Brief Title:
A Wolf and a Tiger Meet
Characters:
Wolfsbane, Tigerstripe
Scene Runner/Watcher:
IC Date:
10/06/12
Location:
Northernmost Manhattan - Rooftops - New York
Summary:
A nighttime encounter between two women with fur
Social or Plot:
TS:
No
Log:
Tigerstripe was sitting on the roof of a rooftop apartment. The lights in the windows under her were out, but for a flickering television. Just her silhouette can be seen against the lights of New York downtown some half a mile down the streets, but she is likely easy to spot if someone looks for her, or people on the roofs. There are not too many people who hang around over the roofs at night. And most of them are not there just to look the stars.
She's not the only one out there using the rooftops to her benefit. Wolfsbane has been moving through parts of the neighborhood to get from one part of the city to the other without the probability of too many eyes upon her, though the reasons for her being out aren't yet clear. She's dressed in an all-black outfit, one that is clingy and somewhat like a one-piece bathing suit. Arms are left free, legs from just above the knee further down to her feet. Soon enough, the sight of someone else atop a roof draws her attention long enough that she stops to squint. Big person. Seemingly...not quite human?
That she is not totally human anymore is not visible from bigger distances, as most of the form is concealed by her clothing, but her head with the ears is a bit easier to spot as odd. She is jut gazing up to the stars, seeming to watch at them - or is she pondering about how to break into the apartment? The legs pulled up to her chest she seems to wait for something. But a skirt really is not a burglars dress up.
As she gets closer, it becomes a bit easier to see that there is something different about the one over there. Just what, hard to tell. She sniffs the air and hops a couple rooftops closer, clearing the gaps with ease. Now on the same one, she adopts a crouch and peers closer. "I dinna think muh eyes are playing tricks on me, but ye seem a wee bit like me," she says, an accent obvious.
Tigerstripe suddenly turns to look at the person that appeared on the rooftop a bit below her and seconds later stood up on the roof of the rooftop apartment. Rustling up, the skirt hanging a bit bad. "Why I look like you? And what are you doing on top of my house?" she asked bluntly, the ears twitching to face the woman.
"I saw yuir ears," Wolfsbane answers, pointing to her own. Tonight she's looking partly human, partly wolf, enough that there's a short muzzle that doesn't extend as far as a full animal's would. "An' I wasna aware this was yuir building. I was on muh way through."
"Not my building, my apartment. Canis Lupus?" she responds, trying to figure out what type of ears that are "Or some species of big dog. But there was no..." She has no muzzle and there was likely not enough like to spot the facemarks that resembled a tiger face.
Canis..ah. "Aye, wolf. I can shift all th' way tae one if I like, or th' other direction entirely," Wolfsbane explains with a shrug, standing to her full height, which is rather unremarkable. As for sight, it's good enough even at night that she gestures toward her face, adding, "I can see ye're furred like me."
"I'm not too sure if I'm like you... first of all I don't jump over high buildings..." she answers, pondering about the other thing she said "all the way... you mean you are a mutant? Lycanthrophy?"
Wolfsbane sniffs, sounding amused. Body language is as well, if the other one has the ability to tell such things. "Better than walking down th' street like this, even if I could go around normally. An'..aye, a mutant. It has nothing tae do with th' other thing. What about ye?"
"Lycanthrophy has to do much with Mutations. It is one of the documented expressions. And I am not an X-Gene carrier. Eh, I mean, I do posses my two X-chromosomes, but not the so-called X-Gene."
"Well, it's na limited tae th' moon, if that's what ye're asking," the shorter visitor states, arching a brow as she ventures closer. "If ye're na a mutant, how is it ye're what ye are?" She just assumes most people are mutants when they look this way.
"There are other ways to change human look. Transplants, Gene Splicing, Gene Therapy, Chromosome addition or reduction. Mutation might be the most common way these days." She explains "Accidents happen when people are in a hurry. But what you want to do in NY that you rush over the rooftops?"
A frown shows on the face of the wolfen mutant as she listens to talk of gene-related things especially. Bad memory, perhaps? "Oh, aye. I've heard o' things like that in th' past," she murmurs, rubbing the back of her neck. Her clothing really doesn't do much to prevent promoting a sleek, fast appearance as she shifts the frown more toward a brief smile. "Maybe I like leaping across alleys."
"Sure... but wolfs are pack animals and pretty much bound to the ground." she tries to express she does not believe that too much. "My work backfired." Under her skirt her tail twitches, expressing her nervousness. Sure, she had had some self defence training, but she is not too sure that is enough.
Wolfsbane is not giving off a threat to fight, not so far. She's much more curious than anything else. "Do I look bound tae th' ground?" she asks with a half-grin, taking a few steps back and forth, side to side. "Yuir work? An' is tha'.." She's looking at the skirt, yes.
The Woman seems not too happy about the situation, or she is just nervous. "My work. Gene Splicing with feline DNA on felines." she explains vaguely. "And what do YOU do? You could work in Security business with that mutation. If it grants the senses of a canis lupus at least."
"It looks like ye went a wee bit beyond just cats," Wolfsbane points out, which may not be the most useful thing to say at the moment. "I've been a student, an' I've worked toward trying find ways for humans an' mutants tae cooperate more with each other."
"As I said, an accident." then she ponders about the next "Uh, you said you work on Mutant incorporation? Isn't that quite hard? I mean, there are pretty many people who are wary about mutants."
Wolfsbane raises a brow but doesn't quite seem to get what she's being told just yet about the accident. It might become clearer as she thinks about it. "It may be a neverending kind o' thing," she admits, adding, "By th' way, ye can call me Wolfsbane."
"You mean Aconitum? the Plant?" she asks to clarify. "It's not your legal name definitely... uh, people called me Stripe or Stripes..."
"It's..more complicated than tha'," the short wolfen woman answers without providing details, now no more than about ten feet away so long as nothing's done to prevent it. "Stripes? I think I can see why," she adds with another little grin. "Like..tiger stripes, aye?"
"Uh... yes, that fits. But it was more because of my pullovers." she explains. Sure she is taller than the wolfen lady, but she is just about decently trained. And she is nervous. "What's so complicated about that plant?"
It's proof that Wolfsbane can just tell. "Oh. Ahh, it really has nothing tae do with th' plant, I mean. An' ye seem nervous. Do I make ye uncomfortable somehow?" she wonders, truly sounding like she'd rather not.
"Cause I am on the roof of my apartment and in front of me is someone who is likely stronger and more combat trained then me?" she answers "You said you work for integration of Mutants into human society, but you walk over the rooftops. Not an easy decision, right?"
"Why? Are ye thinking I'm here tae fight ye?" Wolfsbane questions, a skeptical look on her face as she asks it. "I dinna go around looking for people tae bite or claw, an' I do try tae help make things safer for everyone but I'm na daft enough tae just walk around in places where I may na be wanted. I dinna think ye do either without covering up."
"I don't go to places where I shouldn't be. Saves me much trouble. And there is something they say about felines and canines, that tingles in my back." she tries to explain, inhaling deeply, more like a cat. maybe to sooth herself.
"Sometimes ye dinna have a choice but tae go where ye have tae, even if it's dangerous," Wolfsbane murmurs, then she sinks back into a crouch where she rests her forearms against her thighs. "I used tae have a friend who could shift tae a big cat. Maybe tha' helped me get used tae it."
"Used to? Not 'I have one?'" she asks to get the sentence right. was that... uh... remorse on the wolf's face? She really was better at reading cat behavior...
Sadness, yes, and it's as much a human expression as anything else. "She was killed by a powerful, evil mutant," is all she says, a claw-tipped hand rubbing the back of her neck slowly from the position she's in. "I've lost other friends."
The Woman sighs as she sits down again, pulling her legs close "I lost my daily life... and I still have not reorganized." she admits after some thought.
"Ye mentioned an accident. I think I can guess what happened somehow," Wolfsbane says somewhat carefully, sensing it to be a touchy subject. "Are ye getting by all right, then? How long ago was it?"
Another sigh "about... two months..." she answers, not stating any more "and I think I got most things up all right..."
Two months. Wolfsbane rises to pace again, perhaps a sign of needing to be in motion to some extent. "I've been what I am for..a few years noo, a' least. Ye canna change, na even a wee bit?"
"Actually I do change. Grew quite some in the last two weeks and some appendage does not seem to want to end growing. but if you mean that I phase with the Moon or change willingly... I have no positive evidence I can do so."
"Aye, ye /do/ look verra tall," Wolfsbane states the obvious, though most people would be tall to her. "Ye mean..tha'?" she adds, pointing toward the woman's backside with a little grin before finishing, "I'm guessing ye have tae be verra careful tae disguise yuirself, but as tall as ye are already..."
Tigerstripe shrugs a bit "A normal South Chinese Tiger is about 230 to 240 centimeters for a female including the tail. And size stopped some days ago... just not the tail. And Yes, I have been careful to hide it. to now."
Wolfsbane's head tilts at the information shared, leading her to say, "Good thing it doesnae look like ye'll be changing all th' way tae one. A' least..I hope na. It's harder tae do things when yuir hands are paws."
Tigerstripe sighs as she nods "Sure... but I hair like hell... I mean... I need tons of shampoo to feel comfortable and when I get up the whole bed is full of hairs I lost... and then I sometimes hear these annoying teenager-shooaway-things... And all the perfume and most makeup is for the dumpster..."
It's tough not to look amused at this, and to an extent Wolfsbane does smile thinly. "I know what ye mean. I've had tae deal with some o' those things too. Ye'll get used tae it sooner or later. Ye just have tae."
Tigerstripe says, "What of that you had to go through? I bet you hadn't had to reduce a full cabinet of perfume and eau de toilette to empty shelves as they were an assault to your nose. Nail polish and hair products seem to be the only ones that are worth getting at the moment.""
Wolfsbane bites her lip. "I dinna care much for any o' those strong smells. Aye, maybe I can avoid them by making myself normal, but I enjoy being what I am more. I've just had tae learn tae live with it." After a pause, perhaps to think about what to say next, she asks, "How long have ye been doing th'..gene stuff?"
"Biotech? well, I made my master in it. and I worked two years on that project. I'm not the lead designer, mostly I follow a set of receipts and the results go to control. Some of the splices are valuable and get stored... most get to be reworked on."
"An' something happened recently where ye..what, poked yuirself with a needle or something? I'm na sure how tha' works. I'm sorry it made ye like this, though," Wolfsbane says with a sympathetic tone. "I went through a period where I was stuck like this, unable tae change back human."
Tigerstripe says, "Not a needle... we had a major lab accident and somehow I must have gotten in contact with the solution with the retrovirus that we used for gene splices. Can't say much more as it didn't showed up immediately. Genes are slow. Weeks till a triggered gene expresses itself in some cases." the Woman explains "I think I was lucky we didn't worked on termites or ants or spiders."
Wolfsbane is left just shaking her head, looking lost to an extent. "I'm guessing there's nothing tha' can be done tae reverse it? I might..be able tae mention it tae someone who knows a lot about these things, a' least." The most she does is offer a polite smile as the other possibilities are brought up. "Ye could do a lot worse than a tiger, aye."
Tigerstripe says, "I am not sure... I's still trying to figure out what exactly was spliced into my DNA where or if it was a whole set of chromosomes... We had several solutions in testing..."
"Do ye mind if we kept in touch somehow?" Wolfsbane asks before the chance passes. "If ye dinna mind me trying tae help ye find more oot if ye have na already, tha' is. Even if it's just tae verify what's happened an' make sure things are stabilized."
The woman shrugs a bit "well, can't hurt... you have a card or a number?" she asks, having none of her business cards outside. in her pouch, but that is on the wardrobe next to the door inside.
Wolfsbane glances down. Nothing's on her, given the tight fit of the costume itself. Or rather, just the black bodysuit that leaves most of her limbs uncovered. "I can give ye muh number, if ye want tae call it an' leave a message. I've got an apartment in th' city I can stay in if I need tae an' muh stuff's back there."
Tigerstripe nods slowly "you check the number regularly?" she asks when she searches for something to write it doen but decides eventually she has to remember it some seconds.
Wolfsbane goes back to pacing slowly and the feline might notice her appearance turning somewhat more human, at least in the face. Ears remain pointed, but are where they ought to be, muzzle disappears to leave a normal-looking face except for the fuzz. "It's muh normal phone, with me whenever I go oot with it or I'm a' home."
(FTB, phone numbers exchanged before departing)
