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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"He did," she said almost fondly. "But it wasn't- I was coming home from work when I ran into him. Gave him an earful and took the air out of one of his tires." And then that was that.

Heiji laughed in surprised delight; Nancy, you just went up several notches in his book (mixed metaphors, ahoy). "Bet he was steamed about that! But he totally deserved it if he almost ran ya over."

[I think Belmont's busy with other threads at the moment, so rain check on the awkward supernatural conversation?]

"That he was, and that he did," she raised her glass in approval, before drinking more of it. "He's a sweet heart, though." If you got past the fangs. "Laughed about it, later."

[sure sure. whatever works <3]

"Seriously? Him?" If it sounded like Heiji was a little disbelieving, well... he kind of was.

At last, the pizzas had arrived, and as the harried waiter set them out on the table, Heiji's cousins exclaimed happily at the bubbling cheese and delicious smells. Maybe this would keep them out of trouble for thirty minutes or so?

"Okay, now be nice. Leave enough for everyb -- " Too late. It was now a pizza free-for-all, with countless little hands grabbing for slices at once.

Nancy groaned. "Please just make sure everyone gets a piece. That's all I'm asking," she said, rubbing at her temples with her fingers. Time for more wine. She tops her glass off, before signaling for another bottle for her and Heiji.

"Yes, him. He's an interesting sort, but no worse than anyone I've dealt with before." Cooper was a good friend. That's what mattered.

Heiji took the wine with thanks, patting the frazzled waiter on the back as their companions all started to dig in.

"Well, I guess if you're willing to vouch for him. He's actually not one of the weirdest dudes I've met around here." He tried a slice of pizza, and to his delight, found that it was pretty good. "Hey, I might come by here again sometime!"

"I am." And she would vouch for Cooper. For any of her friends, really. If you were on her good side, there wasn't a thing she wouldn't do for you.

"it's good, isn't it!" She said excitedly, biting into a pepperoni slice herself. "Yeah? Aright then, who's the weirdest dude you've met here. Stiles doesn't count."

"Sasuke," said Heiji without hesitation. "Guy got into a fight with me over a tomato plant at the grocery store. It was weird as -- " He stopped, considered his current company.

"Uh, it was weird. Plus, I don't think he has any friends. And he looks like he cuts his hair by himself. After about three bottles of wine."

"You know Sasuke!" Nancy starts laughing, tossing her head back at the ridiculousness of it all. "He's impossible. Can't carry a conversation to save his life. Rude, too." SO RUDE.

"He's not like us, is he?" She hoped not.

"I know, right? He's such a weirdo! He used to work at this hardware store, so I visited him while he was clerking. Worst customer service ever, and actually..." He rubbed the side of his temple with one finger.

"Actually, he kinda is. But only recently, I think, and his control is pretty bad. He's one of them metahumans." Heiji lowered his voice. "But don't tell him I told you, okay? He gets mad at everything."

"You know," Nancy took another sip of wine as she thought about this. "I think he's the first metahuman I've met. That I know about, mind you." Curious and curiouser, but she shrugs immediately.

"I wouldn't dream of it. If I never talk to him again, it'd be too soon."

Heiji raised his eyebrows; it was a little rare for Nancy to express such strong dislike for anyone. "Did he do somethin'?"

Another little sip of wine. "I know a couple! They're... uh, actually all of them are a little prickly. And eccentric." Hmm. Maybe this was a pattern?

"One's a lawyer. He's a good guy deep down, I guess, but I think he's got some weird anger issues."

She nodded again slowly.

"No, no, he just came up to me at a bar, and tried to get information from me. I didn't know him, he didn't get a damn thing. He found me again at Abby's party, but..." She shakes her head. She really needed to charge for talks for people that she didn't like.

"At a bar?" Heiji raised his eyebrows. "He ain't even old enough to drink, what's he doing cruising pubs?"

Well, aside from apparently looking into supernatural activity, that was. "Caught him snoopin' around during that Redbright party a few months ago. Don't think his boss'd approve of him poking around bothering people, though."

Or being involved in some shady Russian ‘hardware supplies’ deals.

"Hell if I know," she said, with a large gulp of wine. He'd paid for her time, twenty pounds and the room, but he'd just wanted to talk to her. It had been a disaster on all accounts.

"You should warn him, then." Someone could stick the cops on him. Or something.

Was it really a disaster, though. I mean, did Nancy want to have sex with Sasuke, that seemed like it might be its own nightmare.

"I could. And I bet I'd know what he'd say. Some junk about how he doesn't need my help and he's an adult, blah blah blah. I guess I'll try and talk to him anyway, as long as -- hey!" He plucked a black olive from one of the girls' fingers just as she was about to launch it across the table. "No throwing food!"

Gods no. She did not want to have sex with him. At this rate, even if he asked and had the money, she'd still turn him down. She had that liberty, at least.

She giggles. "Hey, it's a start!- boys, that means you, too."

Heiji heaved an overdramatic sigh. "I guess we'll have to tip the waiter extra." If, you know. This run-in with their little group didn't drive the poor guy into an early grave.

"But now it's your turn! Who's the weirdest you've met? And Sasuke doesn't count, I already used him."

"It's alright, I've still got it covered." She waved the very thought away with her glass.

"I told you- I don't know like, any metahumans. In the least."

"Not just metahumans," he said, waving her protests aside. "Maybe... in the last month or two? C'mon, this city's full of characters!"

At least all the people Heiji seemed to meet were... unique, to say the least.

"Oh, you don't even want to know." Nancy leaned forward, trading her glass of wine for a slice of pizza. She folded the crust in half as she did so. It's a hard to explain the most interesting characters she'd met recently without revealing what exactly it was she did. Tricky.

...No pun intended.

A few bites later, she's done thinking. "Fellow in a bar. Bought me a cosmo and cried to me. I just met him. Confessed he felt awful, but he could only get off if he wore crotchless stockings. His wife was refusing to sleep with him because it felt dirty." She shook her head. "Poor bloke, really, but definitely an odd one. Just, out of nowhere."

Heiji made a face. Crotchless stockings? Dude. "You're right, I didn't wanna know."

Truth be told, he already sort of suspected Nancy was more deeply involved in underground dealings than she let on in normal conversation. But she'd also been pretty clear that she didn't want him meeting her adopted father and probably by extension looking into her night job.

"Seems like something that shoulda come up before the wedding, though..."

"I told you- and that was the clean version!" Obviously, where 'had sex with' was replaced by 'cried to me'. All the same, she was glad Heiji wasn't pursuing the topic. Only Kenzi and those who'd fed off of her knew. And she wanted to keep it that way.

"He thought he could stand it. Guess not."

"Point taken -- not sure I wanna hear the dirty version." Especially if Nancy had a bunch of these things stored up. But he couldn't help feeling kind of bad for the people involved, even if the husband, at least, had been guilty of some questionable behavior.

He lifted the bottle. "So. Top off your glass instead?"

"please" she hands the glass to Heiji. "never ask. just always fill me up, whenever the opportunity arises." seriously she loves alcohol. so just do it.

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I feel it in the air

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