Participants:
Featuring:
| Scene Title | Milenky And Nick |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Katya and Abby come across Nick who makes a few requests and gives some advice before the two groups part ways and carry on their Russian lessons. |
| Date | October 17, 2010 |
The three of them walk along the streets of Staten Island, away from the occupied part of the island where they might get stopped every five minutes by a Stillwater mercenary. But they also avoid the real dingy questionable part. The rookery will not be a destination for Katya, Abby and Kasha who is content in her carrier strapped to Abby's torso and sucking away on a soother, blue eyes flicking here and there and enjoying the walk.
Sunday means that it's Russian lessons day with katya, to which Abby also pays the young woman, which gets the young Russian out of the house that McRae built and some fresh air sans the excitement that might bring about a crisis. No crisis here, for anyone of the female persuasion, Abby in blue dress with cap sleeves bisected by straps of the carrier. «Say it again so that I can hear it right?» Russian, southern inflected Russian.
Katya, on the other hand, is in a worn pair of jeans, that were likely handed down from someone else around the Lodge, and a t-shirt under a jacket. But it is not as cold as Mother Russia, so she's left the jacket unzipped and hanging open. "I will go slow," she promises her pupil with a smile before she repeats herself carefully. "Privet, ochen' priyatno vstretit'sya's vami." It's a lesson in greetings, apparently.
A door nearby shuts behind Nick. The young man slings a duffel bag over his shoulder; it's very loose and empty looking, as he just dropped off an order of weapons to the man inside what used to be a tackle store but is now just a squatter leaving for cheap — i.e. for free — in one of the buildings that still has a roof. He pulls out his sunglasses as he steps out into the sun, shoving them on his face and turning onto the sidewalk.
He freezes for a moment as he sees Abby with the two younger females, then hurries to duck his head, pulling out a cigarette and his lighter, turning away to cup his hand around the flame from the wind — which also serves to try to keep his face from being recognized.
Too late. Abigail's in the process of repeating back what Katya told her, doing a fair good job of it when Nick emerges from his latest foray into the world of undercover work. "Ruskin" She's surprised, never really thought she'd see him again. At least, not unless it was on a table and with a gunshot again. Such faith she has in Eileen's family right?
"How's the shoulder?" She calls out, a glance to Katya. 'Someone I know" She explains. "relative of a friend and all that"
Katya seems to sort of shrink in the presence of a stranger. Paranoia, perhaps. She steps a bit behind Abby, just a little, as if trying to hide her face, too. But the explanation from Abby does get a nod. "He should not smoke," is all she can think of to say. "It is very bad." She even curls up her nose, as if to add the smell into the reasons why.
His jaw tenses at the mention of the name Ruskin, and he sighs, throwing the cigarette onto the street since there's a baby and he needs to get near to Abby to tell her not to use the fucking name if she wants him to live. He could pretend she's mistaken, but somehow he doesn't think that'll work.
Nick turns and gives a nod. "S'alright now," he says across the space that divides them, then moves toward them, slowly as he notices Katya's skittishness. He keeps his hands out of his pockets so they can see they're empty but for the Zippo in one. "Do me a favor and just call me Nick, yeah? The other's likely to get me killed, and all your handiwork will be for nothing. I should say thank you, by the way. I think I sorta passed out last time and didn't get to. Abby, is it?" His accent is gone, the words tinged by a generic American accent.
"He's putting it out" See, he's smart. Don't bring a smoke near a baby. The request to not use his last name is a bit of a surprise. "Nick then, and yes. Abigail, Abigail Caliban" Get him killed, well, she doesn't know his story other than Eileen didn't look happy to see him and Ari and Raith were… well, Ari and Raith. "Your welcome. To the patching up. It was the least I could do for your help. I'm sorry I went all… woosh" her hands rise to imitate a small mushroom cloud, Kasha's hands going up in hers with the motion. "Nick, meet Katya, a friend of mine, and this is Kasha, from the orphanage, another friend of mine" The latter of course, the baby.
"She's my Russian teacher"
"Ah," Katya, for all her youth, seems to take that whole 'likely to get me killed' thing both seriously and in stride. "It is nice to meet you, Nick," she says, this time in English, although that Russian accent is still heavy. And she's still hanging back some. You never know.
"Is she? She looks a bit young to be teaching anyone anything, least of all Russian," Nick says, pretending to mistake the baby for the last remark. He gives a dip of his head to Katya with a slightly crooked smile. "Katya. Nice to meet you."
He looks back to Abby and gives a shrug. "It was a tense situation. Sorry for almost dying on you and for … I don't really remember, but I'm pretty sure there was some drama attached to me bein' alive and all. As close to not being alive as I was." He smirks, and shrugs his left shoulder, the one that didn't get shot. "It's mostly worked out now, so you don't have to worry about it, but, you know, that name — there's reasons she and I don't use it, yeah?" He knows Eileen's going by Spurling, and while their reasons for their aliases might be different, the name Ruskin is also one that is distasteful on its own to cast it aside.
"Nick it is, I can't remember your last name" Showing him that she's fine with that. "We're just walking, taking in the sunday, hoping that nothing bad happens while we're here" You know, like people claiming a fifteen million dollar bounty. And your excused. The almost dying part. I think you called me an angel. But it happens. Katya here had to nurse me through some really bad days too. You come across her, she's a really good nurse" Gesturing to the shy Russian.
"No no, I am… not so young, really!" Katya might just have missed that bit where he's joking. And not talking about her.
She looks between the other two, her head tilting just a little as she listens. Huh. But the compliment from Abby does get a hint of a blush on the otherwise pale girl. "I… am not so good. She was just very ill at the time, no?" She says with a little smile that might just mean she's trying a joke of her own there.
Nick frowns a little at the fact they're just walking around on Staten for the pleasure of it, and gives a shake of his head. "It's not a safe place here, not for kids. Er, young women," he says, giving a little bow to Katya, lest she be offended by a second jab at her age, even if the first was aimed at Kasha's. "And it's good to know so many fine medics. I tend to need 'em, so you know, the more the merrier, right?" He glances down the street at the sound of yelling, just a domestic dispute of some sort, someone calling someone a whore and a cheat. Life on Staten's never boring. "How far you walking? I guess fireball here can take care of things but — you know, what happens if you … woosh… while carrying the baby?"
Kasha's only answer to Nick's teasing is to pop out her soother and let it fall fall fall to the floor and give a lusty yell. Possibly blame, possibly affront, possibly delight. She's a baby. "Not too far, we were going to head back to the Lighthouse, it's an orphanage Kasha's from and drop her back off. I visit on Sunday's and take her out. Then head back home" Her own gaze goes to the domestic dispute, watching carefully. "I can't woosh right now. I took drugs today so I don't. I don't like to chance it when I have Kasha or with katya. But thank you for the worry, I have a taser though, in case people get a little too interested."
Katya, too, looks toward that dispute. Yelling, that she is used to. Also name calling. Family is a wonderful thing. But the particular insults being thrown do get a frown out of her. So when she refocuses on Nick and his concern for their well being, she's a little more… droopy than she was a moment ago. However, she does have something to add to Abby's taser…
"I have… very high-pitched scream."
Nick nods at the mention of the drugs and then the taser, and his lips curl into a smirk at Katya's proclamation of her own self-defense system. "All right. Then I'll let you ladies be. Keep the taser in your hand — if you can't, while holding the lil bit, let the screamer carry it for you, and don't be afraid to use it," he says, reaching for his pack of cigarettes once more as he steps away. "Stay safe. Thanks again for the patch up."
"Oh so sweet, in Soho. If you need patching up again. No charge Nick. Just in case, you know. You never know when you'll come to the aide of a flaming damsel in distress" Abby kneels down to pick up the soother, wince at the dirt on it and pass it to Katya to put into the backpack. THere's a spare in there somewhere. "She can carry it. I think we'll head back away from those screamers" Gesturing to the domestic dispute. "Take care, god bless"
Katya takes the soother and tucks it away before she hunts around for the backup. Which she does find and pass over. "Do svidaniya, Nick. Udachi," she adds a little wryly. Good luck. She does nod to Abby, though, "I think it would not be good to be in the line of fire. When my mother was this mad, she would sometimes throw very heavy things." But, when she looks back to Abby again, there's a gentle smile on her face. "Menya zovut Abby," she says, promptingly, even if her 'Abby' comes out a little more like 'Ebby'. "…is, my name is Abby."
Smirking, Nick gives another little tip of his head, his eyes still covered by sunglasses. "Oh So Sweet. Got it. I've got more medics than wounds — I may not need luck, after all, miss Katya." He doesn't add that the only luck he has is not dying, and that's not really lucky at all in his mind. "Pozegnanie," he adds in Polish — the two are practicing Russian, and he's been studying his Polish when there's no one in the warehouse, and with that, he heads in the opposite direction.
IF anything, it gives nick an address to avoid if he takes Raith's suggestion to stay away from bad news backwoods barbie. With the retreating englishman though, and they themselves turning right around once he's started off, it's back to the lighthouse for the two of them. «Menya zovut Abby» Learning another greeting. Under her belt some of the tourist phrases, and thanks to Grandpa Ivanov and Tania, rosetta stone once again, she's learned the alphabet and getting on a bit more. Some day she might be able to greet Sasha if he ever rears his head, in proper Russian. "Lets head back to the lighthouse and I'll drive you back home far as I can. he's right, the not so nice folks are gonna be rearing their heads soon"
"I think you do very well with my language, Ebby," Katya notes with her gentle smile, "You will see, in no time, yes?" But she nods to the plans for getting home, glancing back toward the dispute. "I confess, I do not know how to use a taser. So is better this way."
"Point and shoot Katya. Point and pull the trigger. My husband makes me carry it since I won't carry a gun. Only, you can buy a lisence for a handgun, you can't for a taser but don't worry." She puts her arms around Kasha, teasing her mouth with the soother until the infant grabs it with her teeth, one lone little white tooth having just broken through the gums. She needs to take a picture of that for Huruma. "What does Milenky mean?" She looks over at the teenager. "Is it Russian?"
"Point and shoot…" Katya repeats as if she's not really sure she'd be any good at that, but hey, who knows. Abby's question gets her attention back, though. "Ah… in English is… dear, darling… like this? Endearment. Where did you hear it?"
"Something I heard, from another Russian. He was sick at the time, delirious. I just could never find the word, wasn't sure if it was real or not, whether it was some nicname" Abby shakes her head. "Milenky" She tilts her head to look at Kasha. "Are you my Milenky? Yes you are. You are everyones Milenky" Ticking the little girls nose.
"Ah… that is sort of sad, dreaming of his dearest when he was so ill," Katya says, sighing a little. But when Abby turns back to the baby, Katya smiles just a little, still so unsure around the child, and pulls out that taser to examine. Just in case.
"His Milenky and his Tatiana while he was in Berlin. Left them behind. It makes me wonder if he actually is capable of being something other than… what he was. Whether he could actually…love or did love at some time" It's mused, fussing over the baby while Katya takes the taser in hand and examines the black and yellow weapon with its' cartridge on the end that will shoot out the two prongs when triggere.
"You point, aim for the chest, and shoot. they sink into the skin with barbs and then you pull the trigger again, hold it down, it shocks the person, incapacitates them and they can't move. You can pop off the cartridge and then run like the devils at your heels"
"I am sure everyone can love," Katya says, her own innocence perhaps showing through a little. "There are often layers, no? To people. Some things… very unexpected. For example, a very sweet, caring woman who likes to bake, she also knows how to use this," she says, with a breathy chuckle and a nod to the taser in hand.
"Oh no, no, I know how to use a shotgun to bring down a buck, that's round about the same principle. Point, shoot. I just… the things that have happened to me have just… made it that my Husband knows I won't carry a handgun, but I'll carry that, to make him happy. I don't think I've even needed to use it. Melted one. But never used one"
But belief that everyone can love. "And in every person there is a seed of good. Whether it can grow or not, is questionable, but it is there, none the less" Abigail smiles to Katya as they keep walking. "I'm glad, you came to the Ferry network. Even though it wasn't under the greatest of circumstances. I only wish that, I hadn't got caught, with my registration like it was. I like going to McRae's place. He's a good man too. maybe a bit strange and misguided in his evolved's are the superior humans but…" But to Abby, his heart is somewhat in the right place.
"It is a time that breeds strong opinions. Bravery and corruption also, I think. When times are desperate… when we are put through… ah… the crucible, I think is the word? We see what we become. I believe he is a good man, also." He's helped her, after all. Katya smiles her shy little smile and nods as she reaches her free hand over to rest on Abby's arm for a moment. "I am also glad. I miss… ah… my family, but this is a good place." And she has something worth being here for, apparently. "You will get to come visit again, I am believing this," she says with firmness.
Before, She'd have pulled her arm away, the teenager not having become familiar enough to warrant that kind of affection or allowed. But she doesn't, letting the affection happen. "I don't know if he's a good man. I wouldn't say that. Just that there's some good in him, but, but, enough of Mister Milenky. Lets carry on with our lessons so that if I ever see him again, I can give him trouble yes?"
"We will try to get you to the really interesting parts of the language, then, before you see him again," Katya says with a little chuckle before she falls back into the roll of the teacher, running through key phrases and explaining as best she can.