Participants:
| Scene Title | Double Dees |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Delilah and Delia kind of meet at the skating rink but more importantly there's penguins! |
| Date | April 22, 2010 |
It's the end of April and even though it's supposed to be warming into summer the entire city still looks like Christmas. A soft glitter of snow falls under the lights of the city, giving another soft dusting to the already icy surroundings. It's night, it's silent, almost ethereal, and it's inspiring.
Without a job to go to, an open gym to play in, or a real home to relax at; a bundled up redhead slides down the city sidewalks making her way to one place.
The skating rink in Central Park is deserted, a perfect time to practice. Slipping out of her massive moon boots, Delia Ryans ties a pair of skates onto her feet and pushes onto the rink. Her arms are held out to the side as she attempts to keep her balance, waving around in little circles as the blades threaten to whisk out from underneath her.
It's also freezing cold here at night; Delilah's coat isn't hers, it looks like it belongs to a large man. It keeps her much warmer, in any case. Women's coats are kind of awful for below zero! That, and she has more than herself to worry about now in being outside in the wintry temperatures. The younger bundled redhead is milling around almost invisibly when Delia reaches the rink, settling in to sit stock still and watch the other woman as she goes about her business. It isn't until Delilah moves that she's really that visible, and part of that is her wandering to the edge of the wall and stepping through the space down onto the side of the ice. Just the two of them. Perhaps they wanted the same thing in some peace and quiet, even if it must come at a chilly price.
It may very well be cold, but it's so gosh darn pretty. Delia is lost in the beauty of the wintery wonderland for a moment too long as the other redhead makes an appearance on the ice. Then it happens. Whoop!! The tall young woman's feet fly out from under her and she falls flat on her back with a loud "Uff! Oh… geez that smarts…" Her voice is really only a little squeak after the initial whoosh of air that expelled out of her lungs when she hit the ice.
Slowly, she rolls onto her side, then her stomach. All the while she whimpers quietly, her voice echoing over the ice in the still night. She lays there for a few minutes, maybe a little more than that. It's not incredibly comfortable, but it's much better than risking standing again.
In a dose of laden contrast, Delilah is able to glide closer with little to no trouble at all. Like riding a bicycle. The other girl chirps something as she approaches the downed miss Ryans, accent plain as day in the night. "Oy, are you okay? That looked just terrible!" Delilah's figure comes to a slow stop nearby, skates coasting her there to look down. Not quite ready to offer a hand up, but it seems like she could at any second.
"What a fall. Nothing bruised?"
"My pride, that came just after my fall…" Delia says, completely waxing poetic. She's not on her back anymore, so she lifts her head to give a wane smile to the other redhead. "I'm a little scared to get up, to be honest. I suck at this… s'why I'm here so late at night. No witnesses." None except the one looking down on her right at this moment.
There's a strange noise, a series of honks and trills. Then the ice is populated by a little more than the prone woman and the upright one. Suddenly, there's a little black shape sliding across the ice on its belly. Then another and another and another… Until five little penguins are slip sliding around in a comical fashion.
"What the.. what is penguins? Are we in Happy Feet or… Mary Poppins?" The tall woman is slowly trying to get to her feet. She's really not graceful on blades because she falters and flounders a few times before finally settling for being on all fours.
Delilah is more than ready to say something else. More than ready to try and make another friend! But, there is a noise- an odd noise- and she closes her mouth and turns her head to look just in time to see the first portly bird skid past. And the rest to follow. She stares at them a moment, glancing down at Delia to see if she is seeing them too, and she is not actually still hallucinating. Nope, she's good. The slightly younger of the two digs around for her phone, pulling it out and aiming the dot of her camera towards where the penguins are playing. She has to do it.
It clicks, taking a picture of one little penguin who has stood up to look at the girls. She immediately sends it to most of her contact list.
"Oh, they've followed me around since I was little; one day I sang a song and there they were." Hey, just because she's British- Dee is okay with making a Mary Poppins joke at her own expense.
The fat little birds are slipping around like they're having a righteous ol' time. One of them even ventures a little closer to the pair of women before blaring a loud honk in their direction, maybe to warn them off, before waddling back to its colony. They are slapping their wings against their bodies and diving onto the ice for a good slide.
Delia is just too stunned to say a word. On all fours, her knees and palms are staring to freeze. Shaking her head, she tries to get up onto her feet again and when she comes to a wobbly stand, her arms swing around again and again. "You are seeing that, right? I mean, I didn't hit my head too hard?"
Delilah holds out an arm for the other girl, not hesitating to try and help her stand straight again. "Yep, penguins. No, I don't actually know why." She grins, looking across the ice at them again, tucking her phone away and abruptly leaving Delia's side to coast closer to the penguins.
Not wanting to be left out or even outdone, the younger girl flaps her coat sleeves once and honks twice at the birds. "Penguins, hello penguins-" She sing-songs, then one more honking noise to mimic the birds. No, this doesn't make any sense. Does it have to?
Blink. Blinkblink. Delia just stares at the other woman as she begins to try to communicate with the silly little birds. "Is she… serious?" That part is murmured to herself while in a little bit louder voice, she calls out to the woman. "They're not like dogs, y'know? They don't actually come when they're called." The other woman hangs back, not really willing to get any closer to the wild animals. Her skates start to slide backwards, very slowly at first. Then Delia lands on her seat again. This time the fall is padded a bit more, with her posterior instead of her back. "Hey, lady! You should be careful! They might attack or something!" She calls out a little loudly, she is a little worried, actually. Who knows, they might be like geese or moose or something.
Penguins are birds. Birds are usually curious creatures, though wary; these ones are obviously not wild penguins, as they seem to regard Delilah as she slides past with something akin to being unsurprised. They aim their little black eyes at her, and each other, and eventually continue canoodling around by themselves. They don't come when called, Delia was right about that much; Delilah skates a circle back to her after a bit of squawking and trying to get the birds to do something interesting. "They're cute little buggers, huh? Not gonna get me or nothin', just birds." Like birds don't attack people too.
In the background a ways back, they watch the two humans patiently; either they're waiting for someone to start skating again, or something else entirely. Maybe fish.
Delilah is treated to a very incredulous stare from Delia. "Just birds? You don't watch much Alfred Hitchcock, do you? Birds can kill. Kill in a really really horrible way." The curlier of the redheads shudders violently and begins to get up again. This time, she crawls to the wall and stands only when she has its support. Then, being the smartie that she is, she hangs onto it and pulls herself along the edge of the rink. Not exactly skating, more like sliding on her feet.
"If they attack, I don't think I'll be much help or anything." Her shaky voice reaches out across the ice, not trembling because it's cold, she's just scared of falling again. If people were meant to skate, they'd be born with knives on their feet. This isn't something Delia will be doing twice… maybe.
Delilah is there to offer a hand again while following the other girl, this time not so distracted by penguins. "Hitchcock was also a moviemaker. Putting fear into people was his job, I think." Plus he was just a creepy dude. "Did you come out here to try this out?" The astute observation comes while she is able to watch Delia trying to stay upright on the ice. "I've been wanting to, but my friends don't seem too keen on it. 'S why I'm alone, I guess."
The penguins, seeming to take silence as acceptance, tail the girls from about fifteen, twenty feet to the rear.
"Yeah, I heard it was good exercise or something… I just.. whoop!" Delia catches herself along the wall as her feet skitter and slither on the slick ice. It's too cold for any melting, which actually makes it a little more dangerous for the more inexperienced of the two. "Man, I just wanted to not sit on the couch and collect fat. I thought it'd be fun… but this ain't fun so far. Not so far at all."
Delia casts a wary glance behind the them, as though she's actually expecting the birds to rush up and make her fall again. She narrows her eyes at them, glaring at each and every one of the penguins, warning them away. "Don't even try it. Whatever you're planning in those little heads, don't even." Now she's talking to birds.