually do much in response to a street brawl -- probably. It changes district to district, how they handle things, and some of them are more eager to involve the Militia than others. Then again, some are more lenient, too. In Griss Twist, she's still not sure.

The wipe gets a curious tilt of her head. She doesn't get infections (ever) so wound care has never been her priority. ... She'd probably ruin fewer shirts if she bothered, though.

[controlledvariable]

"Alright, I'll defer to your expertise." If the Sheriff is one of the bad ones, Steph doesn't want to draw his attention to her and Laura.

Steph smiles wryly, "You won't have to scratch off dried blood later if you wipe it off now."

She doesn't have a lot of experience with people who have healing factors - Kara sort of has one, but she barely gets hurt in the first place so it doesn't matter as much - and it's kind of interesting to her.

[23rd]

She almost goes on to explain why she doesn't need it, but stops just short of it. Maybe, she thinks, this is one of those times where it isn't supposed to matter, and it's supposed to be about the gesture. She's not entirely sure she understands that, but okay. She eventually takes it and stiffly rubs the blood off her hand -- there isn't even a scar where the cut was. Nothing short of adamantium will leave one, and even then, not for long. "Thank you." Thoroughly awkward, she sounds, but that is par for the course with her.

[controlledvariable]

"You're welcome," the obvious awkwardness kind of makes her want to hug Laura, but she has a feeling that might end with Steph bleeding, so she doesn't try.

"Wanna get outta here?" She always feels a little too exposed when she's on street level, like the costume means she has to be lurking in the shadows somewhere even though she never felt like that as the Spoiler.

[23rd]

Laura glances back at the Arena, then out at the street. This would be easier if she could neatly articulate how she feels right now, like most people are, generally speaking, capable of -- 'I'm sad,' 'I'm angry.' With her, she feels things she still doesn't know how to name, and it's frustrating to have to dwell on it for very long.

So, yes, she does want to get out of here.

"Yes," she says, and starts walking. They may very well wind up on rooftops again, because Laura is... like that, yes.

[controlledvariable]

Steph walks with Laura, letting her lead the way and keeping silent for a little while. She didn't miss that look, but she's weighing up whether or not to comment on it. Eventually she decides to, because she's... Steph.

"It's awful, isn't it?" said quietly, with a sideways glance at Laura, Steph's mask making her expression unreadable.

[23rd]

Laura's expression being nearly always unreadable, they're evenly matched there. She's silent for a while while she tries, in vain, to sort out how she feels about that. When she can't, she decides punching things would be easier, but she can't do that, either. Words are inadequate but they're the only tool she has right now.

Feels bad, man.

She does end up climbing a fire escape to get out of the street, because it's not safe to talk about these things on street level. Even then, she keeps her voice down.

"The branded ones are criminals." Steph is new; she may not have heard about that aspect of Baedal's justice system. The deeply fucked up part of it, like that's not every part, but that -- especially that.

21st, Aspic?

[charismatic]

Someone tries to pick his pocket on his way to the train station – and Will really only has pockets today because he has the day off. He hadn't bought anything at the Bazaar, but he'd heard enough about it that he wanted to check it out, and he supposes it's not really surprising that there are people working this location. The alarm in his head goes off, so he's ready, handing snapping out to grasp the thief's wrist and pirouetting neatly to twist his arm up behind his back. The man curses and struggles, but yanking his arm up makes him settle down.

Of course, Will isn't exactly sure what to do with him, after that. He should probably turn the guy in, but he's not so sure he trusts the government here enough to do that. So he continues toward the train station, speaking to the thief in a calm, conversational tone about what a very bad idea what he was doing is. People look at them oddly, but no one tries to intervene. Will's not sure if that's a good thing or not.

[23rd]

Laura pays attention to what's around her -- to state something incredibly obvious -- and when shit happens, she has to make a split-second decision as to whether or not to get involved. Usually the answer is yes, especially if the victimized party looks like they can't handle themselves, but the slight turn of her head is interrupted when the man she's been watching grabs his potential pick-pocket and subdues him. No surprise that it happened; they're everywhere in Aspic and rarely get caught, unless they're unlucky like him. What's notable is the way that the potential victim handles it himself rather than calling for help. But if anyone's going to call the local Sheriff, it's not going to be Laura.

She doesn't move from where she is, leaning against a post while waiting for the train, but she is watching. While not always the best at reading body language, she knows military when she sees it -- she's spent most of her life actively avoiding them. It makes her tense, even with the semi-anonymity Baedal provides; she doesn't expect anything to come of it, it's just a hard habit for her to break.

[charismatic]

Once they get to the station itself, Will has to make a decision. Just letting this guy go doesn't sit right, but neither does turning him in – the punishment seems likely to be harsher than merited. Will hasn't forgotten. So after a few seconds of internal debate and a little extra arm-twisting, Will finishes talking and lets him go. He scrambles off almost comically quickly, dropping a few things in the process, and Will follows to stoop down and pick them up, frowning, keeping an eye on the thief until he disappears through the station doors.

“Is there a lost and found?” he asks the girl standing near the last dropped wallet.

[23rd]

The look on Laura's face is pretty exaggerated for her, which means subdued for normal people -- but there is a definite tinge of bewilderment there, like 'do you know what city you're in?' "No," she says.

That guy got off lucky -- Aspic's rowdy but getting caught in the act with something like stealing doesn't end well for people, this is no Badside or Ketch Heath, but people actually care about crime, here. She doesn't actually know what happened to the guy she caught a few days ago and wishes she did, now that she's seen how Baedal treats its criminals. There was nothing she could have done about that, the Sheriff arrived and took over for her. It troubles her, now.

She's curious about him just letting him go without even getting in a few lumps. Most people here would, if they were capable of it.

[charismatic]

Will frowns at the small collection of wallets he's holding. It's probably not as easy to return things to their owners here as it is at home. He supposes he could try the cohort post thing again and see if he can locate who these belong to, if nothing else. “Sorry to bother you,” he says, mostly because she doesn't really seem like she wants to be talking to him. But he's already there and pestering her, so he might as well see if she has any better ideas before he either leaves or finds someone else to ask. “But do you know if there's any other way to find out who these belong to?”

[23rd]

"No." After a moment, she adds, "Is there a name?" People in Baedal use their CiDs as identification rather than license cards, but it's generally a good idea to have your contact information in your wallet anyway, in case it gets lost or stolen -- at least, that's probably how normal people think. She wouldn't know; she would never want anyone to be able to connect her to her things, in case they use it to track her down and attempt to murder her, but not everyone is so paranoid as Laura.

[charismatic]

Oh. He probably should have thought of that. He'd just assumed people used the CiDs for that purpose and Will's not in the habit of carrying a wallet at home. He just got one here, for all the coins. He's not really used to physical currency. It feels strange to dig through other people's belongings, too, but that's the only way anyone is getting theirs back. “There are in a couple of these,” he says after a moment. “Not all of them, though.”

[23rd]

"Ask the network," she suggests after a few moments of thoughtful silence, and it comes out nearly a question, like... maybe? Yes? Is that the right thing to do? Possibly? That is the extent of her usefulness -- Laura will stop pickpockets and purse snatchers, half on instinct, and then when she's won, she won't know what to do with the stolen stuff. She'd be inclined to just leave it there, which sort of defeats the purpose of stopping thieves to begin with.

God only knows what she does with cats stuck in trees.

[charismatic]

Hopefully something that involves no claws on either side.

“That's a good idea,” Will says, and his instinct is to try to sound encouraging, even though that doesn't make sense. There's just something in her tone that makes him want to reassure. Oh, right. He juggles his handful of wallets around – maybe he should just shove them in his bag. He's still getting used to carrying one around. It's probably a better place for his own wallet too. Anyway. Once he's done shoving everything into his messenger bag, he straightens up and offers the girl a hand. “I'm Will,” he says. “Sorry for just dropping random questions on you.”

[swiftdawn]

Alexia occasionally swings by the arena, if only because it reminds her of Orgrimmar. (Which is ironic, really, considering her general disinterest for bloodsport.) She watches with a more subdued attitude than her usual, though she claps for a particularly good show. And it's a good opportunity to practice her real favorite sport—people-watching.

The woman she sees, on her way out, isn't an arena fighter, but fights like she wouldn't be out of place there; she doesn't lose and, Alexia notes, after seeing her a few times, that she always starts the fights. One day, Alexia walks over after the woman dispatches another unfortunate opponent, her face flush with anger. She keeps a non-threatening distance, and tips her head in greeting. "Nice work, there. That dude was a real asshat."

[23rd]

Laura says nothing for a while -- a long while, the silence starting to stretch uncomfortable as she stands with her fists clenched at her side and her entire body radiating tension. Anger is the one emotion she's had a chance to express nearly her entire life, and it is difficult, now, for her to rein it in.

But rein it in she does.

Eventually.

Her posture changes, but like it's delibrate. "What is an asshat?"

[bangyoudead]

Remy doesn't track Laura - he can't - and when he looks for her it's not exactly manhunting, either. If she doesn't want to be found, he's not going to find her, but he knows a thing or two about her habits and preferences, by now.

Still, it's mostly coincidence that some guy ends up sailing headfirst off a building into a dumpster at around midnight in Aspic. Remy was just hanging out up here, jeez. Go try and pick somebody else's pocket. (Or.. go to a hospital now that you've been thrown off a building, whatever.) He peeks over the edge of the rooftop to check for signs of life, and is greeted with a few club-goers on their way down the street at the end of the alley shouting at him. A brief incredulous exchange occurs, after which apparently they decide this weirdo on the roof with faintly glowing eyes was just doing his civic duty, and they move on.

Remy laughs to himself and goes back to the other side of the roof, to nab the cigarette he'd put down on the ledge.

[23rd]

Laura stops where she is when she sees some guy come flying off a building, an eyebrow quirking upwards when he lands only a couple feet to her left. She can guess what happened there, and it only takes a moment of catching the scent on the wind to know who it was.

She doesn't bother seeing if the guy is okay -- she doesn't care, he almost certainly deserved it -- but she does stop and stare at him while he hauls himself out and goes slinking off when he doesn't get any sympathy. The rest of the people milling around don't even see her there, and she makes it a point to keep it that way as she climbs up the side of the building away from the street. It's not a big deal if people see her, certainly weirder things happen every hour in Baedal than some goth chick scaling buildings, it's just a habit of hers to not be noticed.

Result: she pops up seemingly out of nowhere, her hands in her pockets. "Hi."

[bangyoudead]

"Hey, petite." Of course he isn't surprised. (Sometimes he is - sometimes he jumps nearly out of his skin, but this time he expected her. So there.) "Out enjoyin' the nightlife?"

Sure, that's totally what she was doing.

[23rd]

"No." No you're not enjoying it or no that's not what you're doing, Laura? The world will never know, because she doesn't dwell on the subject. Sad.

She glances back down at the street where people have long since dispersed before crossing the distance between them and standing next to him. "What are you doing?" Is it something useful, can she help -- is it going to be something with action because she's still all angry nerves, hours after watching at the Arena.