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Post by claire on Aug 29, 2011 23:05:18 GMT -5
((Saying this takes place before she’s a mutant.))
Ah, the big apple. It was probably the easiest, and best place for pick pockets. There were so many easy targets. Not to mention, the police force was spread so thin, they left the pickpockets alone. Well, most. As long as they didn’t go after anyone to big, they could do whatever the hell they wanted.
The streets were pretty good pickings today. Already she’d nabbed about three hundred dollars in cash alone. It didn’t sound like a lot, but when you were taking ten-fifty dollars per person, it really started to add up. If she’d been taking credit cards though…. Well, she’d be in the thousands. But she was trying to be subtle. Taking credit cards could be troublesome if you didn’t have the right equipment. All the procedures banks were taking to keep identity theft as low as possible made it impossible for teen pickpockets to take anything but bills. Stupid technology. Oh well, you couldn’t track small bills. At least she didn’t have to worry about getting caught.
Anyway, good day for pickpocketing. Especially since she got two hundred dollars in a bunch of twenties from that last woman, almost doubling her cash. With how much she had, she could go weeks without having to steal. Not that she would…
Sticking the money into her deepest pockets (In case other pick pockets came after her, they wouldn’t be able to get her stash without her knowing), she looking for her next target. And there was one now…. A young man, probably a few years older than her with a serious badass look. Most pickpockets would avoid a guy like that, but Claire? She liked the challenge.
She waited until he was in the most crowded area, where she could get away with being that close to him without him realizing what he was doing. ” ‘cuse me, sorry.” She slipped past him. The guy dwarfed her, but just about everyone did. The only good thing about her under five foot size? No one expected her to pick pocket them. She was down the street when she checked her pocket, looking to see what she got off of him.
… A ring? It was in a foreign language. One she recognized, but didn’t speak. Romanian? The only reason she recognized it was because Romanian was spoken in Russia. Not as an official language, but more then you’d expect.
Shrugging, she decided it’d probably make a good pawn item. Pocketing it, she jogged down the street, searching for her next target…
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Aug 29, 2011 23:58:25 GMT -5
The Big Apple. Why did they call it that, it sounded so stupid. It made no sense at all, it was big, sure that was obvious. Yet it looked nothing like an apple! That was Americans for you, they did and said some of the strangest things. A more fitting name would be, "The Big Pile of Dirtbags", because that was all Tristan had seen since he got here.
Sure, he had been hanging around the shadier parts of the city, but where he came from the shady parts of the city had a little more class. Either way, he was here now, and seeing just what trouble he could get into. It didn't take long for him to realize that this place was ripe for the picking. People practically handed money out and it was so easy to get by without money. People back in Romania had no idea how hard they had it, or how easy the Americans had it.
Tristan himself was out for a walk in a large pavilion filled with people. He was running low on money and needed a little pick me up to get him by for a few more days, or at least until he got to New Jersey.
As he was looking calmly through the crowd for a mark, he pulled an apple out of his pocket and took a bite out of it, glancing over everyone that was coming and going. Though, as it would soon seem, he didn't need to go to a mark as one soon ran into him. Quite literally in fact.
A small girl roughly bumped into him and almost instinctively Tristans hand reached behind her neck and unbuckled a clasp he saw for a necklace, as his other hand was positioned just below her chest to catch it as it fell out of sight.
"It's no troubles." Tristan said, his Romanian accent rolling off his tongue. With a nod to the girl as she made her way through the crowd, he bit into his apple again, watching her disappear before he turned and began to leave too.
Slowly he lifted his right hand up and held it up to the light, revealing a shiny necklace and locket intertwined around his fingers. Tristan took another bite of the apple and smiled, but began to choke and sputter on the apple in his mouth at what he saw next. His right thumb was bare! It was never bare! The golden ring that was ever present on it, was no longer present.
Tristan turned on his heel sharply and began looking wildly through the crowds of people. Who could've taken it? He never even felt it come off! Who would dare to take his rin- Tristan stopped. The girl, she had to have taken it. Immediately Tristan pocketed the locket on the inside pocket of his leather jacket, zipping the pocket closed, and took off into the crowd to find the girl. Of all the rings he had, she had to take THAT one.
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Post by claire on Aug 30, 2011 0:17:40 GMT -5
The thing about thieves, they could get just near anything off you. Necklaces, rings, name it, and it was almost always possible to get it off someone without their notice…. Except earrings. Damn little buggers… Sadly, for all the skills thieves possessed, they themselves could be pick pocketed if they weren’t careful and the other thief was good enough. Claire was one such thief…. And apparently so was the Romanian…
She hadn’t notice he absence of her own necklace for a moment as she slowed to a stop, her gaze searching the crowd. Absentmindedly she reached up to fiddle with her locket…. She froze.
It was…. Gone?
Searching her pockets, she started to panic. No, no no! She couldn’t lose that! God dammit! It hadn’t fallen off, she would have felt that! No… Someone had managed to take it. But… Who the hell would be able to?! Each of her targets so far hadn’t even noticed her! Except…. One… One she’d been forced the closest to. She spun around, suddenly furious. NO ONE stole from her! At the same time though…. She found it a little funny. Most thieves around here weren’t good enough to get a necklace off you. Somehow though, he’d managed to get the locket at the same moment she got that ring off his finger. Interesting…
Making sure the ring she’d stolen was in her deepest pocket, she started to retrace her steps, searching for this Romanian. And there he was… And… He was looking a bit… Frantic. He’d probably realized he was missing something and was searching for her. She smirked a little, stepping to the entrance of an alley. Waiting a few breaths to make sure he saw her, she took off down the alley at full speed. He’d follow, she knew he would. She had something of his after all… And he had something of hers.
The Alley took a few turns, but it finally reached a dead end.... She turned once reaching it... and waited.
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Aug 30, 2011 1:16:10 GMT -5
Furious was an understatement to how upset Tristan was. Nobody stole from him, nobody, ever. Most people were way to scared to get close to him, the rest he simply caught long before they were able to. So how could a little girl take his ring? How?!
It didn't matter, he'd catch her, he'd make her pay. To be precise, she'd make herself pay. Tristan narrowed his eyes as he tore through the crowd, bobbing and weaving the random strangers he blocked the way to his prey. Finally he saw a small girl bobbing and weaving through the crowd in front of him; running away. Good, she better run.
Tristan almost lost her several times, but finally managed to break out of the mob just in time to see her duck into an alley. Great, she was cornering herself and she didn't even know it.
With a slight smirk, Tristan calmly entered into the alley behind her, adjusting his jacket as he did so. Then, almost non-chalantly began following her turn after turn through the alley, just catching sight of her back every time before she would make a turn.
After a few turns, Tristan turned the last corner and saw her facing a dead end. An almost evil smile crossed his lips as he walked through the shadows toward her, "It vas a good chase, prichindel, no?" Tristan spoke calmly, calling her something in Romanian. His voice was almost soothing to the ears, relaxing even, it sounded very smooth.
Finally, as Tristan made his way closer to her, he took another step forward and into the light; finally revealing his features. "Come now, give me the ring and I let you go, eh?" Tristan failed to mention that if she didn't give him the ring, he'd make her. Oh how he loved being a mutant sometimes, ok, all of the time.
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Post by claire on Aug 30, 2011 1:32:40 GMT -5
Claire casually leaned against the wall, hands on her hips as she waited for him to come. He might think she’d done it unintentionally, but it was quite the opposite. Making a ruckus on the streets was a bad idea. At least back here they didn’t have to worry about an audience.
”Not so fast, comrade.” It was a Russian term, one he might recognize, that was often used when addressing someone. ”The way I see it, you have something of mine, I have something of yours. Fork over the necklace, you get your ring back.” Her accent was faint, barely even noticeable, but someone like him, someone who knew the Russian accent well (considering it wasn’t that different from Romanians), would recognize it instantly, no matter how faint. He’d also know the saying, ‘don’t negotiate with Russians’. It was their way, or the high way.
”So? Deal or no deal? She tilted her head slightly, smirking. Shrugging away from the wall, she hopped up onto a crate, crouching there. He wouldn’t see what she was doing probably, but a fire escape ladder was close enough to reach if she jumped from here. If she had to make a quick escape, like he didn’t agree, she’d be up that ladder and gone before he had time to realize what had just happened.
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Aug 30, 2011 10:56:18 GMT -5
The very moment the small girl began to talk, Tristan immediately recognized the Russian accent. The accent was weaker than his Romanian, but it was still evident enough that he could notice.
Tristan soon began wondering what the oodds were that two people so closely related would steal from each other in a place as crowded as New York. Then again, while he had been here he had seen hundreds of different cultures in just a small area.
Tristan thought for a moment after she finished, glancing over her as she perched on the crate. She looked as though she was going to bolt. Hesitently Tristan reached into his coat, unzipped the pocket in his jacket, and brought out the small locket. The Romanian held it up so that the girl could see it.
"I choose option 'c'" Tristan said, dropping the locket on the ground and putting his foot over it, resting the heel of his feet on top of it. "Give me my ring." Tristan spoke bluntly, he didn't want to play games right now, and he didn''t have to threaten what he would do to her locket.
Obviously he would crush it if she didn't do as asked. He couldn't let her get away with his ring, it was the only thing that really had a lot of meaning to him and this was EXACTLY why he didn't like getting attached to this. Stupid ring.
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Post by claire on Aug 30, 2011 12:25:23 GMT -5
Claire didn’t like people changing the rules on her. But now that he had…. She just had to adapt and live with it. Her anger was written all over her face as he threatened to crush the locket. How DARE he! That was the only thing she had left…. The only proof that she had had a family… She was beyond emotionally attached to it.
Still… What were the chances he’d just walk away if she gave him his ring? Making a threat like that, he’d break it just to spite her. As long as she had his ring, she had a bargaining chip. One, he couldn’t afford to lose… And breaking her locket would ruin his chances of ever getting it back. Slowly, she stood up, staring down at him with a cold stare. ”That’s not how this goes.” At least if he broke her necklace she could gather the pieces and try to get it repaired. His ring though…. All she had to do was drop it in the river. The water was so murky, you couldn’t find a house down there. Let alone a small ring.
She leaped up, her hands closing around the lowest bar of the fire escape ladder. With grace and ease that only gymnasts and acrobats could achieve, and speed that came from surviving on these skills, she scrambled up the ladder. She stopped near the top, staring down at him with a death glare. ”If you break my necklace, this ring-“ She dug it out of her pocket so he could see, proving she really did have it. ”Is going in the river.” She pocketed the ring, once again, deep enough that another skilled pick pocket couldn’t get it. ”You’re choice.”
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Aug 30, 2011 14:01:56 GMT -5
Tristan was about as angry as the young girl looked. No, he was more angry and yet his face was as calm and relaxed as ever. There was actually a crooked smile hung on his lips as he watched the girl jump up onto the fire escape ladder and pull herself up. So she wasn't just a thief, she was a bit of an acrobat. That was very interesting, this may turn out to be a little more fun than he thought.
"Listen, I like you, you're actually fairly cute, I vill admit." The Romanian accent flowed smoothly off his tongue, almost like a song as he spoke up the girl. "But you underestimate the person you are negotiating with."
Tristan took his foot off of the locket on the ground and picked it up. Then he slipped it back into the pocket in his jacket, zipping it closed once more. He began to back up away from Claire, further and further away from the fire escape.
"You leave me no choice." Tristan said as he ran back out of the shadows toward the fire escape but didn't jump for the ladder. Instead he ran at the wall beside it, putting one feet on the wall, then another; seemingly running up the wall. Then he kicked off of the brick building and pushed himself toward the railing of the fire escape, grabbing a hold of it and vaulting over onto the platform that the girl was standing on.
"This is the part vere you run." Tristan said in a half whisper, a crooked smile on his face as he looked down at her. His light blue eyes were almost daring her to run, urging her to try and get away.
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Post by claire on Aug 30, 2011 18:24:14 GMT -5
Claire was smiling as she waited for him to come to a decision… Sadly it wasn’t the one she expected. Her smile vanished, an annoyed look crossing her face as he ‘flirted’ with her. At least he took his foot off her locket, that was progress. Still… He wasn’t trying to convince her to change her mind… Instead, it sounded almost like a threat.
She watched as he moved, both eyebrows raised. Well…. This was unexpected. He’d gotten up onto the fire escape just as easily as she had. She perched on the railing, staring at him intently as he landed on the platform. ”What, you want to play this game?” She was suddenly smirking. Interesting.
Claire didn’t need him to tell her twice. He wanted a chase, she’d give him one. Leaning backwards, she tumbled off the railing, flipping over as she fell, hitting the ground hard enough that it’d break bones. Thankfully, she rolled, escaping without a scratch.
On the ground, she stared up at him with a ‘Bring it on’ stare, as she bolted. She knew New York like the back of her hand, it was her city. Time to see how good this guy was. He’d never find her if he lost her for even a moment….
She was back on the busy sidewalks, weaving through the crowd with ease that only came from being as tiny as her.
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Aug 31, 2011 22:45:02 GMT -5
Tristan couldn't help but smirk little at young girl. She was a fiesty girl for being so small. Though he didn't say anything when she accepted her challenge, he just watched as she backed up over the edge of the platform. He watched as she landed on the ground below with extreme grace, perhaps this was going to be more fun than he thought.
"Are you sure you vant to play this game?" Tristan said under his breath as he watched her run down the alley.
After another moment of watching her, Tristan grabbed the railing of the platform and swung over, but he didn't let go. No, he was going to take a different route. With an almighty lunge he grabbed the bottom of the platform above him, then repeated the process again and again until he was at the top of the five story building.
Now he had a birds eye view of the city, and of his 'prey'. Tristan ran along the edge of the building, watching as the girl ran back onto the sidewalk and into the crowd. Did she really think it was going to be that easy? Tristan continued running along the edge of the building, following the girl from above.
As the edge of the building got closer and closer it looked as though he was about to run out of ground to stand on. Fortunately, that was also when he saw his 'exit'. Without stopping, Tristan continued to run off the edge of building. His target was the small gap between the building he was on, and the one in front of him.
Tristan jumped into the gap of the alleyway, his feet landing on the building in front of him. He pushed off of that building and twisted in the air, his feet landing on the wall behind him, and again he repeated to the process. The wall jumping slowed his descent to the ground. When he finally landed, he calmly walked out of the alley just in time to walk in front of the girl.
Tristan stopped and shook a finger at her, "Not this vay little one." He said with a crooked grin as he blocked her path. That had turned out better than he could've planned.
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Post by claire on Sept 2, 2011 13:36:49 GMT -5
Claire knew New York well. It was HER city. She knew all it’s nooks and crannies. She knew it’s secrets. She should be able to outsmart some bad ass punk. At the same time though… She couldn’t afford to lose him. He had her necklace after all! Best course of action? Slow down, and be predictable. Let him think he had some sort of advantage. Let him think she was dumber then she looked….
Keeping a watchful eye on her surrounding, so he couldn’t sneak up on her, she spotted something on the roof tops. She couldn’t make it out from the distance, but… Every turn she took, it followed. Probably the Romanian. Clever. It was a tactic in war, get the higher ground. Oh well. She could feign surprise when he got ahead of her.
She weaved through the streets, keeping her pace, but silently hinting at where she was going. Things like a slight shifting gaze, moving closer to the side of the road with the turn she would take, little things that no one would assume she was doing just to keep manipulate them. Still, she didn’t expect this Romanian to be as quick as he was.
The way he managed to get in front of her, long before most people would, surprised her. She was dealing with someone on a higher level than any other thief she’d encounters. And, dare she say it, he might even be at her level….
She didn’t stop though, even with him in her path, which he probably expected her to. Keeping up that same insane pace of her, she leaped up onto a dumpster just to the side of him, which most wouldn’t even consider as an escape route since… Well most people didn’t have the training to get up onto one fast enough. Running the length of it, she jumped, flipping over his head and landing without a sound. She didn’t stop to recover, already on the run, once again, before most people could turn around fast enough. Like hell she was going to let him chose her path.
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Sept 3, 2011 2:09:05 GMT -5
Sure, Tristan had expected his ploy to stop her. After all, if someone just walked out of an alley like that after you had outrun them, it would surprise most people enough to stop them. Though it would seem that Tristan had completely underestimated her, because when he expected her to stop, she didn't even slow down. Actually it looked as though she was speeding up, Tristan didn't flinch or move an inch though.
He did expect her to crash into him, but instead she simply hopped onto the dumpster beside him and flipped over him. That was definitely unexpected. With a slight smirk on his face, he watched as she gracefully flipped over his head and landed behind him. At first he was going to give chase immediately when he realized he needed to do something to slow her down.
Tristan glanced over and saw the metal lid to a trashcan beside the dumpster. He gave a small grin and grabbed the circular metal disc and what he did next was a bit odd. Instead of chasing after her, he calmly walked out into traffic, causing a few cars to swerve around him. As one such car swerved, he grabbed onto the bumper and jumped onto the trashcan lid, using it like a make-shift skateboard.
Sparks flew everywhere as he grinded down the street, but the driver didn't see him thankfully. In seconds he had caught up to the small girl, but he didn't stop there. As the car pulled up along side her, Tristan kicked the side of the trashcan lid at the same time he jumped off; causing it to fly at the girls feet and if it all went according to plan, trip her. Though, he began running after her, ready to give chase in case it didn't. This may very well be her city, but they were going to play by his rules.
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Post by claire on Sept 10, 2011 0:17:57 GMT -5
If Claire was determined enough, nothing could stop her (or so she thought). Get in her path? She made a new one, like he’d just witnessed. And, like he’d figured out, she’d lose him if he didn’t do something about it.
The streets weren’t nearly as crowded as other road in New York, which was her own fault, because he probably wouldn’t’ have pulled this stunt otherwise. As it was, she didn’t see it coming until too late.
She was running, as fast as she could, through the crowd, weaving through the few people that were there with a grace that few could match. She felt invincible, as she moved through the crowd…. At least until her ego came crashing down on her when a trashcan lid flew out of no where, and nailed her right in the ankle. ”Shit!” Damn him, that hurt!
If she was a normal person, she would have face planted it. Thankfully, she wasn’t. Quick maneuvering, she managed to roll as she hit the ground, back on her feet without a pause. She shot him a glare, yelling Russian profanities at him (Sadly, he just might understand), before she bolted once more.
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Post by Tristan Emilian on Sept 10, 2011 1:58:24 GMT -5
Tristan didn't stop running or even pause after he threw the trash can lid. First of all, he wasn't even sure if it was going to hit her, and second he had no illusions that if it did, that she would slow down. After all, she had shown him how easily she created her own path earlier. As such, it was obvious to him that they were both runners, skilled at evasion.
Tristan watched as the trash can lid hit, but the girl easily rolled out of it. This was going to be more difficult than he though, but as she cursed at him in Russian a sudden thought struck him. This whole time she had been too easily followed, she wanted to be followed. Tristan had to get that ring back, but whatever he had stolen from that girl, she wanted just as bad.
"ß ïåðåäóìàë." (Translation: I changed my mind) Tristan called out to her in Russian, knowing that it would immediately call her attention to him. He was able to speak the language smoothly, but only because it was similiar to his own. As he yelled, he stopped in the middle of the side-walk where she could see him clearly, a break in the crowd of people allowing a clear line of sight between him and her.
"Äåðæèòå êîëüöî, ÿ ìîãó êóïèòü åùå ïîñëå òîãî, êàê ðàñïëàâèòü ýòî îæåðåëüå ..." (Translation: Keep the ring, I'll just buy another after I melt down this necklace and sell it.) Tristan said with a grin, calmly turning and walking into a dark alley. He took a few steps down the alley before pressing himself against the wall and melting into the darkness. It was a gambit to think she'd follow him, but it was a gambit he knew she'd take.
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Post by claire on Sept 11, 2011 18:47:31 GMT -5
Russian was the last thing she expected from this guy. And, amazingly, it was the only thing that brought her to a halt. She glanced over her shoulder at him, an eyebrow raised, trying to figure out what he was up to. How funny, him throwing a trashcan lid at her didn’t make her stop, but him speaking Russian did.
After a moment, she turned, arms crossed defiantly across her chest as she waited for whatever he had to say. When he spoke…. She was angry. Beyond angry. She stalked after him, not caring that, obviously this was a trap. She didn’t care because… Most people like them? When they made a threat, they went through with it. He just might have her necklace melted down!
”If you’ll just give it back, you can have your ring, I don’t give a damn anymore.” She spoke in Russian, her accent finally showing through. Unlike him, when he spoke Russian he sounded like… Well someone that spoke it as a second language. She spoke it as a first. She stopped just before that bend he was hiding behind. No, she knew the alley got dark if you went deeper, and she wasn’t falling for it.
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