14068/Tandem Hunting Trip

Tandem Hunting Trip
Date of Scene:	09 January 2022
Location:	Manhattan Subway Station
Synopsis:	14068
Cast of Characters:	Kit Killovarras, Jax Miller

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Kit Killovarras has posed:
It's the first time Jax would have been able to hunt with Kit and who ever heard of being subtle? Nope, the yeen is decked out in his normal attire with most of his body padded out in tightly wrapped bandages, leaving only a few places open that aren't vital or to avoid restricting his movement too much. On top of that? Black jeans, black hoodie and a steel cage style muzzle, the inside banding of which looks to have been modified to allow for a bit more padding.. This is armor and while it's not the type of armor that might save him from a bullet? It's pretty obviously meant to mitigate damage to some degree.

"You sure you want to do this, Kitten?" Kit asks as he starts down the steps into the subway station, his eyes glowing a soft violet against the darkness under his hood. He's been asking that every so often since they left campus. He's worried, but perhaps not for the reasons some people might assume.

There's something different about how he moves through the darkness, how he carries himself. Every move, every step is silent and even with the few people out at this late hour, he's been excessively careful and abnormally clever avoiding contact with others. This is all something he's experienced with and probably far more so than a teenager should ever have to be.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "For the two hundredth and seventeenth time, yes."

    In nature, there are few more accomplished hunters than the cat. Sleek, fast, a master of camouflage, a large feline is an apex predator able to blend into any environment until it's far too late for the unfortunate victim being stalked to do anything about it. It's therefore unfortunate that Jax doesn't seem to have inherited /any/ of this inborn skill of his feral brethren and sistren.

    Observe then the Jax, as he descends the stairs close on the heels of his friend. Being told that they were going hunting, he of course thought about stealth, about practicality, and about things like anonymity. But practicality, stealth, and anonymity are three things that are anathema to his entire personality. So he comes down the stairs in what is, generously speaking, a nod towards the requirements of 'the hunt'. That is to say, he's wearing black cargo slacks with added pockets (for tactical reasons), an indistinct red hoodie that stands out a mile, and a black leather jacket that is clearly new and clearly of designer origin. Even with the hood up, it's impossible to not spot him as a feline mutant in an instant, given that his tail is swinging free behind him. At that point the gloves without fingertips and reinforced knuckles are really just the tip of an iceberg helpfully flashing 'Not A Clue' in bright neon letters for all to see.

    But he's here, making no noise as he walks, aside from whenever he talks, which is pretty much constantly.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There's a little chuckle from the hyena and he just sort of murmurs, "I just don't want you getting hurt..." with a little shrug. Kit is very good at finding trouble and tonight will likely be no exception, but at least he doesn't have a set target this time. No gun runners or dealers, just a patrol. It's been relatively quiet until a sudden scream of "thief!" rings out and a little thug of a teenager comes sprinting towards the stairs Kit and Jax are on, but nearly skids to a stop and books it the other way when he sees the two distinctly not human people walking down the steps.

Kit just gives Jax a glance and a little grin, "You want this one?" he asks with a little tilt of his head.

Jax Miller has posed:
    A raspberry by way of reply is what Jax seems to think of the chances of him getting hurt. False confidence, more than likely, but then again his entire life so far hasn't thrown anything more dangerous at him than a Mage Hunter and an erupting underwater fissure. What could possibly happen in a New York subway station that's worse than that?

    It's while he's actually considering that for the first time since setting out on this jaunt that the mugger so obligingly runs towards them. Perhaps it's the sight of the two mutants that makes him run. Possibly it's the sight of Jax smiling that tilts that balance... But fact remains, a mugger on the run.

    "Woohoo! On it!" And from a near standstill on the stairs, Jax explodes into a sprint with seemingly no motion in between. There's a look of glee on his face as he dashes after the mugger... there is nothing kittens like more than the chase...

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Cat vs. Human? Cat's gonna win, hands down. Jax is far faster and likely far stronger than the non-mutant teenager who snatched a purse. Easy catches are a thing and Kit did warn the kitten that there would be more than one bad-guy to take down.

Kit would be walking towards wherever Jax finally manages to take the man down at his normal stride. Unless the guy pulls a weapon, he's not going to step in, at least not yet.

Jax Miller has posed:
    In nature, there are moments in the life of a kitten that define certain milestones. One of them, among the more important ones in fact, is the first solo catch. Granted, there had been the mugger on the train a few months back, but that was while Jax had the support of several X-men and New Mutants, and he was really just standing there demanding his stuff, so... doesn't count. But this chase? This is solo, a prey that is actively trying to escape, and momma cat is letting kitten do all the work.

    When the mugger starts to weave through benches and around pillars, it's almost painful to watch how quickly Jax is catching up. Benches? Vaulted! Pillars? Dodge! He's run more obstacles on the football field.

    When the mugger rounds yet another bench, Jax leaps, pushes off from the top of the bench, and pounces. In what is rapidly becoming a trademark move, a significant amount of ballistic feline mutant lands on top of the teenager and brings him down. From there, it's a simple matter to grab both arms and just hold them...

    It's then, and only then, that Jax begins to realise that the mugger he just caught is just a kid his own age. So his expression of glee turns into a frown of concern, and then annoyance. He's very much like a kitten who just caught his first mouse and now doesn't know what to do with it.

    When in doubt, dialogue!

    "You probably shouldn't have done that. Wrong time, wrong place, all that stuff. Did you know an adult lion can bite a zebra's neck clean in half? 's true, seen it on the Discovery Channel..."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There's a moment of panic when the teenager is taken down, landing hard on the concrete and immediately starts yelling, "I'm sorry! Don't kill me!" The bag that he snatched is swiftly picked up by an older woman who thanks Jax for stopping the thief.

Kit meanwhile just sort of casually walks over and muses, "We're not going to kill you, calm down.." then looks at Jax and tilts his head a little, "Good take-down. I'll leave what we do with him up to you.. Let him go or turn him in." There are only two other people here observing at the moment, one of which being the victim and the other being an older gentleman who doesn't seem to have given two shits about what was going on.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Ah. Decision time... Funny how easy moral choices seem to be at one remove, but when actually dealing with it then and there, things always begin to dissolve into shades of grey. But Jax does tilt his head and gives his best mock disappointed look when Kit declares the mugger is not going to be eaten today. "Awww."

    Letting that sit for a moment, the feline mutant then slowly turns his head to face the mugger again, eyes narrowing to slits. "Do you have any idea how many cats are around New York? If you try this again, if you as much as look funny at someone, I'm going to know. And I'll find you. Alone, this time."

    That said, he takes his weight off the mugger and pulls him up, seemingly without effort, before letting go of his arms. "Go. Quickly."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Deer in the headlights is a good expression to explain the look on the teenage muggers face when he's pulled up and let go, but it's only for a split second before he turns and scrambles away at top speed! Kit just laughs and nudges Jax gently, "Good choice. Come on, we've got a bit of a ways to go before we get to the park.."

In the daylight, people would stare at the two of them, but right now? Right now it's late and people are on edge, they don't want to communicate or associate, so they simply keep their distance from everyone. It makes for a good hunting ground for muggers and thieves, since others will simply try to distance themselves from problems, not wanting trouble.. Someone else will handle it, right? Oh well, Kit heads into one of the subway cars when it arrives.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is a pensive look on Jax's face after the incident, and he keeps himself to himself until the subway train has arrived. It's only when he has sprawled himself on a seat that he starts to communicate.

    "You know what bothers me about what just happened?" Opening gambit achieved. And, true to style, he's not waiting for an actual response before plunging on. "That kid... did you see how he snatched that purse? Grabbed it, held it close, ran at a good pace, fast enough to get away but not so fast that he was going to tire himself out? And then did you see how he dodged around those pillars, leaning into a turn?" Uh oh. Oh no... "That kid has so much natural talent. I mean, he'd make an awesome wide receiver for a team, it's just... such a waste, y'know?"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit nods as he sits down near where the feline sprawls out, "You pick up a lot of traits that would make you good at sports when you have to hide from the world. Before you and the others found me, I wasn't much different than him I'd wager. Save for the mugging people part, that is." he says with a little shrug, keeping his head tilted down ever so slightly. There aren't many people on this car, so it's easy to speak freely.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Guess you gotta be an athlete if you wanna be a good criminal? Or a vigilante?" All the while, Jax is just watching the view out the window, as if mesmerised by the passing lights, or sunk in deep thought. After this kind of revelation, this sort of epiphany, what could possibly be occupying his mind?

    "I'm gonna need a better outfit. Because there's no way people aren't gonna recognise me if we keep this up."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"You look like Alex Mercer." Kit says with a little laugh, giving Jax a little nudge with his shoulder. "If you want, I can help you pick something out next time." Then he'll give a glance around, keeping an eye on their surroundings as he sighs. "By the way, now you see why I don't wear designer cloths or branding symbols?" he asks with a toothy little grin, even playfully sticking his tongue out at his feline companion.

It's a fairly uneventful trip from one station to the next and by the time they're at their stop, nothing truly seems out of the ordinary for the night, so at least things are going rather well, at very least for now.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "You should try it though. It's like reverse camouflage." Jax grins right back. "Stand out like a lighthouse, an' everyone just leaves you alone. Doesn't work on this gig, I s'pose, but y'know... there's this, and then there's life." Which leads to a further inspiration. "See, if you look like a peacock most of the time, everyone is just gonna look right past you if you're wearing something drab and sensible. So, if you want this... outfit..." yes, he does motion at the getup Kit is wearing with obvious disdain ".... to keep working for you, you hafta look a bit more flashy during the day."

    There, that concludes the 'Fashion for vigilantes 101' lecture, and the rest of the trip is silence and playful banter. In fact, Jax is still in a good mood all the way to Central Park.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit just snerks and points out, "Or I can continue looking like the typical angsty teen and people will normally look the other way all the same." with a playful little grin, then stands up and heads for the exit when their stop comes up. "Besides, you've seen the type of things I'm used to wearing, I just don't wear them in public too often." he adds with a little grin.

By the time the train has left and the two are out in the station, the sound of a large group approaching gets Kit to stop in his tracks, watching the entrances to the terminal for a moment before he chuckles and murmurs, "Well, the nights about to get fun.."

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Just saying, style is its own reward."

    The good mood is still buoying Jax up, and he only stops because Kit did. In his mind, there's nothing sinister about a large group of people heading into a station. Could be people just out having a good time, going back home. Could be a lot of innocent reasons ... but his friend clearly thinks otherwise. "What's up?"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit starts walking again, going towards the opposite entrance/exit he had been looking towards, musing, "Hopefully nothing. But it might also be one of the local gangs.. They hang out here on occasion to try to intercept me before I get to the park.." Well, Jax did want to know the kind of life that the yeen lives and at very least he's not trying to sugar coat it.

He's almost to the stairs too when the sound of a handgun being cocked catches his attention.. Then another and another..

Yeah, tonight's going to be fun.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Made an impression, did you?" And Jax is still smiling when the entire atmosphere seems to change.

    For some fairly obvious reasons, the feline mutant isn't used to being around firearms. For one thing the fur always gets in the way without taking some very serious precautions, and fur trapped in the action of a gun /hurts/. And loud noises? Even with decent ear protection, he's not a fan. He'll blast music to the point it starts to compromise the integrity of every window in a two mile radius, but the sound of a gun shot doesn't sit well with his ears.

    Which is why he doesn't register the sound he's hearing as a threat, until it seems to echo, and the part of his mind that registers threats (usually lazily, it doesn't ever have to do much) finally jumps up from its metaphorical seat and hands the rest of the brain a metaphorical note written in big metaphorical red letters, before (once more metaphorically) locking the office door and hiding under the equally metaphorical desk.

    Aaaaaaand, sidestep. Suddenly, standing at the bottom of a staircase in plain sight didn't seem like such a good idea.

    "Okay, so you made one hell of an impression..."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There's a split second between when Kit grabs Jax and when a gunshot rings out through the terminal. The yeen spins and swipes a paw through the air, practically catching the bullet with the trailing light he leaves behind, stopping it's flight. "Keep moving, it makes you a harder target.." Kit says with a quiet growl, partially shielding him from the few people in the terminal who go rushing up the steps and out at the sound of gunfire in a panic. "Aim for the ones without firearms, I'll deal with the gunners."

It's not a small number of people coming down the steps and the one that fired off the shot? It looks like he might be the one in 'command' of this group, since he's the one that belts out with, "Skin these fools!"

Jax Miller has posed:
    Traditional wisdom holds that, when faced with a crisis, there are two responses. Fight, or Flight. This is, of course, not true. There are two more responses that are surprisingly common, those being Freeze and Fawn. And for a moment, Jax freezes when the bullet goes past. Talk about something well outside of his level of experience. He has no frame of reference for this...

    And then, unusually, he seems to discover a fifth response to crisis. Hunt.

    A quick nod is all the indication he gives to Kit that he's understood what he'd been asked to do, but the way his ears and eyes are behaving, there may be some more... latent impulses currently at play.

    If the gang was expecting to find just Kit, they're sadly mistaken. If they were expecting Kit and a human, they're also in for a bit of a shock.

    This shock comes in the form of a sudden growl as Jax launches himself at a gang member near the rear of the pack, grabbing at the thug's baseball bat in a movement that was so fast a great many people wouldn't have seen it happen at all. But a baseball bat is a weapon Jax does know, and knows well.

    Batter up!

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The order causes the gang to charge in and a few more gunshots ring out as the aardwolf carves four long blades into the air with his claws, sending them fly towards two of the gunners a moment later. He's not hiding his height anymore and he's certainly not hiding his fangs anymore!

When Jax lunges into the fray, his target might be caught off guard, but the response would likely be a few others suddenly aiming for the kamakaze feline. After all, which is more threatening, a hyena mage or a large cat suddenly being hurled at your group?

Jax Miller has posed:
    Grab, twist, and one thug goes upside down before meeting the ground. All that would have been rather merciful considering he'd just been attacked by nearly one hundred and fifty pounds of alpha predator, had it not been for the bat to then come down taking the thug out for the count. This leaves Jax standing practically in the middle of the pack, bat slung over his shoulders, held with a casual stance as if he's just walking up to the base plate.

    And a moment later, he's no longer there, jumping aside as if he's dodging a charge by a whole football team's worth of linebackers. There's a whoosh and a WHOCK that resounds around the whole station as the bat meets the legs of another thug, but before the pack has a chance to turn on the elusive feline he is, once again, elsewhere...

    There's a hunter loose in the paddock.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Well, if the feline fighter wasn't enough, two of the gunners go down with gash marks across their arms and upper bodies and the yeen swings his claws out for two more! One last gunshot goes off before the last gunner falls, first priorities and all. With the sudden addition of a feisty feline though, several of the thugs have already turned tail.

With some of them running, some of them still fighting and several of the thugs on the ground, Kit cracks his neck and walks forward, waving a hand as a trash can takes flight, launching towards some of the people now trying to retaliate against the flying feline.

Jax Miller has posed:
    The berserker rush is always difficult to deal with, especially if this berserker turns out to be a six foot tall feline who never seems to be in the same place for more than two seconds at a time, wielding a bat as if he's trying to drive knees and skulls over the stands straight across midfield. But, naturally, when someone is fighting with sheer chaotic energy, eventually one of two things must happen... the energy runs out, or someone gets lucky and intercepts the whirlwind.

    As it so happens, this time the latter happens.

    A chain, swung at roughly where Jax used to be, continues on when the feline moves, completing its arc to intersect the exact space the feline was going to be. What happens next needs to be determined in slow motion to explain the two meaty THUDS that happen nearly simultaneously.

    Just as he's about to take another swing at nameless thug seventh from the right, he becomes aware of the chain about to hit him in the face. Leaning away, Jax turns his head just as the chain whistles past, scraping his cheek and taking some fur with it. The bat, already underway, is diverted to deal with the chain wielder, requiring Jax to extend his arm fully just as he reaches the nadir of his swaying dodge. For most other people, this would have been dislocation time.

    But there's advantages to having a collar bone that's embedded in muscle rather than attaching to the rest of the skeleton. Like a long lever, his arm unfolds, extends, and the head of the bat finds the face of the chain wielder with enough force to spin him around on the spot. Which is unfortunate for the thug who came in to stab Jax just as he was off balance, seeing how the chain continues on by sheer momentum and strikes the knife wielding thug full in the face.

    Which means that, to those not blessed with supreme feline reflexes, it seems as if there is blur of movement after which two thugs hit the ground almost simultaneously, leaving Jax standing between them grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

    And, lacking any more thugs to beat up, he turns to the fleeing ones and gives chase. Kittens do so like to chase things...