ArchivedLogs:A Single Shot Of Collision Courses, Pour Some Wariness Over, Top With A Layer Of Unwanted Attention

A Single Shot Of Collision Courses, Pour Some Wariness Over, Top With A Layer Of Unwanted Attention
Dramatis Personae Ellin, Eric, Natalie, Scramble
In Absentia	2015-12-30 "{Fuck, I'm turning into a /man!/}"
Location <NYC> Lower East Side
Historically characterized by crime and immigrant families crammed into cramped tenement buildings, the Lower East Side is often identified with its working-class roots. Today, it plays host to many of New York's mutant poor, although even here they are still often forced into hiding. "{-- Seven!}" A lean redhead is walking down the lamplit sidewalk, canvas grocery bags in hand; she's just collided with a gruff and irritable middle-aged man who is glaring at her back as he huffily makes his way off down the block. Despite the collision, Natalie looks cheerfully amused, tucking a bag up onto her shoulder. She's dressed plainly, jeans, a dark sweatshirt with a black canvas jacket over top, blue and white hat pulled down over her head, ponytailed hair sticking out from under it, matching fingerless knit gloves on her hands."{Seven men just this week. See, I wasn't even /in/ the middle of the sidewalk, it's like they just /expect/ you're going to move.}" There's a bubbly note of laughter in her Spanish words. The tall black woman beside her guffaws, rolling her eyes. Scramble is wearing a short black jacket (unzipped despite the chill) over a red crop top with a low scoop neck that frames a vivid green jade pendant, a plain round flat disc with a single large hole for the black waxed cord that holds it, tight black jeans, and ancient stompy black boots. She also carries canvas shopping bags over her shoulders, and wears a tanto across the small of her back. "{They're probably /hoping/ to bump into you,}" she suggests casually, also in Spanish, "{on top of thinking they own the sidewalk. It's hit or miss for me -- some of them probably go around me fearing for their wallets.}" Windbreaker zipped up tight to the thick navy turtleneck covering most of his throat, Eric sniffs as he leans against a wall, one boot braced on the brick. Like a cool kid. His eyes scan over the people passing by, the gold badge on his ushanka flashing gently in the light as he turns in and out of the glare of one of the streetlights. A coffee cup -- Starbucks -- is held in one gloved hand, a small curl of steam rising from the cover. His expression is bored, cheeks and nose reddened by the nipping air. Each passer-by is evaluated in turn, a quick cursory flick of attention that looks more curious than investigatory. Another sniff, and Eric takes a long sip of coffee, the rising steam from the cup multiplying with his breath. She isn't wearing an ushanka, but she does have some sort of parka on! Or something like it, anyway. A little too thin to be a real parka, but it is fluffy and furry and with its furry bits a white color while the rest is a pale icy blue. She's even got on some Ugg boots. All five of her do in fact! That said, only three of her are currently in sight! The other two stopped for a Starbucks coffee on the way to meet up with the other three when they saw Eric's coffee. Because... well, why not? All three of the visible Ellins are currently arm in arm as they traipse along. The officer? He actually gets her to pause a moment. Don't trust the cops, her mother always said! Of course, since she's not actually doing anything illegal... Well, what does she have to fear? Still, she seems frozen in her tracks. Maybe it's because he's so gosh darn BIG? Natalie's chuckle is quieter than Scramble's laugh; for only the briefest of moments, mostly hidden behind her shopping bags, a wallet appears in her hand. Then gone, again. "{Joke's on him, then.}" She slows as they near Eric, skirting around to give /him/ a berth, though her eyes dance from his cup to skip down the sidewalk. "{Oh, /coffee/. I forget that /some/ coffeeshops have actually reopened.}" This sounds a little wistful. "{You have a talent for comedy. Have you ever considered acting? Or standup?}" The gleam of approval is bright in Scramble's eyes, even if the accompanying smirk is subtle and fades at once when she catches sight of Eric. She pointedly avoids eye contact with the cop as she follows Natalie around him. When Ellins come to an abrupt stop, she bumps into the one on the end. Hard. "{Hey! Sidewalk ain't wide enough for that shit.} Though she darts a bemused glance at Nat and adds, without rancor, "{Fuck, I'm turning into a /man!/}" Eric smiles at the two women passing by him, nodding politely to them. "Two, three blocks down, then on your right." The police officer lifts his cup in an explanatory gesture, smiling at them. His Spanish is accented, a too-strong American south accent bleeding into the vowels, but it's understandable. Eric winces when Scramble runs right into someone, pushing off the wall and coming around behind the two women. "You alri---" The police officer's voice stops as his eyes scan over Ellin...s. 1 person + 1 person + 1 person = 1 person? His head tilts slightly to one side, and the smile on his face fades. "Ouch!" One of the three ends up dislodged from the other two and ends up landing on knees and hands, drawing a wince from the others. Somewhere in the city, there's another coffee being ordered because one dropped some in the resulting surprise. "Careful!" The remaining two help the third one up, looking decidedly prissy as they check each others clothes for damage. A moment later, and they're shuffling... and moving behind Nat and Scramble because big cop is big! "{/I/ was the one he bumped, you'd think the testosterone would have rubbed off on /me/.}" Natalie shakes her head in feigned dismay at Scramble, reaching a hand to offer Ellin a hand back up, though she drops it when she comes to her own assistance. Her eyes skip from one Ellin to the next to the next, brows ticking briefly up in curiosity. "Huh." Kind of a neat sort of huh. Though when Eric's smile fades, /she/ just stands a liiitle bit more in front of the teenager...s. "Three blocks down? Hey, you all in the mood for coffee?" If Scramble was ever upset at the Ellins, it's certainly forgotten now. She still isn't looking Eric in the eye, but neither does she look /very/ concerned about him. Keeping her hands on the straps of the canvas grocery bags, she turns just far enough to peer at the Ellins, she adds in English to the girl she had bumped, "You ok, blanca?" Eric darts his eyes over the women and he takes a step closer to them all, putting out a hand, then slowly letting it drop back to his side. After all, she was already standing up. "Alright, there?" Eric asks, switching to a language where his accent, if possible, gets even stronger. "You should consider a career as a linebacker," he drawls, winking once at Natalie. He swishes the liquid in his cup -- almost empty -- and turns a smile onto the five women. "When ain't I not in the mood for coffee?" A pause, as the officer looks over the Ellins again. "Eric -- Sutton. Good ta meet ya'all." Well. Time to see if anyone buys the identical triplet lie. One of them, with the number Two on her chest says,"Blanca? No, I'm Ellin." Number Four says,"I'm Kate." And number One says,"And I'm Kelly." Maybe they can pull it off? Who knows. They don't do this very often. "Coffee! Oh, yeah! We could totes go for coffee!" They even finish each others' sentences! It's an odd melange of each one cutting the other off. Also, she clearly doesn't speak spanish,"Never met a cop who didn't need a shot of caffeine. Yeah. I'll be fine. We've taken worse tumbles from the top of a pyramid. No problem. Our treat, Mr. Sutton." Natalie /eyes/ the cup Eric held that had only just been /steaming/, her lips pressing together. "I was asking the girls." Her tone has slipped a little drier. "And I don't think I really have quite the build for football." Her hand tightens against her grocery bags, hitching them a little hgher on her shoulder. Scramble quirks a smile and a slender black eyebrow at the three girls. "Pyramid? You're some adventurous sisters." She finally does look at Eric, her expression flat -- neither friendly nor hostile. "{I think we'll be good without an escort. The people need you out here keepin' the streets safe, right?}" Eric nods to each of the 'sisters' in turn, smile light on his face. "Ya never know. Sometimes, it's more 'bout how you carry yourself, not how much ya weigh." Eric says, voice gently teasing. He takes another large swig of his coffee, sniffs once and rubs the cup against the side of his cheek. "I'm just a radio away." Eric taps the shoulder speaker once with the back of a gloved hand, then reaches around to his side to adjust the volume on the radio, turning it down with a squalk of static. "No need, ma'am. I appreciate the offer though; I can pay." "Cheerleading is adventurous!" Oh. She meant THAT kind of pyramid. The 'Sisters' link arm and arm, though one on each side of their line offers an elbow to the girls. Because apparently this is a musical. One even addresses Natalie,"Hey, we can carry those for you. No reason for you to lug them all!" Well, they're friendly at least. As for Eric? "Uuuum... what?" She looks between Scramble and Natalie, and then number Four lifts an eyebrow and flicks her eyes towards Eric. Apparently she's caught on that perhaps they don't want a police escort. Keen observational skills! "I've seen some of those moves." Nat is giving the Ellins a quick flash of smile, brows lifting in a measure of Impressed. "As high school sports go, cheerleading is /hella/ adventurous. Some of those flips?" Her tongue clicks at the inside of her teeth as she unshoulders a bag. She relinquishes it to a nearer Sister with a grateful smile. "I've got cash," she adds to Eric, "/you've/ got coffee. I think we're good." "Oh.../pyramid./" Scramble nods, kind of absently signing 'oh I see' as she speaks. She chuckles and accepts takes the other Ellin's arm. "We /properly/ takin up the sidewalk now. See ya, Officer Sutton. {You have a nice day, now.}" With that she's (gently) guiding their unusual chorus line coffeeward. "Ya'all be safe out there, now." Eric says, eyebrows raising and a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Drink some coffee for me." The police officer watches them for several moments as they walk away, before turning and shooting his coffee cup into a nearby trashcan. Three points. "MID Portable 3 to MID 2. Swing by and pick me up; it's cold as shit." "You should see what we can do!" One of them plants a thumb on their chest, no small amount of pride,"I'm always the top!" Then she's taking the bag offered to her with a smile,"Sounds winnertude!" One of the the other Ellins smiles at the other woman on the arm, allowing herself to be guided,"This is our sidewalk now, nyah!" She tries for a fake gangster voice. It is not successful. "{Stay warm.}" It's offered lightly in passing, Natalie falling into step on the /other/ side of the Ellins -- there's really no getting around them on the sidewalk now. "No kidding? That takes some /skills/. I did some gymnastics but -- nobody had to /catch/ me or anything there." She represses a shiver, buttons up her jacket a little further. "Our sidewalk. Be gladder when it's our coffeeshop. A hot drink sounds like /pretty/ much the thing."