1859/Disturbing Floating Tiggers

Disturbing Floating Tiggers
Date of Scene:	07 August 2017
Location:	Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Alexia Nemo and Yana Asarov track own their friend, who ran into the sewers and had helped them clear out a bed of gangsters in Mutant Town the prior evening.
Cast of Characters:	Okhotnik, Black Rose, Tendril

---

Okhotnik has posed:
Voice muted and garbled by her healing injuries, the maimed and blood-covered blonde turns to Yana, then towards Tendril. ~//"Get them out. All of them."//~ she offers in Russian. Then she stumbles back and starts down the stairs without another look. She shows no sign of caring one way or the other about her clothing, or her injuries, and simply leaves the scene.

Of course it would not be hard to follow Diya, as she walks through Mutant Town, rips open a sewer grate, drops down inside and closes it as she heads deeper into the tunnels until she finds the storm drain, one of the more wide-open, higher-ceilinged areas with the lightest scent and least scum. There, at least, she lays down in the water, floating as she waits for her body to heal. She has no idea why it heals the way it does, now. But she knows that while it does so, she is not fit for human companionship. The rage is too close to the surface. She will worry about food and clothes and such later.

Maybe.

Black Rose has posed:
    In the aftermath, Yana had taken Alexia back to Xavier's, done her best to reassure the girl. And, she'd slept. She'd not really used her powers that much since her parents had put her through the training sessions, and she knew if she did find Diya and the woman was still in that aggressive mode, she'd need all her powers to survive. But, Diya was /worth/ finding. She was more certain of that, now, then ever.
    Very early the next day, Yana had slid out of her guest quarters, dressed, and had crossed the lawn back to her car, where she'd drive back to Mutant Town. Starting with the sewer grate Diya had disappeared down after she got out, she knew one thing that Alexia had told her: Follow the cats.
    So, Yana looks for blood. For cats. For any sign that the woman in now bloodied rags had been there, a duffle bag held in one hand containing a change of clothes, and some food she'd stopped to get on the way. Not a lot of places were open this early. But, she'd managed fairly well. And, kept warm, the 'coney island' family style dinner would likely be a change of smells from that of the dank sewer.

Tendril has posed:
    Alexia, for her part, has problems sleeping. While her body is excellent at sealing wounds, it doesn't mean the underlying damage goes away immediately, and she can't exactly let anyon know how she got that gash along her back. Luckily she's fairly good at applying her own bandages, and she's thrown on one of her rare t-shirts that aren't low cut at the back.

    Despite that, she's found herself unable to drop off again after waking, and ended up just putting on some shorts and walking outside, figuring she could at least get some fresh air and just...get away from things.

    But part of it was just worry too. Diya was...scary last night. But she was hurt. So, she had much the same idea Yana did, to grab an oversized t-shirt and some loose athletic shorts and stuff them in her messenger bag, then make her way into town during the early morning.

    Ironically, she's just started looking around about the time Yana arrives; cars make trips soooo much faster. But when she spots her, she starts following her, hanging back a bit as she descend into the tunnels, frowning to herself. She knows Yana was concerned about going into those tunnels before...does that mean Diya might be down there now?

    She doesn't quite make herself known yet though. She might be wrong. This might be something private, and she knows Yana is a private person about some things. Much like Diya. Secrets.

Okhotnik has posed:
Blood is almost - but not quite - impossible to spot or track down here. Diya can do it. She has done it. But without a bloodhound or the equivalent, it's virtually impossible.

Following the cats, however, is easier. Or more particularly, following the sounds of them. And with about an hour of searching, Yana can eventually find a colony of cats forming in the tunnels, gathering around a junction of cleaner water, leading to a storm water runoff.

The cats are, by and large, wild. Feral. But of domestic breeds. They do not attack an upright biped with a torch - a light - in hand. They merrowl in protest when gently dislodged to allow her passage, and then resume their places. And most seem to be indolently watching and waiting.

At the heart of the cats lies a larger than usual chamber, with a higher than usual ceiling, filled with a running pool of cold water, which overruns an artificial waterfall and plummets into channels which carry that overflow out to the treatment paths and the river.

There, floating in the middle of the small man-made underground lake, lies Diya. She is probably the cleanest either woman has ever seen her. She is also almost - if not quite - naked, her clothing having pretty well disintegrated after all of the abuse it suffered, and what had not seems to have been shed. Her long ash-blonde hair streams out in a halo around her head, her eyes closed, her breathing slow and even. But one thing would be instantly clear: there's not a mark on her, no evidence at all of the savage wounds the woman soldier suffered last night. She is visibly muscled, but far more attractive, cleaned up, than she appears when in her 'homeless' guise. It's much easier, now, to see the soldier in her. But also easier to see the woman.

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana approaches, and then stops, when she sees the other woman. She intrudes no further than she already has, measuring the other woman floating in what Yana can only determine is a meditative state. Perhaps even sleep. But she has seen enough of the woman to at least glean a mild understanding of her. Encroaching on her, and on her safe-haven without permission would be a very, very dangerous thing to do.
    "Good morning, Diya." And, depending on the woman's senses, she might just smell some of that food within the bag. Fried perch. Breakfast sausages. Eggs (scrambled). Ham. Hash browns. "I've brought some things. May I come in? Or, shall I leave them here for you?" Her tone is mild, unintrusive. Questing for the flavor of the moment, for Diya's mood.

Tendril has posed:
    She's quiet...moving heel to toe in a learned, steady motion that minimizes her footfalls, slower but steady as she sees Yana disappear around the corner up ahead. As she reaches it, Lexi slow, eyeing the cats who watch her right back, then crouches down just around the corner as she hears Yana talking up ahead.

    Diya? Huh. She kinda liked Hotty. Eh. No reason she can't keep using it!

    Still, the calmness in Yana's voice suggests...maybe there isn't serious trouble. She'd be swearing or something if Diya was badly hurt. Unless the cats ate her. They do that to dead bodies sometimes, right? And she's pretty sure even Yana wouldn't be calm if that were the case.

    Gawd, why does she THINK of these things?!?

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya's response to Yana's voice is not sudden or sharp; she does not act startled or concerned. Is it that she smelled her coming? Heard the cats' protests? Or is she just that damned good at covering up her reactions? No real way to tell. But still, she inverts from floating to treading water, turning to face the direction from which Yana's voice actually came - rather than in the direction of any one of a dozen echoes and sound reflections.

~//"I did not expect the Lady to come slumming into the sewers for one such as I."//~ Diya comments, her eyes visibly glowing in the darkness down here. The wet blonde gives a hissing sound, and the cats part ways, making a space around the edge of the pool, revealing Diya's olive drab coat, or what is left of it, and a small duffle in sandy hues of browns and tans. The Russian soldier swims her way to the edge and climbs out, showing a distinct lack of body modesty as she does so, watching Yana unerringly. "Not sure what you brought, but let me see. Little of my clothing survived last night."

Then Diya glances past Yana to the passageway. "You might as well come out, Lex. I don't want the pride deciding those snacks are for them." The pride?

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana watches Diya with an appreciative eye. The woman is remarkable, clothed, or naked. Naked? Perhaps even more so because Yana is keenly aware of just what the woman is capable of. There is respect not just for the beauty of the woman, but the power beneath the supple skin as well.
    She seems about to speak, when Lex is 'called out', and Yana turns her head, her eyes narrowed. A soft curse word in Russian escapes her lips, then she exhales. What's done is done. She moves forward, mind shifting to the fact she's been referred to as 'the Lady', and trying to suss out if it is an honorific, or a sleight; such could be either with a woman as Okhotnik has presence to be.
    "Food. And, clothing. Figured you could use some." She stoops, setting the duffle down, and begins to open it, and sort out it's contents. A small bundle of fresh, clean clothes consisting of two heavy-metal t-shirts, a pair of stylish and pre-produced 'torn' jeans along with a pair of comfortable yoga pants, and even two pairs of underwear, socks, and a pair of soft-soled sneakers, somewhat used. It's not like she had time to go shopping for clothes, too.
    Two large boxes of take-out food from the place are also set out. "It's all yours."

Tendril has posed:
    Around the corner, Lex freezes. Busted! She sighs, then straightens up and steps around the corner, frowning a bit. How the heck did she....maybe it's the cats. They're like furry little land mines or mewling.

    She looks vaguely sheepish as Yana throws a look her way. "H-hi...I was..bringin' stuff too..." she admits. Annnnnd she'll just brush over the whole following Yana down here thing. She glances over to Diya and...never has her personal nickname for the blonde woman fit so well, a portion of her brain remarks, before being ruthlessly dogpiled by her filters, as her eyes quickly flick away, focusing on the the floor by the two as she picks her way around the felines, then crouches down and starts copying Yana, pulling out the clothes she's packed, then realizing Yana thought this through WAY better than she did. "Um...I just had some of mine that I thought were big enough for you to wear?" she offers to Diya, flushing a bit as she doesn't quite look at her. Sure, the other woman doesn't seem to MIND, but that doesn't mean she should be staring either.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya runs her hands down over her bare flesh, sluicing water from her skin rather than using any of the clothes as makeshift towels. She eyes the clothes and is mildly impressed; she wasn't sure the likes of Yana would have such 'hand me down' quality clothes, or ever think of underwear. Her impression of Yana is that she 'has people for that'. So yes, 'the Lady' was a little bit of a dig, but also an honest statement of how she thinks of the other woman.

"I appreciate the thought." she offers honestly, not bothering to hide her sharp Russian accent at this point. She crouches easily, slipping on the panties, and then wriggling into the yoga pants, squatting twice to settle them and stretch them suitably, and then slides on one of the pairs of jeans. One of the shirts is added, tucked in, and the jeans are closed up. Then she turns and washes out her own socks, lays them out, and puts on those Yana provided and Diya's own boots, heedless of the holes in the soles from the glass-topped wall.

"It's OK, Lex. Thank you for thinking to bring anything at all." A hint, a sign of the softer, gentler side of the soldier, one she rarely ever lets show. "I hope you two won't mind. I am ravenous. My body burned a lot, healing up after last night."

It's the only warning either gets, as Diya opens up both of Yana's boxes of food and proceeds to //devour// their contents. Gone. Utterly, completely. And she pretty promptly opens up what Lex brought and inhales that as well. There are some protests from the feline gallery, but none dare to much more than mewl sadly; no hissing back, no way. They're hungry, not stupid.

"The women? Safe?" Diya asks, after a bit, finally ready to actually talk.

Black Rose has posed:
    "Already ate on the way here," Yana surmises to Diya, with a bit of a grin. She glances, sidelong at Lex, and if the brief exchange is any hint, she's mildly perturbed at the other girls presence too. She had wanted to speak to the primal force of nature alone. She exhales a breath to let the feeling pass through her as best she can, and moves on, instead.
    "I prevented Lex from following you intially. She was concerned. But, I knew you were moving away from us to prevent hurting us as well. I'm glad you are able to recover yourself so swiftly." And either woman may be able to tell that Yana isn't speaking just to physical healing, either. Diya had, afterall, become an entirely different person in that house.
    Legs stiffening, Yana settles herself to the floor of the cave to sit sideways, legs angled out from herself. She offers nothing else, letting, as friends will, Lex a moment or two to add her two cents in, not wishing to dominate the moment.

Tendril has posed:
    The mauve girl looks a bit guilty as Yana looks at her, meeting her gaze then flicking it down. Maybe she should have waited a bit, she thinks to herself. Though her head comes up slightly as Yana explains why she prevented her from following before. It still feels...weird. She has a hard time thinking of the blonde Russian as a possible threat to herself....she just trusts her.

    'I'm glad yer better..." she says softly, sitting crosslegged on the ground as she looks up at Diya now that she's comfortably dressed again. Diya's sharp eyes might note that for the first time she's seen her, Lex is actually wearing a normal t-shirt, plain black, rather than the backless style she usually prefers.

    She watches the other woman eat, raising a brow as she files away that appetite in the mysterious folder in her head that is 'Hotty'. It's not like she doesn't eat almost as much, though not quite so....fast.

    Still, she can sense the annoyance in Yana's expression, and hesistantly thumbs to herself, then back at the passage they came down while the food is being devoured. Offering, at least.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya looks between the other two women, then cleans her hands in the water, puts away the bits of refuse, and settles down with them. "Thank you." she offers, first to Yana for stopping Lex from following her last night, and then to Lex for offering that she is glad Diya is better. "I am sorry I had to leave last night. I ... I have had to learn that past a certain point, my body's changes exert their own influence over me. I get wrapped up in the anger and the pain. I become a danger to those I am protecting." The pain in her voice at that admission is something it would be hard to miss. She is, at her core, a protector. //That// is why she went to town on people last night. The abuse of those women was something she was incapable of tolerating.

"The women. They are safe?" Neither woman confirmed this earlier, so Diya circles back to it and demands confirmation. "I know at least one was shot, another cut. I ... I had to kill one myself. She went for a gun." It hurts her, that she had to kill someone she came there to save. But she is a soldier; she did what had to be done. She just has to grieve over it now. "You are both ... OK?"

Black Rose has posed:
    Briefly, Yana shakes her head to Lex, dismissing the idea that Lex should leave. She nods to Diya. "I phone my father, when we got home. Those that got out will get a new life." The Russian mafia was not kind, to be sure. But they would be more careful. More cautious. And, less open than the other gang was. And a good start to that would be how -- after the three girls had torn apart the gang house and set them free other Russians had offered them protection. Safety. A home. And, a job. A clean job. At one of the family's front businsess. Doing legal things. At least, for now. Until they'd be poised to perhaps start running illegal bets, or the like, if they showed such penchants or talents.
    "I am okay. My Grandfather, he was Spetsnaz, as you, I think were?" Diya had never confirmed this. "He told us stories. And, he trained my father to fight. And, he and my father trained me," she explains to Diya as to why she isn't quite like Lex is, in the freak-out-at-murders-and-blood department.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex settles back at the shake of the head from Yana, then looks back to Diya. She adds softly. 'The girls on the top floor, I told them how to get to a good shelter for the night too." She's not sure if they're included in the working girls who were saved from the house, but from the sound of it...Yana has things under control. Or her father does. She frowns thoughfully, falling quiet again as Yana questions Diya, wanting to hear what answers she feels willing to give.

Okhotnik has posed:
"Spetznaz, aye." Diya answers, honestly. She does not explain her current status: hunted deserter, freak on a stick. Nope, she leaves that out.

Then Diya gestures to Yana. "Bratva, yes?" Why else would this woman with such skill and power decide to pick a fight and decimate an organized crime sindicate, and be so aware of Diya's own nature. But knowing this makes her rather inclined to wrap Lex up in a giant cotton ball and stuff her so deep into Xavier's that no one will ever find her. Crazy kid.

Diya glances at Lex and sniffs. "I told you to stay out. You did not listen. Now you are hurt." Yep. That's all it took for her to know the truth. Lex tried to play that she's fine, but that was a lie.

Black Rose has posed:
    Something in Yana's mein changes, at that. She smiles, wide. Impressed. A curve of her lips. She runs a hand through her hair, looking aside to Lex. This? /This/ is why she wanted to have the conversation with Diya alone. This might come up. She nods, once. "Da." Diya, afterall, is onto her. And it only creates mistrust if she attempts to pretend otherwise, at this point. And, to prove she is on the up-and-up, she further admits to Diya, "My father? Pakhan. The women will be safe. Mutant Town will be safer."
    She looks to Lex, her tone carrying a measure of authority, just as she directed Diya the other evening -- and she still doesn't know if Diya /did/ follow her orders, or was just acting on instinct. But, she measures, candidly, "This is between us three. I do not need the rest of the school knowing. Or anyone else knowing." She means it, too.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex is looking a little uncertain. That term 'pakhan' sounds...familiar? Mmmm. She will consult the wisdom of Google upon her return to her dorm room.

    She tilts her head at Yana gets that air of someone who speaks orders and expect them to be obeyed, watching her, a little flicker in her eyes of faint annoyance and a little hurt, quickly hidden. "I don't talk about things outta class, Yana. I don't know nothin' about any of that stuff if anyone asks, about either of ya." she says, because she senses Yana needs to hear it. And she can't blame her for wanting to be sure.

     She sighs, wincing a bit at the expected, if mild, scolding from Diya. "I've been hurt much worse." she say steadily, then twists around a bit, a tendril sliding down from under the hem of her shirt and hooking, before it lifts up the back. The angry red line that was crossing her black sun/hazard symbol tattoo from before is faded....it looks days old, rather than a matter of hours. "I heal fast." she says, dropping the back again as she reabsorbs the tendril. "But, next time, maybe ya could, like, give us an idea of what yer plannin', so we don't have to play catchup. I coulda snuck up and tried to get the girls up there out quietly too, before ya went all Boondock Saints on th' place.' she says, mildly. "Ya know better about this stuff than me, but I can't support ya if I don't know what's what, y'know?"

Okhotnik has posed:
"Not so fast as me. Now." Diya offers, softly, a very sad, even distressed edge to her tone of voice as she looks over Lex. She leans closer, but does not reach out to touch the other woman. Touching is the Bridge Too Far.

"I am sorry. I ... I have not had others. I have been alone. I did not do well for our team." Yep. The soldier knows better. But the soldier hasn't figured out how to adjust to her new reality yet. It's not easy. Diya shrugs.

"It is why I wanted you to stay away. To be safe." Diya murmurs, looking away from the injury.

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana watches this interaction without interferring in it. And then after Diya looks away, she tells the other woman, "In time, you will learn to master yourself." She has no idea what the woman has been through, but she can, at the very least, detect the strains and stress of PTSD within the other woman with her psychological education and training. "Perhaps I can even help with that," she offers, her tone sincere, and her confidence clear in her tone.
    Her father may be Pakhan, and she /does/ have people to 'do that for her', but she clearly also is a driven young woman. Intent on proving herself. Or, doing something. Achieving a goal. And very little will stop her.
    She looks over to Lex, telling Diya, "I'll keep a watch on her at the school. Topside. I almost kind of like her." Yes. She's teasing Lex.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex sniffs a bit, but can't be mad at Yana for offering, though she reaches out to gently pat Diya's arm. "I know. I'm tryin' ta be careful.' She tilts her head, then says slowly. "I don't know nothin' much about Spetznaz, but...Yana does, and..we're both used ta weirder stuff. Maybe if you told us..or her if you want, we could...help ya deal with things?"

    She lowers her hand, sitting back, willing to just listen for a bit.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya cannot help but flinch back away from the physical contact, but at least she does not strike out at Lex. She would be very upset if she did that. "I ..." The former soldier shakes her head. "I cannot." She looks at Yana with a neutral but very cold expression. "I tell you honestly: I am hunted. And considered a deserter." And if Yana so much as flinches at either of those, Diya will have to kill her. She doesn't want to do that, especially in sight of Lex. But she will; survival demands it. Yet Yana demanded trust, and received it. Perhaps she can understand that it must be given in turn. At the least Diya must give the woman a chance. They have pursued her, demanded her secrets. So the price they pay now is on them. She tried to leave them to their safety.

Black Rose has posed:
    This news does not surprise Yana. Not in the least. Not after she has watched news, or heard stories, rumors, from her father and others about how the US may treat some of it's more - specialized metas and humans, not so unlike herself. It's just another reason why she trained with them, first. Yana nods, once, accepting this. Even understanding it. "My father? He will yield to me in many things. It is the way with daughters, and fathers." She smiles, briefly at this, then sobers more. She exhales, "Yet, even as Pakhan, he cannot control those who would hunt you. There is no - off switch." She is speaking in professional manner now, showing her intellect. Her understanding of how the world works -- at least, as she knows it. "But there is a way to control. Through information. If you control the means of information, you control how someone else will react. It would be - easy -," she offers to Diya, "To have some of my father's contacts spread rumors of your surfacing in Argentina. Fighting, with the war there. Hiding in the caves."

Tendril has posed:
    The other girl leans back, her golden eyes flicking between the two, quickly taking the hand back at the flinch. Dammit, she keeps forgetting, she chides herself, frowning a bit as she lets her eyes flick to one, then the other as Diya explains and Yana offers solutions. "If yer dad can do that, then...it might help. But what would it cost her?" Lex says simply. She knows how things work in Mutant Town. Someone does you a favor, you owe them a debt until they feel you've paid it off. But then again, active protection versus owing a debt...it might be worth it. Or she might value her independence too much for that.

Okhotnik has posed:
The ash blonde woman shakes her head. "No. What I require is that you do not tell your father, or anyone, what you learn about me. They have not found me, hiding here on the streets of this soft, decadent land. I think they will not, so long as I do not draw attention to myself." Which means sure, she can help Yana; but only if her presence and help can be kept under wraps. "Is that a bargain you are prepared to keep?"

Black Rose has posed:
    "My father trusts me," murmurs Yana, honestly. "Because I have earned it. Shown, multiple times, that I am deserving of it. He will know I have made powerful allies. But, if I do not speak of you, to him, or of specifics, he will know there is a good reason for it. And, he will not press it. Or, look further into it." She nods in affirmation, then. "I will respect your wishes, then. And will speak of your being here to no one else." She pauses, adds, "I did mention you, in passing, to Vanya. But she is in my employ. She is not anyone on a hunt, save for a fight with something to equal her own prowess. She is -- transient, also. Russian." She is certain, though, that Vanya is from no agency, or special group. She does look apologetic, but, then, they hadn't had this discussion beforehand.

Tendril has posed:
    There's a raised brow from Alexia at Yana mentioning she employs yet another Russian...transient? And another fighter too. Maybe she's trying to collect the set, she thinks amusedly, but nods a bit as Yana says she won't say anything. "I won't say anything about ya either, Hotty, not to anyone unless I know ya told 'em already." she says solemnly. "As long as ya don't mind me...us...helpin' ya out too."

Okhotnik has posed:
The Russian Spetnatz soldier eyes Lex. "//Stop// calling me that." she growls in annoyance. But she offers a firm nod to Yana. "We will have to trust that this Vanya knows to keep her own counsel." Or a certain lethal lady will have to hunt her down and quiet her yapping trap. "Since you have given your word, I will tell you what I know. But I must warn you ... what I know will not provide answers, only raise more questions."

With that, Diya will explain to both women that she was a Spetnatz soldier, a sniper on overwatch, taking care of her team, when she was set upon by an enraged tiger in the Siberian mountains. She was viciously and brutally mauled, and should have died of her injuries and frostbite. Her teammates found her, and airlifted her to medical attention. Once there, she healed rapidly, returning to full activity in weeks, without much in the way of physical therapy, rather than months or years and never reaching her previous potential.

When Diya returned to her team, which had been transfered to Chechnya, she found she had changed, becoming stronger, faster, more agile, healthier, and with extremely keen senses. Then a group of black armored figures arrived, and demanded she come with them. Her own team turned on her, leaving her to these strangers. Diya fought her way free and went to ground, and has been running and hiding ever since. She has no idea what she has become, how, or why, and her only control of it is tenuous at best. She will also admit to blackouts which have plagued her since she went on the run.

Black Rose has posed:
    "Well, if you had a team, and you were Spetnatz, one thing is clear. It was not your latent mutancy awakening. That much we can rule out. And, we both know that the reason your team abandoned you is they were ordered to. Spetnatz are very good, very well trained, to take orders." She looks to Diya, and says without judgement, "I suspect if this had happened to your teammate, you would have left them as they left you. It is - from what my grandfather tells me, how you were trained. How they are all trained." But that's neither here, or there.
    She licks her lips, "I'm not biology expert. But, I suspect that whatever happened, the reason you have the blackouts is that you've not mastered yourself. Whatever it is that you've become, meta, or animal, I don't know." She's at least willing to admit her failings, or her weaknesses. "But. You are afraid of it, at times. I think you need to embrace it. Master it, before it masters you. Just as she does, with her tendrils. Or me, with my kinetic control."

Tendril has posed:
    From Lex's expression, she obviously doesn't agree with the idea of 'you would have done the same', but then again, she wasn't trained as a Spetznaz soldier either, for good or ill. "It...could have been some kinda...latent thing though. I mean. Some develop when yer body is hurt badly enough, kinda a last ditch thing? Or...I dunno, maybe it was an alien tiger or something."

    She pauses, then nods a little after Yana speaks. "...she's right, we gotta help you figure this out then, so you know what's up."

Okhotnik has posed:
Intensely loyal, Diya wants to argue that she would never have abandoned her team, or any member of it, to strangers. And indeed, she might not have. But she does understand that her teammates were trained to obey without question, and that they simply did what they were told. She doesn't have to like it, and it really has exacerbated her PTSD symptoms.

"There is no way to master what I have become, only to manage it." Diya offers. She has learned to deal with it, as best she can. The hypersenses. The aggression. The territoriality. The augmented physical capabilities. And the intermittent compulsive urge for green spaces. It might even be true that a certain upstate mansion's security system has spotted a gigantic tiger stalking around the woods. Not that Diya has any memory of that.

"I do not want you hurt." Diya protests, firmly.

Black Rose has posed:
    "You will not." Yana is absolutely certain of that. "You remember how powerful you were, with my blessing? Just as I can affect your, or any objects physical force, so I can alter the speed of that object. Myself, included. If it came to it, I could increase my own speed to match your own. And, all it takes is a single touch to slow your speed down to a level, where Lex would not in danger." She speaks calmly, practically, to Diya.
    She does not press the issue further, but instead moves to a different tact. "We appreciate the trust you've shown in us. We will keep your secret. And, we will make sure that you do not regret trusting us. You are forming a new life, Diya. We are the start of that."
    And, she looks Diya in the eye. Sincerely, she tells the girl, "I will protect you." It may sound odd. Yana, protecting the woman who brutally murdered so many in that house. But it's clear that physical protection from threats against Diya's person is not quite what Yana may mean, at least to Diya. Maybe to Lex, too.
    But Yana's blue eyes are intent. And unwavering, as they stare into Diya's own.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex blinks, frowning a little. "Hey, why am -I- th' one who's gonna be in danger?" she protests faintly! Sheesh. She might eat Yana's face! Well...no, she doesn't really believe she would, even if she thinks she would. But she quiets as Yana makes her promise, then says softly. "Yeah. Me too..." she adds, smiling at Diya. "I mean, maybe not like Yana can, but...whatever I can do. An' if yer worried, well...just...let us know when we gotta be away from ya. Like last night."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya looks past Lex and offers a soft, sibilant little hsst, crooking her finger. One of the cats looks up, meeting her gaze, and then slowly uncoils itself, walking over and climbing Lex's lap. "I will make sure to stay aware of my signs, and keep you well warned." she promises to both women. "So. You and your father have decided to take over Mutant Town. But you will extend your protections here as well?"

Black Rose has posed:
    "I cannot be here all the time. Nor Lex. But when I am here, I will protect you, Diya," Yana promises again, intently. "From yourself. From the ones hunting you. We may not have the resources such agencies might have, but we have - contacts. Ears. We have our own spies. I will know if those hunting you are closing in, before they do."
    She scooches forwards, not to touch Diya, but she offers the woman her hand, instead. Extending it out. All the while, she does not break eye contact with the other woman. "My father will take over Mutant Town. There will be crime. There will always be crime. But he will control it. Direct it. And, care for Mutant Town. He is one himself. He is well aware of their persecution. And why they are here."
    The hand remains out. "We will keep each other safe." Her other hand reaches out to Lex, then. "All of us. Together," she says, looking to Lex, and then back to Diya.

Tendril has posed:
    The hiss and the arrival of the feline in her lap pulls a faintly comical expression to Lexi's face...she didn' tknow she could do that! But she cautiously starts to pet the cat gently. Then Yana steps forward and offers her hand, and she blinks, then nods and reaches out to take hers, then offers her other hand to Diya. "Yes. Together. We will be there for each other." she says softly, smiling at the two. "No matter what."

Okhotnik has posed:
"I will be headed back up to the surface, to stay with the others. I came here to be alone, safer for everyone." Diya admits. She hesitates a lot before finally taking each hand offered her, if only very briefly. Touching and being touched is still a sore spot with her, for whatever reasons. (PTSD)

The feline in Lex's lap bristles a bit at first, but finally settles in the girl's lap and accepts its feline due in brushing and petting. It is cat; hear it roar! "Let us go. The pride is hungry and restless. If we go above, they will go hunting, and that is for the best."

Black Rose has posed:
    After the brief touch, and knowing the significance of progress made, there is a nod and a smile from Yana. She rises, slowly. Five bills are drawn out of her pocket. Each, a $20 bill. "For a place to stay. Until we can get you something more permenant." Apparently getting Diya a home is also included in the promise to protect the other woman. "Come on, Lex. It's time for us to go. I expect they'll be wondering where you are, if we don't get back soon." Since school hasn't officially started yet, and that Yana has her own home to go to, she has a bit more freedom than the re-enolling student does, it'd seem.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex smiles at Diya, not seeming to mind the brief touch, though she gives Yana's hand more of a squeeze, before gently setting the cat on her lap on the floor so she can stand. "Right, right...um...can we stop by th' store? I gotta restock on bandages..." she admits sheepishly. "Take care Hotty! We need to get ya a phone next..." she says thoughfully. "Like a burner, so ya can call us an' stuff!"