ArchivedLogs:Fly, You Fools

Fly, You Fools
Dramatis Personae Kate, Kaori	2014-02-21 Kate and Kaori meet up to hunt stars. (Part of Morpheus TP.)
Location Mobile in Midtown
It's nearly 40 degrees in midtown, just after lunchtime. People all over the city have called in 'sick' to go out and hunt stars, and the sidewalks are packed. With so many stars, in so many shapes and sizes, all manner of folk can find the type that suits them. This even includes a hyperactive X-Games athlete like Kaori Takahashi. Freshly back from spectating in Sochi, Russia, apparently she could only put up with the amenities long enough to watch the snowboard events. Kaori is standing at a noodle vendor wearing a black fitted, long-sleeved thermal shirt with 'NYPARKOUR' printed on the back, and black running tights that reach all the way to her bright pink running shoes. Her thin gloves are tucked into her waist band to let her eat, but she's watching everyone move about with wide, smiling eyes. Her hair is fire-engine red on one side of her head, and police siren blue on the other, cleanly parted down the middle and pulled into matching side-ponies. It looks like her clothes wouldn't really be enough to keep her warm in this weather, but the sheen of sweat on her brow indicates she's been finding ways to keep warm. She almost vibrates with eager energy as she stands there shoveling noodles into her mouth. Being stuck on the late shift at work, as the new girl in town, Kate has the day off. Rather than catching up on sleep like she should, Kate has taken to the streets with the majority of New York in search of the shining prizes hidden about town. She is dressed casually chic, a pair of dark jeggings beneath an oatmeal colored oversized sweatshirt tunic, flopped slightly off one shoulder to show the layered black and green tank tops beneath it. Her long brown hair is pulled off to the side in a messy ponytail, a few strands falling into her face when the damp wind blows. She is well prepared for the soggy weather with bright green rainboots on her feet, which make her current activity rather impractical. The young woman is currently halfway up into one of the smallish trees lining the road, her goal glinting tantilizingly among the bare branches. Hugging to the trunk, one arm looped over the lowest branch, Kate stretches for a small metal and glass star wedged into a hollow in the tree. "Oh shit," Kaori exclaims through a mouthful of noodle. Her head is cocked, watching Kate climb. "Good eye, Adventure Girl! You go!" She walks over closer, standing under the tree, grinning as Kate ascends. "There - there's a foothold there," she says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. But she trails off at the end, her pointing finger drifting. Her upward gaze has allowed her to spot a drifting, bright red, star-shaped balloon with at least two sparkling, shining silver stars /inside/ of it - starception! "So pretty..." Kaori says, feet already drifting her in that direction. She dumps her still half-full noodle box into a trash can and wipes her hands on her pants before donning her gloves. Kate might be just a bit out of practice in tree climbing, because her grip falters momentarily when Kaori shouts her reassurances. "Eep!" the petite climber exclaims, scrambling to regain purchase on the chill bark of the tree. Ultimately she manages to scramble her slick boots against the trunk of the tree to propell herself up towards her goal. Tongue sticking out in concentration, Kate makes one last grab for the little star, her fingers closing around the prize. "Yes!" she cheers, dropping herself back to level ground as she holds the star over her head in triumph. When she looks up at the sparkling little trinket, her eyes, too, trail to the red baloon, cooing quietly, "Oooh." The hovering ballon seems to be too high, or just too much trouble to entice most of the people on the street. But when Kaori stops and looks back at Kate, she is in 30% pouty face. "Come /on/ Adventure Girl! There's /two/ inside of that thing. That means we both get one. Let's go!" Kaori jogs backwards for a moment, watching and waiting for Kate to catch up. "Hm?" Kate blinks curiously when she's addressed, a smirk growing on her lips at the invitation to chase the baloon. "Oh!" she says, apparently getting it after only a few moments. She jogs lightly after the colorful girl, catching up pretty easily, despite needing to weave her way through the small crowd. Her previously collected star drops into the purse she carries cross-body, where it clanks against a small number of other stars, apparently having been collected earlier. Upon closer inspection, it looks like Kaori's bangs are actually being held up by the tiniest of tiny sparkly star barrettes. As the two women begin their chase however, the balloon drifts in front of a nearby alley, and gets yanked down that direction with the odd gusts and temperature differences. When it enter the warmer air, the balloon quickly starts to gain altitude. Kaori breaks into a run, shouting, "C'mon, follow me!" And in a display of pure athletic talent, combined with what must be years of practice, she sprints through the alley, uses several random bits and loose bricks to run up the wall and gain the top of the dumpster down here. From there she's able to make an impressive leap to grab the bottom rung of a fire escape. When she pulls herself up to the landing, she kicks the release to make the ladder easier for Kate to grab. "Go on, just like I did." The girl winks, looks skyward to check the balloon, but stays where she is to see if Kate comes along. Kate keeps up the pace with the other girl, giggling between breaths as she runs after the balloon. There is a moment of hesitation when the balloon vanishes down the alley, and Kate loses some of her momentum, perhaps debating on the intelligence of chasing after a colorful stranger and a starry balloon. Shrugging, and glancing back towards the street, Kate picks up her speed again, heading into the alleyway. A skeptical smirk twinges the corners of her lips as she watches Kaori bounce about like a video game character, her neatly maintained eyebrows raising in surprise at the invitation to follow. "Uh... huh. Yes, because it's just so easy like that," she says, slowing to a stop. But something tells her to go for it, a twitch of the muscles, a sudden desire to move. She backs up to the edge of the alley and heads into a full sprint, taking a slightly different path that takes her along a heap of trash cans, to a bounce off the dumpster lid, before she grabs hold of the fire escape ladder with shocking ease. She scrambles up the ladder, eventually coming to land beside Kaori, apparently a bit shocked by the fact she is standing there. "See?" Kaori says, grinning. "I knew you could do it." She turns and races up the fire escape then, grabbing the handrails to help propel herself toward the roof. Luckily, the women are closing ground! By the time they reach the top of the three story building they're actually above the balloon and will hopefully be able to predict where it will come up to meet them. “Wow,” Kate says, panting slightly, hazarding a glance down to see just how far up she’s gotten, wincing and somewhat regretting the choice. She tightens her grip on the rungs of the fire escape, chuckling nervously while she wills herself to continue upwards. After a moment, she scrambles after Kaori, a delighted grin on her lips as she does. “Oh, wow,” Kate says, looking out from the top of the building, scanning for the balloon, though a bit distracted. “There!” she points, giggling at the slowly rising balloon wending its way upwards a short distance away. Kaori spins and claps her hands when she sees where Kate is pointing. "Yes yes yes!" She trots to that part of the roof, and then exclaims, "Oh no!" when it starts to drift further away, out over the alley. She sprints to the edge and leans way out, calling back to Kate. "Grab my belt!" He fingers are just centimeters from the balloon. Just. A Little. Further… “Grab your… what?” Kate asks, looking between Kaori and the balloon, then back to the apparently crazy girl, “Are you insane?” Asks the nurse who ran after a balloon with a stranger in search of shiny things. Perhaps against her better judgement, Kate trots over to where Kaori is leaning, eyeing her outfit. “Ah, darlin’, you’re not wearing one. I’m not really in the habit of giving people atomic wedgies in order to grab errant balloons,” Kate adds skeptically, “Can try to hold the band of your tights?” The tone indicates she isn’t /quite/ that certain about the whole idea. Kaori backs away from the edge glancing down at her attire with a frown, as if her pout could possibly make one appear. Then she squeaks as the balloon rises even more, and then beckpedals from the edge of the roof. She digs the obvious rectangle that is her phone out of the back pocket of her tights, tosses it to Kate and says, "My emergency contacts are under 'ICE'." Then, without bothering to explain more, the woman sprints the short distance to the lip of the roof, plants a foots solidly and soars over the gap, snagging the balloon just before it floats too high to retrieve. It's at the apex of her jump however that she realizes she's going to come up just a little bit short. She crashes into the opposite roof at the waist, folding over it and grabbing the lip with both hands, while /still/ holding the short white string attached to the balloon. She grunts in pain as her body smacks the edge of the building, but once she's thrown a leg over, she holds the balloon hand up in a fistpump of triumph. This is quickly followed by a wince of pain and a grimace as she holds her side. She looks at the fire escape on her side, and nods at Kate. "Meet me at the bottom!" And Kaori carefully sets about hiking back down, moving gingerly as she goes. “What?!” Kate yelps, scrambling to catch the phone that is thrown to her, “No, no, no…” Futilely, Kate grabs at Kaori’s shirt when she starts to back up for her running start. “I have /seen/ what happens when someone falls three stories,” she grumbles quietly, wincing and avoiding looking as Kaori makes the leap, covering her eyes. Most of the way, anyway. The solid -thud- against the other roof gets her attention, and she glances up, nervous at what she might see. There’s a brief flash of excitement at the fact that the balloon has been captured, though it fades quickly at the wince. “Alright. Meet you down there,” Kate says, scrambling quickly down the way she came up. No need for theatrics on the way down. Kaori picks her way down the fire escape, kicks out the ladder, and then frowns as she looks down, thinking about climbing ladders one-handed. Finally she takes a breath, which she visibly regrets, and claps a hand over her right side. "Ow fuck…" she says, still holding the balloon in her right hand. She peers over the edge at Kate who surely beat her down with the speed she's moving now, and gives her a combination grin and grimace. "Broke my rib, I think," she says cheerfully. "Maybe two!" She frowns again, and then sets about climbing down the ladder one handed, clutching the balloon in her right hand, the side with the broken rib. When she gets to the bottom, still a ways up in the air, she grits her teeth and jumps free. She lands well, but grunts a squeak of pain. "Fucking fucksticks," she says quietly. She reaches out instinctively to take Kate's shoulder, and steady herself. "Is there a hospital close? I have good insurance…" Kate winces as she watches Kaori make her way down the ladder, safe and sound as she is on the ground. “Let me take a look, I can at least give a decent estimate for you,” Kate sighs, “If all you did is break a rib or two, you’re lucky. A fall like that could be far, far worse. Thankfully, New York has some excellent hospitals, if nothing else.” The petite young woman waits at the bottom of Kaori’s fire escape, arms crossed over her chest, looking none too amused. It is, however, quite easy to lean on her shoulder, short as she is, “I’m a nurse, actually. I can take a look, though you’ll probably need to see a doctor and get an xray and such, to rule out anything worse.” Because trusting random adventure girls in the alley is the theme of the day, from climbing walls to offering medical advice. She does reach out to take the balloon, only momentarily, to create a little loop around Kaori’s wrist so that it won’t get lost, “There. Now it won’t float away and need you to do something like that.” Kaori smiles at the balloon string, but she's starting to look a little pale from the injury. "Thank you! That's a good idea. Lucky for me you're a nurse." Kaori pulls her shirt up to sit just below the hem of her sports bra, revealing a swath of purpling skin. The skin is slightly abraded as well, but no real cuts or gashes. She frowns at the darkening skin and nods. "Oh yeah, that doesn't look good." Kaori seems to remember something, almost ADD-style, and smiles brightly at Kate. "I'm Kaori, by the way. Thanks for climbing up on that building with me. Most people wouldn't do that. What do you think? Is it broken?" Apparently she isn't great at segues. “Hah. The balloon thing is because I’m the oldest of four. Little sibs always lost balloons, and then cried,” Kate says with a chuckle and a head shake. When the damage is revealed, Kate sucks in a breath through her teeth, “Okay. That is not looking good. But you’re lucky you were able to pull yourself up, if nothing else.” A hand starts to reach up to gently palpate the area, though she pauses, looking up, “I’m Kate, lovely to meet you.” She winces, eyeing the spreading bruise and muttering under her breath, “I need to start carrying gloves with me. People around here seem to get injured far more often than back home. I need to touch your side to see if it’s broken, okay?” She does wait for an affirmative, though, before proceeding. “I can tell you if it’s broken or not, but you’re gonna need to get checked for internal bleeding and damage, after that impact,” Kate says before gingerly touching Kaori’s side. “The climbing was fun, just… can’t quite believe I did that. Fear of heights. Kinda… yeah,” Kate muses before falling quiet and concentrating on the injury. "Yeah, that's ok," Kaori says when it comes time to prod her ribs. She grits her teeth and tries not to flinch. "It's not my first broken bone," she says with a forced smile. Idly, Kaori flips off a random guy who stopped to take their picture in the alley, two women, one with her shirt half up. Some guys are creeps. "It's kinda hard to take a deep breath though," she says, frowning. This is likely not even her first broken rib. She bites her lip and waits for Kate to inspect things more carefully, making up small talk to keep her mind busy. "I used to be scared of heights too, but it got better when I started rock climbing. When you're tied in, and have ropes and everything, you can be way high up, and trying dangerous stuff, but it's pretty hard to get really hurt." Kaori gets her phone out of her pocket again, looking at it over Kate as she bends to look at the wound. "I'll call a cab. You wanna come to the hospital? I at least owe you coffee for all that. Plus, we should open the balloon and get the stars inside." Kate is not prodding - she is just gently touching, and there might be just the slightest reduction in pain - barely noticeable, just enough to take the harsh edge off - as her cool fingertips touch skin. After a few minutes, she nods, offering without looking up, “Alright. I think you’ve got at least a broken rib. Possibly another one that might be cracked. Not to mention this bruise is going to have you sore for a bit.” Kate smirks at the small talk, glancing up at Kaori, “Can’t say I’ve ever thought to try rock climbing. Oklahoma - barely any hills, let alone cliffs. Tended more towards self martial arts stuff for gym activities, personally.” Standing slowly, Kate nods to Kaori, “Alright. Go ahead and call a cab. If you’d like, I’ll stick with you to the hospital; I’m not on shift until later tonight, anyway.” Smiling and glancing up at the balloon containing the tiny stars, Kate grins, “Oh! Right. Can check out the clues for where to look next. Maybe after we get you checked out.” Kate jingles the small bag of stars she has gathered over the morning, “Star searching is so much more interesting than sleeping.”