ArchivedLogs:Scarce

Scarce
Dramatis Personae Ash, Hercules, Ion	2015-10-17 "Speedy would be best."
Location <NYC> Harlem
Harlem's gritty reputation has become less and less earned over the past decade or so as gentrification has set in. Its reputation as a hub of jazz and culture, however, is still very much earned -- throughout the years Harlem has been renowned for its contributions to music, from its swing dancing and jazz culture back when speakeasies were prevalent to the many hip-hop artists with Harlem roots in modern day. It's gotten cold, sharply and suddenly; as the sun starts to set the temperature has dropped quite steeply. People are starting to break out the warmer clothes -- Ion hardly looks out of place, then, in his tall leather boots, sturdy jeans, lined leather coat, fleece cap pulled down over his dark wavy hair, backpack slung over his back. There's a cigarette dangling from his lips where he leans up against the heavy plastic of a bus shelter, sunglass-shaded gaze tilted over towards a squat and unassuming office building nearby. Then looks away, down towards the ground as he ashes his cigarette. Exhales a heavy stream of smoke. /Mostly/ office buildings on this stretch of the street, the foot traffic is sparse on a weekend, mostly people just getting to or from the subway to more interesting parts of town. Coming from the direction of Central Park, North, is a large, well built man in his late teens. He is dressed for the weather as well, a longsleeved sweater and jeans with a pair of heavy hiking boots. The young man's direction appears to be taking him towards the subway entrance. The wheels on the bus go round and round... until they stop. One of the city's buses pulls up to the bus stop that Ion's bus shelter is near by. One very dirty dust bunny gets off the bus, pulling his collar up against the chill in the air. He takes a moment to glance around the intersection, orienting himself, before catching a glimpse of someone he recognizes. "AAAaaaay, hermano!!" Cheerfulness is the first thing that erupts from Ash's mouth, his arm shooting upward to wave as the bus pulls away, he being the only person to disembark. He is grinning as he walks up to the other guy, but that expression soon fades, his chin tucking as he glances around. He notices Hercules, but Ion's somber attitude draws him back. "Hey. Sup?" "{Oh, fuck.}" Ion's gravelly bass grates more roughly than its usual; he is slower to look up, slower to /everything/, really, not much of his usual lively-manic energy in his motions. There's another tap at his cigarette, though there's no ash left there; it takes a moment before he brings it back to his lips. "{Earthworm, you maybe want to be scarce soon -- shiiit.}" He's looking up and over towards Hercules with a small frown. "{Goddamn civilians.} -- Ey, ese, you got the time?" There's a very thick-heavy Argentine accent to his words, his chin jerking upwards to Hercules. Hercules straightens up a little at the cheerful greeting that Ash gives Ion, looking concerned for a brief moment before realizing it wasn't for him. He goes to move on when Ion speaks to him. After a moment's pause, he reaches into a back pocket to pull out a small device, which he squints at. "Just a little past seventeen hundred.", the large teen replies. "{ Scarce, brother? What? Why? What's going on? You are not your usual you - not even for... you. }" Ash struggles briefly with the wording, not because his Spanish is poor, but more out of concern for Ion. He wets his lips and tries to give a smile to Hercules, looking him over. "Thank you! Have a nice day." His smile stays on, bright and steady as he looks back to the sullen electrokinetic, watching him astutely. "{ Come on, High Voltage, talk to me. Want to get something to eat? }" because eating always helps. "{No fucking voltage,}" Ion answers with a small scowl. "I eat. Eated. Aten. Fff. No time for that shit. Who got time for --" He flicks the butt of his cigarette away, letting it fall into the gutter. "Yeah. Right. Nice-day." Hercules slips the device back into the pocket from whence it came, and offers the two a nod. "No problem. You have a nice day too." The large teen grins and offers a wave before continuing on his original path. He does, however, glance over his shoulder at the two, a curious look on his face. Shrugging then, the young man begins his way down the subway stairs. "Um. Okay." Ash's smile disappears as he stands still, shoulders slumping. Hercules gets a little wave as he heads away, but Ion keeps most of his attention. "{ You want me gone, I go, but you're my family, brother. I'm... not.. I'm here for you. You know that, right? }" "I don't want --" Ion starts to say, but pauses as he sees someone emerge from a side exit of the building. His head shakes quickly. "Mmmnah. That me." Hitching his backpack up higher on his back, he abandons Ash quickly, heading to duck inside. Ash frowns, further deflated by Ion's final words and quick disappearance. He scuffs the heel of his booted foot against the ground before glancing up at the face of the building Ion has gone into. Then he turns, heads over to the bus shelter and takes a seat inside. For a little while there is quiet. The man outside -- a security guard -- is taking a smoke break, leaning against the side of the building to enjoy his cigarette and play Candy Crush on his phone. He makes it -- about halfway through his cigarette when Ion slips back out of the front door of the office building, ducking into the bus shelter alongside Ash. "{You maybe-maybe get scarce. Like I /say/ --}" is as much as he says when there's a shudder. A crash. A /boom/ from behind them. The wail of a fire alarm, the shattering of glass, a belch of smoke and flame from a few of the upstairs windows in the building. The man in the alleyway drops his phone in alarm, scrambling to get back inside. Then scrambling back /outside/ to pick up his phone. Drop his /cigarette/ instead. "I'm just... waiting for a bus," Ash notes, bringing a hand up to gesture to the bus map. His voice is low and quiet, his head tilts a little to one side. The feeling of the ground rumbling speaks to the terrakinetic in a way that it might not to others, his attention already turning toward the source of the initial shudder, his eyes widening and he blinks. "{ Shiiiiiiit. Hermano, what... }" He slips up onto his feet, starting at the wall before turning to look back to Ion. He takes another breath then readies himself. "Let's go -- get out of here." Ion gestures Ash to follow him, hastening around the corner to where a motorcycle -- not his usual, a small black chopper -- is waiting parked at the curb. He tosses its helmet towards Ash without a word, hopping onto the bike and starting its engine. "Quicklike, huh?" Ash slips on the helmet as soon as his fingers wrap around it. He then hops on the back of the bike, behind Ion. "Speedy would be best."