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New York City isn't exactly known as a cruising destination in the best of weather, much less the midst of January, but even one of the strangest winters on record for the city may drag on, and the end of a work week plus a break in the weather seems to have brought a lot of young people out, a number of hopped-up looking cars, albeit often with the concession to reality of wearing snow tires, have turned out to circle around between one of the city's little parks and a gas station a few blocks away. Mostly this involves some revving of engines, snowball fights, and semi-surreptitious drinking among some of the younger folks. Diz is among some of the people on the sidewalk, talking animatedly for a while until such an errant snowball finds her jacket, and probably under her scarf, she yelling in a Brooklyn/Italian accent, "Ay! Watch it with the arm, there!"
*
Night shift was the words. Just the start of it, really, and not a bitter wind, so people were enjoying snowballs and the like, Hilde almost couldn't stand it. She wasn't a grinch, but she was close! The driver has left her partner with the bus for the moment, muttering something about a cigarette, and now she's stalking down the street, rounding the block in bored paces because she can't go far if they actually get a call. So, she's trapped in a little goldfish bowl. She's nearly bowled down by one kid, and then half runs into Julie as the woman is yelling at one of the others. Hilde's ice pale eyes narrow, "…Kids. Bein' idiots. One of them is gonna get hit by a car soon…" SHe states flatly, not in a way that says she's joking or worried, but a way that says she knows it. A flat, honest prediction.
*
Julie is, in keeping with the accent, perhaps, used to people phrasing concern in the form of dire predictions such as 'You're gonna get hit by a bus,' 'You'll catch your death out here' or 'Your eyes are gonna stay like that.' Diz makes what may be a little superstitious gesture against bad luck, though, and says, brushing snow off the leather and her skirt, "Usually it's the other side of the wheel you gotta worry about some of these kids with," she says. Seeming like one herself, of course, but she's reached the lofty attainment of 'Done With High School' and that comes with certain attempts at being one of the big siblings around.
*
While Hilde had been walking on, determined, ready to keep her loops, since that spill of a flat prediction escaped her husky voiced throat, she's slowed her step. She's watching everything now, spaced out, icy blue eyes tracing the scene that she doesn't quite know how is happening, but knows is going to happen. One hand remains in a pocket, the other around her cigarette as she takes another drag. She makes no motion to interfere or stop whatever she feels may happen. She just smokes. "…Yeah, I guess, Everyone's a maniac at that age…" HIlde deadpans to the other woman. then, sure enough, there are screeching tires. It's not an accident. SOme kid isn't running into the road, but a car is gunning it for one of the snowball throwers, full speed up onto the sidewalk.
*
Julie ehs, there, "Well, around here if you take your ride seriousl—" It's as though she pricked up her ears at the engine revving, then the word she's uttering changes to "No." It's almost like there's a 'Whhhhrrrr' sound from nowhere, but she splays out a hand toward the suddenly-charging car. One of the rear wheels spins so fast that there's nothing but smoke and no traction, …the other, a moment later sticks so the car is headed sideways toward the park's boundary fence. She, among others, start running that way.
*
Well, she can't get all of them right. And if she hadn't stopped to talk to Julie, if the woman hadn't been lingering so close, possibly the death that was supposed to come would not have been averted. Still, it seems strange how the pale, skinny woman could have known that. As people around start screaming, running away from the mad person in the car and the possible danger, Hilde just watches the spinning wheels with an arched brow. "…Strange. Impressive." Hilde mutters, following after Julie as they head in that direction.
Of course, out of the car, now realizing her first plan had gone awry, there comes a teenage girl. A girl with a gun. Mascara runs down her face, anger and madness of a woman who's heart is broken and something's just broke in her. SHe's waving the pistol towards the running crowd, "Bobby CONNER COME BACK HERE YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"
*
Brunnhilde has partially disconnected.
*
A lot of the boys running *toward* the near-wreck slow their pace as it's less a matter of perhaps a stuck throttle than some crazy girl with a gun. Diz splays out her hands as well, one perhaps to catch Hilde. "Single-pegger axles. Squirrelly things." Waits a moment, depending where the girl's waving the gun. "Ay, ay!" she calls out, holding out her hands. "Hey, honey. We'll get him! Watch it with that thing, though." Well, that's an interesting way to try de-escalating. Some of the boys have similar doubts, one saying cautioningly, "Diiiiiz?"
*
Well, the girl is just… nuts. She's off the deep end and, while it might matter a great deal tomorrow, tonight she's not thinking. The trigger of that gun depresses, she about to pour shot into the crowd, though that will be interfered with as well. It seems Hilde's predictions, for the night, are wrong for once. "…Huh. Well… nice to be wrong on occasion." Hilde mutters to herself, taking another deep drag of her cigarette.
*
ROLL: Julie +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 36
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Runa arrives from East Village.
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Runa has arrived.
*
It's funny how shots echo in the city, really: it's almost like a deep vwrrrooooooooommmm accompanies the shots being fired: it seems a rather lighthearted occasion has turned into teenage drama gone extremely randomly potentially-lethal. Diz is holding up a hand and somewhat ducking. But the few shots seem quite wilder than perhaps they should. A car window smashes, then one two stories up, then there's someone yelling *Ow'* somewhere behind, when Diz finally gets hold of the revolver's cylinder and just stops it turning. "No," she says again. She slips a big crescent wrench, painted in a delicate Creamsicle orange, out of her back pocket with the other hand. If there's no pause in the girl's frenzy, it may get flung.
*
test
*
While the sound of an 'ow' somewhere is enough to make Hilde's head turn — she was an EMT, she should maybe help with that — when she doesn't see any active bleeding, the lazy, lanky blonde decides not to run anywhere. For a moment, this place smelled like death. Death to come, at least. Even Runa would have been able to smell it. But it seems that valiant heroes, or one hero, has intervened. Teens are running from a sideways car and a mascara streaked blonde has been waving a pistol in the crazy scene. The girl is still crying, trying to fight with the trigger that is no longer working. "No! No… Dammit… Bobby…come back here!" She whimpers out, but she's running out of steam at this point.
Hilde arches a brow sideways towards Julie, finally able to pick up on certain motions, hints and body language. "…That you? Impressive… you broke the rules tonight. Wasn't supposed to go down this way. Impressive." Hilde mutters quietly, still just giving the weirdest commentary to this all.
*
Having made plans to meet up with Julie, Runa takes advantage of an alleyway nearby to translocate herself directly here. She steps out of the alley wearing jeans, boots and a white button up shirt. Her sword and shield are technically on her back, but for some reason just about everybody seems to not notice them.
Striding quickly across the street, Runa raises a hand in greeting to the young woman in distress. "Cease, sister," she says as an opening. "You want nothing to do with a coward like that man who flees from you! Be careful and sheathe your weapon, please."
*
Brunnhilde has partially disconnected.
*
Julie does again start approaching the girl. Darn cheap Saturday night specials getting stuck and all, maybe, or maybe she's just not quite that out of her head, this girl. Dizzy is still just sort of pointing at that gun, though, saying, after a quick glance back at Runa's arrival, resumes her calming sorts of tones. "Hey, hey, honey, we'll get him. I told you we'll get him, right?" There's kind of a funny sound in the air, somewhere, like some electric motor not-moving. "What's your name, hon, what school you from?"
*
The girl who has gone quite so insane is now being spoken to like she's in the drama club, staring blankly at Runa for a few moments. "It…it just stopped…working!" SHe whines out, about her gun, not giving it to Runa, but tossing it messily at the ground. No one has taught this crazy teenager about gun safety. And then there are the tears, coming again, bubbling up in front of Runa because she's the nearest target. Then Julie's calming tones come and more tears flow free, "K-katey… and… he… he slept with that WHORE… he…H-he… said he loved me…" SHe hiccups a little bit at them both.
Hilde doesn't run, not as she hears those familiar tones, but she doesn't get much closer. Just a few steps in Runa and Julie's directions, a thin, pale shadow sticking to the side of the road. She watches very curiously, ice eyes narrowing on Runa a bit more.
*
"Yes," Runa says, nodding sagely at the uselessness of the girl's gun. "This is a good argument for staying with a sword or hammer as your chosen weapon. They rarely… malfunction." A brief strange look glazes over her eyes, and then she nods again, "Yes, young lady, he is a faithless cur. It is well that you see his faults now rather than later." Sidling to Julie she adds quietly, "And are you well, my friend?"
*
Funny enough, to Hilde, perhaps, especially if there's 'cheating' involved, that leather bomber-ish jacket she's wearing is decorated on the back with a pair of wings, and a rather funny-looking cartoon machine. The lettering says 'Angelo's Speed & Aviation' and a name that might be 'San Bernadino.' If there was a sound, was there a sound? Nah. The wrench slips back into a pocket. "Don't worry bout it," she says, and just gets the girl in a hug. Glances behind her to whoever's still around. "Peachy," she says to Runa. "Hey, Mikey, do something about that iron, wouldya?"She nods toward the discarded gun. "Everyone else better amscray, I guess."
*
Sure enough, there are sirens to be heard in the distance. Of course SOMEONE called the cops on the crazy girl, she had a gun! Mikey frowns back to Julie, "…Diz… uh… shouldn't she like… get… locked up or something? Isn't this evidence?" The kid protests, but there is a trio of glares from the women, probably, and suddenly Mikey thinks better. He scoops up the gun with the care of someone who DOES Know how they work and then quickly begins to dash away, clearning the evidence. The girl has just collapsed into Julie's arms, crying hard now. SHe's going to need to be lead away. Runa, however, gets a teary voiced response…"Okay. The next time I'll stab him!" She might not be joking.
Another step or two forward and Hilde's pale eyes flicker to the two women, the strange, distant sister that she only dimly recognizes, but does recognize, and the other woman who helped cheat death tonight. "…Have a care with her. She still carries murder in her mind…" Hilde mutters, that last warning of one who knows death given, and then she's turning on the ball of her foot, beginning to walk away.
*
Runa seems to approve of the girl's logic, and takes a step back to let Julie do the hugging. And then that resonant hum and astral presence pings in the back of her mind. Turning quickly, she Hilde hoofing it the other way. "Hey! Hey you…" she trails off, suddenly aware of how awkward this whole situation is.
*
Julie looks over to Mikey, "Evidence of what?" Hilde's pronouncement. not to mention the girl's, both do get a bit of pause. "Right. You listen now, Katie. Like my friend says, he ain't worth it, this guy, but you're worth something if you just remember it. That's just some boy, he'll get his if you remember who Katie is. That ain't about him, all right?" One way or another, the girl's likely in Bellevue's psych ward for the evening, but it's bad enough regardless, for that.
*
"Got work. Take it up with the crazy girl.." Hilde calls after her, showing that yes, she heard Runa's statement… But she perhaps simply didn't care. She turns down an alleyway, her too-slender frame slipping into the shadows and then, somehow, she just seems gone. Maybe she knew these streets that damn well. Maybe she was a figment of people's imagination, thin and ghostly in her skinny frame. Who knew. Either way, she's no longer on scene, her strange pronouncements echoing as ghostly as her presence did.
The girl is still slightly crying, half hiccuping, but she's noodle-ish in Julie's arms. She'll let herself be lead wherever, only protesting towards the end, when she realizes it's the psych ward, but then Julie is getting back up by other wardens there… Maybe she could actually get help. She needed it.
*