4525/Circles in the grass

From United Heroes MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Circles in the grass
Date of Scene: 28 May 2018
Location: New York City
Synopsis: Nicky goes exploring, and regrets seeing people having fun while they are still recovering
Cast of Characters: Shoe, Shadow




Shoe has posed:
Nicky felt like getting out and about and reading a bit. Drawing some things up. Then they sat on the bus for longer than they expected, so they took another one and now here is Central Park. Which they don't go to see all that often. Might as well look around!

Today, they are dressed down in a tight Gotham University hoodie and pants. On account of having pushed themself a bit the other day, they are taking it easy today and rolling around in a wheelchair along the sidewalk. A cane hangs off the side of the chair. Hmmm, what is there to see today..

Shadow has posed:
    When the weather's this good, there's always a lot to see in Central Park. Whether it's buskers on the grass, or a pair of jugglers practising their skills at an intersection or even impromptu street theater or someone from the Free Hugs movement, Central Park is never quiet when the sun is shining.

    Case in point, one of the larger patches of grass seems to have been taken over by a circle of chanting, clapping youths with minimal musical accompaniment keeping rhythm, while in the center two of their number are engaging in an energetic cross between an acrobatic dance and play fighting, alternating blindingly quick spins and high kicks with cartwheels, flips and feints...

Shoe has posed:
Nicky oohs. A roda. She turns and rolls that way, coming up to the side of the circle and looking between people a bit to see what's going on. Or as much as he can see through the other people, anyways. Can't exactly look over shoulders out of a wheelchair. He hmms, watching quietly and trying to pick out some new tricks and ideas to work on when he's not listening to the reasonable limits of his physcal rehab teacher. He idly works on some casual arm stretches, waving a bit to the people nearby.

Shadow has posed:
    There seem to be about two dozen members of this particular troupe, with sixteen of them currently forming the circle around the two jogadors, and six more crouched near the musicians waiting for a good time to take their turn.

    "At bat" at the moment are a dark-haired fellow that easily tops past six feet tall, all lanky and long-limbed that just now executes a hands-free cartwheel to stay clear of the slithering scissor-sweep from his opponent, only to have to flip back immediately when his opponent shifts direction and nearly catches his ankle with her own on the return sweep.

    He lands and spins into a mid-level kick that forces her to back out of range in a scramble that would look awkward and ungainly for anyone not Capoeira-trained, but she simply tucks in her legs and does a kip-up as if her spine is made out of rubber -- and then immediately has to make a flip of her own when the man's follow-up spin goes into a low sweep. There is a cheer as she lands, and after a dramatic chord from the musicians the 'fight' progresses a bit more sedately for a moment before one of the waiting players darts in to substitute for the man, and the dance goes on...

Shoe has posed:
Nicky tracks it all. They've picked up a little bit.. even if it's not immediately apparent or to be expected given their current situation. They're keeping some secrets, they're frustrated because they want to be walking around. running around. Active. But healing takes a bit of time, and they're liable to do something odd if they aren't careful. So frustrating. At least some stretches. This is just making them feel even more cooped up. So they look away, and around at the others in the area.. just as well, people keep blocking their line of sight.

Shadow has posed:
    The new player is... Significantly less skilled and flexible than the man he replaced, and it's pretty clear to Nicky that the blue-haired woman is deliberately toning down her own game to match and make him look better than he could on his own, telegraphic her 'attacks' with elaborate flourishes that allow him to get out of the way or flow around them with apparent ease.

    By the time someone else taps in to substitute for the woman, the young man's expression of determined apprehension has changed into cheerful confidence, and he gives his next 'opponent' a run for their money as the woman rejoins the circle of singers...

Shoe has posed:
Nicky sighs and just sort of backs up a couple feet, obviously frustrated at not being able to join in. They turn and roll a few feet off to mope, digging out a sketch book and pencils, looking longingly over at the circle, then looking around the area and doing some shoulder stretches, then lifts their legs to reach down and touch their feet a couple times.

So. Frustrating. They pause to lift a pantleg and examine their ankle a bit, rotating their feet a little bit and frowning. Maybe if they stashed the chair for a bit... sigh...

Shadow has posed:
    The roda certainly does not show any signs of ending any time soon, as three more people have left the circle to join the queue of waiting 'fighters', and the drum player has handed her instrument to another player to join in the queue as well.

Shoe has posed:
Nicky goes up a mound with some picnic tables on it where they can watch things and gets out of the chair, wincing a little bit, and starts doing some leg stretches. Trying to get their full split back, and not too far away. They keep one hand on the back of the chair as they do it. Yeah, this is going to earn some sort of nasty comment they're sure, but damn it all, walking too far still *hurts*. At least from the top of this rise, they can see a bit more of what's going on in the circle.

Shadow has posed:
    Apparently, the earlier pair were some of the higher-ranking jogadors showing off their moves to get everyone's spirits up. At the moment, there seems to be a pattern of one experienced jogador taking on two to three less skilled challengers before letting the next skilled player tap them out, allowing them to work on their endurance while the younger dancers get to learn from their betters.

    Interestingly, it seems that the blue-haired girl is already moving into the queue for another round, while her erstwhile opponent has taken to the snare, his white shirt thoroughly soaked through with sweat.

Shoe has posed:
Nicky fantasizes about going down there. But they would probably weld their foot to the ground when somebody went to sweep them, or twist their ankle or something. Well, probably not the ankle. More the hip. Hmmm. Still getting some kinks out. A few more slow stretch kicks, holding onto the chair.

Shadow has posed:
    "... oh, you can walk!" comes the polite-but-perky comment from nearby. As Nicky turns they see a blonde girl, mid-twenties, dressed in the white loose pants and shirt that are as close to a uniform as Capoeira tends to get, a sheaf of flimsies tucked under one arm. "I mean, I saw you looking earlier, but you were in a wheelchair and I didn't figure you might be interested in an invitation because you do kind of need your legs for Capoeira, but... um,"

    She trails off, blushing a bit as she realizes she's treading on awkward ground, then holds out one of the flimsies, which turns out to be an advertisement for the troupe -- apparently, aside from performances in Central Park when weather permits, they also hold regular classes in a nearby gym.

Shoe has posed:
Nicky blinks. Aaaand there's the inevitable awkward comment.

"...Yeah, a bit, but the feet are new from the factory and my inner ears are kind of gone." They reach up and pull back their pantleg a bit to show the metal underneath. "I kind of overdid it earlier, and I don't want to need to call anybody to come and get me." They lower their leg, wince slightly, and take the cane so they can lean heavily on it and sit down again. "It's getting better, though. I did a bit before.. well.." They gesture down at their feet. "Only a couple months worth though."

Shadow has posed:
    Give her credit, she does her best not to wince too blatantly. Nicky can /see/ her open her mouth to ask what happened, but she manages to remember her manners and closes it again before asking a possibly rude and definitely intrusive question. She nods at what Nicky tells her, and by the time they're finished talking, the smile looks genuine again. "Well, whenever you feel you're ready to try and face the music again, we should be here," she offers, extending a hand. "I'm Amy, by the way. I've been with the troop for about two years now..." Behind her, there's another cheer as apparently the blue-haired woman has pulled off something spectacular.

Shoe has posed:
Nicky looks up and takes the hand firmly. "I'm Nicky." They glance at the circle a moment, then frown. Jealous. "I didn't have an apelido or anything yet. Not my main thing, I just did some on the side. I just... really miss being able to DO things instead of rolling around and having everybody look down at me. It's hard taking things slow, but I have to let things heal right."

Shadow has posed:
    Amy nods, smiling as she shakes Nicky's hand. "Yeah, that sucks. I sprained my wrist a couple years ago, couldn't use my right hand for anything for a /week/ and that nearly drove me up the wall..." She trails off. "People keep telling you that the important thing is to remember it'll get better, and sure, they're right, but in the mean time it's still frustrating because you're constantly reminded of what you used to be able to do..."

Shoe has posed:
Nicky nods in agreement. "I *almost* ended up on an Olympic team, once." They take a deep breath and sigh deeply in tremendous annoyance. "Now I roll around and give nasty glares at staircases." Fist shakes at the sky. "Aaargh."

They look over, "I would have thought you were still going to be in the circle. I mostly just got sick of feeling useless and well.. everybody keeps standing up, so I couldn't see much."

Shadow has posed:
    "Well, someone had to take a turn at passing out leaflets while Corazon and Noite are wowing the locals," Amy replies, still smiling. "That's Lucas and Jen," she adds, pointing out the tall man currently playing the snare and the blue-haired woman encouraging a *very* new and somewhat shy younger girl to push past her hesitation. "Corazon's got a big heart - fair warning, if you're not into being hugged, best let him know first thing when you meet him. He's almost a compulsive hugger, and he's good at giving them, but if you don't want one, he'll leave you alone."

Shoe has posed:
Nicky nods, "Yeah, okay, huge hugs. I think I can deal with that." They hmmm a bit and look at the flyer. "I wish this was closer. I go to college in Gotham. I don't know why I came THIS far." Seriously, why DID they come this far? Oh well. "Maybe if I found some metal or something. I make art."

Shadow has posed:
    Amy tilts her head. "Maybe you came all the way here because what you wanted was some alone time where you didn't have to meet anyone you knew for a bit," she offers after a moment's thought. "If you like, I can see if anyone knows a few good troupes in the Gotham area..."

Shoe has posed:
Nicky nods, "That works. I'm going to need to get back into shape here soon.." Or, well, get used to their shape anyways. They kind of cheated. They sigh some. "SO frustrating. I'll need to get going soon if I expect to catch all the busses I need."

Shadow has posed:
    Amy nods. "Kind of a long way to walk or wheel," she agrees, sketching a half-bow as she touches her chest. "Acie," she adds. "Take care of yourself, huh? And don't be a stranger~"

Shoe has posed:
Nicky waves. "Sure, I'll be around." They check their phone, frown a bit, push off and coast down the ramp, zooming off to catch a bus.