Late Night Stalking

Brief Title:
Late Night Stalking

Characters:
X-23, Radiance

Scene Runner/Watcher:

IC Date:
02/17/13 21:00

Location:
Salem Center - Westchester County

Summary:
In which X-23 goes out to stalk some prey and ends up waylaid by Seth's meddling.

Social or Plot:

TS:
Yes

Log:
It's 9:00 p.m., at Salem Center. Walking down the street, Seth is reflecting the last hours' events. The conversation with his mother, and his attempt at conversation with his sister. Still not a peep from her. He sighs. They're showing little signs of getting better. Well, at least she didn't invite any of her friends over. Can you imagine what it would be like if he were to take off his dark shades, with his ever glowin eyes and all? He lifts them up and squeezes the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose his composure.

Across the street, headed in the opposite direction, a dark-haired young woman passes beneath a street lamp. She's clad in a heavy jacket and with her hands stuffed in her pockets; shoulders slightly rolled up, she simply seems to be staving off the chill that continually nips at her ears. Her pace is slow and measured; unhurried, if purposeful. The young woman known as X-23 only glances up when her sense of smell dictates that she's closer to another passing person in the night. It's a quick thing, really, just enough to take in necessary details and shuttle them off to a mental file for future use.

Keeping his eyes closed, Seth lowers his dark sunglasses, preventing the exposing of his mutant identity to any passer-by, like X-23. As he opens his eyes, she falls into view. To him, she's just another face in the crowd. At least, for now.

People keep a naturally wide berth around the diminutive young woman and that holds true even now. Her stretch of sidewalk is sparsely populated, with the handful of people moving well out of her way when she approaches. That's due to end in short order, however. X's eyes cut across the road to the buildings on the other side - and, in particular, one that's not terribly far from where the youth with dark sunglasses is passing. She shifts gears, with her feet carrying her across the street and toward the other sidewalk - still purposeful and unhurried, but also eerily silent. Her eyes don't seem to linger on him - rather, she seems to be looking -through- him - which is for the better; her regard is cold and unblinking. Reptilian.

Seth is suddenly driven to a halt as the girl comes walking towards him. Her eyes, devoid of emotion, for some reason, are getting his hackles up. Was it something he said? Impossible, he didn't say anything... Was it something he did? It couldn't be, he didn't do anything except noticing her. But... there's something familiar about her...

The eyes! It's those eyes, which he's seen in those training sessions. The resemblance is striking, yes. Even the way of moving, the hands shoved in her pockets.

"...No way!", he lets out as a whisper. And, as she's looking through him, he instinctively moves to the side.

Oh, that smell. Fear. Anxiety. Adrenaline. Sweat. Is it his or someone else's? It doesn't matter. Her nostrils flare and her steps slow just as she passes him, permitting her to eye him sidelong. It's one of those moments that lingers a beat too long to be comfortable, filled with a predatory analysis that ends when she finally blinks and her attention centers properly on the building. She brushes by close enough for him to hear the creak of leather - but not the scuff of boots on pavement; she's still too strange and silent for that - and perhaps smell a slight twinge of some exotic spice (lotion? shampoo? perfume? Who knows, really)... and if he hadn't moved, he might have been unlucky enough to feel the imapact of shoulder to shoulder. Clever lad, moving like that.

Seth continues watching that girl. He does remember hearing about someone, much like Logan; a kid. Could it be...? He's now wondering what the heck she's going to do at that house. And, either he's pretty dumb, or just outright crazy... If he opens his game and mentions Logan, he's placing him - and likely the whole school - in jeopardy; not to mention himself. So, his decision is to follow her, see what she's up to. From afar, that is.

It's a terrible idea.
But she'll not be the one to tell him that. Instead, X-23 mounts the steps leading into the building - a quaint little shop, really - and tries the doorknob. Her body blocks the fact that it's locked; she fumbles in a pocket, ostensibly for keys, and manages to pop it open after a series of muted, metallic sounds.
And then she closes it behind her.
Or so it seems, for no sooner than she's inside than the door eases open just a bit. Ajar and just right for the inquisitive soul to take a chance - or to know better than to look behind that door. Where she goes within is impossible to tell; no lights are turned on and her passage is as soundless as a ghost.

Indeed, terrible. That's why Seth is not about to do it. Having been at Xavier's for some time now, he knows how secretive Logan can be - and how easily he can spot someone hightailing him. His idea, then? Not going inside, but rather waiting outside, hidden in the cover of height and night time.

Strange.
There's nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Just a terrible, restless sense of the unknown tied in with an unnerving silence. It doesn't last long.
Five minutes pass before the door opens again. This time, it's shut securely behind her and locked with a soft *click*. Beyond the fact that her hair is slightly tangled - a matter easily fixed by some quick finger-work - she appears no different than before. Her pace is unchanged, her manner no different than before - right down to the predatory glint of her eyes as she skims the area in search of any faces that might have spotted her going in. She continues on, venturing further down the sidewalk and intent on leaving the building behind.
Even if he does elude her ostensibly cursory look, it's unlikely that she'll forget him from before. No matter how that situation is sliced, it can't possibly end well.

Lowering himself to the ground, in an alley on the other side of the street, he looks back to the girl. He hurries himself to send a message to Logan: 'I've found her.' Once he gets the reply, he nods. Just exactly what his intention was. He moves in the direction opposite to Laura, to cut around the next street, and there onto the main street leading out of the town.

She's nothing if not patient - at least when it matters. As he's emerging from an alley, X-23 steps into another - and, there, she waits until she's reasonably sure he's gone. From there, it's a fairly easy game of 'follow that scent'.
The predatory youth keeps out of sight, relying primarily on the smell of the meddlesome young man to guide her. Her senses are dialed in and humming along with dangerous efficiency, keeping her savagely aware of her surroundings and how he fits into them. The trick now is to follow without him being aware he's being followed; always a tricky endeavour in a world full of mutants, metahumans, and people with friends in high (or low) places.

And Seth would likely be dumb enough to think he wouldn't be followed... If he hadn't met Logan, that is. Nothing passes that guy's senses, as far as he knows. But senses can be confused. Cutting around yet another corner on the street, he quickly drops something impregnated with his smell - his coat -, with his cellphone right underneath, locked on face-recognition mode. And he flies off, onto the top of the building, waiting. Hopefully, when she approaches, she'll have her picture taken, with a nice flash on her eyes to distract her. And then, it's a dash to pick up his things and skiddaddle.

Unable to see him ahead, she's not completely oblivious to the concept of a trap. Given the late hour, it's entirely possible she doesn't see him flying up - not with her senses honed in on his smell, anyway. Even so, her approach slows once his smell grows a bit more concentrated - an indicator that he's not moving any further ahead. The coat on the ground is still some distance off and she stops, considering it with a cock of her head to one side in an animalistic gesture. Another sniff of the air from a safe distance confirms that there is no other nearby - eliminating the possibility that her target has been taken unawares by another party.
That leaves only one option: bait.
"Cute." The singular word is said aloud, uttered in a deadpan voice that can be heard if he's within conversational earshot. Rather than take the coat, she leans up against a building, arms folded over her chest and one booted heel braced on the building behind her. Now the waiting game begins.

Seth is, of course, not responding to that, nor making any sudden moves. Instead, he waits, and waits...

Her lips twist into an unreadable line. While she could stay all night to play this little game, a muted buzzing sound from her wrist is enough to peel her away. She glances at the watch, then stuffs her hand back into her pocket. Head down and hair like a tattered veil, she sets off for the street again. X's pace is a little quicker than before, but no less purposeful; on her way to meet another, most likely. The coat is left behind, though there is no doubt that her initial target won't be left -quite- so far behind in her mind.
Okay, /now/! In a quick rush, Seth lowers himself to the ground, swiftly picking up his coat and grabbing the cellphone underneath. He aims it at X-23, and then saying. "Hiya, girl!" And, once she's about to turn... *CLICK!* And then, a great dash towards the sky!

While it happens too quickly for X-23 to properly respond, the image itself won't be of terribly -much- use. A glance over her shoulder at the moment of his call will yield a blurred shot of her shoulder, part of an eye and cheek, and the dark spill of her hair masking nearly everything else.
It could be anyone.
Before any second shot can be attempted, she's gone, sprinting at full speed down the sidewalk and off to parts unknown.

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