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If it occurred to Nyx to try and run into that feral girl from the incident a while back, and she happened by Central Park again, she might be surprised to find Laura is still lingering there. Much like in the past incident, perched on a tall tree branch, observing the area below in silence.
*
Nyx approaches the way she did that night as well, moving through the shadows silently, her presence hidden from view. as she does so casually. She doesn't try to be essentially invisible when loitering but it seems the world has chosen to conspire to make it so. Late evening is a time in which shadows thrive, and that means Nyx as well. Laura draws a blink from the blonde as she wanders through the park. A brow arches. The young albino woman didn't really expect to see her again…
Consciously pushing the shadows away from herself Nyx appears from behind a tree near Laura's and quietly lifts a hand to greet the other, similarly sized girl. Then she too sets to observing in silence.
*
Laura doesn't consciously turn to look at Nyx when she approaches, but when the girl is close enough, she does stammer, "Lizzy," at least acknowledging her presence and showing she recalled her name. But on the other hand, just like during their last meeting, she still doesn't seem to be an initiator of conversation. Offering nothing beyond the stating of the girl's name.
*
"Laura," Lizzy replies to that, nodding slowly. She moves to stand beside the tree, looking out at the park. Nyx seems to be fine with things being quiet for the moment. X-two something," she adds after a moment, gauging the reaction. Ny- and X-2-… Just that reference to the earlier "slip", and Elizabeth buries her hands into her pockets once more."
*
"Attention to details," Laura mutters at Lizzy's musing, now turning to look down directly at the girl, "I also pay attention, Ny-" she repeats the first bit she heard last time, "a weapon designation?" She asks curiously.
*
"Nyx. My weapon designation," Lizzy arees quietly, tilting her head slightly as she does. She turns her gaze upward slowly. "X-twenty…" A beat. "Your weapon designation," she states more firmly, taking a small leap. "Who gave you yours?" A beat. "I chose mine. When I understood… When I woke up."
*
"X-23," Laura completes the missing number for Lizzy after she guessed the first. "A weapon does not choose. It was assigned." She keeps it short and to the point. Though when Lizzy mentions waking up, she seems more interested, and actually dares to ask, "Facility?"
*
"No. Not the same." Lizzy shakes her head very briefly. "It spoke to me. Told me things were happening. Tried to get me to do worse things…" That voice is soft and contemplative. Lizzy fills the siolence with her own words, even as she leans against the tree. "Nyx is… A description. Goddess of the Night. I'm not sure if it would make sense to anyone else."
*
Laura tilts her head as Lizzy describes voices telling her to do terrible things, "Dr. Rice?" She asks, having one solid candidate in mind for telling anyone to do things that most define as terrible.
*
"Who is Dr. Rice?" Nyx asks curiously rather than directly answering the question. She tilts her head so she can look up at Laura, then begins to climb the tree. It will only take a second for the smaller girl to perch next to the other.
*
Laura observes Nyx as she climbs up to perch by her side, apparently not minding it as she makes no mention of it, nor does she move to get away or block Nyx from reaching her level. "He is dead," she explains, not very helpfully.
*
Nyx nods slowly at this, taking a posture similar than Lauras and looking over the park in a way similar to how the other girl does. "Good," she responds flatly, still watching the park. It seems there's no need to speak more.
*
Laura nods in agreement, clearly, her opinion of Dr. Rice being dead a rather obvious one. For a while, the two remain observing in silence. Before Laura eventually asks, "you have handlers?"
*
"I had someone who was handling my case but I ditched them a bit ago," Nyx responds slowly. She continues to watch the park quietly, shoulders slightly hunched. "Did you get rid of your handlers?" She asks then. Silence is fine. Lizzy isn't going to object or make any motions to speed things along if Laura is quiet.
*
"Are you defective?" Laura asks Nyx in a surprisingly neutral tone, where most might think of that choice of words offensive. She shakes her head at the question, and only replies, "I was stolen."
*
"Defective? Mmm." Nyx doesn't seem to think this is all that offensive and she tilts her head slightly as she considers the word. For a second the tiny blonde is worrying her bottom lip. "I guess I might be…. They just wanted to lock me up for awhile. Afraid I'd hurt someone." She shrugs slowly. "Can you tell me? About what happened."
*
Laura turns to look Nyx over, and nods in a very faint gesture at her reply, "thought so." She quiets down again when asked if she can share the story of what happened. She delays quite a bit in saying anything, clearly uncertain if she should at all. Though she does eventually offer, "X-Men."
*
"Oh." Nyx nods at that, rolling her shoulders as she does so. She doesn't seem perturbed, simply… Deep in thought. Finally she asks, "Laura…" A beat. "What is your power?" The shadow cloaked girl's power may or may not be obvious. It depends on if one is watching that closely.
*
Laura seems to visibly tense when she's asked about her 'power', something about the question doesn't sit very well with her. She likely isn't even aware of how she bares her teeth at the contemplation of the question alone, letting out a stifled hissing sound, before she finally answering, "I'm very good at killing people. You?"
*
"I guess I'm good at killing people too," Nyx responds wrily. She notes Laura's tension and teeth baring by relaxing a little bit. Becoming smaller, really. No threat here. "But, um. Shadows like me."
*
Laura seems to calm a bit at Nyx's response to her cues, making it clear she's willing to let Laura have her way, even if it's not made explicit. "I like shadows," she comments, not showing whether she understood the implication or not. "Who is aiming you…?" She eventually asks after another long bout of silence.
*
"If you really want, I can show you what I mean. With the shadows," Nyx responds quietly. She takes a deep breath and then exhales carefully. "And I hope I'm aiming myself. Sometimes I wonder. But I'm in control." She lifts a finger to tap her temple. "So it's safe."
*
Laura has no hesitation when it comes to seeing things, to learning, and so she replies almost as soon as Nyx makes the offer, "show me." Safety never really been a concern of hers.
*
Nyx shrugs at this, still staring out at the park in front of her with a thoughtful expression. "Favorite animal?" She asks, rather blandly. It's a little darker now, the shade cool without being frigid. The sun is passing clouds, so it makes a certain amount of sense. Nyx doesn't look up.
*
Laura seems to freeze at the mention of favorite animal, she doesn't really have a favorite anything. What she likes never really mattered, weapons are not meant to have a favorite anything. She seems at a loss, and if Nyx wins up not looking at Laura, she might think she's being ignored, when in fact, Laura is quite conflicted about what to say if anything at all.
*
Nyx is actually watching, even if only peripherally. It's just a glance really. Blue eyes appear almost amethyst in this lighting, with darkness closing in just a little further. She takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. Then the girl gives a faint nod of her head.
The shadows begin to move. It's a rabbit, crafted out of blackness so deep that it almost seems to hold hints of purple. Like a shadow puppet, almost, but three dimensional. It hops along the branch and pauses to look up at Laura, twitching its nose. It then hops toward the girl's lap. Silently, of course. Nyx does nothing to draw attention to this. She doesn't even look.
*
Laura's nostrils flare as she spots the shadow made bunny materialize, her green eyes lock on the wouldbe animal. "You made it?" She asks Nyx, while keeping her focus on the bunny, tensing at the oddity of a creature without scent. The very unnatural nature of the creature causes Laura to prime for action, and as it hops towards her lap, she swipes her hand towards it, admantium blades popping out with a *snikt* against the perceived threat. Of course if the rabbit has no corporal body for her to strike, being made of shadows, the strike would cause gushes of blood as Laura would wind up cutting at her lap.
*
The claws strike shadow and actually stop for a split second. Just enough to confirm contact with- something. The shadow creation splits and instantly falls apart, but it's enough for Laura to avoid carving up her own lap. Nyx doesn't even look over as she offers quietly, "I made it. You didn't need to cut it up. I like that, though." She still doesn't move, not even when it turns out her new companion has steal claws and lightning reflexes. "Just a shadow rabbit." Amethyst eyes turn toward Laura and she takes a deep breath. "Now we both know."
*
The moment the bunny dissipates, Laura's claws pop back in, leaving traces of blood on her hand, between her fingers. She turns to look at Nyx suspiciously as she confirms that she created it. "What does it do?" She asks, wondering what she saved herself from. If Nyx is also a weapon, surely the rabbit was a diversion, a cover for something lethal. That's what weapons do, they deal out lethalities.
*
"That? It… Hops." Nyx shrugs slowly. She turns toward Laura, meeting those green eyes with her own amethyst ones. Amethyst, at this angle. Not pale blue. The difference is striking even if the shades are actually quite close. "It doesn't do anything. After I learned how to create- things… I learned how to make nice things too. Like that. It's soft and feels nice. That's about all it does." Nyx's brows furrow faintly while she studies Laura's features. "I won't hurt you, so why make it something dangerous?"
*
"I don't understand," Laura quips as Nyx explains the shadow bunny just hops, there has to be a trick for it, "make it again?" She asks, wondering if perhaps she needs to let it hit her to learn what it does. She's confident she'll survive. That last question in particular baffles her, "why make something harmless? A weapon harms."
*
"You're not harming me," Lizzy respond quietly. She watches with those wide amethyst eyes. "A weapon doesn't have to just cause harm." This is stated firmly. She takes a deep breath and then the rabbit appears once more. It hops toward Laura again. Just a soft, little bunny rabbit. It feels like one as well. "I can make things that harm too. But a weapon is a tool. A knife is a tool. Shadows are tools."
*
"You are not a target," Laura answers, blinking in confusion. When the bunny appears again, Laura studies it, and as it approaches her, she remarks, "it doesn't remember?" Surprised perhaps that the bunny isn't avoiding her. This time, she reaches to poke a finger against it, withdrawing it as soon as she verified it 'feels' there. "Strange." Looking at Lizzy again, not minding the shadow bunny, she nods, "true. I have no one to aim me at targets. It's disorienting. You?"
*
The shadow bunny hops up into Laura's lap. "It's just a shadow," Elizabeth responds very quietly. "It does what I want it to. I can't make a real rabbit." She might sound vaguely wistful but it's hard to say. When Laura speaks of no one to direct her Lizzy nods her head slightly. "I don't let people 'aim' me anymore," she states simply. "Bad people tried to get me to do bad things. They became targets. Now it's… Just me, really. I didn't have a facility like you did. Or anything like that. Buut I think we're the same that way. Weapons?"
*
"I am a weapon," Laura agrees, there's no refuting at least that much. But she doesn't know anything about making her own decisions. Sure, there was this strange wouldbe god she made who suggested she could. But how does that even work? She looks displeased, perhaps bothered, turning her eyes to look at the shadow bunny in her lap. Again she reaches to poke at it in testing. "You are a shadow," she tells it.
*
The bunny twitches its nose. It's good at that. It feels much like a real bunny. Soft fur, pleasant ot the touch by most estimations. Nyx arches a brow, smiling faintly as she watches Laura poke it. "Put it in your pocket if you want. It's like a doll- it'll just sit there. It melts in sunlight, though." She shrugs her shoulders lightly now. "It's scary, not having someone to guide you," Nyx murmurs finally. She turns her eyes upward toward the sky. The sun is out but the shade of branches above apparently keeps their little demesne dark. "My mission wasn't just violence. It was- infiltration. Theft. Maybe that's why I make harmless things. Is all you do harm and wait for a new handler to give targets for harm?"
*
Laura furrows her brow, the concept of taking this distinctly non lethal shadow bunny and putting it in her pocket seems weird to her. She doesn't do it. But also doesn't speak against the idea. She only stammers, "I fear nothing," when Nyx suggests it's scary not having someone to guide you. It's an almost childish kind of reflex statement, no thought invested in it, just making sure that Nyx realizes Laura isn't scared. "Mission parameters are defined per mission."
*
"Nothing? I wish I was that strong," Nyx responds earnestly, in a way that is both not teasing and still somehow manages to imply that Laura should reconsider her own thoughts. She shrugs her shoulder then, taking a deep breath and slowly exhales. "Mission parameters are defined per mission. So you do more than harm?"
*
Laura doesn't appear like she's about to reconsider her stance, she almost looks like a small angry tiger, minus the being an actual tiger part. "Classified," she retorts when asked if she can do more than harm. Surely the operations undertaken by the Facility and the Weapon X program is not for the public at large. Laura isn't about to be a source of dissemination of that kind of information. "I should go." She eventually notes, feeling like she's getting too comfortable talking to Nyx, "bye Lizzy." At that she dives off the tree, lands into a roll and starts moving away. She doesn't sound angry, just uncomfortable.
*