3349/Alternate Identities

Alternate Identities
Date of Scene:	16 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Nixe, Rainmaker

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Nixe has posed:
    Bright afternoon sun bathes snowy New York City in a white glow. A light dusting of powder has been falling incessantly since yesterday and though it's only just begun to accumulate in the most shadowed and abandoned corners of back alleys and brick crannies, the vacuous, chilly air of winter is here with it - and probably to stay. Bundled thickly in furs and nylon coats, the city's foot traffic is heedless though the street noise is at least lessened. The madness of holiday shopping has lulled, for now.
    
    Dominating a small connecting street, a white haze of vehicle exhaust and the strong aroma of hot grease push back against December's bite. Today is a food truck rodeo, an eclectic mix of a dozen national cuisines and regional specialties. A thick crowd of padded humanity is still densely queued even this late in the lunch hour, though of along the edges of the coned-off street are crowds for other purposes; joining the steamy diesel fumes in the air are busker cries and music. A flute is playing in one corner, guitar and drums in another, and standing not far from a Gaucho's Food Truck is... a gaucha.
    
    Looking at least slightly out of place in her wide-brimmed cowboy hat and hard boots, the young woman of about college age is warming up for her act, rummaging through the contents of a cheap instrument case set on the ground in front of her. The lid is only half-open, hiding its contents from the small but curious audience that's waiting to see her perform, but the two-liter of clear liquid that comes out almost guarantees there's no instrument nestled along with it.
    
    The bottle is set harmlessly in view for all to see as the young woman pulls out two pairs of chopsticks and drumsticks.

Rainmaker has posed:
    It's a good day to be out and about, and Sarah does enjoy trying new things...so it's not a suprise she's come to the rodeo to check out the various food trucks, especially the ones that come from further away she hasn't been able to try out. At this point, she's in the 'wander around and see what's available' state...she's not hugely hungry (though the scent of all that wonderful food is going to make her so pretty quickly).

    That brings her out thrugh the crowd towards the musicians as she pauses, looking around curiously. The gaucha draws her attention, simply because she's not sure what kind of instrument she's going to be wearing, and the outfit, of course. She drifts over that way, watching as she sets up.

Nixe has posed:
    Holding the four bits of wood out for her crowd to show them briefly, the young woman flicks her hat to knock a thin layer of snow skyward in a white puff, then tilts her head back and dangles the pair of chopsticks high over her mouth. A brief, sidelong glance is cast towards one of the few sets of eyes trained on her and a coy smile curls her rose-painted lips just before she opens her mouth wide... and lowers the chopsticks inside. Past the teeth, down somewhere over the tongue... there's a pause and the performer tilts her head just a little further back and shifts her back a little straighter before pushing them down.

    Camila lets go and holds her hands out at her sides, leaving the footlong chopsticks suspended like incense sticks with barely half their length still showing beyond her mouth.

Rainmaker has posed:
    The Amerindian girl steps closer as she sees the odd setup, moving up among the few other people who have stopped to watch, folding her arms. Her brows raise as she watches the giurl play with the chopsticks...then her lips part slightly as she makes a faint mmph noise as they vanish a good chunk of the way...then are left poking up as the performer takes her fingers away. Well..that's...kind of gross, but...

    She keeps watching all the same, a bit curious where this is going.

Nixe has posed:
    Reaching back up to grasp the sticks, the black-haired performer gingerly draws them back upwards the first few inches, then jerks them out the rest of the way. The young woman lowers her head and with barely a glance to her audience, crouches down to pull a small cup of sanitizer from her case. The now well-traveled chopsticks are given a quick dip, a quick flick in the wintery air, and then set out of sight as the gaucha rises again.
    
    Next come the fat drumsticks...
    
    Showing the wooden sticks in both hands, the hazel-eyed young woman gives them an artful twirl between her slender fingers, working up a healthy spin in each before jolting them upwards into the air. While they tumble overhead, a nimble hand springs deftly into her coat pocket and returns with a thin piece of string just in time to receive the falling stick.
    
    In two quick twists of her wrists, the twin drumsticks are tied head-to-head by the little bit of red yarn, and the gaucha looks back up to her audience as the make-shift nunchuck is given a momentary twirl to demonstrate.

    A coy smile sets a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she pans the crowd, alighting on each watcher in turn. Then her snow-matted brow gets another flick and her head tilts back towards the sky...

Rainmaker has posed:
    That certainly draws a widening of the eyes from Sarah as she stares. But...she can't really....it's a drumstick! Two of them! But she watches none the less, leaning forward unconsciously, her eyes locked on said drumsticks as there's a gasp from some of the other audience members!

Nixe has posed:
    The drumstick chain hovers overhead as a winter flurry slips through the gaps between buildings and hazes the performance in shining white. When it clears, one drumstick is already half-vanished down Camila's mouth and then, with a slow but forceful press from her middle finger, it slides completely out of sight.
    
    Tethered to its twin, the gaucha pinches the second drumstick between her fingers and shuts her eyes. There's a moment of... fishing as she shifts its end from side-to-side before the same methodical but pitiless push forces it into her throat.

    One inch, two inches... Camila shuts her mouth and her teeth clamp onto the very end of the stick as her eyes reopen.

Rainmaker has posed:
    That draws a gasp even from Sarah...mostly on the second one, the first she figured is possible. But two? That's....wow, that's got to be....She shivers at the idea! But now she's fascinated enough to keep watching.

Nixe has posed:
    Camila's lips pull back widely to fully show her teeth and the instrument piece caught between them. A hazel eye lands on Sarah's staring face and hangs there with an unnerving calm for someone with two pieces of wood jammed in their throat. The lower edge of the Brazilian's eye crinkles just a little, teasingly, before she releases the drumsticks and fishes them back out in one long, slow tug.
    
    Breathing noticeably after the brief test of her breath-holding, the country-dressed performer jingles the sticks like bells, making their wet sides catch the light before crouching again to give them an acid bath.
    
    Fanning the crowd with her eyes again, the gaucha taps the hard plastic lip of her case as she uncaps her water bottle for a drink. "Donations can go in the case," she says in wobbling, halting English, foreignly inflected with the accent of a warmer and far southern climate. It might not be coincidence that she set up beside the Brazilian food truck.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Well, THAT was worth five bucks, Sarah feels, and she drops said bill in the slot. Mostly because it's all the cash she has at the moment, other than change. She wasn't expecting so much of a show with her meal! And...she's not sure if she wants to eat after seeing that anyway...her eyes do meet the performers as she does. "That's impressive..."

Nixe has posed:
    Camila lowers her bottle after a gulp and goes back for more inside her case. "Nao e nada," she replies as Sarah's bill earns her eye contact from the crouching young woman before a ping-pong ball and billiard ball both come into view. It's a cool, heavy gaze that seems to leap from beneath the shadow of her brim like crackling static. "That was the... how you say... warm-up."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah stares a bit. More at the billard ball than anything else as she nods, stepping back to give her room. Yup. Definitely not going to want to eat something after this anyway....

Nixe has posed:
    A not wholly good-natured smirk crosses Camila's face as the Amerindian backs away. "You want first try?" She jests, showing off the weighty prop. "Big ball in the mouth and all the men love you."
    
    Chuckling at her own joke, the Brazilian stands back up to show her latest aids properly before bringing the littler ping-pong ball to the edge of her rose-red lips. The gaucha's penetrating hazel stare sinks into the audience as slowly and deeply as the white plastic bauble sinks into her mouth. There's no skyward tilt of the head this time nor flurry-hidden view. This time the ball is coaxed straight in by an insistent finger that gives itself knuckle-deep before drawing back away with a now familiar glistening coat. The performer's face contorts briefly into a purse-lipped grimace before she smiles again and opens her mouth...
    
    "Ahh~"
    
    With no pingpong ball to be found.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Okay. Sarah stares at that. She..didnt'...swallow it, did she? Because that seems like she'd suffocate, so...she's very confused! But keeps watching.

Nixe has posed:
    The crass Brazilian basks in the reactions from her growing audience and closes her mouth again with a look of satisfaction, as if what she'd just swallowed could be called edible. But alas, it is not, which means...
    
    Setting her hands against the front of her coat, Camila presses in against her stomach and her torso lurches over like a wriggling serpent. Her lips quiver and her eyes briefly unfocus as her cheeks swell from telltale fullness. The performer relaxes after the momentary stunt and as if merely removing a sprig of broccoli, reopens her mouth to extract the wet ping-pong ball.
    
    *plunk!*
    
    And into the alcohol it goes.

Rainmaker has posed:
    That draws another gasp from the growing audience as the ball re-emerges, and some applause! Sarah claps too, partially out of relief!

Nixe has posed:
    Camila tips her hat to the crowd she's amassing, giving their applause time to hang in the air and their money time to fall before lifting the billiard ball still in her hand high overhead to silence them.
    
    Looking up to it, a yellow-striped 9-ball, the Brazilian cocks her head quizzically and squints a little at it. "Ohh... this is a big one," she murmurs, reticent but loud enough to hear. Unlike all before it, this one doesn't disappear promptly, instead hanging aloft in the winter air. The soft-throated performer might be getting cold feet.

Rainmaker has posed:
    See, Sarah had a friend once who tried to put a billard ball in their mouth...it got in. Then it got stuck because their jaw cramped. Took a trip to the emergency room to fix that. She's....kinda wondering if that's going to happen here honestly.

Nixe has posed:
    Sarah's concern seems shared by at least some of the crowd around her as a general hesitance falls over half of the group. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the other half is more excited to see more of what fits down the strangely-talented Brazilian's throat, or at least they're assuming a trick. A few encouraging cheers and loose bills are tossed in the performer's direction and under the weight of the crowd, Camila relents.

    "And Aladdin say 'Open Sesame'," she chimes as the billard ball is lowered to her face, meeting it only slightly lifted towards an empty balcony nearby. The gaucha presses in on her open mouth using the whole palm of her hand this time, with her cheeks already stretched to what might be the limit of her jaw. Small lips, it seems, means a small mouth.
    
    What happens next isn't audible but the sudden drop of Camila's lower jaw is palpable in its sharpness, like a gear falling suddenly into place - or rather out of it. The young woman flinches but granted the last sliver of room she needs, the billiard ball shoots into her mouth forcefully and slams into the back. Her brown eyes shoot wide as her jaw pops back into place and shuts... well, part-way. The tell-tale yellow stripe catches sunlight between two impotently half-closed rows of teeth.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah shivers as the ball goes in, wincing at the sound and the look of it. She has no idea how she's going to get that back OUT at this point, but she hopes she has a plan for that. Also that she brought more bills with her.

Nixe has posed:
    Camila stands there for a beat with the white-and-yellow ball lodged firmly in her mouth, then sets two fingers its visible edge and gives it an appraising push. The billiard ball sinks, just a little, but stops adamantly at the edge of her throat.
    
    The performer's shoulders rise with a deep breath she steals around the intrusion before shutting her earthy hazel eyes and lifting her face to the sky again. The young woman's head shifts to a long-practiced and neatly vertical angle... she pauses, then bids the same pitiless force from her fingers that shepherded down the drumsticks.
    
    The young woman's eyes crease and her painted lips squirm in little ways that betray everything the billiard ball is doing to her beneath the cover of her black neck gaiter. Sinking her hand down to the knuckles again, Camila pulls her makeshift plug back out to shut her mouth and force a hard, breathless swallow to finish the job.
    
    When it's through, her head falls back to her audience and her jaw falls back open to pant for breath.

Rainmaker has posed:
    There's shock on Sarah's face; really, she looks moderately horrified! She can't image any way that wouldn't get caught in the girl's throat, or break her windpipe on the way down or something! So she's watching with concern, still now, her eyes big.

Nixe has posed:
    Camila uses the applause as a chance to recover, and as before the performer isn't stingy on giving her growing crowd time to decide she's worth more money. It seems she's passed the ball, one way at least, but once she's worked herself back down to soft, deep breathing, the gaucha sets both hands on the sides of her stomach and gives a firm, targeted push. Her torso bows and lurches forward in much the same way it did for the ping-pong ball, except this time a wince confesses the difficulty of what she's forcing to happen once again.
    
    Dropping her head and closing her eyes, Camila's cheeks swell with each rebelling spasm before her jaw falls open again, then suddenly... *Pop!*
    
    With an all too unappetizing "Gluck!" that thankfully doesn't reach past the front row, the striped ball drops free of her unhinged jaw and lands in the waiting palm of her hand. The performer stays bent to again catch her breath and shudders before straightening her back and presenting the long-traveled 9-ball to the winter air.

Rainmaker has posed:
    The applause is louder! Sarah joins in, looking a bit relieved at that, if not slightly...well, disgusted by the idea. Then again, she's pleased she wasn't aabout to watch some poor girl suffocate or something!

Nixe has posed:
    Keeping the billiard ball high in hard-won triumph, the performer basks in the noise while collecting herself and runs her gaze slowly and purposefully across the whole of her crowd. In the fatigue and satisfaction is a sly and bewitching kernel, hiding in her hazel gaze with the promise that if money keeps flowing, her show isn't quite over yet.
    
    But first, a drink. Bending down to her case, Camila retrieves her two-liter as she dunks the slimy ball in cleansing alcohol, and takes a couple hearty gulps...
    
    Pausing with the bottle held high, her eyes flit back to the crowd in Sarah's area and her lips curl just a little around the bottle's neck before she tips it vertically and the two-liter's contents begin to fall like water down a sink drain - steadily and without pause.
    
    So much for a gag reflex.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Well...to be fair, it would actually be more likely to make Sarah cringe if her throat was working more...that has to have strained some muscles inside, right? Swallowing can't be fun! But she seems..okay. Though if she pulls out a roll of mentos and downs that next, that WILL make Sarah twitch. But, well..it WAS impressive....so she hmms and rummages a bit, then this time pulls out a ten, setting it in the tip jar.

Nixe has posed:
    Camila's eyes follow Sarah in as the bronze-skinned young woman approaches to offer a bill. Up close, there's a faint sound of babbling water as if through a pipe as the very last drop falls into the gaucha's waiting mouth.
    
    Lowering the bottle with a *pop!*, she holds it out before the Apache can back away again. "Fill this for me, please," she asks in her stilted, Romance-English, nodding her head towards the nearest food truck. "Water is okay."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah blinks as she's asked, but takes the bottle. "Uh, sure....I'll be right back." She steps back, then heads over to one of the nearby food trucks to offer the bottle to the woman working there, asking her to fill it. It'll take a minute or two.

Nixe has posed:
    In the same minute, Camila seems to be readying her next trick. By the time Sarah returns, there's a new tool in play: an entire pool stick. Giving the wooden implement a fanciful little twirl, the Brazilian thumps its bald rear on the pavement and gazes slowly and appraisingly over its entire length. The pole stands nearly level with her shoulder as it rests on a thin mound of snow and her eyes hang expectantly on the white tip. The gaucha even licks her lips to wet them in the dry winter air.

    "Obrigado," she offers as she spots the Amerindian returning, turning away from her next trick and gesturing for the bottle to return where it was. "Stay in front. You can help with this trick."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah hesistates, staring a bit at the stick, before the thank you distracts her enough to actually hand the 2-liter back. "Ah...welcome." she says, stepping back as she folds her arms. "Uh...me?" she says, blinking a bit.

Nixe has posed:
    The Brazilian nods curtly. "Yes. After I am done, you pull this out," she instructs, lifting the pool cue and grasping it before her with both hands. "Slow and straight, with both hands. Think like you're holding one of your men," the performer adds with a teasing glint in her eye before she tilts her head back and raises the stick high overhead. Held towards the sky, its wooden shaft looks even longer and unforgiving.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah stills a bit, staring at the pool. Oh, no way, she's not SERIOUS?!? She folds her arms, squeezing them a bit as she keeps her eyes on the show though.

Nixe has posed:
    Hanging like a flagpole without a banner in the wintery air, the long, wooden pool cue hovers aloft in the Brazilian's stiff grasp... and then begins its slow, inexorable descent. The unchalked tip disappears from view and threads itself carefully into the street performer, a vanguard for much more behind it. Flinching and squirming in little ways that are easier to spot up close, Camila works the shaft delicately, making tiny shifts this way and that to avoid unseen obstacles. It may once again be a blessing that the neck gaiter hides what just happened to her throat.

    But working with even larger stock than the drumsticks this time, the gaucha only pauses once the missing wood reaches what at least must be the bottom of her neck... pauses then resumes. She glances a sharp eye towards her new assistant as the stick resumes its fall. It's hard to tell just how far down the pool cue has gone now but the stripes on its thicker end are worryingly close to the young woman's mouth.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah is just frozen as she stares, watchign, her fingers tightening a bit against her arms. The girl obviously doesn't have a gag reflex, a portion of her mind notes absently, but the rest of her is imagining what it would feel like to have a piece of wood just....that deep into your throat. She shivers!

Nixe has posed:
    Camila's eye turns skyward again and unfocuses as the young woman concentrates on her act. It may be a blunt instrument but that far down, well... it wouldn't be good to puncture something. By coarse gauge of eye, the pool stick must be in her chest by now, perhaps even lower as her hands continue to thread it an inch at a time through her body.

    Then finally, mercifully, her hands stop. There's a pause as Camila runs a mental checklist, then she releases the token remnant of a shaft still visible to the world and holds her arms out wide at her sides. Head, arms, and feet, the Brazilian gaucha forms a perverse cross.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Just a bit creepy! But....she doesn't appear to be choking to death. She has NO idea how she's managing to swallow that, so it's pretty impressive! More applause!

Nixe has posed:
    Once again Camila allows a lapse for appreciation, but the shortness of it is telling as she moves again just as the applause reaches its peak. Bending neatly and carefully at her hips, the performer points her torso at Sarah ramrod straight... or rather pool cue straight.

    Staring with the same cowing focus that seems to come naturally to her eyes, she waits with seeming impassiveness for the Apache to do her part against the backdrop of loud claps and shouts.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah's eyes get wider as she swallows. Fuck, that's what she meant?!? She hesistates, then realizes that she's expected to do her part, before she reaches out to carefully take hold of the rod, then as smoothly and as carefull as she can, she starts sliding it back out.

Nixe has posed:
    The cold wood fights like it's caught in molasses, coming out with fitful resistance as Camila's insides are made to shift and slide against it. There's a sudden *stop* as her eyes go wide and the performer's throat seizes on the shaft. The cold ruby tint of her cheeks brighten and her face contorts uncomfortably around the cue as her vision rolls upwards towards the sky.
    The gaucha's hands quiver, trying to hold their spread pose as she clenches her eyes shut and her jaw *pops* open a little further. After a tense moment, the resistance leaves and the pool stick is again freed to move, each inch glistening with a thin slick of bile. Camila's face relaxes slightly, flushed red from what almost just happened .

Rainmaker has posed:
    Well...that....makes Sarah turn a little pale, and a little green at the obvious distress, causing her to stop as it catches, looking a bit panicked briefly, before she resumes pulling it free, sliding it out carefully, swallowing.

Nixe has posed:
    As soon as the little white end of the stick is freed to the winter air, Camila's jaw pops back into place and both hands leap to her throat. The performer takes a half-step away to fully clear the shaft, panting for air with heavy, rasping breaths. Now free in Sarah's hands, the pool cue is deceptively thin and light - certainly a cheap practice kind and also glistening along most of its length.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah doesn't quite know what to do when she has it, not wanting to touch the slick bile coating a good amount of it, so she akwardly grounds the tip into the ground, leaning the other end towards the gaucha so she can take it back. "H-here..."

Nixe has posed:
    Hunched and breathing hard, it's a few seconds before Camila collects herself enough to lift her head again and notice the offer. There's a little less color to her face than when she nearly choked, but the pool cue act has cost the performer some of her image of unflappable calm.
    Reaching out, she grasps the shaft anew with a nod towards Sarah and lifts the stick back into the air to present it to the audience, then incline it - dry end first - towards the Apache helping her.

    "That is my act for today," she explains to the crowd in slow, hard fought English that's still a little raspy.

Rainmaker has posed:
There's more applause at that, and a patter of change and bills into the tip area as well. Even Sarah find sa few more coins she can toss into it, though she's watching Carmila with a faint frown. "...are you okay?" she says slowly.

Nixe has posed:
    With her performance done, Camila kneels down before her instrument case and scoops a handful of cleaner to bathe her pool cue into a semblance of clean again. It's only after she's begun the task that she answers, her face shadowed by the brim of her hat. "I will live. It is good that you stopped."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah swallows. "I...didn't think it would get stuck coming out..." she admits, a bit worriedly. "You're sure, you're fine? Do you need something to drink?"

Nixe has posed:
    The gaucha wordlessly lifts the two-liter nearby and shakes the bit of water left at the bottom. "It can be harder than it looks... shove more down your throat," she suggests, lifting her head to glimpse Sarah again as she points to the Apache's throat with bottle. "You swallow less."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Well, at least she didn't accuse her of swallowing more. She's not sure how she'd take that. Sarah mmphs. "Well, yeah. But it's soft too, not like I'm shoving something the consistency of wood down my throat. About the closest I've gotten to that is swallowing ice accidentally." she says with a faint frown.

Nixe has posed:
    "Try bananas," Camila replies, leaning on a cognate as she finishes washing the cue and gives it a quick rub on her pants to brush it dry. From the downward angle, some of the performer's music case is visible and buried under a now healthy scattering of loose bills and her old tools, something slender and metal catches the light.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah notes dryly. "I'm not really in to sticking things down my throat, honestly." She tilts her head. "Is that how you started? Bananas, then worked up to plantains or something?" She's only partially joking...she's honestly not sure if she could do that. "I mean...you must have studied a lot to do this. I'm suprised you're not in a circus show or something around here...."

Nixe has posed:
    "Not all of us make it in the circus," Camila shrugs as she begins to pack her things back into her repurposed instrument case. Her head stays down as she asks, "If not stick things down your throat, what do you do?"

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah mms. "Volunteer work, mostly." she says slowly. "Helping out where I can. Nothing major but it pays the bills." She shrugs her shoulders a little bit, tilting her head. "It's a good performance though."

Nixe has posed:
    Camila nods her head in thanks as she finishes packing and rifles through the money left inside. With eye-catching finesse, her hands fold and tuck the bills and loose change into homes all over her outfit while subtly rubbing them together to break any stuck pairs - counting by feel. Coat pockets, pants pockets, and even down her pants and collar the tips disappear. It's hard to tell if some aren't disappearing up her sleeves as well.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah ahs. "You should try out for one of the talent shows they have around town sometimes. Might win a prize with that..." she says thoughfully, watching as Camila puts everything away.

Nixe has posed:
    "Talvez," the gaucha considers as she finishes her slight of hand and closes the case, working three rusty metal clasps to lock it shut. Tilting it onto its rear, she slips a hand through the instrument's shoulder strap and rocks onto her feet with its bulk spread across her back - and poking almost even with her head.
    "Are you going to lunch?" she asks, hiking a thumb apathetically towards the nearest food truck line.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah smiles faintly. "Planned on it, yes. Know a good truck around here? I don't get a chance to get down to this part of town too often." she says thoughfully, tilting her head. "Want a lunch buddy?"

Nixe has posed:
    "Gaucho's Fire is not real, but good," Camila says of the food truck rumbling closest to them. It may be no coincidence the Brazilian setup downwind. "Tamale Company is cheap; Cheerba Cheerba is good," she adds.
    "I ate before my performance," is all the sharp-eyed gaucha says to lunch.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah mms. "Buy you a drink, then? I'll try this Cheerba Cheerba place." she says, looking around. "Which way to it?" she then asks, frowning a bit to herself.

Nixe has posed:
    Camila points further down the street, though reading any of the food trucks that far away will taking walking around the one before them, or finding a step stool to see over the crowd. "You gave money. Is good," she dismisses while turning to the opposite direction to leave the food truck row.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah ohs. "Alright....have a good day then! Stay warm!" she says, waving to the performer as she walks away, then hmmms, starting to head towards the direction the food truck that was pointed out.