Central Park South - New York City
	The most crowded, and most popular section of the park, this
section is spotted with copses of trees with numerous bike paths and
walking places for people to explore and see. The most popular entrance to
the park is the Upper East Side entrance. The park itself is surrounded
with a brick wall, both acting as a noise barrier and as a sight barrier
in the northern sections of the park. Vehicles are only allowed in Central
Park at certain times of the day, and never during the rush hours. A few
attractions can be found in the southern section of the park, though not
as many as the central section. Included in these attractions are the
Arsenal, the Children's Zoo, and the Pond, the smallest body of water in
Central Park. Exits from the park can be found to the south, towards Times
Square, to the east, towards the Upper East Side, and to the west, towards
the Upper West Side.

It's night in Central Park, most of those here are the lawless or the
luckless. Amongst the shadows, a girl and a dog are scavenging, hunting
for anything useful amongst the trash left by the other half's daytime
visits.

And quite steadfastedly ignoring the part of her mind that's - for some
unaccountable reason - telling her there's something wrong with her,
Vesper walks silently through the shadows in the lawless, luckless depths
of Central Park. Every once in awhile, she'll flick ash to the side of the
pathway, not caring that the dull glow of her cigarette might be drawing
undue attention.

May:
        A thin waif of a girl, shabbily dressed and not, one has to admit,
particularly clean. Under the grime is, quite possibly, a teenager who
would be reasonably attractive if one could only clean her up some. Her
hair is a dusty chestnut that is probably brighter under the grime and
has, at some point, been cropped short by somebody without the benefit of
hairdresser's training. And her eyes. Green as emeralds, but softer,
large, deep pools that reveal more of her soul than perhaps she would
admit, veiled by the defensiveness of any street kid, yet, underneath is
something else. Perhaps the last traces of her innocence. Her face is
angular, almost elfin, although the ears are definitely normal. She moves
with a lithe grace, slender, perhaps a little underfed, but quick and
nimble.
        Her clothes appear to have been chosen without regard to such
niceties as fashion...or even fit. A pair of torn-kneed, light blue jeans
clash violently with a lime green T-shirt that is several sizes too large
and a color not found in nature...and a color one desperately wishes was
not found here. Worn sneakers, with holes in the toes, complete her
outfit, such as it is, leaving her arms bare, even in winter's cold. She
always seems to be on the move, especially her long-fingered, oddly
expressive hands. And she says...nothing.

Vesper:
	Six feet tall and heedlessly flaunting hubris, Vesper stands
always with shoulders straight and proud, her midnight hair loose and
cascading down her back, just reaching the middle of her thighs. A
twisted, caustic smile graces her pale features, accentuated with silver
lipstick. The girl's nose is straight and slender, and her eyes are a
bright, dangerous green; her lashes are long and her eyebrows thick. A
pair of silver wire-rimmed glasses frame her eyes, only adding to her
eccentric appearance. Running from her right eyebrow up her high forehead
and into her hair is a jagged white scar. An indigo and an emerald streak
run from each temple, respectively.
	The girl is wearing a tight midriff babydoll t-shirt, a dark,
dusty old-china shade of blue. Written in block letters across her
reasonably proportioned chest are the letters 'TMBG'. Riding low on her
hips are a pair of well-worn olive green cargo pants, secured by a
drawstring; on her feet are the Suburban Rebel Standard Doc Martens, laced
up tightly with unmatched strings, rubbed out from use and not purchase.
Her hands are covered with a pair of black fingerless bike gloves.
	She's nineteen, and the world is waiting with open arms.

Somewhere off in the city, a dog barks. Much closer, a certain shaggy
mongrel decides to join in. Much to the chagrin of the street kid. Who's
eyes scan the area, and fall on Vesper. Idiot's gonna get herself mugged.
Fortunately for her, may /is/ above mugging. She's not above lifting the
occasional purse, but she doesn't want to actually physically /hurt/
anyone.

Only flinching slightly when the dog barks near her, Vesper slows her
walk. THe hell...? In fact, she stops, taking a long drag of the
cigarette, then exhaling just as slowly, watching the smoke travel upward
and curl around the moon. She's straining to listen, and paying an amazing
amount of attention to her peripheral vision; the girl's tense as a
highwire. Looks like -someone- likes fighting.

May sees the tense person, and edges, moving further away...in the
shadows. No, bad idea. You don't sneak up on somebody who looks like that.
May changes plan almost mid move, stepping out of the shadows and
continuing to study Vesper in silence.

WEATHER: Currently, it is cloudy. The temperature is 41 degrees. The wind
is coming in from the north at 6 mph. The wind chill index puts the
temperature to 37 degrees.

Spinning swiftly at the sudden motion, Vesper faces May and watches
wordlessly. She inhales another lungful of smoke and winter air, holding
it in for a moment before letting it go; when she does, it's downward,
through her nose. She reaches up, and carefully pushes her glasses up on
her nose with one finger. After a second, the tall girl's eyes travel to
the kid's feet, noting the holes in her sneakers, then back up,
emotionlessly taking in the rest of her appearance.

May is tense, and you can see her visibly fight back some instinct as she
watches you, then her hands move, signing, 'Can you understand me?' with
frustration showing in her eyes. She doesn't really expect a response.

Vesper bites her lip, finally displaying an understandable reaction. She
shakes her head. "Sorry, kiddo, I don't know sign language." She makes
sure she's facing the girl, just in case she's deaf, too, and can read
lips. Oh, aren't -we- PC, we learned this stuff from reading Babysitter's
Club in fifth grade. Mmm-hmm. She drops the cigarette and crushes it
underfoot, then reaches up and rubs the back of her neck, looking
chagrined. "Um...I know the alphabet?"

May makes a face. Yet /another/ person who thinks that 'can't talk'
equates to 'stupid'. She can talk perfectly well...in the right language.
Her annoyance definitely shows, her stance shifts, and she looks at you
with almost hooded eyes.

Blinking, not understanding why the girl suddenly looks irritated, Vesper
pauses a second, then begins laboriously spelling out her stance in the
ASL alphabet. I k-n-o-w t-h-e a-l-p-h-a-b-e-t. Pause. "Dammit, I don't
even know if I did that right." She pauses again, then blushes. "Look, can
you hear? I know it's...I mean, I'm probably making an idiot of myself,
here..."

May realises, and she relaxes, her eyes lightening up a bit, then she
spells out. 'I c-a-n h-e-a-r.' It's slow, but hey, it works.

Watching intently, frowning, Vesper's face suddenly lights up, too. "Oh,
thank God. I'm so rusty at doin' that, you'd probably wanna strangle me
after five minutes of it." She shoves her hands in her pockets, inclining
her head. "What can I do for ya?"

May spells out, 'Be careful." She points in a direction. 'Gangers. Dunno
what they're up to.' Of course, it takes ages, enough to be frustrating
for both parties.

Gangers, eh? Vesper's eyebrows go up, and she grins a tad carnivorously.
"That way, huh? I dunno about careful, miss, I'm spoiling for a fight
about now." Mm, yeah, looks it. She rocks back on her heels, shaking her
arms out a bit, and peers through the trees in the indicated direction.
With a glance at the younger girl, Vesper tilts her head. "You think what
they're doing is illegal? Like I could bring 'em in? Or should I just beat
'em up and leave 'em?" All right, her behavior's a bit surreal. Maybe
she's just another Central Park loonie.

May becomes, abruptly, wary at the words 'illegal' and 'bring 'em 'in'.
She spells out, backing away, 'Cop?'

Vesper pffts, still grinning, shaking her head. "Hell's no. Just looking
for someone to take a little agression out on, and if I can help my
conscience any by makin' it a bunch of horrible violent anarchist gang
members instead of varsity jocks, then score one for my side. I've never
actually made a citizen's arrest before, but it sounds like fun."

The tall teenager adds, in a softer voice, "Besides, the cops don't want
someone like me workin' for 'em." She pauses again, then wrinkles her nose
and finishes with an almost rote, "Not that I'd wanna be one o' those
fascist donut-dunking pig bastards." She coughs. "Sorry, was that out
loud? Suburban rebel in me talkin'."

May nods, and spells out, 'No cops'. She doesn't like them? Or maybe she's
done a few illegal things in her time. There's tension in her, though, she
keeps glancing in the direction she indicated. Those guys might want a
mutant to beat up on and...well...little as she likes to do it, she /has/
had to use her power to defend herself a couple of times recently. Rumors
spread...

Vesper shrugs, opening her arms wide in a gesture of compliance. "Sure."
She grins. "Wanna help me? Or should I make like Giant Man by myself,
clean 'em up, and you can take the pictures?" Then she pauses, and adds
with just a -touch- of sarcasm, "Oh, wait, I forgot, I'm not supposed to
let anyone know I've got a different set of genes from yer average Joe." A
beat. "Or Joanne." Beginning to walk away from May, Vesper also cracks her
knuckles and starts...growing. Wheee, randomly testing human nature and
the ability to be accepting of difference - especially in those who've
already looked for it in you - is /loads/ of fun. She doesn't expect the
girl to follow, after that.

May watches after her. If she could talk, she might respond. But, of
course, now Vesper can't see her signs. Or the tension, momentary then
fading, in the girl's oddly expressive body language. Not fear tension. A
wish that she could call the other mutant back. A wish, as she often has,
that she could communicate. Yet, with others within what she knows is
earshot, she dare not risk singing a note. So, instead, the moment passes,
and the girl turns away...fading back into the shadows. Gone into the
night that is her home...