Ria: Tumbling red-gold curls are caught up around her face by a pair of carved black combs. The curls spill over her shoulders and half-way down her back. Under thick, arched eyebrows, darkly lashed green eyes sparkle over a snub nose, dusted with golden freckles. Her face is a slender, with high cheekbones, and a determined chin. Her generous lips are tinted a deep rose. A luxurious, faux-fur jacket is zipped snuggly up to her throat. The material is puffed slightly along the zipper, hiding the metal. Deep, rich purple in color, it looks velvety soft, shadowed almost black in places. The hood is down, letting her red curls tumble freely down the back and over her shoulders. The sleeves end just over her wrists, and are easily long enough for her to pull her hands inside. Rich, espresso colored suede jeans fit her snugly. Thin leather straps lace up the front of her pants, lacing through small brass outlined holes in the suede, and closing them flat against her belly. Wide pants legs fall from her hips, down to just over the top of her feet. The material is so soft looking, it almost seems more crushed velvet than suede. Black mitered leather boots with three inch heels cover her feet, the top of the boots disappearing up under her pants. Cypher Pass A long, lonely stretch of two-lane that forks off of Pikeman's Circle to the south and dead ends into Southland Drive. The buildings lining Cypher Pass are a slowly degenerating mixture of light industrial and warehouse retail, all struggling to survive this close to the wasteland of the slums. A dull, unobtrustive shade of tan seems to be the dominant color scheme. The road is cracked, the white and yellow traffic lines faded nearly into obscurity, ground into nothingness by the constant congestion of large semi-trucks. The occasional scummy, 'ex-mom and pop' gas station sprouts here and there, pushing rusted, scraggly signs towards the sky, black letter sales pitches now gap-toothed from lettering being stolen or lost. Several non-profit originzations rent space in these depressing office parks as well. ****************************************************************************** Today's Weather: The wind whips silently thru the streets and concrete canyons, smacking flesh like a blast from an open freezer. The scuff of dirty snow drifts under the wind's whip, blocking the visibility of drivers and pedestrians alike. The sky above is clear and blue, but the hunched and scurrying pedestrians don't stop to admire and everyone else is inside where it's warm. ****************************************************************************** Midday in the badlands doesn't tend to show a huge difference from any other time. It's a little lighter out, and there are a few more people visible on the streets, but otherwise time creeps along as it always does. A small group gathers near the steps of an abandoned building. Most of them are kids between the ages of 10 and 16, a few younger, a few older. All have the same look to them; not as emaciated as they might be, but skinnier than they should be. Jeans and jackets, ripped t-shirts and enough metal showing in their faces to set off a metal detector from across the room. Feigning boredom, they slump against the steps, or lean against the building's walls. There is an exception to the group. Standing out among them for more than just the difference in wardrobe and look, Ria is sprawled back on the steps, heedless of the snow beneath her as she tilts her head up, listening to one of the kids and laughing delightedly. Reaching up, she tugs on his shirt, pulling him down to the steps beside her. "So.. what did he have to say to that?" she asks, making no attempt to keep her voice down. The other kids look on with expressions shifting from amused tolerance to barely hidden affection, then quickly shift their glances around as they keep watch on the sidewalks around them. Too much has happened of late for them to let their attention flag too much.. and the one they look out for is too prone to not watching for anything. It's up to them to keep her safe, and from the look of things, it's a responsibility they take seriously. It's the kids that Kitty's been watching. The ones that don't seem to have anywhere to go, but don't seem to be starving, either. She's seen some of them around before - through the summer and early fall, she was on the streets down here regularly, studying the patterns of graffiti and the ruins of the Parrot's Revenge, and before that, simply getting a feel for the place. And sometimes doing business, but that was rarely out where anyone could see her. At any rate - she's seen some of them. And some of them have seen her: a girl in her early twenties, thin in a different way than they are, but with the same watchful, wary eyes and habits for staying out of sight. Jeans and jacket, but no piercings. Other jewelry. A dull, cheap-looking ring on her left hand, a six-pointed star at her throat. The latter's enough to mark her as an outsider, but she's not willing to give it up. She's not much inclined to startle the kids, either. Better to let them know she's coming. She opts for the far side of the street to approach, finally pausing across the way from the abandoned building; see, look, I'm letting you know I'm coming. Hands out of pockets: nothing hidden. Don't want any trouble, don't mean any harm. Just want to talk. And the kids watch her, but other than a slight stiffening in their posture, and a more obvious bent to their gaze, they don't do anything to stop her approach. The one that Ria's talking to notices first, and glances over his shoulder, before reaching out to tap Ria's knee, glancing over at Kitty. Ria looks up, puzzled at first, and then smiles at the newcomer. Older. Not one of her kids, nor someone she's seen before, though she'd heard of the girl wandering through. Since she hadn't seemed to be interested in causing trouble, Ria hadn't let it worry her.. and she wasn't going to start now. Sitting up, she brushes snow off of her jeans and leans forward, elbows propped against her knees, her expression openly curious. The others are warier, some of them gathering closer to Ria until she shoos them off with an irritated expression, turning her attention back to Kitty. There's a vague gesture towards an empty expanse of step near her. It might be nothing, or it might be an invitation to join them. Ria doesn't invite too openly, she's too used to the feral ways of the children around here, too aware that one who doesn't know her might see a threat where none was intended. When Ria sits up and leans, Kitty glances automatically either way down the street - no traffic, but given her history with cars around here, she's inclined to be careful - then lifts a hand as if in greeting and starts to cross. This is a city of metas; thus, even in the greeting she doesn't face palm or fingertips directly toward Ria or her kids, and she slows a little further as she reaches the perimeter of the group. "Hey." It's Ria she's addressing, not the kids, though she doesn't by any means dismiss them. "I'm looking for somebody by the name of Ria. Know where I might be able to find her? Friend of hers asked me to check up on her for him." It has the advantage of being true. Rolling her eyes, Ria straightens with a groan of protest. "You know, you'd think as many years as I've lived on my own, folks would figure I can keep myself in one piece without a pack of watchdogs..." This, despite the words, is said mildly, even with some level of amusement as she glances around at her "pack". Offering Kitty both her hand and a smile, Ria chuckles up at her. "I'm Ria. And which friend would that be?" For their part, the kids slowly relax as they listen to Kitty, though they don't drop all of the suspicion. Ria's had way too many "friends" who've tried to hurt her since she's arrived here for them to be totally comfortable. Still, here in their territory, they can be more generous than they might be outside it. A few chuckle at the watchdogs comment, rolling their own eyes as they drift back a bit to give the two some privacy, without pulling so far away that they can't jump in if needed. Kitty flicks a faint, brief smile at the comment herself - after all, she's been drafted to help play watchdog too. Ria's hand is taken with a predictable lack of surprise - and then a smile that lasts a moment longer shows. "You know, I don't actually know his name. He's got a thing for the color green, though." She settles to a crouch rather than dropping down beside Ria. The snow's /cold/, and has the annoying tendency to melt in body heat, and the steps are likely to suck that same body heat right out: better to sit on her heels and stick with the comparatively minor chill of the air. Ria would offer to help with that, if she knew the reason for Kitty's hesitancy in sitting. Unfortunately.. or perhaps fortunately, considering the people she spends most of her time with, Ria isn't a telepath. Instead she chuckles again, nodding. "Sounds like Liam, I -think-," she says, shaking her head with no sign of surprise. "Though I wonder what's got him all worried this time. Things are fine now. They got a bit hairy for a while, but 'scool, always happens. And I always tumble out just fine. Is just the way it is. So.. you know my name.. and probably his now. Who're you?" This time Kitty doesn't actually smile, but there's amusement all the same. "No, not Liam. Presuming we're thinking of the same Liam - there can't be /that/ many in this city. Irish? Limps?" While she's talking, she's sketching absently in the snow with a fingertip: the Green Lantern symbol. She glances up just long enough to be sure Ria's seen it before absently blotting it out again with a flick of her hand. No idea whether the kids know about Ria talking to him. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I know he comes down here too. Sorry. Name's Kitty Pryde." Ria looks at the symbol and just sighs, guilt flickering in her eyes. "Oh jeez.. he's not still.." she mutters. "I -told- him I was gonna behave." She glances over at Kitty, her expression shifting mutinously. "He didn't send you over here to make sure I was okay, did he? He sent you here to make sure I was being -good-." Lips folding into a thin line, Ria sits back against the step, her arms folding over her chest. "Well, I am. I've got too much keeping me busy here to go out and get into trouble." Something in the mutter and mutiny makes it terribly difficult for Kitty not to laugh, but she controls it with an effort. "No, he sent me here to make sure you were /okay/. I think he figured he'd've heard if there was any getting into trouble going on." She tips her head back to glance up at the woman on the steps. "I think he figured I might understand some stuff better than he would, too. That, or he was trying to guilt me into giving you a hand. Hard to tell which." Ria eyes Kitty suspiciously for a moment, but that's about as long as she can hold onto it before she's smiling again. Shoving a hand into her pocket, she pulls out a wad of folded bills, offering it to one of the kids. "Hey, make yourself useful and go get us some cocoa and something to eat. And why don't the rest of you go with him and feed yourselves before you come back here." She gives them a mock-glare, and then laughs as they move off with the money, before turning back to Kitty. "I swear, it's the only way to get a breather from them. Give 'em money and feed them." Now that they're alone, though, she relaxes a little more. "Understand..?" Ria shrugs and then sighs. "I suppose he told you what's been going on, then?" Kitty says wryly, "Food's about the only thing they want more than 'safe' and 'respect,' yeah." She's not speaking from direct experience - quite. If only because she was lucky in the meta-powers department. "They pretty much adore you... Not in detail." Hands go up, pushing stray curls back out of her face. "He said something had happened, and it was pretty rough on you. And he thought you might be able to use somebody to talk to." Serious, straightforward, looking directly at Ria. "I know you don't know me. But if you want to talk, or ask /me/ questions till you make up your mind about whether you want to talk, or whatever, go for it." Ria shifts uncomfortably on the step, her hands folding together. "It ain't so big a deal," she mutters. "To him, yeah.. and I know I can't let it happen like that again. It's just.." And she looks up, glancing at Kitty before looking away again. "What do you know about me?" She's not looking for praise. She'd looked awfully uncomfortable at the mention of how the kids felt about her. She just wants to not repeat herself any more often than she has to. "And don't stress it. I.. maybe he makes me a little weird, but the green guy, he's alright. If he trusts you.. I'll trust you. At least, for now." Kitty gives a brief, crooked almost-grin. "I know the green guy's weirded out by the guy you're dating, which at least probably gives us something in common. I know he likes you anyway. I know you take care of the kids. I know you do transformations and healing - and fair's fair on that one; I walk through walls, personally." Not spoken: willing to trust back. At least, for now. "I know it's got something to do with the Fisters, and I know they're not likely to be bothering you again. There may be a few left on the loose, but the core group's been rounded up and given the chance to embarrass itself to death." Steady, even if she's wrapped arms about herself and hunched in against the cold. One brow arches a bit, and then Ria just laughs. "The guy I'm..ohhh." Yeah, she did tell him a little about 'Pool, though she hadn't realized she'd made it clear how close they were, or at least, she was to him. Of course, the way she'd been babbling that night.. Ria shakes her head slightly and then frowns. "You cold? We could go into my place, it's a bit warmer there, and we'd get more privacy. 'Pool's off for a while, so we shouldn't get interrupted unless there's an emergency." Kitty shifts so that she can hold her hands out, palm-up. "If it won't freak out the kids, maybe? It's cold, but it's not so cold I want them thinking I kidnapped you or something. Though privacy's a definite plus." Not to mention the possible chance to find out if it's the same guy she's heard of. Nah, couldn't be. But still... Ria stands up, offering Kitty her hand. "It won't freak them out." She promises. "C'mon, I'll show you." And with that, she sets off, down the street a ways, pausing in front of what appears to be a run down warehouse. Setting her palm against the wood, Ria closes her eyes and shifts vision. Underneath her hand, the wood changes. Not a great deal, and perhaps not in a way that anybody not looking for it would notice, but enough to let her kids now. Mom's home, she's inside. Come in if it's an emergency. Leaving the metallic imprint there on the frame of the door, she pulls the panel open, gesturing inside. "Go on in, I'll get the heater kicked on, and we can have some cocoa while you warm up." Kitty accepts the hand she's offered, after climbing to her feet. Maybe she's not worried about getting changed into something else, or maybe it's just cold enough she doesn't care. Down by the warehouse, her gaze lingers for a moment where Ria's hand had been on the doorframe. "Nice," she murmurs, before slipping in. Keeping it to the mundane fashion for the moment, since powers interacting aren't always a /good/ thing, but nonetheless surveying the place fast with a practiced and practical wariness. Even if Ria /did/ say 'Pool wasn't likely to be home. "That sounds like a plan and a half. The cold doesn't bother you much?" Ria pulls back the loose panel and slips through the narrow opening. Abandoned Warehouse -- Cypher Pass Though the outside is as decrepit looking as the buildings around it, the inside is a completely different story. All of the dirt, cobwebs, and other assorted nasties have been gotten rid of. The walls gleam, the wood and metal returned to an "as-new" condition. The dirt floor has been changed as well, into a solid sheet most closely resembling some dark wood..though there are no lines to indicate planks. A mattress lies in one corner, flanked by cobbled-together cinderblock and board bookcases. The windows have been blacked out, to disguise the light from the lamps set around the room, leaving the building bright, and nearly cheery. Slipping into the warehouse behind Kitty, Ria moves around lighting the lamps. Looking over, she laughs. "It bothers me some, but I learned how to increase my body temperature a long time ago," she says quietly. "I've been on the streets since I was about 12.. 13. A long time." She shrugs, not appearing terribly bothered by it. Shifting around, she turns a hot plate on and starts heating the water for cocoa. "Actually, I kinda like winter. It lets me keep drinks cold, without having to stress over figuring out a way to get electricity.. though 'Pool says he's gonna fix that for me one of these days." "Shouldn't be too hard," Kitty agrees absently. "The only trick is dodging the metering, and around this place, that's barely even a trick." It's the floor she's studying, apparently somewhat impressed. Look, one solid piece. "It was fourteen for me, but I lucked out on the powers. Didn't have nearly as hard a time as most people." Hot plate. Oooh. Water. Warmth. She drifts toward it and Ria in the increased light. Ria glances over at Kitty, and nods, watching the kettle. "Me too," she says quietly. "Though, until I came here.. I was the only person I knew who had abilities. Made it better in some ways, but.. some ways harder too." While Kitty warms herself, Ria busies herself getting a couple of mugs and spooning cocoa powder into them. "Anyway, so I ended up here. Pretty familiar story, I suppose. Made msyelf a home here in the Badlands. Been working with my kids. It isn't too bad a life, but.. like I said, stuff got kind of hairy for a while.." Kitty nods back to her - she's not watching the hot plate. Just Ria. Warmth and attention are two different things. "It always seems to. Particularly around here. This place concentrates the problems, some ways." Ria brings the mugs over, setting them down near the hot plate. Drifting a bit in memory, she nods hazily at Kitty. "Yeah, you noticed that too?" she asks, before turning her attention elsewhere. It's just easier to talk about this stuff if she doesn't have to look at Kitty. "I lost my focus for a while," she admits. "Seeing my kids get hurt, it got easier to justify hurting others..letting them get hurt. Being lied to, never knowing who I could trust.." she sighs, shaking her head. "I was turning into someone I didn't recognize." "It's easy to start losing track," Kitty says, quieter now. Her own gaze is drifting off of Ria, down to the hot plate and mugs. "Easy to think that because you're trying to do a good thing, anything you do for it is good. Easy to start doing the /easy/ thing." Ria picks up the kettle, filling the mugs with hot water, and stirs them, offering one to Kitty. "Sorry it isn't very fancy," she says quietly, before settling down on her mattress. She waves a hand at the mattress in silent invitation as she continues. "I.. I did some stuff I'm not very proud of," she admits quietly. "I don't know if I'd change it now. I'm not sure it wasn't the -right- thing to do, even if it wasn't.. couldn't be.." Shaking her head as she struggles for words, Ria looks up at Kitty. "It was wrong, and right.. if that makes any sense. But.. I've promised I'll never do it again. 'Pool.. he doesn't want me to anymore than our friend does, so.." Kitty takes the mug with another of those faint, crooked not-smiles. "Practically lived on this stuff for a while." She seats herself near Ria, not too close - leaving personal space, but angling herself to be able to see the other woman clearly. "The problem with things like that is, we /can't/ change it. Have to live with it, and with ourselves. And whether or not we're going to do anything like it again, we've got to come to terms with it." Kitty makes it almost into a question with a tip of her head: have you? Are you /really/ all right? Ria meets that gaze with a guileless one of her own. Is she alright? No.. not really. But she's learning to be, all over again. Taking the easiest route to heal she knows, she's forgetting the pain, pushing it away, pretending that none of it matters. Living in the "now" because then hurts and tomorrow might too. Bubbles might seem fragile, but they can be effective armor even so, when used appropriately. "You have to live with it," she says, her lips quirking into a smile. "The alternative doesn't bear thinking about. Who'd keep these kids in one piece if I weren't around, after all?" Trouble with that route is, it wallpapers over the cracks without actually fixing them. But then, with Ria, paper can be made as strong as steel. "You've got a point there," Kitty agrees, almost-smile. "And the winters up here are nasty." They do need a hand, particularly now. And the 'now' can carry through into the habit of not thinking about it. "And you're right. The alternative /doesn't/ bear thinking about. That kind of trauma is reserved for people with the last name of Summers." Ria manages another laugh, though it rings more hollow then the last. "So, you knew Scott?" she asks, sipping at her cocoa. "Yeah, he seemed to thrive on being miserable. Not me.. I have to live. I have to.. I can't stand feeling the unhappiness all the time. That's part of why 'Pool and I.." flushing lightly, she grins at Kitty. "He makes me /laugh/. He makes me forget about all the badness out there for a while." "Knew one of him," Kitty admits. "I hear the one that was around here was even worse." And then there's a little grin of her own given back. "Well. /Good/. Heaven knows we all need the escape. And the reminder that there's a lot more to life." She refolds her fingers around her mug, soaking the warmth into her hands. Too thin to keep much on her own. "I'm glad you met up with him." Ria seems to soak up the approval like a sponge, her face lighting up with pleasure as she smiles, almost shyly. "Me too," she says quietly. "I know I don't mean as much to him as.. as he does to me, but he's good to me." Ducking her head, she sips at her cocoa, and then continues. "He saved me the first time we met, and then I tried to help him. To heal him. It didn't quite work, but.. we kept hanging out together anyhow.." Help him? Heal him? Didn't quite work? That's cryptic, and yet somehow it seems vaguely inappropriate to ask. Kitty remember that there's actually something /in/ her mug finally; she pauses to take a swallow. "And he made you laugh," she half-prompts. "So I guess things went well?" When Ria smiles, her entire face lights up. It sounds cliche, hell, it is cliche, but there's something right about it too, when her eyes sparkle and her lips curl into a delighted grin. "So far they've been wonderful," she says. "He.. we've had problems at times. We.. we're a lot different in some ways, but maybe that's good too. I know not everybody would approve of me being with him, but I don't care." And there, for a fleeting moment, is that hint of mutiny again. "I choose who to be with."