In fact I have been all over town

[outstandingbalance]

I. Hoar's Head (Closed to Evie)

Who is Natasha to argue with good atmosphere? Evie described the place as Marie Antoinette's attic, which is both amazingly accurate and misses its exact charm. It feels private, which Natasha respects, and there's something about it that's not as masculine as a lot of bars. She doubts she needs to worry about fights breaking out over a girl or the latest football match.

As she walks toward the bar, she scans the room for Evie. She couldn't be the first one here, could she? It's five past ten now, and Evie didn't strike her as the type to be late.


II. Guilty Pleasures (OTA)

It's been a while since Natasha said she'd stop in, and it might be too late now. She's heard that Kenzi's not around anymore and that was supposed to be her reason, right? Keep an eye on the girl. Give her a friend, someone who knew what she was going through. Someone who wasn't her sire to help her adjust. Natasha considered not even coming in...

But here she is now.

If nothing else she's hoping to see how Cherry's doing, that she was safe and comfortable since Natasha and Evie rescued her last month. Make sure that she's back to normalcy. That's why Natasha comes in on Lady's Night. Or it's a good excuse to come in on Lady's Night. Either way.

It's well into the evening when she shows up, taking a seat at a table near the corner with a good view of the room and orders herself a gin and tonic. She keeps an eye on things from there, not asking after Cherry directly or looking for Jean Claude. If either of them actually want to speak to her, she imagines that they'll know she's here before long. Maybe it was a passive approach, but she was fine with letting them decide whether or not they wanted to talk to her again.

In the time being, well, she has plenty of money.


III. Dark Corners (Closed to Arthur)

Natasha tries not to think about how long it's been since she fed, but it's not very successful. The thirst won't let her forget it. Even if it's not at the front of her thoughts, it's always there somewhere in the back of her mind.

It's been about the same length of time since she's had sex. Not unrelated. The two things had often gone together for her, and while she'd played with the idea a little, even gone on a date or two, but it never went anywhere. Natasha wasn't in the place for a relationship, and she hadn't wanted to lead anyone on. But there's no reason she shouldn't have some fun.

Tonight, she doesn't intend to give anyone the wrong idea. She walks into the bar knowing what she wants. It's a little bit more upscale than most of the dives she frequents, and the dress she wears could be shorter, could be tighter, but she's dressed to attract attention rather than deflect it. If she turns heads, it's intentional.

She smiles when she spots a familiar face. She remembers Arthur from Lancelot's birthday. Their chat had been fine—and he was certainly attractive enough. Internally, she shrugs. Why not? She could do a lot worse. She'd even considered making a play for it at the time, but Arthur had left with another woman and no hard feelings that he had.

But if she's going to get a second chance?

Natasha sits beside him at the bar, crossing her legs pointedly as she swivels an eight of a turn toward him. "The accountant, right? You might not remember me..."



IV. Fresh Air (Closed to Eames)

On the street, panting warm night air and trying to calm a raging thirst: not Natasha's finest moment. She's not even sure what she left behind her. She thinks Arthur was saying something as she disengaged and chased herself away from the situation, but she hadn't registered what he was saying over the pounding in her ears. Perfect.

She leans back against the brick wall behind her, steadying herself.

"Shit." She is a mess.

And now she has an audience.



V. After Hours (Closed to Daryl)

Looks like Natasha is going to have a chance to do some of the tourist things after all. Maybe she should have begged out, but Daryl and asked her if she wanted to go and she'd said yes. It's not like she really had anything better to do. It's not like she doesn't want to spend more time with him. Daryl has been good for her, refreshingly nonjudgmental for all his awkwardness.

She waits for him to meet her on the street near near the Redbright Institute. She's still not entirely sure this is a good idea, but as far as bad ideas go, she's had a lot worse.



VI. Grocery Delivery (Closed to Alex))

Alex has been relocated to a nondescript little apartment in a bad neighborhood, paid for in cash by Natasha with a little extra to keep quiet. The landlady is a Russian woman in her sixties, and after a hushed, serious conversation in their native language, Natasha was confident that money wasn't the only reason she wouldn't mention the suspicious circumstances of her new tenant's arrival.

It was a good move, for the short term at least, and Natasha was starting to think that she might just be able to keep the werewolf alive through the end of the month.

After a few days in the new place, Natasha checks in again. She brings two bags of groceries, since Alex still shouldn't be outside where she can be seen. Even during the day, there were too many ways word could get back to the nest if she were spotted. Or that word could get back to the Night Council. Either way, the end would be about the same outcome for both of them at this point.

"I brought you a couple of steaks," Natasha says as she brings the bags in. "I wasn't sure what else you'd like, so I went ahead and guessed." Her tone is light, inviting Alex to let her know if there was anything in particular that she'd like in the future. "There's a book of sudoku, too."

Once the food is on the counter, she turns and takes in the flat quickly. No sign of trouble, at least.

"Anything else you need before I get out of your hair?"



VII. Choose Your Own Adventure

(Don't see anything here that strikes your fancy? Then let's do something else. Hit me up on plurk at sarosaron!)

Comments

[facethewolves]

Alex hasn't seen anyone except the landlady for days. She's done about a thousand push-ups for lack of anything better to do. By the time Natasha shows up, loneliness, boredom, and cabin fever have set in, and the vampire's arrival is like a breath of fresh air.

Not that Alex is happy to see a vampire. Not that she wants to hang out with a vampire.

Except that she kind of is and she kind of does. But she's not going to admit that ever.

"Steaks are great. I'm not, uhm. I'm not picky, whatever you got is fine. Thanks." She has to think of a way to get Natasha to stay for a while without admitting that she really wants some company. "I... I don't know how sudoku works. How do you do it?"

[outstandingbalance]

"I tried to stick to safe bets," Natasha says, taking some breakfast cereal out of the grocery bag and setting it on the counter, then a bag couple of cans of mandarin orange slices. It really is just guessing, a few things from this aisle at the store, a few from that. At least Alex won't die of malnutrition.

She takes out the game book a moment later, flipping through it. "I haven't played them much, but they seemed like more fun than crosswords. It's a number puzzle."

[facethewolves]

"Numbers, I don't..." She's okay with numbers. Well, she's okay with computers, which sometimes involve numbers.

"I haven't taken a math class since middle school," she says, secretly proud of the effort she put into learning the American education system, "so, uh, if it's long division or anything I'll have to pass."

[outstandingbalance]

"No math involved. Just logic. There's a grid of nine by nine cells, divided into nine squares. You want one of every number, one through nine, in every row, every column and every square." Natasha explains, but she's not completely blind to what Alex is doing. She smiles, pretending she doesn't see through the attempt. "Probably didn't explain that very well. I can show you, if you want."

[facethewolves]

Alex frowns down at the sudoku book in concentration as Natasha speaks, then glances up at her, still frowning, before once again looking down at the book.

"Yeah." Very casual. "If you don't have to get out of my hair right away," she says, echoing what Natasha had said earlier.

[outstandingbalance]

"I have a little time." She says it casually, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "They're not expecting me at work until later. I'll just go straight from here instead of going home first."

She flashes a little smile again. "That'll give me some extra time."

[facethewolves]

"Right. Work," she echoes, quiet and reflective, still frowning down at the sudoku book. Alex doesn't know what Natasha does, exactly, and as long as it doesn't impact her, she doesn't really care. But it does make her think, because everything about Natasha gives Alex the impression that she's like her, on the run from something or at least eager to leave the past behind, few genuine connections and no family or friends to speak of... It makes Alex think that if Natasha can have a real job - or close enough - that maybe, one day, Alex could be normal enough to say things like 'they're expecting me at work.'

She's also surprised by Natasha's offer to skip going home in favor of spending time with her. Part of her is a little suspicious of the kindness, but mostly she's just grateful.

"If... I mean, if you're gonna stay anyway." She looks up at Natasha again, trying to be casual but almost immediately blurting out, "I haven't had a sparring partner in forever, and you know how to fight, right? We could move the furniture out of the way and go a few rounds. I'm way better at that than numbers puzzles." Not that she's not grateful for the sudoku book, but if Natasha really is going to stay for a while, she'd much rather do something active.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha smiles a little at that. Somehow, she's not surprised. Alex seems like a physical person—the kind of person who'd pretty quickly start to feel cooped up in a small apartment by herself. Natasha'd been the same, when she was young.

She might not be that different now, under the same circumstances.

"If you think you can manage it without making enough noise to bother the neighbors, I'd be willing to give it a shot." She takes off her jacket as she speaks, folding it over the back of a chair. "It's been a while since I sparred."

[facethewolves]

There's not much furniture to move, just a couple of chairs and a table, which Alex quickly pushes against the walls.

She moves to the center of the room and balances lightly on the balls of her feet, raising her hands to chin height as she starts to circle Natasha, and smiles cockily. "You ready to get your ass kicked?"

[outstandingbalance]

"Kid, if you can kick my ass, I'll deserve it," Natasha says, a crooked smirk pulling up one side of her mouth. Despite her humor, she weighs Alex's stance sharply. She wouldn't have a physical advantage; not feeding, she's not all that special in terms of strength and speed, not enough to keep up with a werewolf. But she has over seventy years of experience fighting people bigger than her, stronger than her, faster than her...

"Should be a good fight."

[facethewolves]

Alex is strong, even for a werewolf, fast, and well-trained. But she's inexperienced, and for all of her training she's way too aggressive. As far as she's concerned, the best defense is a good offense. And even though she's had multiple people warn her against over-extending herself and leaving herself vulnerable, she's won enough fights to feel pretty confident.

Her cocky smile fades to a frown of intense concentration. She doesn't wait for Natasha to make the first move, quickly aiming a one-two punch at the vampire's head.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha reads the combo, letting the werewolf come to her. It's better that way—gives her more opportunity to use her opponent's strength and momentum against her while playing her own abilities and training close to the vest.

When Alex attacks, she drops lower, dipping to the right and aims two short punches to her ribs before dropping into a roll and coming up behind her.

[facethewolves]

Alex sees the blows coming and deflects one, but the other connects, and she grunts in surprise.

She quickly twists around, stepping back as Natasha comes out of the roll to face her. That gives Alex enough room to aim a kick at Natasha's knee.

Though she doesn't fight with much strategy, she does want to go as hard and as fast as she can in the hope of keeping Natasha too busy and off-balance to get on the offensive. So as soon as she kicks, she winds up to aim another punch at Natasha's face.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha dances around the kick to her knee, protective of her mobility, but she tries to block the blow coming toward her face. A minor miscalculation. She wasn't expecting Alex to be as strong as she is. Strong, sure, but not this much—and she's still not used to the time it takes her now to heal. A few bruises won't slow her down, and she recovers immediately, but it's something she'll have to be careful of.

And if she needed a reminder not to go easy on the girl, she has it there.

Changing tactic, Natasha grabs Alex's arm in a tight grip and twists, grappling instead of punching.

[facethewolves]

Alex feels a little surge of excitement when her punch lands, which immediately disappears as her arm is twisted painfully.

She cries out, but instead of trying to get away, she steps closer. Her free hand reaches for Natasha's shoulder, trying to keep her still long enough to knee her in the gut.

[outstandingbalance]

Keeping Natasha still isn't that easy. She's well aware she'd lose a boxing match, and she does everything in her power to avoid that type of direct trade of blows. She drops her weight sharply, her grip on Alex's arm vice-tight as she falls, trying to pull her into a throw.

[facethewolves]

The move takes Alex completely by surprise. She slams heavily into the ground, crying out again at the impact and at the fresh rush of pain through her arm as it gets twisted again.

Despite herself, she's impressed by Natasha's skills. She takes a second to catch her breath and gasp, "You've gotta show me how to do that," before trying to kick Natasha away so she can get back on her feet.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha tries to avoid the kick, but not feeding has her slower than she's used to and she doesn't avoid it entirely. The kick makes contact, though deep enough to do serious damage. It could have knocked the wind out of her lung—but advantages of being a vampire.

She huffs a laugh as she rolls to her feet. "Yeah, sure. I could show you that. Maybe a couple other moves while we're at it."

[facethewolves]

Alex clambers upright and stretches her arm out. It's a little sore, but she'll heal fast enough. Then she squares off again, narrowing her eyes as she tries to remember exactly how Natasha had done that.

"Is it like this?" She grabs at Natasha's arm, trying to replicate the move with maybe too much enthusiasm.

[outstandingbalance]

"Close," Natasha hisses, wincing. Close enough that having her arm jerked and twisted sends a sharp stab of pain up to her shoulder. In terms of immediate shock, Alex makes up for skill with her enthusiasm.

The problem with that though, is that Natasha has a high tolerance for pain, the difference in the hold makes her grip less secure and Natasha's experience makes her better prepared to counter the move, right or wrong. Natasha twists (not without some more jerking and a wince) and steps back, catching Alex's ankle and sweeping at it mercilessly.

[facethewolves]

Once again, Alex winds up on her back on the ground. She lets go of Natasha's arm as she falls, and immediately rolls away and gets back on her feet.

She's more than a bit frustrated that she didn't get it right away. She frowns in concentration. "Okay, show me."

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha smirks slightly, not letting her guard down. She won't assume the match is over just because there's some teaching involved now too.

"You didn't do bad before. It's about control, though, and you didn't have that." She tilts her head a little. "You really want me to show you again?"

[facethewolves]

Alex scowls at that. She hates the feeling of not being good enough or in control enough, but that feeling just makes her more determined to get better, no matter how much she has to get beaten up.

"Yeah, I can take it." Even if Natasha injures her, she'll heal fast enough.

[outstandingbalance]

"All right. Because you asked," Natasha says, stepping in smoothly, her movements confident and practiced. She takes Alex's arm and twists it just to the point where it seems like Alex can't move without hurting herself more—and she explains as she does it why it works, how it works, while twisting her arm.

It's very educational.

And more than a little uncomfortable, though Natasha is confident she won't have a problem with the discomfort.

[facethewolves]

Alex grits her teeth and bears the discomfort, listening carefully to the explanation. She's always been a fast learner, especially when it comes to violence.

With a sudden burst of speed, she throws her weight at Natasha, trying to ram her shoulder into the vampire's chest and break free of the hold. Her arm ends up being twisted further, but if she can just get it loose, she's confident that she can do the move correctly now.