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Following the exchange with Lynette and Solomon on the street, Longshot took his leave and started to make his way back to the motel he has been staying at. It's pretty much a dump, but the price is right. Well actually, it's probably still a rip-off, but it's cheaper than anywhere else in town. On the walk through Hell's Kitchen though, he starts to feel like there's someone following him; but when he turns to check behind him, nothing. Nonetheless, he makes his way back to his temporary home, stopping outside the door to his room; it's dark except for the flickering neon of the motel sign and the faint glow of the streetlights. He pauses there a few moments, trying to fish the key out of his pocket.
*
Darkness hugs to the girl, the shadows being a dear friend of hers, and there was a lightness to her step that made her almost silent. She was use to this; it was how you survive. Even as she watches the man's back, her eyes blink a time or two before she finally gives herself voice. "C'n we talk?" She questions gently, keeping her hands to herself, but he could now see that petite figure in oversized, ratty clothing, large hair, and scuffed boots, lurking behind him.
*
Lynette's voice startles Longshot, and he takes in a sharp breath. "Holy fuck, lady. Scared the shit out of me," he says. He looks the girl over a moment, and then finally gets the room key out of his pocket, slipping it into the lock. "Fine," he says, and pushes the door open. "But not out here." Longshot holds the door for the girl, and motions for her to step inside.
*
Lynette twitches at the reaction, her teeth digging at the corner of her lower lip. Nodding, she enters into the room without hesitation. She gives it the once over, without any shread of judgement, and then finds a place to plop. In this case, it's just on the floor, by a window, using the wall to support her back. "I didn' mean t'scare ya." She murmurs and looks down at her lap. "Jus' didn' wanna cause a fuss, s'all."
*
Longshot steps in after the girl, shutting the door behind him and locking it once more. "Just startled me, is all," he says. "Thought someone was followin' me back here. Should've figured it was you," he comments, moving more fully into the room. Modesty isn't something he's been concerned about since he lived at home, so he immediately strips his shirt off, throwing it unceremoniously on the bed. He's been in it all day, and it smells. Too bad this motel is too cheap to have a shower in the room. "So, I guess you know all about me. Saw me at the circus when it was in town? Before shit went to hell?"
*
Lynette shakes her head, her curls bouncing and swaying. "I don' know anyt'ing 'bout you. Not really. R'member y'face, dat's all. Bad shit happens down dere all de time." She confesses bluntly. Pulling up her legs, she hugs around them loosely, her fingers linking around the wrist of her other hand. "Y'wanna tell me what happened? Why Sol say y'heart beatin' out y'chest, or why y'lyin'?"
*
Longshot stretches a bit, and then sits down on the edge of the bed, facing Lynette on the floor. He looks at her for a few seconds, determining how much to tell, before he speaks. "The less you know, probably the better," he says. "I was a performer in a circus, some bad things happened, and I ran. Spent the better part of the last six years tryin' movin' around tryin' to keep my head down. Figured if I came back here, chances were no-one would know who I was, but then I find you. I'm supposed to have /good/ luck," he says sarcastically. "So yeah, I was lyin'. Got my reasons."
*
"Ain't sayin' m'bad luck, chere." Lyn corrects gently, trying to offer him a kind smile. "S'alright. N'ain't sayin' nothin' t'nobody. 'sides, m'runnin' too. Not as long…two years c'mpared to y'six." She shrugs and rubs her boots together, one toe over its twin. "I-I was 'fraid you was comin' after me…"
*
The admission that Lynette is on the run from something as well puts Longshot a bit more at ease, and he visibly relaxes. "I'm not comin' after anybody," he says, his voice a bit quieter. "Just tryin' to stay out of trouble. Been lucky so far. Which is kind of my thing. So, what's your deal? 'Bad shit happens down there all the time', you said, so what kind of bad shit are you runnin' from?"
*
"I dunno," she answers, uselessly. "I don'…I don' like talkin' 'bout it. T'inkin' 'bout it." Another rub of foot over foot, she tights her hold against her legs, pressing them against her chest and folding herself up. "S'fast, what happened. Dunno how it came 'bout, jus' did. Lots a bodies, n'me left breathin'. Dunno if m'cursed, or it was a blessin'. I didn' stick 'round t'find out."
*
"Sounds like you got it worse than me," Longshot says with a smirk. No, it's not funny, but there's a certain irony. "I killed my boss, back at the circus. He killed my girlfriend, so I slit his throat. So only two bodies for me, and I was only responsible for one of them. Still, pretty sure they've got the death penalty in Louisiana, and definitely for mutants," he says, letting the fact of his mutantcy slip. "So yeah, running, lyin' about it. Haven't told anyone until now. Feels good to talk about it, actually. Should probably see a shrink or something. Maybe we both should," he says, not seriously. "No idea what happened, hey? Just suddenly lots of dead people? You a mutant?"
*
"M'sorry…'bout y'girl. Crime a passion, I t'ink dats what dey call dat. Revenge." She gives another shrug, "Can't judge a man f'dat, but I ain't de law, so…" She doesn't look twice when he calls himself a mutant, her dark eyes just settle on his features. "No. Dey tried killin' me, n'I killed'em back, I s'pose. Don' know what I am. I ain't normal, I know dat much. T'ink m'magic, maybe. If y'believe in dat."
*
"Don't know what I believe. You say magic, sure. Stranger things in the world than I know what to do with, I think," Longshot says with a bit of a shrug. He's not one to judge. "I'm sorry too, but what's done is done. Can't change what happened. It's been six years, I should be over it by now, I guess. But I'm not. Not sure I ever will be," he says. "I don't regret for a second what I did, I'd do it again without a second thought. The bastard got better than he deserved. I'm sure the people who tried to kill you deserved what they got, too."
*
"Maybe. S'metimes I t'ink Marinette was wit me dat night. Protectin' me? I d'nt know." Glancing away, she looks out the window and turns to allow her head to stick out of it a bit, taking in some 'fresh' air before pulling back in. "Y'right, dough. Ain't no chagin' what happened, what we did. S'already done." She pauses and turns toward him, scooting a bit on the floor until she's sitting closer to him. "Y'gon' keep runnin', Longshot?"
*
"I dunno," Longshot says with a shrug. "Been runnin' a long time. Tired of it. New York is my home, was born here, don't really want to leave it again. Hoping my luck'll hold out, maybe I can make a proper life here, somehow. Not the life I wanted, but maybe something closer than I've got so far," he says. "What about you?"
*
"Here's hopin' y'stay lucky, den." She smiles pleasantly. Then the question turns her way. Once more, her tiny shoulders bounce up, and then down. "I ain't got a home no more. Guess I stick 'round. See what's what, den…move on."
*
"Here's hopin'," Longshot agrees, and gives the girl a smile of his own. "Stick around, see what happens. Not that it's the nicest place, but if you've got no home, stay here. Beats sleeping on the street, at least. You're the only one who knows what happened, so you're the closest thing to a friend I've got in this city." He pats the top of the bed next to him. "I'll even flip you for the bed," he says with a somewhat devious smile.
*
"Y't'ink?" She questions, glancing toward the door and then the window once more. "S'big place. Maybe…maybe I stay f'abit. I got a lil cash. Maybe I c'n get us a better place t'morrow? Pay y'back for de roof n'company. Maybe dinner?" She offers and then stands. Brushing herself down, she sits on the bed and gives a bounce or two to check how comfortable it was. Smirking at the idea of the coin flip, she nods. "Y'on."
*
"Place is a dump, no need to pay me back. Just nice to have another warm body around. If we're going to make this a long-term thing, a nicer room is definitely a good idea. We can figure that out tomorrow." Longshot pulls a coin out of his pants pocket. "I call tails," he says, and as he flips it into the air, his right eye starts to glow.
*
"Guess I got heads." She murmurs, watching the coin spit in the air. Her own eyes shift, dying themselves a paler hue as her pupils become slits. She watches it fall and lands, her eyes blinking and returning to that natural hue the once were. Maybe, whatever happened, was just an illusion, or not even noticable. The sound of metal against wood comes, along with the rolling grind of it spinning on its side…and that's exactly where it stops. Blinking, the girl giggles and rests back. "Guess we sharin'. Unless y'wanna go'gain?"
*
"Sharing is fine by me," Longshot says with a grin. He was watching the coin, rather than Lyn's eyes, and he was just as astounded at its landing as she was. But, that's the nature of his mutant power. He can't control what happens, he just gives himself a better chance of success. If she wants to share the bed, he'll call that a win. He lays back himself, kicking his shoes off the end of the bed.
*