Participants:
| Scene Title | I'm Just Watching |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Felicia and Abby shovel some unused sidewalks in Staten Island and talk. Just a little. |
| Date | March 27, 2010 |
Staten Island: Coast
The coast of Staten Island is as much of a presence as its inland, with rivers that invade right into its heart as well as cutting off the circulation of transport from the rest of New York City. The coastal regions reflect a lot of this borough's rural nature, with rough shores and plantlife, broken brick, and general abandonment. The harbors are left to the devices of those that freely come and go, a conspicuous lack of official presence - a number of them notably overrun by the developing crime syndicate, but there are still quite a few, particularly on the coasts nearest to Brooklyn and Manhattan, that are accessible to the lawful public.
It also doesn't mean that there aren't others who stretch their legs as well. When the FRONTLINE leader heads back to her thermos, from afar is another woman, definitely younger, blonde and out in the cold for a while judging from the way that her nose has gone red as has the tips of her ears. She's not showing off as a threat though, instead parked on her ass on a snowbank and having been watching the woman from afar. Hands in pockets of her warm winter jacket that saw her through Russia. A pitstop to a safehouse had procured her a fresh change of clothes, a place to not sleep and a chance to phone one of the watchers she'd managed to loose and tell them she was a-okay.
And now she's A-Okay from afar, watching the woman.
Having been on duty in Iraq, Felicia has a bit of a second sense when it comes to people watching her. It's spooky when that sense is heightened, the hairs on the back of her neck rise up and she can feel it through to the tips of her toes. However, just like in combat, she does nothing to alert the watcher that she may know that she's being watched. Instead, the walk back to her thermos is a bit of a recon to get a better idea of who it is that may be spying. She's heard the tales about Staten Island, and being here a few times has alerted her to the dangers. But, she's not about to let that stop her from what she feels is a civic duty. She has to think of who would be out in such cold. Possibly, it's attention she's gathered from someone inside.
As the commander bends over to pick up her thermos, she focuses in on her peripheral vision. That's how she spots Abby sitting on the snowbank further down. And that's when she finally decides to look in the woman's direction in order to get a better read on the situation. She doesn't say anything just yet, instead, she just studies the blonde as she takes a long, satisfying drink of her now only warmish coffee.
No brandishing of weapons - doesn't account for possible evolveds abilities that might be used - and she doesn't quite look like someone who might suddenly spring forth with a knife, or a gun. Might be a decoy. Distract while others come in from the side. But that doesn't happen either. There's a stretch of legs like she's been there sometime, a glance to the thermos then away. Gaze falling somewhere else. "I'm not going to hurt you" She has to raise her voice to make herself heard. "Just watching"
The woman sitting on the snowbank could be a number of things. However, as close as Felicia is to a military base, she's feeling pretty safe about her chances of surviving a surprise attack. Plus, though she may not look very tough, she's a lot more trouble than she's worth. With a cant of her head, she twists the cap back onto her thermos to keep any more heat from escaping and nods at Abby. However, the fact that someone is watching her shovel snow is curious to her. Though she doesn't approach, she doesn't turn around to go back to her self-appointed task, either. Calling back, she has a type of voice that seems used to being raised in order to be heard. It's the form of projection she uses in training and to make sure her team is listening to her. "Aren't you cold?" She does look like she's been there awhile, after all.
"A little. Nothing that will kill me. You have another shovel I could use?" There's a gesture to the one that Felica was wielding. "Some exercise will get my blood moving again and I'm getting tired of sitting" She offers up. "You're from FRONTLINE. I recognize your face" She's got a thing for faces and names.
The woman doesn't need to glance back at the shovel she just planted in the snow a few feet away. Instead, she thinks over the question for a moment and then nods, just once. "If you don't mind waiting a couple of minutes." She'll have to go back to the base in order to grab one, but, there are a bunch of shovels by the gate - other soldiers have been using them to clear paths like hers. Still not used to being recognized at all, Felicia just gives another nod of her head to acknowledge that she heard the woman. "Yeah, guess I am. Don't know you, though." And it's not polite for Abby to know her and not the other way around. For the moment, she doesn't move to get another shovel, she'll just wait to hear the other woman's reply.
"Abigail, Beauchamp. A close friend of mine is on your team" Which might be why Abby knows who Felicia is. "Elisabeth Harrison. I can wait, I don't mind. I do a lot of waiting lately" Waiting to be killed, waiting for someone to catch the wayward Russians, waiting for Peter to get back from being sick so that she's not stuck with eco-vegan. The younger blonde hefts herself up, favouring her left side and starts down the snow mountain she had parked on.
A friend of a team member. That's something that Felicia didn't count on when she spied Abby sitting in the snowbanks. "I see." The smile that touches her lips is welcoming, though maybe not the warmest. "It's nice to meet you, then. Felicia Varlane, though I guess you already know that." Through pictures or Elisabeth, or whatever else may have carried her name about the Boroughs. "I'll be right back, then." Without further ado, she sets off back toward the base, not before noticing the limp that the woman is sporting. It's not a far walk, it's been in looming distance this whole time. Showing her identification, she disappears behind a wall for a minute or two and then comes back to her original spot with another shovel. Without any sort of flourish, she holds it out to the younger blonde. "Here you go." With a pause, and without any attempted move to stop her from helping she adds, "Think you should be doing this with that leg?"
"Just my hip" Abby's still waiting when she returns. "Lord above knows I've done worse on .. worse" Her gloved hands close around the shovel and there's a quick nod of her head in thanks for the instrument. Two minutes later, that shovel is biting into snow and she's helping to clear sidewalk again.
"How's Liz? I don't get to talk much to her anymore. Between her job there and mine with the ambulances, our lives are pretty busy" Normally, the young woman is all smiles and laughter, today… Well, today she just wants to do something and hide.
As Felicia knows nothing about Abby's normally, the brunette takes this as her basic behavior. She watches Abigail for a quick, judging moment. Just because a person says they're okay doesn't always make it so. However, after a short amount of time, she must be satisfied, because she doesn't say anything else about it. Plucking her own shovel out of the snow, the mechanical sound of scraping and then the soft thud of snow being tossed onto snow starts up. In between digs, she replies, "She's alright. Adjusting to military life as well as anyone can adjust." It's a different way of thinking. "You work in an ambulance?"
"EMT, not a paramedic" She seems to be getting along fine shoveling snow, no shrinking daisy and she digs in, lifts and tosses it to the side scoop after scoop. "She's not a military woman, but she's a good woman to have on your side. She fights hard to protect those she loves. But I guess that's something they look for in all members of FRONTLINE." The shoveling brings a renewal of blood flowing to fingers and hands and toes.
"I know another Varlane. Liz ever tell you that?" Blue eyes look over as Abigail glances to Felicia. "He's a gravity manipulator"
With a good scoop, Felicia shovels another load of snow into the fast growing bank to their side. "Well, when we're done with her, she'll be as good as." Maybe not actually military, but the sort of precision that they're going to be requiring will whip Elisabeth into as much military shape as she can get without basic training. That's not a bad thing to the woman. Being a marine is a great source of pride to her. "Well, that's what we're all trying to do. Protect not just the people we know, but everyone." It's a mainstay of military service.
There's that question again - the question about the other Varlane. He's a gravity manipulator, too? That actually surprises her, as it was never brought up before. But, much like her answer to Elisabeth, the commander shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah, she mentioned it to me when we met. But, don't know him." With another shovelful of snow, she adds, "Didn't know he was Evolved, either. That's weird."
"Oh, oh he's evolved. Always flying around the city instead of walking. One of these days someone's going to take a potshot at him" She mutters under her breath. "He's weird. But he's good. Has a good heart" But she didn't come here to talk about Magnes, she didn't even come to talk much less come shovel snow with someone from Frontline. "Why were you shoveling here? It's not like the businesses were open. Mind you, if they put a coffee shop here, it would do good business what with the base? Is that what you call it? Just over there. It'd do good I'm sure"
Felicia listens to this information much like she's listened to everything Abigail has said, with a general interest. It's a curious thing, for sure, but one that she won't really think much on later. "I guess I'll just have to meet him some day, then," she shrugs. With a pause, she glances over at the other woman who has helped her take up the shoveling cause. "Because people still walk here." Her face is still red, from the cold and from the work out, too. "And it's a pain in the ass to walk in this snow." It's easier for her, it's easier for everyone around. "Plus, it's against city laws to leave a sidewalk not shoveled." Maybe that doesn't count for much around here any more, but it still does to Felicia.
With a roll of her shoulders, she glances at the base she just came from. "I just call it the Airfield. Maybe the base, sometimes. A coffee shop'd be fine, I'm sure, though we make ourselves some pretty damn strong coffee ourselves." And she prefers it to the kind of frou-frou thing a lot of coffee shops she's found serves. "What we'd really need is a bar."
"A bar" Abby looks over at the other woman. "There's plenty of bars not far away though, they may or may not have closed due to the government actually deigning to dip their toes into the area" Abigail stamps her feet, wriggling toes in her boots before digging in again with the shovel. "You enjoying being in Frontline? I mean, for all that some people don't like that those with abilities have their own little squad of soldiers to help clean up stuff. Do you enjoy it?"
"I'm actually not up here all that often." Felicia looks back at the base and then at her shovel. Once Abby starts moving again, she should as well. It's colder just standing around and talking than it is to actually do what she came out here to do. While she won't say anything about the government - good or bad - since she's technically on their payroll, she focuses on the question about FRONTLINE. "I really could give a flying leap about what some people think about us, to be honest." She attempts to be more diplomatic when she has to give those damned interviews, but she'll say what she thinks here. While her words are very opinionated, she's stated them enough times that they actually sound conversational now. "I'm a solider and a citizen, and just because I can do something other people can't doesn't mean I'm neither of those things any more. What I can do can help people, which is what I've been instructed to do." That's not really the answer to Abby's question, so she just adds, "It's my job. I enjoy it well enough."
This cracks a smile on the blonde's face. "Amen" She murmurs, carrying on with the manual labor. The smile doesn't stay long, but she nods her head in agreement.
The shoveling goes on in silence for some more before Felicia finally comes to a stop. "I think that about does it for me," she tells the other woman. The shovel rests on her shoulder as she glances at their handiwork. It's true that a lot of the businesses down the street haven't been open for some time. That means it's improbable for the marine to just keep shoveling until the entire island has clear sidewalks, but she's done a good part for the meantime.
Abigail leans back too, glancing towards what's been cleared with another nod of her head. "I should see about getting back to the mainland without it costing me an arm and a leg" She turns, offering her gloved hand over to Felicia. "It was nice to meet you Felicia. You're doing good work. Remember that will you? No matter what anyone says. I just wish you all had been in play a year ago. we could have used you even more then"
With a firm grasp, Felicia takes Abigail's hand and shakes it. "It was nice to meet you, too, Abigail." The professional smile is a lot warmer now, despite the cold. "Thank you. I'll remember that." She will, too. A compliment to her work is rarely forgotten. "We'll do our best."
Her hand is replaced by the offer of the shovel back, then her hands shoved deep in her pockets as the smaller blonde makes her way off away from Felicia and the airbase here into the direction of where the docks are located. Not another word from the young woman to leave her lips, just the limped gait.