2013.04.02 - Skunk-Hair

The nice thing about Times Square is that there is usually an abundance of tourists with too much money to spend, who have their attention set on the sights and not so much on the throng of people around them. A perfect opportunity for Kiden to work the crowd, slip her hands into some pockets and purses, and arrange herself a stipend for a good meal and if she's lucky even a fix. Weaving in and out of crowd, she occasionally bumps into someone and then gives them a piece of her mouth for bumping into her. It would take a quick eye, however, to spot her hands leaving the people a few dollars short.
It was an ordinary day enough for Jocelyn. She'd finished classes for the day, and was just out for a little bit of a stroll. She had to admit she liked this city a bit better from a wandering standpoint than her hometown. She was dressed in the most fashionable thing on the planet, too: old jeans and an old, faded blue t-shirt. Yep, the height of fashion, right here! She had a few dollars in her pocket, along with some random pieces of blank paper folded up like a wad of bills. A wonderful decoy for potential pickpockets.
Like one Kiden Nixon, who apparently put her hand in Jocelyn's pockets. Now, to be fair, seeing kinetic energy isn't that helpful in a place like Times Square, what with the amount of people, but her natural wariness combined with that causes her to pick up on the fact that a hand was about to go into her pocket. She waits for Kiden's hand to actually enter the pocket as she walks before she attempts to grab hold of Kiden's wrist firmly.
"Not much in there for you," Jocelyn says quietly, apparently not the type who feels like she needs to call the police immediately.
Nate is generally safe from pickpockets. This is not thanks to being a telepath or super-mutant, but due to not having anything worth mentioning in his pockets. And now he can raid Xavier's cafeteria a few times a week, he needs even less money than before. That does not mean he doesn't notice petty thieves, but he usually leaves them alone. This time is going to be an exception because he knows Jocelyn and at six and a half feet, the redhead is easy to spot even in Times Square and Nate heads to greet her and protect her wallet. Not that he needed to bother, as it seems clear Jocelyn's money is safe.
Kiden fancies herself a pretty good pickpocket, she did have a lot of real world experience and had some good teachers for the art. Likewise disenfranchised kids, mostly older then herself. Generally, she gets away with it almost every time she tries, so getting caught still jarrs her. What's more scary, is the fact Jocelyn manages to catch her hand while inside her pocket, and when Kiden lifts her gaze she finds the stature of the woman a bit intimidating at this close proximity. "Great...just my luck," Kiden sighs, not looking so much regretful on the act of trying to leave Jocelyn a few dollars poorer, then she is of the fact she got caught.
"Every dollar counts!" Kiden offers with a forced smile on her face when Jocelyn explains there's not much for her, then again, with her hand caught in Jocelyn's grasp, it's not exactly a friendly situation of making light with friends. "So..." Kiden stalls as her eyes shift to and fro frantically, no doubt looking for a way out. "You going to call the cops? Give me a black eye? What it's gonna be?" Kiden tries to think of the possibilities, half prepared to brace herself against what's to come. She's unaware of Nate as of yet, simply because she got this giant young woman grabbing her hand.
"If I was going to give you a black eye or call the cops, you'd be on the ground right now and you wouldn't be able to have this conversation," Jocelyn responds evenly. She releases Kiden's hand. "Though if you want a burger or something on me, you can join me and my friend," Jocelyn adds. "I've been where you were," she explains. She'd noticed Nate coming, what with him being a giant psionic beacon of energy. The woman gestures to a nearby burger joint that she has been to a few times.
"Jocelyn," greets Nate with a smile. "I see you... wait, you are inviting her to have lunch?" He glances at Kiden briefly, then grins at the redhead, "you are too generous, but it is your cash." He skipped lunch, so he is hungry, but probably has enough in the pocket to pay for one burger for himself.
"You think...?" Kiden asks Jocelyn in a way that's almost testing, but then it could be the kid's ego got injured and she's trying to save face. She's not really pressing for a fight and when Jocelyn lets go of her hand, she immediately pulls it back and holds her own wrist, twisting her lips as she groans, "that was embarrassing." But then with the revelation that Jocelyn knows all about the real life, Kiden looks up at her with more interest, specifically when a free burger is offered. "That's a first. I'll take it!" Her eyes light up at the prospect of a burger that isn't half-eaten and found in a dumpster. "Can I get a real meal? Fries and soda? Kiden tests her luck, looking at Jocelyn with one eye partially closed.
"Yo, skunk-hair, if the girl offers to get me lunch don't go about trying to change her mind? 'K? Appreciate it," she winks at Nate and nudges at Jocelyn, "shouldn't listen to that guy, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Hey Nate," Jocelyn responds, lifting her hand. "And yeah. It seems like a pretty reasonable response to me. She came pretty close to getting me, so I figure a meal is fair enough," the young woman says. "Join us?" she asks. "And yeah, a full meal is fine. I've got a bit of scratch on me from winning a couple little bets," the woman says to Kiden. A smile is given. "It happens once in awhile," she adds to the embarrassing comment. She starts towards the burger place.
"You got a name?" she asks, seeing as the girl already knew Jocelyn's, from Nate's greeting. "And you two know each other?" she adds, glancing between them when she catches the wink. The initial statement where Kiden was trying to save face is left ignored for the time being, Jocelyn being perfectly aware that it was likely just that, saving face. She'd done it a few times herself.
"No, I have never seen her before now," replies Nate, addressing Jocelyn. "But I wanted to ask you about the young redhead from the other day. So yeah, some lunch would be good." He follows Jocelyn into the burger joint. "I have not been in New York for long," he admits to Kiden, "so what is what I am missing here?"
"Name's Kiden," the diminutive girl answers Jocelyn's answers, not too shy about sharing her name, especially as the woman doesn't seem like she's about to get her arrested or decorate her face with a black eye. Both very admirable and likeable qualities. She shakes her head when asked if she knows Nate, and has the rudeness to remark, "I don't normally hangout with stuckups, so not very likely."
"Ah. My mistake then," Jocelyn says, opening the door to the burger place. The restaurant is named, simply, 'Joe's Burger Palace' and is a little better than the average fast food place. They actually have reasonable tables and chairs to sit in, and everything isn't hyper-processed psuedo-meat. A nod is given to Nate. "I haven't been seen her since the other day," Jocelyn adds to Nate. There hadn't been a chance for Jocelyn to pin Hope down since that encounter.
"So, what'll you have?" she asks Kiden casually, waiting for the girl to place her order before she actually places her own.
"Now there's a sensible name," Kiden remarks as they walk past the door, "it's all about Joe, and he makes burgers, I like it when people make stuff easy to understand. So much better than say a Diggity Dogs." Kiden really gets big eyes when they got to the front and she drools at all the offered selection, she looks hesitantly at Jocelyn, as if testing how much she could get away with, before reciting, as she points at the different menu item, "small cup of chilli, chicago hot dog, and a double cheeseburger with fries, oh, and a small soda too!" After making her order she peers at Jocelyn, "if that's alright with you..."
Nate nods to Jocelyn, "but you tracked here there? No, nevermind." That is getting into Xavier's School stuff in front of strangers. "Hmrm, stuckup? That is a new one." Well, yeah, he is quite arrogant, but Kiden does not know that yet. "You don't expect to get invited to food when caught picking pockets, right? Not in New York."
A simple nod is given to Nate, but she doesn't speak further on the matter. It was something she couldn't talk about in front of Kiden. "Well, when I was in Detroit, I certainly didn't expect it back in some of my rougher days," Jocelyn comments. Kiden gets a nod at what she orders. "That's fine, Kiden". She orders herself a couple burgers and a soda. "Been up to anything interesting Nate? I don't see you as often as I might expect". She knew he didn't hang around the institute a ton, but still, she didn't see him there much.
She gets the little card with a number on it and starts towards a table. "So, Kiden. You've got some food coming. How'd you end up in this bit of a mess, if you don't mind ask my asking?" Because it wasn't an ideal situation, and every kid had a different tale.
"Dude, I expect to get what I can get, Jocelyn was nice enough to offer a meal. That's real. Your talk doesn't matter now, ok? So you can zip it." Rude? Yes, she has been noted for that not quite admirable attribute. When Jocelyn approves of her order, Kiden does a fist pump, "hell yeah! You're awesome, Jocelyn, thanks!"
Asked by Jocelyn how she wind up getting where she was, Kiden simply says, "it's a long boring story, nodbody cares."
Nate shrugs, "travelling, tracking down some unpleasant people, getting into the usual trouble," he explains vaguely. He will have a burger himself, after checking how much cash he has on him, that is going to be all. Maybe he should go picking some pockets soon himself. Kiden is given a glare, but it is a brief one. Then he smirks.
"More interesting than math homework," Jocelyn replies. The food arrives quickly, and Jocelyn leaves the questioning line alone with regards to Kiden for the moment. She'd let the girl eat. Of course, this could make for some awkward small talk, and the woman didn't want to really get into that directly. "But, yeah. I see you around a bit, but I don't think I've ever asked what sorts of stuff you're into when you're not working. Travel anywhere interesting?" she asks casually, taking a sip of her drink.
"I am not either a teacher or a student, really," the whole idea he could be either feels laughable to Nate. "I am around because of... my family is there, and because sometimes I can lend a hand." Oh, he is being vague again, and it is Kiden's fault! "When I am not working? I am not sure what I do counts as work," he is not getting paid. "Travelling? Travelling is great, I could do it full time and never stop. So much to see... I went to Eurasia again... er, I mean, just Europe, East Europe. Checking a few things there."
Category:Log