Leisure in Lyon [Open]

[pharaoh]

The day was quiet, the afternoon calm and well tempered. Ferdinand found himself glued to a bench, a pack of smokes tightly gripped in his left hand as he took a long drag from a cigarette in his right. The cloud cover was minimal, just enough to keep the day from being too hot but not impeding on the days lovely light. The landscape before and around him was hushed, a rarety for the bustling city of Lyon. A few people would go by, riding one of the city owned bicycles that people could "rent". Others were jogging about or walking with an overabundance of shopping bags in hand. Hm, this town seems well economically. Everybody's got a bag in hand. Tossing the pack of smokes down into his lap, Ferdinand slouched down on the bench and crossed his legs in a figure 4 fashion. Then, with his left hand, he began to rub furiously at the stubble on his face. "Damn I need a shave. Before long I'll be looking as if I'm homeless!" Laughing softly to himself, Ferdinand gripped the pack of ciagarettes again, tossing the one he'd smoked down from his right hand and then unsheathing another, lighting it in almost an instant. Rising to his feet now, he scrunched the near empty pack of smokes in his left butt-pocket and leisurely began a treck deeper into Lyon.

With kick in his step Ferdinand, quite observantly, began to immerse himself within the culture and behaviorisms of Lyon and it's many citizens. Nearly equal in proportion and population as Paris, this city is quite the place. Periodically he'd take mental notes of the large French city, highlighting any oddities he took into account while passing by a store front of a small gathering of people. Every now and again something would catch his eye, a rarety that would pique his interest. From there, Ferdinand would venture from the sidewalk and into a small corner store or up to a market vender who was selling fresh fruit. He'd then make nearly the same comment everytime; "Life's simple pleasures...", trail off at the very end and continue his treck with a large toothy grin. "What a day, what a city, what people."

[maru]

The emotions Maru was feeling were difficult to control. Excitement, terror, nervousness. She had only joined the ranks of the X-men two weeks before, finally being promoted from Paragon a short time after her 20th birthday. But that wasn't what had her emotions in such a flutter. This was the first time she'd ever gone on a mission on her own. Her first mission as an X-man. But this wasn't where she needed to be. She was stuck in this city until the next day, when someone would come and pick her up to take her to her destination. So she had the whole day to herself.

It wasn't as exciting as it sounded.

The city was in no way blind friendly, and neither were most of the people who inhabited it. Some idiot had just about ran into her on one of those bikes that were everywhere, a kid's ball had just about hit her in the head, and everyone gave her strange looks. The shop owners especially gave her weird looks when she would ask them something or buy something from them. They knew something was off with the woman, but they couldn't pinpoint it because she kept her head down so to keep her fogged over eyes hidden. That didn't stop suspicions though.

After only a short time, Maru had given up, taking a seat on a bench and just staying there, arms folded and bags at her feet. She kept her ears strained though, her lips parted ever so slightly to 'whistle' one of her high frequencies, so high the human ear wouldn't be able to register the sound. Her frequencies bounced around on any hard surface, rebounding back to her to create a picture of sort in her head, always knowing where the other humans we- Wait.... what was that?

Raising her head slightly, she tucked her dark hair behind her ears to try and get a clear sound on whatever it was. It was following a human with a stub of something in his mouth. Smoke? She wasn't sure. It was near impossible to hear anything that wasn't solid, seeing as her frequencies went through it, instead of bouncing off. She wouldn't be able to get a clear read on it because it had no shape.

[pharaoh]

As Ferdinand neared the end of the block he saw a young looking woman, an oddity, a missfit. Of all the people in Lyon this one girl seemed a bit, haphazard. Her movements were far more cautious than anyone else's and she always had her head cocked in a funny way, as if she strained to hear things. While most of the people scanned the hazards, the girl just barged through them and thus forward, blatantly blowing off venders and such. As she sought refuge on a bench, Ferdinand made his way across the street and then placed himself beside her as he lit up again. A soft breeze was blowing across his chest, from his right to his left, carrying his cigarette smoke right upon her. "I appologise mad'am." Slipping the cig into the right corner of his mouth, he pursed his lips, took a long drag and then exhaled a large plume of smoke. With a slight waft of his hand the smoke had dissipated almost instantly as if by some unknown force.

"You see, I have this terrible smoking problem. I can't seem to last more than a second or so between cigarettes. Its a nasty habit but one that I am content with. However, most people, as I am sure you may agree, aren't too fond of my habit." Ferdinand had positioned himself on the bench, facing towards the girl and leaning slightly against the back of the bench and the arm rail as he put himself at an odd angel. "So what brings you to Lyon young lady?" Inquisitively Ferdinand began to casually strike up a conversation with the strange girl. Something about her interested him, not so much her looks but more so her behaviors.

[maru]

If Maru had known her actions and behavior would attract unwanted attention she would have just gone back to her hotel to hide out until the next morning. As it was though, by the time she realized this person, the smoker, was approaching her it was too late. A ‘tsk’ just near escaped her lips, annoyed that she’d let this happen. But there he was, smoking right into her face. Breathing in a small amount, she started to cough, fanning a hand in front of her nose and mouth to clear the air of the smoke. Ignoring his apology, she strained her ears even more, listening to this man carefully. What in the world did he want?

She was preparing to fan the next batch of smoke away when it just…. Vanished. The interference in her frequencies was just gone. Her hand froze. What was that…? Had he done that? Suddenly she was very wary. If it had been him, then he most certainly wasn’t human.

And then, he spoke again. He’d taken up the rest of the bench by this point, facing her. Maru didn’t even bother looking in his direction, actually she tilted her head just enough he wouldn’t be able to see her eyes clearly. “You can smoke all you like, just don’t go blowing it in my face. I happen to want to stay second hand smoke free for several more years.” Her nose had wrinkled a tad as she spoke, as if remembering the smoke penetrating her lungs and disrupting her frequencies for fraction of a second.

Maru just about hesitated when he asked why she was there. Oh shit! What was she supposed to say to that? She most certainly would not tell the truth, but perhaps just stretching it a tad would work. “I’m waiting for my sister, if you must know.” He didn’t need to know, that’s probably what irked her the most. Why did he care why she was there? It was obvious she was a ‘tourist’, but so was he.

[pharaoh]

Turning to his right now and sitting on the bench properly, making sure to give her her "space" back, Ferdinand laughed a soft breathy one to himself before releasing another puff from his lips. "Your sister eh?" Continuing the small talk, Ferdinand tried hard not to stare at her. He assumed that she was blind, not only did her movements and mannerisms affirm that but the fact she looked through him rather than at him strengthed the thought even more. "Does she look anything like you? Beautiful dark hair, smooth, flawlessly pale skin and strikingly gorgeous eyes?" Audibly, he took a slow gradual drag on his cigarette this time, savoring the sweet nicotine that flooded his bloodstream. "You obviously aren't from around here. So what brings you to Lyon?" Dragging his free left hand through his hair he relaxed a bit on the bench noting that the young woman was effectively harmless for the time being. "Why not go to Paris? I mean most tourists head straight there overlooking the other beautiful cities of France. I mean everyone knows that monologue, 'Paris! Oh Paris! The city of love!'," He laughed softly again, "spare me. The last thing anyone should be looking for in Paris is love." Sitting back against the bench, Ferdinand brought his bare legs up against his chest and took one more hit off his smoke before tossing it aside and lighting up again, the click of his lighter breaking through the near complete silence.

"Oh shat. Forgive my rudeness, the names Ferdinand, Ferdinand Rodriguez-Moran." Securing the fresh cigarette in his mouth he reached cautiously over and softly grasped her hand, firmly giving it a shake. "If you have the time, why don't you tell me a little about yourself." Ferdinand had made statement, a near command rather than a question. This girl, whatever her name might be, truely interested him. She was foreignly beautiful and tad shy. He liked her for some reason, she seemed like one of those people that you could get used to just being around you. As if they needn't speak or do anything other than be by your side. She's slightly guarded...let me see if I can't find the secret passage through that shell of hers. Taking his hands back to himself, Ferdinand grasped his cigarette and sucked strongly on the filter, the lit end of the smoke turning red hot as the air was sucked through it.

[maru]

Boy, this guy certainly was persistent! She was grateful he’d backed off a bit, but that he seemed to bounce right back almost took her off guard. Why was it that she couldn’t have had an eventless first mission? Right at that moment though, she almost smirked. He wanted to pursue her? She’d give him hell, make him rethink his actions.
“Oh, of course not. She’s much prettier. She’d put us both to shame.” Of course she wasn’t saying he was hideous. From what she could hear, he was quite handsome, expect for that smoking problem of his. And if she could throw him off, make him doubt her disability in the process, all the better.

Shifting a little, she let her hands fold in her lap, leaning back into the bench but carefully keeping her eyes out of sight. “Paris is over rated. Besides, maybe I’m trying to avoid other tourists?” A short pause. “But aren’t you a tourist yourself? Why are you so curious about my affairs, when you don’t even offer any bit of information as to you being here?” She smirked an oh so mischievous smirk.

The sound of a cigarette butt dropping to the cement side walk shouldn’t have caught her attention, but for some reason it irked her. “You shouldn’t litter.” She hadn’t even looked at him, making it rather questionable how she’d known what he’d done. Of course, often times when you had a disability with one of your senses your others were a lot stronger, which could easily explain it. But for some reason, the way she said it almost made it sound like she knew exactly where it had fallen, that she might pick it up herself if he didn’t.

The first thing to take her completely off guard was when this guy, Ferdinand as he called himself, suddenly grabbed her hand to shake it. A disorienting whistle just near slipped out of her lips to ‘attack’ this young man, Maru barely stopping it in time. Instead, a high pitched, but short yelp took it’s place. Her head finally turned towards him, her sightless eyes wide as she seemed to drill right through him in her shock. Finally she ‘tsk’ed, her nose wrinkling a little from the smoke clinging to his skin and clothes. Now how should she respond? Should she give her real name, or create a false one? She almost smirked. Perhaps she had a better option. “I’m Elizabeth.” Her real, first name, but most definitely not the name she went by. If he were to ever snoop, there was little chance of him finding out who she really was… Unless of course he happened to have a wide information network…

[pharaoh]

He smiled a white toothy smile, "so you do have a humor." with a raised brow he turned towards the girl and gave her a curt nod, "quite an exceptional pair of ears you have there!" Picking up the discarded filter from the cigarette he'd smoked down, Ferdinand turned to his right and properly tossed it into a disposal can. "Tourist? Me? No no no. I'm more of a...scholar." He'd chosen his words carefully. While he was here of his own will, Ferdinand had come to do some reconnaissance on several Mutants in the country. While he could have gone to any ol' city, Ferdinand had chosen Lyon, a city that held a special place in his heart.

"Elizabeth, eh? I wonder how many blind Elizabeth's there are walking about the world today." While the question itself was pure curiosity Ferdinand had said it with a challenging note tucked away within it. As the leader of the Het Maailma Fornuft he had an endless well of information stored within his head. While many details often lay obscured behind more obvious and biligerant ones. I take it shes not your average blind girl. Sucking on the nearly burned out smoke between his index finger and thumb, Ferdinand relaxed even more on the bench. "I appologise, for I don't mean to sound rude but you musn't flatter yourself too much. I'm naturally a curious individual! You just happened to catch my attention was all." And with that Ferdinand quickly scanned the immediate area. The park in which the pair sat upon a bench was near empty at this time of day. Taking advantage of the momentary privacy, Ferdinand let his legs drop back to the ground and his posture to straighten. Taking another puff of his cigarette he flicked the thing away, accurately aiming it in the trash before dispelling himself into a thick cloud of smoke.

"I suppose that if I want anything else from you I'll have to instill some trust within you." With his solid form gone, Ferdinand spoke from the ghostly cloud of smoke that now raced across the bench towards Elizabeth and then over her before rematerializing on the ground to the left of the bench. Standing erect now, Ferdinand rested his right hand on the back of the bench, just behind Elizabeth's left shoulder. Leaning in he began to whisper in her ear, a warm trail of smoke leaving his mouth and lapping at the side of her head as he did so. "Let us just say that I'm not your everyday...scholar."

[maru]

Maru just near smirked at his words. She might be serious most of the time, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t have a sense of humor from time to time. “Oh, you have no idea.” She’d turned her head slightly away from him once again, first making sure the cigarette actually made it into the can. Satisfied, she shrugged softly. “And what sort of scholar would that be?” Already though, her suspicions were starting to grow. Who was this man?

When she heard his next comment though, she almost frowned. Was he planning on looking her up? Instead though, she smirked. “Quite a few, actually. Elizabeth happens to be a very common name.” It helped that anyone he asked about her wouldn’t know her by the name Elizabeth, making his job only harder if he did decide to dig around.

“And I hope you don’t mistake my talking to you as you catching my interest.” She was just about to add onto the comment, hoping it might chase him off when he just…. Vanished. Just like before. Maru went deathly still, trying to figure out what was happening. But one thing was for certain. He was a mutant.

It was just her luck. She just had to run into a possibly dangerous mutant on her first solo mission. But if worse came to worse, she always had her own power hidden up her sleeve even if he had been watching her earlier. “And how do you plan on doing that?” She did her absolute best to hide the fact that she knew he was no longer ‘there’.

She released a sharp breath when he was suddenly behind her, the sound coming out almost like a dog whistle that could easily give someone a headache. “I think you’ve already established that.” Her own voice lowered a touch, but was suddenly much sharper. Should she be worried about what he might do?


((wooooow. That's a really crappy post from me.... *dies* But I refuse to rewrite it!!! ))

[pharaoh]

[Tis ok Chelsea =) ]

Ferdinand backed off, turning his back to both the girl and the bench. A sharp pain began first as a small irritance and then gradually it grew. His head felt like there was a needle continuously poking it. From his years of information gathering he could safely assume that she wasn't your average blind girl either. "I can assure you that if I had any intentions of harming you that I would have done so the very second your inhaled the first trail of smoke from my cigarette." With a sly grin Ferdinand had effectively played his card. Anyone with half a brain would have known that his command over fumes (should they be aware of it) would be beside themselves knowing that he could control the very smoke within their lungs. "I promise, Elizabeth, I will not harm you."

Placing his left hand in his pocket and his right hand up to his mouth, no doubt guiding another packaging of nicotine and tar to his lips, Ferdinand had a small moment of clarity just then. "Your hearing, while it's above par, as it very well should be, it is far more precise than that of any other blind person I've met." Gradually, the Mutant was letting his thoughts be known. While he'd already come to a conclusion, he'd allow Elizabeth to be the validator. "As I am sure you're already aware of the fact that I am a Mutant. My powers give me the ability to become and manipulate fumes. Be it smoke or some other form of gas." With a wave of his hand, Ferdinand allowed the wind to blow apart his molecules making his hand become a wavering trail of smoke. "Now I'm not entirely sure what your power does but I'm almost certain it has something to do with acoustics." Turning his head over his shoulder, Ferdinand allowed his eyes to pry deeper into the woman. Of all the Mutants he knew of, be it one's he'd encountered or had yet to, there was few Mutants that were both blind and female. The only doubt in his mind, her name. There is no blind X-Men by the name of Elizabeth. Perhaps it's an alias... Allowing the thought to trail off, Ferdinand awaited her rebuttle.

[maru]

Maru couldn’t help but smirk when he quickly backed away, obviously affected by her… verbal assault, but quickly found her glory stolen right from under her when he spoke. Her frown returned. Now that, she hadn’t expected. “But you take the precaution of making sure that you could do something?” She tried not to dwell on just what he’d be able to do with the cigarette smoke in her lungs, the thoughts terrifying enough as is. “Why would you make a promise like that…?”

“Really? And how many other blind people have you met?” Blindness wasn’t exceptionally rare, but wasn’t by any means common. She could see where this was going though, he was starting to catch on… “Hm… You seem rather quick to assume I’m a mutant. If I were one, I don’t think I’d be as eager as you are to share what I could do. I rather like keeping some secrets to myself.” But he certainly was a bright one, catching on so quickly to what she might be capable of doing. Turning her head when he did so he could catch her almost cynical smirk. If she were able to see, she could imagine seeing the gears in his head churning.

[pharaoh]

Ferdinand shrugged forgetting that she could not see him, "it wasn't a concious precaution per sé. More so a...a habit." A sick smile began to cross his lips as he once again tossed the word "habit" haphazardly about. Everyone's got one. Some habits are deadlier than others. Some are concious decisions while some are simply behavioral. It's a mortal weakness that not even Mutants like myself are capable of escaping. Silently, he processed his thoughts, thinning them out into something more streamline and simple. "Elizabeth. If I truely thought you were a person to go running about blabbing my secrets than you wouldn't be breathing." The fact of the matter was, that Ferdinand could tell the personality and character of someone in almost a split second of talking to them. As a master reconnaissance he knew all the signals, the small mannerisms that were so minute that if one had not been looking for them, not even the person doing it themselves, than they'd no doubt overlook them. "I've lived a couple years or so longer than you. I'd say in that time frame I've met a good deal of blind people. You'd be surprised to see who and what exactly compromises the majority of homeless people in each of the World's major cities. I'm a city man if you couldn't tell already." Slyly he smiled. If anyone had any grasp on his powers then they would have a full understanding of why the city was his domain. So many people. So many cars. So much pollution.

Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Ferdinand let go a triad of smoke rings before turning his attention back to the young lady. "Fine, I don't blame you for keeping your secrets. As should everyone, myself included. And I wouldn't go as far as to assume that I myself am assuming that you are a Mutant. All I said was, that you got yourself a mighty well trained ear." Pulling free his lighter from his left pocket that his hand had once occupied, Ferdinand began to flick he top of his lighter back and forth, the sound of metal on metal clicking and clacking rhythemically. That headache of mine is quite the persistant, isn't it? Rubbing his temples with his right hand, Ferdinand shook his head to himself before strolling over to the edge of the sidewalk. Here he began to walk along the curb like little kids did, imagining as though they were a circus performer walking a tight rope. They'd do their best to keep their balance trying to avoid the danger of the moving cars in the road on one side while the cold hard sidewalk was waiting on the other. It feels so good to be free. Spreading his arms out like a bird ready to take light, Ferdinand walked about a meter in one direction along the curb before turning on his heel and walking the other, tracing the same path severals times in the span of a minute or so.

[maru]

“A habit that will kill you before too long.” Maru definitely didn’t like smokers, or just the smoking aspect of it. What were the advantages of smoking? Nothing. What were the disadvantages? Lung cancer. Oh yeah, seemed like the perfect idea. Bored? Why not go get a pack of cigarettes! Bleh.

Hearing his next comment, she smirked, shrugging. “I suppose we’d be at a standstill than. I have no intentions of being killed any time soon, as I’m sure you would agree. So I would think we can both agree that trying to kill the other would be a complete waste of time.” Thank God she’d kept her power hidden from him. Sure, he’d made a pretty good guess, but he didn’t know what she was fully capable of. Perhaps that was what made her so cocky and sure of herself.

Ah. Cities. Pollution. Noise. Crime. Pavement. Who would ever want to live in the ‘big city’? Living in such close courters with another that you could probably see up their noses. Ugh. It disgusted her. But for someone like him… Who’s power thrived in smoke, that’d be like their own heaven on Earth. You’re potential would be limitless in such a setting. “Oh, I can see that.” Ugh. Another seeing joke. She couldn’t see for crying out loud! Why was she still using those stupid sayings. “Or, hear rather.” There we go.

Maru couldn’t help but smirk. For some reason, this man was quite interesting. Holding back his own secrets, while handing out others on a silver platter. A confident one, he was. Very proud. She couldn’t help but wonder what other sorts of secrets were locked away in that head of his. Only when she heard him rubbing the sides of his head, as if fighting a headache, did she snicker. The sound wasn’t too loud, but could easily attract his attention if he were paying attention. “Got a headache have you? Serves you right for floating around like a ghost.” No way, no way could even the finest set of ears hear his actions. No, it was something entirely different. But would this man, Ferdinand, know what that was? She smirked a little. Let him guess. Let’s see what theories he came up with.

[pharaoh]

"Death comes to those who wait. Rather than be patient, I seek death, hence the habit. I'm a bit of a thrill seeker, a tester of ideals and of resolve." Cutting off his thought, near completion of his overall idea, Ferdinand left his real thought to question and after taking a long drag allowed his physical form to slip away into a thick cloud of smoke. Gradually the smoke grew, larger and large, until finally it encompassed Elizabeth and much of the park in a thick haze. There would be no actual threat from Ferdinand other than this. From here, he would test Elizabeth and her actions. Since there was no relief to his headache he would also test his hypothesis, hoping that it would magically alleviate or severally worsen conceding only one fact. Both Elizabeth and Ferdinand would easily account for this fact but it had to be without a doubt. At this point, Elizabeth was allegedly a mutant. To remove all doubt, Ferdinand would need to leave behind observation and enter into experimentation. 'A hypothesis must be researched, tested, and then re-assessed. Only then does it become a fact.'

In his gaseous form, Ferdinand took another leap forward. After essentially trapping Elizabeth within his form he went the distance to agitate and aggravate her until he got the resulting behavior he wanted. His method of aggravation, touch. Since sight was beyond her and his physical form susceptible to her strange, alleged, abilities, Ferdinand would have to resort to a "poke method". Fancy name aside, Ferdinand would simply bring his cloud in close around her, begin to thicken the smoke and restrict her oxygen flow minimally. Her heightened senses would most likely send her in a panic and thus he would have a successful trial. It was a sick game but one that was ultimately effective. 'Lets see if she'll take the bait.' Ferdinand made sure that his actions were impulsive and nearly incoherent. By doing so his intentions would be masked making his experiment's odds of being a success even higher.

[maru]

“Hm…” Maru didn’t say anything else to his words. She couldn’t say anything else. Who could? Well… Other than psychotic killers, or other death seeking individuals. But, Ferdinand didn’t seem like a psychotic individual to her. He was obviously conniving and devious, but he was very observant, catching the littlest of signs from her. His eyes were well trained, no ordinary person. No, he couldn’t be running freelance. He worked for someone…. No… He seemed more like the type to be running the shots.

Her eyes widened a bit as his dispersed into the smoke once more. Her head tilted slightly, listening. Where was he going…? No… the disturbance was growing closer… Closer… She almost gagged. Oh. There he was. Right on top of her… Well, around her. Maru almost ‘tsked’. What on Earth was he doing? Was he trying to provoke an attack from her? Probably. Would she give it to him? Hopefully not. Not unless he provoked her to such a degree of annoyance that her anger got the better of her. With luck that wouldn’t happen.

Then, she started to feel his prodding, her annoyance skyrocketing. Okay, her anger was already starting to get the better of her. Great.

Maru doubted he’d stop unless he got his results. He wanted to provoke an attack? Well, he’d get one. And regret it.

She lashed out. No, not physically. Not mentally. But with sound. The smoke around her, that happened to be Ferdinand, seemed to vibrate as sound waves bounced around violently through the space, breaking through the cloud, but returned after they reached a flat surface. The sound though was piercing, the note so high it would make anyone’s eardrums kill.
“Return to your normal shape, Ferdinand.” The high piercing note was cut when she spoke, but her words seemed as if they echoed, bouncing around much like her other sound waves. There was no doubt now what Maru was capable of.

[pharaoh]

'And so the truth is revealed.' Although he had not intended to expose himself to so much pain, Ferdinand had received the result he was looking for, the very result that verified his hypothesis and in turn birthed a solid fact. However, he was left at the mercy of her hidden talent as evident when his gaseous form broke and collapsed into a tall lithe man on his knees grasping at his ears. With his mouth agape he allowed himself to release a moan of obvious pain. As the sharp sound ceased, he felt minor relief, his ear drums and ultimately his head still affected by the assault. The manner in which she spoke now, didn't help either. Her words now had added mass to them. Everything that escaped her lips seemed as though they'd been enhanced by a bullhorn or a type of audio enhancement. This was partially true minus the need for any device. Ferdinand's newly found information not only answered the question as to why her voice seemed to be projected more but also answered the question as to why his head continued to pound.

"Gosh, you sure know how to bring a man to his knees." Softly he laughed as he continued to jest, "and to think, it's only our first date!" Smiling sickly, Ferdinand rose to his feet defiantly rubbing away at his temples. Lighting up another cigarette, Ferdinand forced the smoke into his ears where he carefully solidified it into a spongy material that resembled ear plugs. "Now now Elizabeth, there's no need to yell." Teasing still, he smiled a bright white toothy smile before plopping his butt down on the grass where he treasured the taste of the nicotine that he continued to inhale. The relaxing affects of the nicotine that changed the chemical levels in his brain did little at this point to alleviate his headache to which he had to make a fuss over, "as much as you hate these things, they do have some use. Now because of that...talent of yours these little buggers aren't doin' squat. I'd appreciate it if you'd treat me like a man in his prime, not an old near deaf man on his death bed that screams 'what?!' in between every word you speak."