undergrounds | I feel it in the air

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I feel it in the air

[A July catch-all! Pick an option and say hello, or start something more specific in the comments. Hit me up on plurk if you want a specific starter!]

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Option One
Nancy had gotten her start picking pockets as just a child. It was so easy, when you were so close to the ground, to look in purses, to bump into people and distract them while your friend grabbed their wallet or their iPod. Picking pockets wasn't hard at all, if you knew what you were doing.

Shoplifting had come next, as it often did for teenage girls looking for a quick high. It wasn't that for Nancy, unfortunately. It was a way to make money, to get what she wanted. Slide an important object into her purse and no one was any smarter. Wrap a scarf around her neck and pretend she'd been wearing it when she walked in. It was cake.

And okay, yes, it was a great way to get a quick high. This was what brought Nancy to Spittalfields market. It was a busy afternoon, the stalls were bustling, and no one was paying any sort of attention to what a petite girl like her was doing. So a few pieces of jewelry here, a few wallets there- tourists were idiots. They saw the 'Beware Pickpockets' signs and instantly checked where they kept their valuables. Easy marks.

Besides, she had to make up for the first week or so of the month when she'd been holed up in her flat, escaping the Hunt.

Option Two
The Thames was beautiful at night. The lights reflected off the surface, you couldn't tell how dirty it was, either. You could walk along, cross over bridges, watch people stumble home from clubs. There was a lot of time to think, too.

Of course, down by the water anywhere was where you could find her sort. A pair of fish-nets and high-heels, tiny dress. She hadn't had much luck in pubs earlier that evening, so now it was time to wait till bar close, when men started stumbling home, desperate for a woman. That, also happened to be when many vampires chose to feed. And that's where she made the real money.

Option Three
"I'm tired of having these bloody conversations!" Through grit teeth, a petite ginger paced quickly in front of the tube station. "No- no, you stop it.- Stop talking, and let me explain you devil!" On the other end of the line, a man prattled about, his condescending tone loud. If Nancy had been paying attention to him, he assumed so, unaware that, mid-way through his diatribe, she was rolling her eyes.

Finally, she'd had enough. "Listen here; I'm about to get on the tube. I can't talk. I'll come over before work tonight, talk with him- yes, yes, you'll have it, I got it all sorted, you'll have your potions!" Nancy nearly tosses the phone into her purse, violently pressing on her touch-screen to end the call.

"Bloody bastard."

Option Four
Wild card. Make your own, drop me a line, whatever. A few private starters in the comments!

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Oh look at that. Someone already bumped into him. There was a chance then that Nancy could use that poor civilian as her scapegoat. Perfect.

Wait. Wait wait wait.

That man had his wallet on him, right before she went to reach for it, and a watch, as well. She was sure of it. Looking around, she tried to spot the culprit, the other thief, and, that's when she realized it. It had to have been the boy who bumped into him.

Using her petite build to her advantage, she moved out of the way to come up besides Ekko. "Can I speak with you a moment? Away from the crowds?"

Shit he's been found out- wait. This isn't the guy he stole from. He can't quite help the flicker of a frown crossing his face. If she wasn't that guy, did he actually steal somebody else's target? Part of him is thinking, 'if you snooze, you lose,' but technically speaking he doesn't need either items he stole.

"What? Gonna knock me out in an alleyway?" He can't help being difficult either. But he's pretty certain he can get out of this, even if it does go sour. So he starts moving away from the crowd.

Once they're a far enough distance away, he speaks in hushed tones. There might be less people, but that means the people who are there are quite capable of listening in. "Did I steal your mark?" He seems at least a little concerned.

Edited 2015-07-20 01:30 (UTC)

She was used to remarks like that. She was tiny, hardly 5' 2'', and was widely thought to be outright adorable. The results were that people didn't often think her capable of much of anything, let alone having words with them. They were always, always wrong. "We'll just have to see, won't we?" She offered, keeping her eyes fixed on the next open street.

Once there, she turned, and it only took a few feet until they were going to look just like two regular people having a conversation.

But then he speaks first and Nancy just has to stop, pause, and blink, picking her jaw up from where it hung slightly. "I- yes, yes you did." Which wouldn't have been a problem except she didn't know him and though she knew there were others, it was always odd running into pick-pockets that weren't in with Fagin.

Or were Kenzi.

She's cute, but he knows better than to judge people on their appearances alone. At the mouth drop he nods, looks like he was right about the woman being a fellow pick-pocket. It's only slightly surprising he hasn't run into her before. London's a big place though.

"What do you want to do about it?" He's willing enough to come to an agreement if they can settle on one.

This could not have been less like what she imagined would happen.

"I want to know how you did it. There's no way you got the watch and the wallet in one swipe. Not in one second."

There's a whole bunch of things he could say. 'I know how to use a moment.' 'I can make every second count.' But that's hinting at more than he's really ready to reveal to a stranger.

"I've had a lot of practice."

That would just be super super lame, okay, so it's really really good that he didn't. Catch-phrases and puns like that only work in the comics.

"I guarantee you I've had more. No one moves that fast."

Wow, rude. They also work just fine in video games... As long the usage is sparring.

He hums, consideringly. "Nah, I've got you beat." Don't mind that he's obviously a teenager.

Only if you were in an arcade in the 80s.

Nancy's eighteen herself, and knows that there are people younger than her that are better thieves. But this one reeks of something not natural. "Doubt it. But it's not a competition, is it? You got his watch and his wallet in less than a second. Opposite wrist and pocket. No one is that good. And I've worked with the best."

Wow, meta-human discrimination. Maybe he's just amazing at picking pockets.

"Maybe you haven't met the best yet." Nobody's here to stop him from bragging.

well the 80s did bring us Gambit... or whatever he is in this universe.

"no, actually, I have. dated him a while, actually." She smiled sweetly at him.

Trickster, perhaps.

He cocks an eyebrow, "Really? You just said you've never seen anybody do what I just did. Can't be that great of a thief."

"Because what you did should be impossible."

She'd ask him to trust her, but that was a laugh.

"Can't be that impossible if I did it." He shrugs, not giving much away.

Her mouth was set in a thin line, her eyes narrowed.

"I don't believe you."

Ekko looks as calm and cocky as he usually does.

"No skin off my back." What does he care what a stranger thinks about his pick pocketing?

"Right." she said, hardly believing him. Last time she'd been in a situation even remotely similar to this...

This boy didn't have a motorcycle she could let the air out of, but maybe tied up laces would help.

"Well, you may want to tighten up, then. So you don't get caught by someone less pleasant than me." She gave him a pointed smile and, leaving the knotted-laces in her wake, she turned to go.

He's pretty sure she only noticed because she was after the same guy. Ah, whatever. London's big, maybe he'll never run into her again.

So he turns and promptly loses his balance, careening to the ground. He scowls at his shoes. He has scrapes on his hands, and some soreness on his knees.

And he turns back time, just a minute or so.

"Can't be that impossible if I did it." He still has the signs of getting hurt, but he's pretty sure this was before she tied his shoes together.

So this time he'll try walking off on that note.

Wait. Something had just changed. There was a moment and...

"Are you alright? looks like you're bleeding." She reaches a hand out to further inspect his, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be incredibly irritated with him.

He tries to tug his hands away, shove them in his pockets- anything so he can leave. "It's nothing big. Don't worry about it."

He'd love to pass it off like it was nothing. But the problem with his particular power is that anything that happens to him in one timeline sticks to every other timeline he tries to jump to. It's usually a minor inconvenience, but now somebody's trying to look closer at the minor wounds.

"But I swear it came right out of nowhere," she said, still extending her hand, this time closer towards his elbow. She doesn't touch him, though.

"You never know what's on the streets around here, you could've gotten some glass in there." She looks up at him with warm green eyes, her brow furrowed just the slightest.

He starts skittering out of her reach. She seems concerned, but she was (probably) also the person that was responsible for him falling in the first place. So excuse him if he'd rather leave.

"It happens sometimes. I'm used to it."

"Fine." She held up her hands, palms open and fingers splayed out.

"But I'm watching you."

"Just your average pickpocket. Nothing to see here."

He smirks and he's off into the crowds. He needs to be way more careful about being believable when he uses his powers like that.

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I feel it in the air

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