1703/Hot Doggin' It

Hot Doggin' It
Date of Scene:	28 July 2017
Location:	A New York City suburb
Synopsis:	Tigra and Blink learn about each other.
Cast of Characters:	Blink, Tigra

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Blink has posed:
Nothing like spending a sunny summer afternoon at the local park. Of course when you don't have parks where you live, that means blinking over to one you've seen on the television. And today that's exactly what Clarice had done, having checked first that it wasn't too well populated of course!

Dressed in skinny grey jeans and a green fitted tee, she could be like any other girl in her late teens. If it wasn't for the pinky purple skin, or those glowing green eyes. Not that the portaller seems to be letting that stop her. A faded I <HEART> NY baseball cap and dark shades to keep the glare of the sun off, the young woman is out seeking adventure!

Tigra has posed:
It's one of New York City's multiple suburbs, some of which could pass for large metropolitan areas of their own. That's how big the region is, how densely populated it is. In spite of that, there are some areas that have not been completely gobbled up by concrete and steel. Parks are important to keep around.

This particular one may have found its way onto some TV show as a filming location, or maybe it ended up in a commercial of some kind. For Tigra, it's a welcome diversion from a little investigating she's doing, a chance for what amounts to a lunch break as she's got a couple of those famous franks from one of those NYC hot dog cart vendors, found in more than just the main city areas themselves. One has already been finished off with little hesitation, if the empty wrapper nearby is a sign, and the second is about halfway eaten as well.

The feline is seated upon a bench in the park, nary a care in the world for who might see her. No change in her usual attire either, meaning the stripes and coloring are clear as the water at many Caribbean beaches.

Blink has posed:
Nothing like a good New York hot dog! Clarice had made her own way over to the cart without ever having seen Tigra on her break. But now that food has been acquired the purple mutant gets to take a look arou-holycowisthatacatlady!?

It takes several long moments for Clarice's brain to restart after it's shock. Perfectly long enough for Blink to realise that she's staring, and probably for the stare'ee to notice as well. Oh well, no helping it now!

A few long strides puts her within talking distance, one more and her hand is outstretched offered in a shake. "Hi! I'm Clarice, sorry for uh, staring. Should know better, considering." And she does look sheepish, cheeks staining plum.

Tigra has posed:
It's likely Tigra's spotted Clarice before the elfin woman has seen her. As proof, she's already watching the lavender-skinned young woman with some curiosity of her own, the tip of her tail swishing lazily back and forth next to her where it's taken up residence on the bench as well.

She finishes her hot dog before anything else, just a few more bites washed down with a bottle of water, and she makes a show of licking the back of her hand before offering it when Clarice holds hers out. Have to make sure there's no ketchup or mustard in the fur, of course.

"You can call me Tigra," she begins, the tail flicking a few more times. "And staring never hurt anybody. If anything, it says you're interested in something. You see I'm different, and I can say the same about you." She's definitely curious, but also relaxed.

Blink has posed:
Phew! Well that was a better reception than she'd been expecting. It /almost/ makes up for having to feel saliva slickened fur - though thankfully the teen manages to keep that off her face as she continues to grin.

"Thanks. For understanding I mean. But yeah, that's me, keen and different." Blink watches the tail twitch too and fro seemingly with a mind of it's own. "Wow... I never realised how hard it is not to bombard people with questions..." She murmurs to herself, though likely loud enough for enhanced hearing to easily detect.

"That is to say, uh." Wow, stop stuttering like a school girl and just say it. Blink clears her throat, affecting a far more confident set to her shoulders. "Is this seat taken?" It's the clear space next to the tail, rather than the part of the seat under the cat lady's tail.

Tigra has posed:
The back of Tigra's hand is not soaked or anything like that, but it's very much like a cat grooming (or washing) itself. Same basic idea, and one she apparently has no qualms about letting others see. "I doubt you could ask me a question I haven't already heard before, if it has to do with all of this," she points out, using the same hand (after the shake) to gesture toward herself.

"But to beat you to the punch with one, no. I'm not what they call a mutant." The cat-woman says this with the faintest hint of a purr to her words, indicating perhaps some sort of amusement, or at least general comfort. Then, she nods to the spot as her tail shifts a few inches closer to her side. "Public park. I don't see anyone else there right now," she points out helpfully yet perhaps not entirely, for it seems she's going to wait and see how Blink reacts further.

Blink has posed:
Clarice has apparently gotten over her initial bashfulness because that's all the invitation she needs to take a seat, cross one thigh over the other and take a big mouthful of dog.

Chew chew, swallow - "Ahh! That's good stuff." She grins broadly at the cat girl. "You know, that particular question hadn't come to me yet. But good to know thanks." Another bite, more chewing, her neck moves in a swallow.

"Though I can see why people would ask it, what with all the differences that we can get." She pauses, blinks and then laughs. "Sorry, yes I suppose yours would be too? I'm a mutant through and through is my answer to that. But /my/ question would have been; Do you hear any better than normal?" She gives her pointed ear a little tap with a forefinger. "Because I don't think mine work any better than the average..."

Tigra has posed:
"They probably put something in the water," Tigra suggests, a dry bit of humor as Blink shows her approval of the hot dog and how it tastes. "It's not quite the same as chasing down an animal and sinking my claws and fangs into it..but it's close." Is that smile just a bit too wide right now? Surely she jests.

It must be only to see what kind of reaction it gets, if even that, for Tigra doesn't linger on the topic. "Most people ask that soon enough after they get over the staring or holding up their phones." She runs a hand through her hair, exposing pointed ears of her own briefly. "You mean, can I hear the two over there talking about the sex they had last night?" she asks, gesturing over a shoulder toward a man and woman beyond Clarice's hearing capabilities. All she can see is the pair in an animated conversation.

"Poor guy," the tigress tsks. "Pretty sure I heard her say 'premature' somewhere in there."

Blink has posed:
The comment on sinking her claws into an animal actually gets a response rather than just a reaction, the teen grinning wide and quipping; "Oh! Sabre'd love you! I think he does that sometimes at the weekends... Going hunting with just himself I mean." There's no fear there though, perhaps sharp teeth are something you can get used to?

As Tigra explains what she can hear, Blink's cheeks stain that same plum colour, until she adds on the final scentence and it's all Clarice can do not to stare at the poor guy. "Oh wow... Yeah, poor guy." She giggles softly, but manages not to laugh too much.

"But now you've got me sounding all Joe Average! Besides, you've answered two, I'm sure it must be your turn by now." Another bite, chewing slower this time to savour the flavour whilst awaiting a response from her lunch companion.

Tigra has posed:
Now it's Tigra's turn to raise a brow, as the talk of essentially mauling something doesn't seem to faze Clarice whatsoever. "Would he, now? And who's this 'Sabre,' then?" she wonders, as her tail slips off the edge of the bench to drape down and scrape the ground. The reaction to what she's said about the bedroom business between the pair over that way draws an amused grin out of her. "Sucks to be him, right?"

Given the chance to ask something, she chooses to go in a different direction rather than what might be typical. "Well, Clarice, I'm taking a break from looking into a certain thing. What brings you by this place?" The tail snakes its way around to the other side of her, then changes gears to end up back where it began, separating Tigra and Blink.

Blink has posed:
"Sabretooth, the mutant. He saved me when I was a kid." As if she still wasn't, being only eighteen. "And then trained me so I could take care of myself. He's got a few more..." She considers the right word; "Base instincts? I don't know, he's pretty animalistic when he fights anyway." And there's no judgement to it, quite the opposite in fact as it's clear the young woman has a little hero-worship in that direction.

Green glowing orbs just can't help but follow the tail on it's lazy dance around the bench, she /hopes/ that the dark sunglasses will hide it - but it's not a certainty. Which is why her answer it directed directly towards the other female's face; "I just like to get off Genosha now and then. Not a lot going on there at the moment you know? Lot of photos of New York, even way out there."

Tigra has posed:
"Never heard of him, but he sounds like a big pussycat," Tigra quips, leaning against the backrest of the bench as she stretches her legs out, the toes splaying out, claws tipping each as they curl a couple times. The stretch is good enough that she even arches her back for a few seconds before settling back down. "You must feel like you owe a lot to him if that's the case, then." No doubt, she can tell the admiration that exists.

Then as Genosha is brought up, she shifts position just enough to tuck a leg beneath the other, facing Blink a bit better. "Genosha? I've heard a few things about that place, but I haven't had the chance to look into any of it. What's the deal with it?" A chance to gain a little knowledge is hard to pass up.

Blink has posed:
Blink's flush deepens a little as they keep talking about the big grizzled mutant that got her out of the slave pens. But she still nods in agreement at the tigress' point. "Yeah, I'm not sure I'd call him that to his face though..." She grins, bright and wide; "But he's pretty cool, taught me a lot." By now the final piece of dog is being popped into her mouth, chewing as the catgirl adjusts and gets comfortable. Before the big question...

"Genosha's nice enough." She opines with the disinterest of youth; "Much better since Magento's been in charge. Now we've got a place to live that's safe, he's even started re-construction of buildings personally!" She certainly seems to be a fan of the terrorist-slash-freedom fighter as well. "It's /awesome/ to watch, all the stuff floating about then just reforming into a building. And him just /floating/ there." With the food done, she crumples up the wrapper, looking about before tossing it some ten feet to land squarely into a nearby bin. "Nothing but net!" Blink quips with a grin.

Tigra has posed:
Tigra muses, "Maybe we'll see, if I ever meet him." It's not that she has a death wish, but to her it just sounds like it'd be...fun. "What sorts of things did he teach you? Hunting? Something else?"

That's the extent of her questioning related to Sabretooth for now, as she turns more thoughtful at the talk of Genosha and Magneto. "You know a lot of people are afraid of him, right? I heard he took over Genosha, and yeah, I heard there were some pretty bad things going on there before that so on one hand it's probably a good thing. But, nothing is that simple, is it?" She watches the arc of the rolled-up wrapper, but says nothing when it reaches the bin. Hers are still nearby.

Blink has posed:
"Survival skills pretty much sums it up. He's a professional, so we've touched on pretty much everything from close combat to bush craft." Clarice answers without preamble. She's not shy of her hard won skills, in fact she's pretty damn proud of them! No reason to hide it, and it all adds to the carefully crafted 'blase' persona.

The talk of people being scared of Magneto does earn Tigra a small frown, but only a small one. "Yeah, I've seen the media's take on him. They say a lot of bad things about the whole of the brotherhood. But /I'm/ Brotherhood, and the missions I go on are all aid ones." If she's sitting a little straighter, and maybe seeming a bit more tense as well... It just shows the strength of her convictions... And maybe how often she has to defend her superiors.

"We were slaves, in pens." She comments dryly. "That's illegal, for /humans/. It wasn't until Magneto stepped up for us that we even stood a chance. It was as much rebellion as it was him 'taking over'." A few moments and she takes a deep, calming breath - the grin returning. "Sorry, I get a lot of abuse on that."

Tigra has posed:
There is basic acknowledgement of the skills learned, leading to Tigra murmuring, "You never know when that might come in handy." However, it's the matter of Genosha itself that gets more of her focus and attention as her expression conveys some potential conflict inside.

"Taking into account the fact I haven't been there, it's probably not fair for me to say what I think about all of that. Except, I've heard they can be violent at times."

She holds up a hand, as if expecting a retort from Blink, intending to get her to listen further. "I don't know if that's your thing. You don't seem like the violent type to me, but with what you had to go through - and I'm sorry to hear you were forced into that kind of life - a part of me could understand if you felt like lashing out at them for it. I'm not judging, but I hope you're thinking about all of that. You look like you have a lot of years left ahead of you."

Blink has posed:
The teen's mouth had opened to retort to the older woman's initial comment, but with the coming of the hand, comes the silence of the youth and so the tigress got her entire piece out without comment.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it." A pause, "Back then. Like, years ago. It's been a while now, and when I go out, I go out to help people. Working with Nighthawk even." She holds up her thumb and forefinger curled into a circle. "Zero fatalities." Her smirk is all youthful invulnerability, incongrous with her history.

One foot bounces with nervous energy as the purple portaller's gaze drops away. "We do good. We /do/. The only time I've seen them be vicious was during the uprising. I mean I've /heard/ things, on the news. But it's all a spin, don't forget who runs the media." Too many anti-mutant sympathisers in the government after all. It's a plausable rationale, it someone wanted to delude themselves a while longer. "I've never hurt someone out of spite, only ever to defend." She finishes quietly.

Tigra has posed:
Tigra is thankful to be able to finish speaking without being cut off, giving her the chance to share what's on her mind. "Sometimes, it can't be avoided, especially if it's life and death. That's different from hurting someone just because you can. That's what makes some people good and others bad, you know?"

She sees in Blink, it seems, someone who could be dealing with a life that's had very specific things shaping her, leading her down a particular path, and the idea is to make her think about it, to question it. "Zero fatalities is what I like to hear. If you don't have a choice, that's one thing. I believe we can usually find a way to avoid it, but if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place you have to do what you can to get out alive."

She picks a time to be quiet when Clarice appears to reaffirm what she believes, indicating the rumors that swirl around a group like the Brotherhood, and at some point she extends a hand to touch Blink's arm. "Only you can be the judge of what you're willing to accept. You know yourself better than anyone else, so it's up to you to decide where your limits are, what lines you're willing to cross or not. It sounds like you've already thought about that, but don't forget it. Sooner or later, those boundaries will be tested. That's all I can say without having met any of the others myself, but you seem to have your head on straight."

Blink has posed:
It's a good speach. Before Tigra's even half done the young mutant is nodding along with a bright smile. And finally there's the compliment at the end. "Thanks Tiger Lady." Seeming like she might say more, her mouth instead closes, a hand coming up to give the feline woman's arm an answering squeeze.

"Sorry if I came over all rar rar rar there..." She mimes arms like Godzilla, purple fingers hooked and moving in time to the 'rar's'. "It's been a rough couple of days, ran into a group of mutant haters and it's left me a bit frayed around the edges you know?" Her grin turning suitably sheepish.

Tigra has posed:
Tigra waves things off somewhere along the way. "Listen to me, already lecturing you and we haven't been talking five minutes. I just..don't want you to go down a bad path if you can avoid it. You've only known hardship and that can destroy a person." And leave them open to being manipulated by one's rescuers, but she keeps that part to herself for now.

"Try not to let that stuff get you down. Wherever you go, you always have the chance to run into someone who doesn't like you because he doesn't understand you. I get it too, but usually the look just leaves people drooling no matter what kind of 'equipment' they have," she quips, miming finger quotes for that one word. "I don't mind the attention and believe me, I have no problem letting someone know when it's too much, but not everyone is as open about who and what they are as I am."

Blink has posed:
Clarice grins, all blase and bluff once again. "Well you /do/ kinda have a whole cult following of catgirl lovers and the like. You could probably make a mint modelling and never have to work another day in your life!" Whether or not it's true, the teen's grin is infectious.

"Don't worry about me Tigra, I've done dark, I'm bored of it. From here on out, Blink walks in the light!" One hand flicks up, a tear opening above their head to... Somewhere /hot/. The sahara maybe? It's certainly scorching wherever it is. "See?" Her grin somehow manages to widen a fraction more.

Tigra has posed:
"Yeah, but that would get so boring, being objectified all the time instead of just part of the time," Tigra says with a laugh, almost coming off like a chuff of sorts. Just how 'cat' /is/ she? The tail flicks again, likely more amusement in her again.

She adds, "If you know what the dark times are like, then you.." She cuts off when something happens and she's hit with a blast of much hotter air, leading to her looking up. "Wow. Is that what you do, then?"

Blink has posed:
Blink nods letting the tear close, her hand falling to rest in her lap. "Yeah, I'm a portaller." A pause, she frowns a little. "Well, a /displacer/ I think someone called it once. They tried to study it, when I was younger. But now I get to use it for freedom." Whether hers, or in general is left unexplained.

"I thought you might like the sun." Blink's face turns bashful as she admits; "I've seen cats sunning themselves, thought you might like it."

Tigra has posed:
Tigra comments, "That must make it easy to get around with instead of having to drive a car, or fly, or anything else." Already, she can see one of the side benefits of such an ability. "Now why would you think I'd be into that?" she then asks. Pay no attention to the fact she already started to tilt her chin up in the direction of the warmth; the bench itself is under a canopy of trees and leaves.

Blink has posed:
"Don't tease..." The pinky-purple elf grins. "It's /way/ useful yes." She answers in that soft barbadian accent; "I actually /live/ in Genosha still, but I can pop over to New York for a bite and a walk, be back before anyone's the wiser." Did her grin turn guilty for a second there? Perhaps she's not really /meant/ to be getting out and about in what might actually be the night in the isle of mutants.

"So what were you investingating anyway?" The teen adds seemingly as an afterthought. "You said you were taking a break from looking into something, are you a PI? Or an agent?" Her eyes widen a little, the green glow noticable even through the glasses. "Is this being recorded?" Her voice a hushed whisper.

Tigra has posed:
"I think you're the one teasing, now. That's kind of cheating, just being able to go wherever you want whenever you're in the mood for something," Tigra remarks, squinting above again now that the tear or portal is gone. "But, that's also good for you. You can see the world much more easily that way. That is, if you're supposed to be," she finishes, raising a brow slightly. Did she perhaps pick up on that momentary sense of guilt?

She leaves the thought alone unless Blink goes back to it, instead saying, "You could say I'm a PI. I do a few things here and there, try to help people get stolen stuff back, track down people who beat their wives or vice versa, but it has its ups and downs." Then she holds up her hands, even going so far as to stand up from the bench and turn slowly for Blink's benefit. "Do I look like I have anything on me?" So there's a small bag that has a phone and some money in it, but that's about all.

Blink has posed:
"In this day and age you could have one hidden under a boob and I'd never see it." Blink opines with a rather canny sense of the possible when it comes to the basics of spycraft. "But got to appreciate the twirl!" She grins easily, after all, Tigra had made it plain she finds physical compliments commonplace.

"And I don't just go alone you know, I can take people with me, things even." The mutant stage whispers; "A /bus/ once..." And that had been as far as she wanted to push her powers at the time. But it sounded impressive enough, it's a /bus/ after all. "But you didn't actually answer my question either, or is that client-investigator priviledge?"

Tigra has posed:
Tigra begins to reach toward said bosom area. "I can prove it to you." But, she stops. "Just kidding." She must have said it for the reaction, to see if she could get a rise out of the mutant. A wink follows as her tail trails past Blink, within inches of her reach.

"So is it just like stepping through an opening? Here one moment, there the next?" The size of a bus being teleported seems to impress her, if the arch of a brow is a sign. After that, she clarifies, "I don't share what I'm working on, sorry. But, for all you know I'm investigating elfgirls who should be in bed only to go halfway across the world for a hot dog."

Blink has posed:
Blink's good at playing chicken, her grin stays firmly in place as those hands head towards Tigra's chestal area. Thankfully it seems the tigress is only teasing again, causing the teen to visibly relax, despite her facial expression having not changed. "That's exactly how it is! I open a... rift, and people can come and go for as long as I can keep it open." She raises a single index finger. "/But/, I have to have been there, or have some good footage so I can visualise." Another pause, her grins slipping a little; "And the edges, they can cut through pretty much /anything/. Mainly becuase the uh, wave created does something, breaks things down at the atomic level. All very sciency." It was perhaps more than she'd been going to share, but dammit, she did /like/ cats. And Tigra certainly had charisma in buckets.

And then there's the dig, causing those cheeks to flush. "I'm eighteen, I can go where I want, when I want." She /almost/ has the lie down pat, if it wasn't for that telling way she doesn't quite meet the feline's eyes.

Tigra has posed:
The thing with Tigra is..she might do just about anything at a given moment without warning. Unpredictability can be a good way to keep someone off balance. In this case? Nothing serious to it. "That all sounds good," she notes, crossing her arms as she stands before Blink, a few feet away now. "But I think I'll take care around something like that. I already don't like rocking chairs and automatic doors, so something that could cut through my tail is not high on my list. Sure enough, it's curled closer to her, partly around a leg.

"And I know you can, or you think you can. It's not like I could take you back to Genosha anyway, even if I wanted to. You're the portal-person, after all." Tigra seems to understand the trouble of taking a teleporter anywhere she doesn't want to be.

Blink has posed:
"Besides..." Blink adds in a little defensively; "It's only Sabre saying that. Magneto already said as long as I'm careful it's fine." Because she'd met Magneto often enough to talk about him like that... All one time.

"Oh I'd be careful for you, make it a bit wider, let you go through first. It's all good manners really." Yep, because people creating portals is common place enough to have /manners/ assigned to it. Honest.

"Did you want to try it?" The exhuberance of youth is clear on her face; "No way to get over a fear like facing it. Pick a place, I'll get us somewhere nearby, and you can step back any time you'd like." It's a nice offer... if someone had somewhere they'd like to see.

Tigra has posed:
Tigra sniffs, still amused. "Hey, who you listen to or not over there is up to you. I'm not involved with that," she points out, beginning to pace back and forth, a period of needing to be in motion, it seems.

As for the offer, she shakes her head slowly. "Mmmmnah. At least, not right now. It's not that I don't trust you," though that could be part of it, "but I do need to be getting back to my work. Do you have a good way of reaching you, in case you want to talk some more another time?"

Blink has posed:
"What, you mean like a mobile phone?" Blink grins impishly. "I'm Barbadian, not backwards Tigra." But it's all said good naturedly, a slender and cheap looking phone coming from her jeans pocket. Numbers are given or swapped depending on if Tigra wants to share her digits or have it left up to her. Either way the teen seems fine with it.

"Well then, it's been swell meeting you, but I probably /should/ get some sleep before tomorrow's training." She looks a little reluctant, but there's no delay in her pushing up from the bench and stretching, readying herself to open a doorway home. "Catch you later 'kay?"

Tigra has posed:
Tigra takes care of the information sharing, nodding with a wry grin. "Hey, I don't know what you all have over there or not," she remarks, but once that's all squared away she nods one more time, tail flicking again. "I have a feeling if you were late for training or were half asleep, it wouldn't go very well. Go on, and it was nice to meet you." She /will/ watch to see what she can make out on the other side of that portal.

Blink has posed:
"You too Tiger Lady." The teen agrees, a flick of her hand displacing a tear back to a darkened room, a small television and a set of bay windows out onto darkness.

"Take care, and keep safe!" Clarice's parting comment is shot over her shoulder as she hops through the portal, a one hand wave is a last goodbye before the doorway snaps shut with a -blink!- avoiding all appendages, even tails.