Owner	Pose
Kiera	Late into the night, long past her curfew, Kiera Astria stalks the night like a lioness seeking her prey. Cold, somewhat windy, and brightened by only the flickering beams of street lights or the flickering fires of dumpster fires, she follows a tall man in a dirty brown coat. As for herself, she's garbed only somewhat appropriately for the weather, adorned by a green trench coat, a denim shirt, khaki shorts, tights, and simple knee boots. Abruptly, the man turns about, and she desperately holds onto her beret while scurrying around an alleyway. Unfortunately, while she manages to evade discovery, she trips backwards over a bulky layer of blankets. Letting out a gasp, she loses balance entirely and collapses onto the obstacle without even a simple hello. Her beret naturally goes flying, but at least the blankets managed to pad her fall?
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell gasp and skitters backward and out of her blankets as she's rudely awoken by someone--no, they weren't kicking her, but...falling? She pulls completely put of her blankets, though still on her butt, and eyes the young teen. The blankets feel cold on the inside, and once the homeless woman is out of her coccoon, the air chills by around ten degrees Fahrenheit. The woman looks to weigh less than the teen, with thin, boney arms and a painfully fragile build. "...A-...Are you okay?" she mutters, voice raspy.
Kiera	Kiera groans as the pain of her collision hits her, only for her eyes to widen in horror to have dared break the silence. Instantly, she rises to a crouch and moves to press a hand to Maya's mouth, "shhhh!" Heart racing and cold sweat rolling down her pale brow, she tentatively peers around the bend of the alleyway, entirely expecting to see her mark. She remains still and stiff while gazing into the thankfully quiet night, simply waiting - waiting to learn if the man had heard her blunder. After a tense few moments, she breathes out a sigh and lets her hand fall to her side. In a nervous whisper, she asks, "are you crazy? Anyone could've heard you! If he found us..." She shakes her head, only to look past the alley again, idly rubbing her shoulders against the cold. She levels the stranger with a stare, "what're you doing here? Emma will kill me if she learns I've been sneaking out to..." A swallow, a blink, and then she murmurs, "I-I mean...who are you?!"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lets out a small squeak of surprise as Kiera's hand meets her mouth, which feels -very- cold against Kiera's hand, as if frozen. She tenses up and stays still for a few moments, eyes flitting between Kiera and the periphery of her own vision. Once the teen removes her hand, Maya gasps for air and relaxes. "I-...I-I'm...uh, Maya. I have -no- idea what's going o-on..." She slumps her shoulders and peers back behind her for a brief moment. "Is s-someone after you?"
Kiera	"It's like Hell's frozen over out here..." Kiera shakes her hand, still not registering the temperature drop has nothing to do with the outdoor weather. With a sigh, she murmurs, "fuck, I think I lost him." Pursing her lips uncertainly, amber eyes glance once again to either side of the alley, shoulders tense as if expecting an attack. "We can't talk here." Reaching for Maya's hand, she tugs and urges, "come on, let's go somewhere warmer. I think there's a bowling alley nearby." Frowning, she mutters, "where'd my hat go?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell hisses lightly, drawing in a breath of air as her hand is grabbed. "I-I, ah...I...d-don't like th-...the, uh...heat," she stutters out. "Can't you feel it? My...uh..." She hesitates, before letting out a defeated sigh. The air escaping her lips comes out in a frosty cloud. "It's...fine, ah, wh-...where's the bowling alley?"
Kiera	Kiera looks at Maya strangely, like she's trying to decide if the older woman was crazy. "Umm. Of course I can feel it? You're an icicle. I'm cold too, walking around out here all night. Come on. Please? It'll be warmer than those blankets?" When Maya relents, she grins and drags her along. "It's close. I saw it a few blocks back."     Twenty minutes later, after retracing her steps a couple of times and clearly getting dreadfully lost, she finds the flashing neon sign for 'Age of Bowltron.' Stepping inside, she finds them a seat at the miniature eating area and orders a coke. The owner gives her a worried look, considering the late hour. However, when she says, "it's my sister's last night in Metropolis before going away to college, and we agreed I didn't have to turn in early," the employees of the graveyard shift soon relax. Once more or less alone, she slides her trench coat onto the back of her chair and begins rubbing her face for warmth, "so?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell is dragged along, and seems exhausted after the first ten minutes. By the time they find the place, Maya is practically dragging herself inside, and panting from the mild exercise. She plops herself down in the chair and hunches, making her decent five-foot-ten height seem much shorter. And, of course, there's still that ten degree difference in the air around her. Maya's quick to pick up on Kiera's lie, and perks up, nodding at the men behind the counter. She glances over to the young girl and flatly asks, "So...wh-why are we here?"
Kiera	Kiera appears both grateful and relieved when Maya backs up her lie by nodding to the bowling alley people. Taking a sip of her soda, she looks up in confusion to the question. "To stay warm, of course." She tilts her head in bemusement, "unless you prefer the cold?..." With a shake of her head, she adds, "anyway, I don't want to be trapped in the middle of some dirty alley in the middle of the night, after losing that guy's trail. He could've circled the area and found us, and -then- we'd be in some serious trouble." A brief pause, refreshing herself with more high fructose corn syrup, "so why were -you- there? You weren't following him too, were you?" Her eyes widen in surprise, "I mean, he'd deserve it, but still...it'd be an amazing coincidence." Another pause, "I'm Kiera, by the way."
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lets another frigid sigh out, breath still coming out in clouds, despite the warmer climate. "M-Maya. And no, I was...sleeping there." She lowers her head, again, defeated. "That's...m-my home. Usually. I mean, if...y-you know, nobody's there before I get there. I'm...n-not one for confrontation."
Kiera	Kiera furrows her brow and shakes her head, "I don't understand. You..." Her features smooth over in sudden understanding, the place of Maya's current residence finally dawning on her. "Oh! You live at the house right there. That was an alleyway between you and the neighbors." Giggling lightly, she notes, "we could've just warmed up at your place! That would've been sooo much easier. Sorry, I got so caught up in my own thing." Glancing to the lanes of pins, she asks, "would you like to play? I suck. Bad. But it's fun. More than one of my friends had a birthday party at a bowling alley. My favorite birthday party was at Runaway Rapids, but I'd rank bowling alleys in at least my top ten."
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lets out a low, frustrated grunt and slouches further, leaning against the table. "I-I'm -homeless-," she hisses out. "I w-was sleeping there because I don't have anywhere -else- to sleep. A-And no, I don't want to bowl, because I doubt I could pick up a damn bowling ball in the first place!" Maya takes a few deep, angry breaths and lowers her head, hair dropping down and obscuring her face.
Kiera	Kiera is silent for a long and probably awkward couple of moments. Eventually, she emits, "oh." A beat later, "I'm sorry. I...I didn't...but you're practically my age? I mean, older, but..." Shifting timidly in her seat, she glances down at the table and idly scratches at its wooden edge. "I...I got caught up in my own head again, didn't I?" She frowns deeply, amber eyes burning with the onset of tears. Hesitantly, in a tiny voice, she asks, "did your house burn down or?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell takes a few moments to calm herself, her last breath coming out in a shudder. "...I-I ran away. Because I'm a mutant. I don't know how you haven't picked up on it, I'm...I-I'm freezing. I mean, it's...comfortable for me, but...not others."
Kiera	Kiera continues fidgeting in her seat, responding in an almost defensive tone, "it was cold outside. I had other things on my mind." A hesitant glance up, "I'm a mutant too, you know." Then she gets an idea, "you should come to Massachusetts. If you spoke with Emma, maybe she would let you go to her school? She's really nice. I bet she'd understand..." Trailing off, she shifts again with discomfort and resumes staring at the table.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell sighs again, then shakes her head. "I-I don't have the money," she mumbles. "I...sh-should probably head back. I n-need those blankets for, uh, keeping th-the cold...in...s-so..." She slowly rises to her feet and looks past Kiera. "...M-Maybe I'll see you around, I guess." She nods and starts heading toward the door.
Kiera	Kiera opens and closes her mouth more than a few times as Maya rises and begins leaving the bowling alley. She looks like she wants to stop the older woman, but something manages to stop her first. So she stares at Maya's back as she leaves, before lowering her attention to her coke and staring at its contents instead.