Participants:
| Scene Title | Snow Drops and Memory Snatchings |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Adelaide falls, and Ash stops to help her, getting some old memories brought back to the surface in the process. |
| Date | April 7, 2010 |
On the sidewalk right outside of the Nite Owl
Ash makes his way out of the Nite Owl, pulling his coat tighter about his broad shoulders as he steps out into the snow. He lifts his head, his eyes scanning around the streets, breath misting in the cold. He pulls in a slow breath and mutters something about New York under his breath, then begins to walk up the street, his feet leaving deep prints in the constantly piling up snow. He ducks his head a bit against the cold, though his eyes are never not alert, always scanning about himself, lookign at people, cars, buildings.
Leaving slowly, a little limp in her walk, the dark skinned woman leans against the Nite Owl. Her head is bandaged though that is hidden by her hair, though a colorful ribbon makes a good decoration. Adelaide trudges through the piling up snow as well, she's slower, and the more sounds 'ow' leave her lips as she moves.
Ash can't help but notice the individual with the limp saying ow. The man's head turns, his eyes curiously focusing in on her. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his wool coat, the man's walking coming to a stop. He presses his lips together, tightly, eyeing her, then looking around the area before he sighs softly, the reluctant Samaritan. "Miss, do you need some help?" He takes a few steps in her direction, but doesn't approach too closely, not wanting to put the girl on guard or anything by getting too close too fast. He himself looks a bit aggravated, though not at anything outside.
Adelaide looks up, the moment she does, Spumph! The sound of a body striking the snow. "Ummm maybe." she says softly in a slightly flustered voice.
Ash watches her thunk to the ground, and he lets out a soft sigh before he steps forwards and offers her out one of his hands to help her up. "You look like you could use the help, and in this cold…" He shrugs his shoulders, not continuing the statement. His hand remains held out towards her, an offer of assistance to a stranger from a stranger. His feet shift in the snow, his arm tense and ready to haul the girl up to her feet. His eyes still continue to dart about and keep track of his surroundings.
Adelaide reaches out to touch his hand. She'd left her gloves in her pocket-just a second a dark small, delicate hand reaches upwards for him for his wrist for something solid."
The man's arm pulls you upwards with an easy strength, that belies even his size. He reaches a hand out to steady you once he's done so. The flashes of memory she'd pluck from him are a bit random, but a few of them include a red haired woman, and a sens eof loss from him. The other memories are pain, nothing more really, pain dealt, and pain received. The images of the red head are not prominent within his mind, and she would just get snippets of passionate and affectionate scenes, though there's a sad few of them. Ash looks down to her, a curious look in his eyes. "You okay miss?
Adelaide eyes dart, wild, beautiful intense. She exhales, the breath exploding from her chest as if something had taken over. Her face,dark skinned though she was flushed. "You… ummm she.." she mutters. "Sorry." she blurts out.
Confusion is the theme of Ash's features as Adelaide blurts out like that and looks around frantic and such. Ash just blinks and tilts his head to the side. "Uhhh… you alright miss? Took a good hard spill there? You knock your head or something?" He lets his hand pull away from her own, settling the hand back inside of his coat pocket. His feet shift in the snow, widening the holes they've made in the snow on the ground.
Adelaide shakes her head. "No.. I.. ummm." she exhales slowly and then inhales. "My apologises. I didn't think they'd be direct contact. My talent-is the ability to read memories." She admits standing up. "If you're going to hate me for being what I am.. do it." she says firmly. She stands and straightens.
Ash blinks, only once as the woman kind of just… blurts out her power, and insults him in the same sentence. His eyes narrow, an angry look coming into them. "I don't give a fuck that you're evolved. I wouldn't shun you based on that and that alone…" He shakes hsi head, slowly. "And if you touch people and get memories, shouldn't you wear gloves or something to stop from grabbing some of random people?" He doesn't seem angry about having hsi memories read, more about her reaction to reading his memories.
Adelaide exhales. "Sorry, I've just had a shitty couple of days, and it just reached a head. I guess internally." she frowns. "It normally doesn't happen… and you know you're rather… attractive." she says, she waits for the reaction. "When your looking rather pleased with your self or affectionate, or pissed off." she smiles.
Ash lifts one of his hands upwards, running his fingers back through his rather short hair as he listens to the woman speak. "Well, try keeping a better hold of your emotions and shit alright?" He scrunches his eyebrows together as he peers at the woman. "I'm almost always pleased with myself, or pissed off. Affectionate is pretty fucking rare for me… and hasn't happened in a long while…" He frowns a bit, then shakes his head and looks back up to her. "Old memories best left forgotten." he murmurs softly.
Adelaide nods. "Sorry for bringing it up… I didn't mean to trigger bad memories. But at least I know know I think I can control it. I mean… I was thinking about the fact I was alone… and then I touched you and got images that you-I wasn't." she shivers. "Ehh… that's an odd realization. Your memory ,your viewpoint.. your sensations.." She looks at him then drops her eyes down his body then brings them back up.
"It's just… stuff better left in the past is all. Not getting pissed just…" He shakes his head, his eyes closing for a moment, a spark of old pain crossing his features before he pushes it away and opens his eyes once more. "And odd realization?" he asks, eyes squinting in puzzlement as he tries to figure out her meaning behind that. He rolls his shoulders, loosening his back a bit and then sighs. "Been alone my whole life, tried not being alone, it failed, realized that I'm better off this way."
Adelaide wrinkles her head. "You're kidding right?" she asks softly. "Being alone is wrong. Humanity is designed to be a communal creature."
Ash shakes his head very slowly. "Nope, not kidding. Humanity is designed to be that way yes. But… we're not exactly human are we? HomoSuperioris or something like that I heard on some radio show or something…." He shrugs his broad shoulders slowly, a faint smile on his lips, a sad one really. "It's a concept I've gotten used to."
Adelaide thinks. "But why? You must feel… upset, no one to go home to correct? No one to hold you or feel comfortable with? You can't just run around and be comfortable. Isolation causes neurosises."
Ash laughs lightly at the mention of going home, though it's a forced laugh. "No home to go home to miss. No family, no home… nothing that ties me down anywhere." he shakes hsi head, slowly. "I'm not concerned about my own comfort. I'm not worried about my life being happy and rewarding. It's way beyond the saving point for those things… but … I can see to it that others are able to live happy lives, content lives." He rolls his shoulders again in a little bit of a shrug and sighs, looking about himself, then back, watching his surroundings still.
Adelaide thinks. "Stop looking over your shoulder." she says in a slightly upset tone. "And truthfully, you living to make others happy is going a little far. It doesn't make you happy… does it? It's a facade."
Ash shakes hsi head to the order to stop looking over his shoulder. "When you live my life you never stop looking over your shoulder miss." He murmurs, turning a bit as he catches sight of a rather rough looking individual a little ways up the block. But, the man turns into an apartment complex and Ash turns back towards Adelaide with a shrug of his shoulders. "it doesn't matter whether I'm happy or not. As I said, my life is well beyond the ability to be happy anymore. All I can do is provide others with what I can't have."
Adelaide frowns. "Why not? You can totally have happiness, sir." she straightens herself up. "I mean you can have happiness."
Ash shakes his head slowly, a grunt escaping him, and he mutters a comment. "What the fuck is it with people today trying to tell me what I can and can't have in my life. I damn well know what I can and can't have." He lifts his head up, his eyes settling on Adelaide. "Trust me. I can't. You can say it all you want, but that doesn't make it true. There is no room for it in my life. I have accepted it and moved on past it." He folds his arms over his broad chest and he cocks an eyebrow up at her.
Adelaide watches him cock an eyebrow at her. "Ahh then I suppose you somehow survive,nicely with all this running you do? How you live, make money, survive? You sound like you're …not at all comfortable. And I am sorry."
Ash snorts again at the words that are tossed his way. "What money?" He shakes his head, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. "You seem like a really nice girl miss, but trust me. I"m not a sob story. I have no issue with where I'm at in my life. I don't need fixing okay?" He leaves his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes focused in on her intently.
Adelaide continues to stare back. "I understand." she says softly. "I understand completely. I am not try to change or fix you.. you seem focused and given to knowing your /life/."
Ash dips his head forwards in a slow manner. "Good." Is all he says in response. The man takes a few steps over towards the Nite Owl and leans up against the wall, his head tilting back, snow flakes brushing over his face. "So, you mentioned having relationship problems… what's going on? You can tell me to mind my fucking busine3ss if you want, just asking is all."
Adelaide laughs. "No relationship.. ever, actually. Its more like once I was pretty blunt that I found some guy attractive, and he tried to give me tips… I don't if I'll ever have one, or if I am using the wrong approach to understand or bring men."
Ash shrugs a little bit, his brows furrowing. "Well, you're certainly pretty enough. Maybe … I dunno… I'm not much of a fucking counselor… I guess just try not to go reading random people's memories and stuff." he smirks, a faint touch of amusement lifting his features. "I wouldn't be able to tell you how to get guys to like you honestly, nothing that would actually get you a decent guy anyway."
Adelaide laughs. "True. I am not one for flaunting myself. I want quality, not quantity." she says simply. "And to be honest, I think the ability to attract the quality guys is harder."
"It is harder. You could attract guys by dressing skimpy and walking down the street, but those aren't the kinds of guys you're wanting to attract. Good guys? I wouldn't fucking know. I'm not one of them…" he chuckles faintly, a sad note to the sound. "You going to be okay though? You were walking pretty damn funny earlier."
Adelaide nods. "Its what happens when a building nearly falls on you and you end up… under stuff and the paramedics and others have to haul you out, and you realize that you couldn't do much to help, people lost their lives. Some doctor.. I want to be… I could do anything."
Ash snorts softly and his head shakes. "Yeah, you suck just because you weren't able to do anything to help people. That doesn't make you a horrid doctor, it makes you human, or… mostly human." He pulls in a sow breath, then lets it out in a long exhale. "I need to be heading out, but I want to be sure you're going to get wherever you're going okay."
Adelaide nods. "I should be ok.. And I have a little time before grad-medical school." she stays softly. She moves through the snow. "Thanks."
Ash purses his lips some, his eyes casting towards the ground, then lifting back up again. "Look, if you ever need help with something… " He doesn't finish the statement, but he obviously means illicit things, or things you can't call the cops for. "I tend to be up at Biddy's a lot… if you leave a message with the bartender there he can get a hold of me alright?"
Adelaide nods. "Thanks, though I don't know if I will ever need that kind of help but can I ask your name?"
Ash turns his head, and he frowns a bit, obviously having trouble deciding whether or not to give out his name. Finally he shakes his head, slowly. "It's better for you if you didn't know my name miss. If you describe me to the bartender though he'll know me."
Adelaide nods. "Sure." she says slowly though its a worried tone. "Running from registration?"
Ash laughs lightly and his head shakes slowly. "I'm long since registered, not of my own will though." He tilts his head to the side, letting her see the nice round scar on his neck, a scar that a doctor would recognize as repeated injections at a single site. His head tilts back and he offers her a sad sort of smile, then turns and begins to walk away, letting her figure out, one way or another, where those marks would have come from. If she can figure that out, then he might just be willing to trust her with his name.
Adelaide eyes the neck marks. "You poor man." the voice is the sound of naive sympathy..