1339/Walk in the Park

Walk in the Park
Date of Scene:	07 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Sublime, Rainmaker, Fairchild, 1017, Freefall

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Sublime has posed:
    It's a nice day for a walk. This is what Sarah finally told Caitlin when she protested she still had more research to do. "It's a nice day for a walk, you've been stuck on that machine for hours, and I need to breath something other than Roxy's cigarettes. Everything is starting to taste like it. EVERYTHING, Caitlin."

    So basically, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

    Having made it outside, Sarah stretches langurously as she walks next to her much taller roommate. "See? This is nice. We should try for a tan sometime out here..." she suggests.

Rainmaker has posed:
    It's a nice day for a walk. This is what Sarah finally told Caitlin when she protested she still had more research to do. "It's a nice day for a walk, you've been stuck on that machine for hours, and I need to breath something other than Roxy's cigarettes. Everything is starting to taste like it. EVERYTHING, Caitlin."

    So basically, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

    Having made it outside, Sarah stretches langurously as she walks next to her much taller roommate. "See? This is nice. We should try for a tan sometime out here..." she suggests.

Fairchild has posed:
    Caitlin Fairchild is a NORMAL PERSON and she is doing NORMAL PEOPLE things. For example: she is carrying the latest edition of the American Journal or Orthopsychiatry and a similarly-obscure poetry journal. This is normal reading material. So very, very normal. That is Caitlin Fairchild. No one wants her DNA.
    "I *guess*, Sarah," proffers Caitlin in response. She is dressed casually; a green sports bra with white piping and trim (an actual bra, worn obviously in addition beneath it), an ash raglan hoodie, a pair of ash leggings with white strips down her flanks, green running shoes. This is a normal outfit. It is normal to have an eight pack and - THOSE - at the same time. SO NORMAL.
    "Really, I'm just *used* to them by now." Caitlin adjusts how the opened hoodie hangs against her chest, then runs her fingers back through her shining, copper hair. "And at least she finally quit leaving them everywhere after the last time she started a fire. That was worth putting an ashtray in every room."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
Even in Central Park, some people turn heads more than others. Usually, Scandal would be one of those - she does look like a Brazilian fitness model, after all, even when not clad in running gear (all-black, naturally) that shows off her own rather more modest curves and trim waist. But as she rounds the corner she can't help but quite evidently double-take. Rather unusually, the reaction seems more "what's *she* doing here?!?" than the customary "look at the size of her!"

Rainmaker has posed:
    The Apache girl wrinkles her nose. "Just because you're...durable, doesn't mean we have to learn to breath tobacco smoke." she says, with faint annoyance. Not at Caitlin. But at the person who set the couch on fire last time. Who is not here. "Ashtray or not, she could just step outside. Besides, it's terrible for her. What if it stunts her growth?" Because Roxie doesn't have a lot of growth so far to begin with. "I just need to get away from it sometime, is all."

Fairchild has posed:
    "Uhm, well, *statistically* speaking," Caitlin (who is so normal) responds in that tone that conveys she knows more than you without meaning to come off as condescending, "If it were going to do so then it's already happened, on average girls tend to reach their adult height at around eleven or twelve and almost never grow more than another inch or two after that and when that *does* happen it's almost always before Roxy's age. And aside from the possibility of accidental fire death, almost all of which *do* involve the presence of tobacco products, the *real* danger to Roxy is from the damage to her cardiovascular system. But if you try to explain *that* to her she just argues that the tobacco companies did their own companies disproving it."
    Caitlin completely gets jokes.
    Caitlin has also, like any other normal person, learned to notice when people are staring at her in a way that's more intense than the standard, car wreck-inducing variety she always attracts when in public.
    "Uhm."
    Caitlin glances over her shoulder, then promptly snaps her head back.
    "I think someone is *watching* us, Sarah."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
Scandal is indeed *watching* the pair - though Caitlin's getting somewhat more attention than Sarah. The black-clad woman had, after all, thought that there were a distinct shortage of women in the world who looked like Kay... yet here is another. Almost certainly *not* Kay (amnesiac or otherwise), after that glance around, but still near enough in looks to be a close relative, surely....

The rhythmic pounding of her feet carries her closer as she lopes along the path, rather intently studying Caitlin - and intermittently Sarah - for other signs of familiarity, or clues as to their identity.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Well, she kind of asked for that; she's well aware that Caitlin is a tiny bit overprotective of the youngest member of the trio (not that she isn't as well, though good luck getting her to admit it), and really, she should expect that Caitlin has already thoroughly researched the situation and its history. "I should make her go jogging with me. It'd be good for her..." Sarah says, smiling faintly as she can almost hear the joke whooshing over Caitlin's head.

    At the note of concern that comes into Caitlin's voice, she's not immediately bothered herself. It's a source of both amusement and frustration (and occasionally, personal needs for a cold shower) that Caitlin is still just noticing that people look at her. A lot.

    "Maybe they don't see redheads often..." she murmurs dryly, but turns to look, focusing on the woman jogging towards them. A part of her brain notes that yes, the woman is very fit (you work to get those abs like that), but doesn't immediately tag her as a problem or threat, certainly. Still...

    She turns her head back to face front. "The woman in the black jogging outfit?" she says softly.

Fairchild has posed:
    To her credit, Caitlin's gait is calm and measured - she has dealt with far worse things than some random person stomping after her in a park, and has decided that the odds this is an I/O employee are relatively small. I/O, after all, tends to employ people a bit stealthier than this... and, well, if she WERE with I/O, Caitlin expects that a squad of Black Razors would even now be dropping from the sky.
    "We're not *that* rare," she offers in response, apparently yet to grasp that yes, as a matter of fact, six foot redheads with a build like that are more than just 'exceptionally' rare to say the least.
    "Yes. Her," Caitlin offers, gesturing with a tilt of her chin back towards Scandal as she approaches her and Sarah.
    And, then, Caitlin stops and pivots around on her heels. Treating Scandal to the sight of a chest that nearly fills her field of view, the redhead asks, more embarrassed than annoyed, "Can we *help* you?"

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
For good or ill, the smaller woman demonstrates sufficient presence of mind and swift enough reflexes to avoid ploughing straight into that field-filling vision. Instead, she comes to a rather abrupt halt, blinks, then manages to both laugh, blush, and look perturbed all at once. "Hey, it's all right. I'm not wanting to cause any offence." Her accent is precise yet non-descript: the sort of thing that might result from an expensive foreign education, or perhaps a lot of work on *becoming* hard to place.

Slightly spreading her hands, breathing a little quickly - but that's probably just a result of running - she ventures a somewhat sheepish smile. "Hard though this might be to believe, but you look a *lot* like someone I know. I was trying to work out if you might be related."

Rainmaker has posed:
    The copper-skinned girl next to Caitlin folds her arms as her friend turns to confront the jogger. Well, the direct way works too, she figures. While Caitlin is questioning her, she looks the other woman over thoughfully. Up close, yes, definitely someone who believes in the workout. She can appreciate that.

    Cute, too.

    Her train of thought comes to a grinding halt at the response though...wait, there's MORE than one Caitlin in the world?? The mind boggles. then again, the 'you look like someone I know' is also one of those prehistoric pickup lines.

    "Maybe...what's your friend's name?" Sarah asks.

Fairchild has posed:
    Someone who looks like *Caitlin*? It's an idea so novel she finds it instantly suspicious, eyes narrowed just a touch and her lips curled into the slightest hint of a frown at one side. Not because she thinks someone might be hitting on her, of course - she *never* thinks *that*, just ask Sarah... or Grunge... or Burnout... or - well, you get the idea. It's just that she doesn't believe Scandal.
    "I - don't really look like anyone else in my family, other than the hair.
    "And you definitely didn't know *me*, I didn't even look like this too long ago, I ..."
    She pauses for a moment. "I had a, ah, a growth spurt," Caitlin offers. "And... I, I really... hit the gym."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
Scandal looks even less convinced than Caitlin. "Uh-huh. It's clear, now I've seen, ahh, this side of you, that you're not her. The hair's a little different. And she tends to wear green all the time. But it wouldn't have been out of character for her to show up here as a surprise, so... well. I apologise for any confusion caused. Please, take it as a compliment that I thought you might be my wife, or one of her relatives."

And she offers an elegant, formal bow. "I promise that from me, at least, likening anyone to Kay is not an insult."

Freefall has posed:
    When Roxie finds her cigarettes missing, she doesn't curse. Cursing would be a sign the cigarette have a hold over her, which they DEFINITELY DON'T, she's TOTALLY IN CONTROL and can quit ANY TIME SHE WANTS. She just grabs her jacket and pulls it on, even in the July heat (though to be fair, Roxie is and always will be a little scrawny, without much meat on her to keep in the warmth; a lifetime scar left by her upbringing), before heading out to track Caitlin down. The boys are off skateboarding or having farting contests or practicing kissing or whatever boys do when they're alone, so Caitlin and Sarah are probably together. Where would the two of them go?
    Well, the way Sarah's been looking at Caitlin, she would probably want to go somewhere nice enough to enjoy but not so nice it would feel romantic. Also somewhere broke people could go for free.
    Central Park sounds about right. It also sounds like saying, "Hm, where could Sarah and Caitlin have gone...I know! They're in Delaware! I have them now!"
    But the option is to go out and buy more cigarettes when there's a perfectly good pair probably hidden in Cait's pocket, so: off Roxy goes.

Rainmaker has posed:
    And this is why Caitlin doesn't usually get to make up the cover stories. Sarah resists reacting to her quick attempt to cover the slip, though Scandal's response draws a definite blink from Sarah. A wife who looks a lot like Caitlin? That's...a distracting thought and neither here nor there, however!

    She steps forward, her tone a bit less suspicious and more polite now. "It's okay...if she's that, um, noticeable, I could see how you might make a mistake." she says, cautiously. "...really, she's named Kay?" Which can be short for Caitlin...

    Okay, there is at least a possible chance here of an alternate universe duplicate thing happening now here.

Fairchild has posed:
    Caitlin DID NOT hide her sister's cigarettes.
    They are not on top of that shelf in the closet, way in the back corner, defended by math books she knows Roxie would never, not in a million years, risk contaminating herself by touching even to look behind.
    The cigarettes have not begun to form a new society with the knowledge they have absorbed though osmosis.

    "Oh. Oh, it's okay, I'm sorry about your - wait, did you say your wife?"
    The lightly tanned flesh of Caitlin's face takes on a deeper, redder hue as a blush appears on her cheeks and spreads across the bridge of her nose. Promptly, Caitlin folds both of her arms across her chest - though, well, she must hold them out a bit, you know? It isn't like Roxie, she can't just put them right there, there's a bit too much THERE there, so - anyway, she's covering as much of the There as she can, tugging awkwardly at the front of her hoodie.
    "Oh," she says again. "Uhm. I'm, uhm, I'm sure she's ... lovely?"

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
The smallest of the trio involved in the conversation can't help but laugh, though it sounds truly amused rather than mocking - and she softens it with a gentle inclination of her head. "Yes. She's called Kay. Yes, she was crazy enough to accept my marriage proposal. Yes, you look a great deal like her. Yes, on first sight - when I rounded that corner back there - I thought that you *were* my beloved. I apologise for making you uncomfortable, but truly: it should be taken as a compliment. Though I can't help but wonder if you still might not be related somehow."

Freefall has posed:
    And then, Roxie.
    All black leather and chrome spikes, Roxie comes around the corner of the walking path with an 'ah-HA!' in her eyes that isn't entirely earned. She got lucky more than she sleuthed her way here: she was afraid to ask if anyone saw the six-foot underwear model, because that's a bad way to draw attention to people looking to not have attention drawn. But there Caitlin is, and Sarah too, and Roxie comes stalking up the path in long, stiff-knee'd strides, covering the distance quickly and angrily... but grinning. Is there murder in her grin? Maybe.
    "Girls! Sorry I held you up!" she calls out from a distance back, still grinning. "Glad you went on without me. Who's your new friend?"

Fairchild has posed:
    "We're, uh, definitely not related, okay?" says the visibly uncomfortable Caitlin, the flattering comparisons to Scandal's wife finding no greater purchase than the ways Sarah tends to look at her - not that Caitlin has ever managed to notice the way her teammate pines after her, preposterously guileless as she sometimes tends to be.
    The arrival of her sister (for once (don't tell her that)) comes as blessed release. "Roxie!" Caitlin exclaims, pulling the front of her hoodie together and swiftly yanking up the zipper. It doesn't help that much - her abdomen is covered, but the garment is stretched dramatically across the statuesque redhead's, ah, let's call them 'remarkable' breasts.
    "This is, uh - she thinks I'm her wife, I think?"

Rainmaker has posed:
    A part of Sarah just can't help but go 'awwww' at Caitlin's expression. She got it! She does get a faint smile for a moment, before nodding to Scandal. "They say everyone has a doppleganger who looks like them somewhere in the world, I guess your Kay is one of them for..."

    As she pauses slightly, unsure if she should be giving out names, Roxy comes stalking after them, causing Sarah to look her way, and then Caitlin makes the point sort of moot. Oooooh boy. "We were just getting some fresh air while you were sleeping..." Sarah protests faintly. "You'd been passed out for hours already.' There's something in her tone that suggests she's disapproving of Roxy having still been asleep this late in the day.
    She glances back at the other woman, then says. "I'm Sarah...."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
"Scandal. Yes, I'm serious. And yes, my father has an unconventional approach to the world - including choice of names," the eldest of the (now) quartet says dryly... while trying not to laugh at Caitlin's reaction, or the resulting display of stretched material. Roxie receives a lingering, curious look, before Scandal focuses fully upon Sarah for the first time - her own features might well suggest an appreciable dose of native blood of some kind, though certainly not so pure as Rainmaker's. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sarah. And I apologise for upsetting your friend."

Freefall has posed:
    "The littlest things upset her," Roxie agrees pleasantly. She's definitely not thinking of killing anyone, why would you assume that? "But could be worse. You could have been an Imogene or something. I'm Roxie." Hand out, to shake.

Fairchild has posed:
    "I'm Caitlin."
    She doesn't extend her hand. It isn't that she means to be rude, really, she's just uncomfortable. The idea that anyone would hit on her at all, for any reason, is still new and alien to her - she's had years of experience with that sort of thing being some sort of trick, so even ignoring the fact it's another girl, it's something she reacts defensively towards.

Fairchild has posed:
    Caitlin, even with her hoodie zipped shut, finds her arms once more across her chest.
    She is definitely neither tawny nor copper-skinned. If she kept out of the sun for a week or two, she'd probably be as white as paper.

Rainmaker has posed:
    "Thus why it's odd your wife apparently looks close to her and is named Kay." Sarah says helpfully after Caitlin introduces herself, shooting a look at Rox. "It's okay, she's just...ah..." She searched for the right world. Oblivious? "...a little shy." she settles on. She smiles a bit. "Scandal is definitely a memorable name, if nothing else..."

    The predictable 'zzzzzzip!' from Caitlin brings a faint sigh from the Amerindian woman. Well, so much for trying to convince her to get a little sun. Maybe she'll have better luck convincing Rox to go jogging with her.

    Yeeeeeah, she's not hopeful there either.

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
"Well, I suppose that dressing in green a lot of the time is one point of difference...." Scandal does her best not to get distracted by Caitlin's chest-related motions, instead offering Roxie a smile - and a firm hand-shake. "Nice to see someone else down at my level," she says to the new arrival, nodding playfully towards the tall Rainmaker. The towering Caitlin, she doesn't risk indicating, lest there by a further outbreak of embarrassment. "But I can understand why you're surprised. This is turning into a rather remarkable coincidence."

Freefall has posed:
    "'Shy' is a polite way to put it," Roxie tells Scandal cheerfully. "She's just worried to look like she's flirting with you. Her girlfriend is the jealous type." She doesn't bother looking at Caitlin to check the effect of her lie; she already feels perfectly satsified with her revenge. Instead, she asks Scandal, "So what's this coincidence you're all talking about?"

Fairchild has posed:
    Caitlin opens her mouth as if to speak, but promptly chooses not to point out just how much green she's wearing even now - the shoes, the sports bra, both green. Why should she make this any worse for herself?
    She supposes she should, at least, be thankful she isn't out here in costume, with most of her ass hanging out, her legs bare and her torso encased in that weird, squeaky leather that all her costumes end up being made from.
    Naturally, her sister proceeds to say something infinitely worse. Caitlin's emerald green eyes snap wide and her shoulders slump, and she stares at her sister with her mouth opened, a look of shock on her face. "ROXie!" she half-whispers, chidingly.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah's jaw drops slightly at Roxie's comment. She seriously...?! Catching Scandal's eye she shakes her head slightly, before she gets the wrong idea about her and Caitlin.

    Though it's such a right idea, and....nonononono.

    Luckily, at that moment her cellphone rings, giving her a distraction. "Um, moment..." She steps aside, bringing the phone up.

    "Sarah...what? No. No, I told you you needed to get more." She frowns distractedly. '...no, I DID tell you that, Julie, right after we did the frat house protest. Cardstock and paint sticks." Whatever she's hearing makes her face palm for a moment, rubbing her forehead, then her eyes open. 'NO! No, do not do that. I'll be right there. Just....don't touch anything."


tShe glances at the other girls. "I'm sorry, I need to take care of this at the campus...it was interesting meeting you, Scandal; it's a small world, maybe we'll bump into each other again?" To the other girls she says. 'I'll meet you back at the room, shouldn't be more than an hour." She starts jogging, muttering. "I hope..."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
*Most* of Caitlin's visible outfit isn't green, which would frequently be rather a departure for Knockout. But perhaps Scandal is just clutching at straws. At least until Roxie drops *that* bombshell. It earns her a decidedly startled look from the Brazilian... then she's waving farewell and nodding to the hastily- departing Rainmaker, before Scandal looks back (up) to Caitlin. "I apologise. I thought that you were reacting like that because you were uncomfortable with my mention of a wife. I leapt to the wrong conclusion, and I am sorry for misjudging you." To Roxie, she offers a sheepish smile and a slight shrug. "From the back in particular, Caitlin looks a great deal like Kay. To whom I'm married."

Freefall has posed:
    Roxie looks thoughtfully at Caitlin, then nods back at Scandal. "From behind, I could see that. From the front, she looks a little young for you." She flips Sarah's departing back a wave, then tells Scandal, "But yeah, don't worry about misreading her. There's worse things to be called than straight, right?"

Fairchild has posed:
    "Not that there's anything *wrong* with - you know, with *not* being that," Caitlin interjects, even as the idea that she looks more like whoever it is she's supposed to look like from behind makes her glance back, as if to make sure there's nothing visibly wrong with her butt (which there isn't, of course, it's every bit as effortlessly flawless as the rest of her).
    Sarah's exit creates an even more awkward tone to the encounter, at least for Caitlin.
    "Do you, uhm.
    "Do you do... protest things? Like Sarah?"

    Do you do the things the other lesbian I know does, asks the girl with a post-genius level IQ and all the social experience of a shut-in.

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
"Ouch," Scandal says to Roxie - though she looks and sounds amused (and surprised) more than offended. And does indeed hastily peer up (and over) Caitlin to double-check the apparent age of her face rather than the rest of her. "I have been known to take some direct action from time to time, opposing forced labour camps and the like," she says truthfully, if a little misleadingly thanks to the context. "But I don't think that I have previously encountered Sarah, no. I'd be happy to do so again. All three of you, though I suspect that you, at least" - she quirks a smile up at Caitlin - "might run away if you see me coming."

Fairchild has posed:
    "No. No, I mean, you know, I wouldn't do that, I'm, you know, I'm progressive and everything." What is she even talking about, at this point? It's hard to read her age, really - she's so tall, and so beautiful, and so remarkably physically developed that it's easy to get it wrong by several years, but the odds seem solid she's in her late teens or her early twenties.
    "And we, you know, we don't live all that far from here, I mean, we stay over at the Fulham."
    Wait, why did she say that? She almost instantly regrets it.
    "So, you know, we'll probably see you around! Or maybe you'll stop by sometime!"
    Caitlin. Caitlin. Honey. Stop talking.

Freefall has posed:
    "That would be nice, if you have time," Roxie says, sincerely. Sincerely-sincerely, not murder-sincerely. "You seem cool. And we could meet your wife."

Scandal Savage (1017) has posed:
Scandal looks genuinely surprised, then rather flattered. And perhaps even somewhat bashful. "Thank you. That would be lovely. And I'll have to see if I can round Kay up and bring her along. I think that she'd get a kick out of meeting you. However... for the moment, I should probably let you get back to your own affairs. I've got a run to finish, and I'm a bit behind schedule. I'll make sure to track you down if I can, however. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your day!"

And with that, the Brazilian raises a hand in farwell, then stutter-steps into motion, breaking into a smoothly ground-eating run.

Freefall has posed:
    Roxie waves goodbye at Scandal, and elbows Caitlin. "So you know we're going to need a side-by-side photo study of you and Kay, right?"