1688/Going For A Walk

Going For A Walk
Date of Scene:	27 July 2017
Location:	Gotham City, near Crime Alley
Synopsis:	Catwoman and Harley Quinn cross paths and share a few mixed opinions about interests of theirs, with a recent incident coming up as well.
Cast of Characters:	Harley Quinn, Catwoman

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Harley Quinn has posed:
It's the other side of town, where the Joker Gang are actually knocking over a joint, without their king or queen in presence. Partially it's an exercise simply to give the boys something to do, and partially it's so that when Harley decides she's taking Bud & Lou for a walk she's probably not going to encounter Bats and fam. Few women might choose to walk openly through Crime Alley unaccompanied at night, especially not when they're only 5'4" tall... but Harley? Is not most women.

The Joker's right-hand woman is clad in her traditional red and black, tonight in the form of a laced up bustier, pants and thigh length boots, with a recently acquired mink stole thrown over the top. In one hand she's got the diamente-studded leads of the ridiculously over-pamped hyenas, the other wrapped loosely about the handle of the mallet lain half across her shoulders. There's no effort to pretend that she's hiding, at all. Just taking the pets for a walk, as one does.

Catwoman has posed:
Without a doubt, this is one of those sights that leads to word spreading quickly. People have seen Harley Quinn, and the majority of them give the woman and her pets a wide berth. Wide, as in 'cross traffic wherever they are to get to the other side of the street, no matter the danger.' It's likely safer than risking Harley's attention. Such a thing could go well, or it may end with one's brains splattered against a brick wall.

However, while the bold and ambitious (and likely stupid) male might see Harley and think he has the chance to put a few moves on her with Joker nowhere to be found, a probably lethal mistake itself, there is one in the area who does not flee when word of the Clown Princess of Crime reaches her ears. In Catwoman's case, it's from those below:

"..then I saw Quinn!"
"It's the crazy clown! No, the other one!"
"Yeah, it's Joker's squeeze, and she's got those dogs with her!"

These things and more reach Catwoman's ears, and she crosses a couple rooftops in the direction the people on the street are moving away from, until she's spotted the one in question. A few more rooftops are navigated, a regular leap here, a longer jump into a forward roll there, and she slides down a ladder until it gives her the opportunity to step casually out of an alley, less than a block from Harley.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn carries herself like a queen, too, unhurried and confident. There's no hurrying the hyenas as they snuffle about. Really, the leash isn't even needed, but it's pretty and at least gives people the illusion that they're somewhat under control. A skip to her steps and a hum on her lips as she pauses to let Bud sniff around one of the nearby trees, idly twirling the mallet over her shoulder with an indulgent smile for her precious little darlings.

Still, one doesn't survive in Gotham by ignoring when people in black show up, and there's the tilt of her head in Cats direction before she gives an even brighter kind of smile, wriggling the fingers wrapped around the mallets handle by way of wave and calling out,"Haaii kitty-kitty!" by way of acknowledgement.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman's footfalls are rather quiet, particularly with the sounds of the city around. She makes her way closer, keeping to the same side of the sidewalk as Harley instead of avoiding her. Had she wanted to do that, she'd have descended to the opposite sidewalk or simply kept above it all from the beginning.

As upbeat as Harley's pace is, Catwoman's are much more measured and calculated, as if there isn't a single bit of motion out of her that isn't thought through ahead of time. Very deliberate, purposeful. "If it isn't Harley Quinn," she all but purrs, a clawed, gloved hand resting at her side near the whip handle, but not in fact touching it. "A fine night for a walk, isn't it? And with the pets?" Her eyes can be made out behind the red tint of her goggles, and combined with her expression they hint at a mixture of curiosity and interest. "Without the boy-toy, though? I haven't been keeping up with the news. Is he still taking up a spot in the funhouse?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn reaches down with the leash holding hand to ruffle the head of Lou like the hyena was nothing more than an overgrown puppy, nudging him with a foot to get him to sit down and behave himself,"They get bored if they don't get to come out sometimes. Don't you Lou?" the last coo'ed at the one settled by her feet before she raises her blue eyes towards the Cat and her whip with a bright beam of a smile,"Oh not for too much longer now. It's almost his birthday! We're going to have a lovely party... so many laughs. You should come." she suggests brightly.

The mallet gets set with its head on the ground and handle in the air so she can ruffle the slavering creature by her feet,"Can't wait for daddy to come home, can you Lou-lou? What about you, kitty-cat? What have you been up to lately...? Steal anything pretty?"

Catwoman has posed:
"Oh, my friends like their activity as well, but they're not big fans of leashes," Catwoman explains, gesturing with her palms up. The hyenas earn at least part of her attention, though the majority of it is on the one keeping them mostly under control.

Her tone changes when told of the party plans. "Is that so? That ought to liven things up again around this boring old town, though I hear you've been doing what you can to keep things interesting. I'm guessing it'll keep Batman busier as well, and that's good for all of us." More distractions for the Caped Crusader to focus on means better odds of pulling off a job without having to deal with him.

"I'll have to think of a suitable gift, but you'll understand if I want to keep far away from that place." A few steps closer follow, leaving the two about fifteen feet apart. Still safe, mostly. "I don't loot and tell, honey." It's her turn to coo. "My..purr-loining is for me to know and others to find out about later."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Oh they just like that they're pretty, don't they?" Harley insists, mostly to the hyena, who, to be fair, probably doesn't like it, for all that it's very tolerant of being treated like a puppy by the clown princess. She ruffles Lou again and elects to unsnap the pair, leaving them loose to prowl without the slightest concern for the likelihood that anyone that hasn't already sought shelter is probably going to have a bad night as a result.

For Harley, however, there's an exaggeratedly solemn nod for Catwoman as she drapes the leashes about her neck and leans on the handle of the mallet like it was a cane,"I knooow. Without Mistah J around the poor people get so bored. And Batsy and his brats just get even more fascistly annoying. But I promised I'd wait for his big party... I'm getting all the invites ready and everything. And ooooh, if you do come... bring something that goes 'boom'. Just... well, in case."

There's a glitter in her eyes for all that she doesn't specify what exactly it would be 'in case' of, swinging the mallet up over her shoulder with a glance for the guy that realizes that there's a couple of hyenas stalking down the road towards him and takes off in the opposite direction,"Aww." there's a mock-pout from Harley,"'s not like I'mma steal it from you or anything. I know someone disabled that truck using smoke bombs that netted the boys all kinds of fun things to play with. And it wasn't the Bats... and Ivy doesn't play like that... so I'm thinking, maybe, it was you... even if they didn't get a look at their fairy bomb-mother at the time."

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman points out, somewhat smugly, "On the other hand, my friends don't /need/ leashes, but they listen to me well enough even if most cats are hard to tame." Like the one in the black catsuit, naturally. All the same, she takes extra care to mind the hyenas when they're allowed to free roam, watching them as they go off in search of someone else to bother.

"You know, Harls, I've never been one for the theatrics, the big shows, the loud explosions. I'm more of a sneak in and out kind of girl. My idea of a good time is doing a job you never even knew I was there for," Catwoman says, explaining the sort of challenge that excites her. "So, no promises one way or the other." In other words, don't expect her to show.

However, her eyes narrow ever so slightly as the incident with the truck from the chemical plant is brought up. "What makes you think I had anything to do with that?" she asks, careful not to let anything slip in her body language or tone that could be a clue one way or another. "Based on what I heard, there were a few different people there for that one."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Oh Bud and Lou don't need leashes." Harley insists, her smile entirely too toothy as she watches the hyenas skitter off after the running man, only to circle back and look for fresh prey when he dives through a door and pulls it closed behind him,"But it's not a /job/, it's a /party/. And party's are always more fun with fire." she points out, settling her weight onto one hip as her gaze tilts back towards the woman in black,"There always is... isn't there? People thinking they can just show up and getting in the way. But see... the one's that are good enough to do that... without being... seen... cos' they don't like theatrics... an' have access to the fun kind of toys... that's a /much/ smaller list. I mean... say it wasn't you... not like it makes a difference one way or another in the end. My boys got what they wanted."

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman doesn't forget about the hyenas, but they're not the primary thing on her mind right now. That has become Harley Quinn herself. "I think your idea of fun differs a little from mine, whether it's a part or otherwise." She holds up a hand, her thumb and index finger separated only by a few millimeters, then the gap widens along with her smile, those lips painted black.

The hand drops back down to her side, the thumb hooking into the strap of the bag she wears slung across her back, the strap itself crossing diagonally in front. "As you say, it didn't matter one way or another, so whether I did happen to be there or not is immaterial." What this does do is confirm for her who was behind the job. That, in and of itself, is valuable information. "Should I assume that has something to do with your party? You aren't planning on a big exploding cake, are you?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn blinks innocently Catwoman's way, like it's incomprehensible that fun doesn't involve chaos and mayhem and fire, for all the wicked tilt of the lips underneath it, ruby red in echo of her favorite clown prince,"Oh now, that would be telling. Mistah J has all /kinds/ of fun lined up for it... and we're totally going to invite Batsy and his brats... wouldn't want him to miss out after all." the little blonde rocks up onto the toes of her boots briefly with a bright little giggle, only to whistle sharply in the direction of the hyena's.

"I'm going to pout, if you don't come. And then maybe I'll hafta burn you a big ol' cat face on the diamond exchange or something. Bright and pretty." she suggests as her attention shifts back to the hyenas, not at all surprised by their obedience as they turn and start trotting back her way again.

Catwoman has posed:
"I'll tell you what, Harley," Catwoman begins. "I'm thinking something like this. You have your party, and make it the biggest, loudest one you can imagine. The bat has been on my tail lately, threatening me about locking me up if he catches me doing this or that. The usual. I'm sure you know how it is when he /really/ gets the gravel going in his voice. Me, I kind of like it, but Arkham's not my idea of a good time."

She's walking closer now, on the way toward going past the woman in the red and black. "But, you have your fun. If Batman does show, I've got a little job I had in mind that would be just purrrrrfect with him busy elsewhere. I don't usually make an offer like this, but if it works out this way and I get the score I'm after, maybe I can leave you and 'Mistah J' a little something from it for you to enjoy. You know, as a way of saying thanks for making my night easier. What do you say?" The approaching return of the hyenas is not missed, especially after the summoning.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Batsy really needs to pull his tights out of his ass." is Harley's opinion, turning slowly to watch Catwoman as she heads off, absent in the gesture for the hyenas to sit and behave themselves when they reach her, beaming brightly at the feline as she absently pets Bud's broad head,"You'll be missing out on a lot of fun... but sure! Mistah J could use something shiny and explodey for his birthday." she opines before turning her attention to the hyenas again,"Did you find someone to play with? Did you have fun? Here... give me that. We don't eat shirts, now do we? Come on... let's go find someone to play with." she coo's at them, cuffing Lou from paying too much attention to the Cat, at least.

Catwoman has posed:
"Won't find me arguing with you on /that/ one," Catwoman mutters as far as Batman goes, though not under her breath. She means for Harley Quinn to hear it. "Really, explosives aren't my bag. I'm not big on the whole chaos thing either, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth when I see one. We all have our own ways of getting stuff done. Yours works for you. Mine works for me."

She stops side by side with Joker's main squeeze, glancing her way out of the corner of a covered eye, a slight upturn to the side of her mouth. "For what it's worth, Harley, I /was/ there and I did drop the smoke bombs. What can I say? Your boys almost ran over a cat while racing away from the cops. I couldn't just let that go unaccounted for, but like you said, you got what you were after anyway. I didn't know who they were working for either, but all's well that ends well, hmmm?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
"You should try them some time. Life is more fun with fire." Harley insists, wrapping her arms about the hyena with a bright beam of a smile,"Well, at least they didn't hurt the cat. And it worked out in the end. Gave us just what we needed for Mistah J's big bash." a tight squeeze and she rises again,"Would have been really upsetting, otherwise." there's a blink of those big blue eyes before she turns away again, apparently content to go gamboling after the two spotted predators,"Enjoy your shiny!" she recommends.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman answers, as noncommittally as can be, "Maybe one of these days." Or she may just avoid the fire altogether. She watches the apparent loving care shared between psychotic clown and hyena, saying little else in this conversation. "Until next time, Harley." Shaking her head as the woman all but bounces and skips off after the unconventional pets, she eyes the surroundings, looking briefly down the very alley the Waynes met their demise in, then the whip is uncurled to lash out at a light pole, the cat burglar swinging her way back to the rooftops en route to another part of Gotham City.