fandomtownies | Streets of Umbridge Island, Friday Night

Entry tags:

Streets of Umbridge Island, Friday Night

Despite (or rather because) the plans for tomorrow, Cara was doing her usual patrols of the town.

The last thing any of them needed was to have their forces diminished by stragglers getting picked up by overzealous Loyalists, and if any of those stragglers actually happened to be Loyalists... well, people missed check in all the time.

[Open! Thread with Kenzi for Resistance broadcast only, please.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After a last (well, hopefully not last) goodbye and good luck to Billy, Robin headed out for the preserve where the animals were rallying for the big distraction the next day.

He scampered from shadow to shadow, occasionally taking long hops to cover more distance, a radio slung over his back.

Cara caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Bending to pick up a stray cobblestone, she tracked the movement before throwing the rock carefully aiming it to land behind the figure.

Hopefully that would hurry up whoever or whatever that was.

That it did. He gave a soft 'eep' and sprang hurriedly away from the noise, and towards concealment. Concealment that would allow him to keep moving of course.

Kenzi had been out making preparations. Preparing ... stuff. And now sneaking back. As quickly, quietly, and carefully as she could.

Not quite quickly, quietly, and carefully enough for Cara's liking.

She cleared her throat.

Ahhhhhhh!

Kenzi jumped, whirled, pasted on her "I am totally not here" smile, then clutched her chest. "Don't do that!"

"What? Keep an eye out for you?" Cara resisted the urge to rub her forehead, barely, thank you over half a lifetime of Mord'Sith training. "I could have been Barton. He wouldn't have coughed."

Especially now he'd gone all arrow happy.

"Shit, I know. I know, okay?" Kenzi bent over, getting her breath back. "We had to get the -- stuff. Somewhere else. In case it got found. I'm being careful, okay? Jesus." This wasn't the first time she'd run into Cara, not by a long shot. She kept thinking she was getting better at this-- well. It had been about a month or so, since she last got caught, maybe?

"Be more careful." Look, Cara had had a stressful day, considering what Karla had been up to before she'd managed to get her back to Ghanima. "This would be a bad time to get caught."

She left the 'or worse' unsaid.

"Yeah. No, you're right, you're right..." Kenzi straightened, then froze for a moment, gaze going speculative. "Hey. You're a really good fighter, right? I mean, you've got training, and a sword and all."

"Yes," Cara said, wondering where Kenzi was going with this wasn't really the time for lessons. "Though I prefer my agiels."

"Cool cool." Kenzi drew another breath. "Think you could take Bo, in a fair fight? Or an unfair one in your favor?"

"If I had to." Cara didn't have to think about it, largely because she already had. "I'm not particularly concerned about fairness in a fight."

"Awesome." Kenzi pulled the amulet out of her pocket, holding it up (http://www.succubus.net/wiki/images/e/ed/Koushan.jpg). "Tara and I tracked this down yesterday. It's supposed to be a protective amulet against getting succubi'd. A Koushang, or Ceanshain, I dunno how you say it, but anyway: no life-sucking for the Security Chief while you're wearing it." She held it out to Cara. "Wanna be lineman for the Fandom Resistance Destruction Team?

Cara tilted her head as she considered the amulet. "Yes. But if that does what you say it does." And it was Kenzi's stealth skills she doubted rather than her procurement ones. "It mightn't be my fighting skills you need."

Not that she'd let the opportunity to take Bo down in battle slip by if it presented itself, that trinket just opened up other possible plans of attack.

"IIIII don't wanna know," Kenzi said. Then considered. "Wait, now I'm curious and I do. All that leather, jeez... Ahem. Tara says it's definitely a protective amulet, but there's no way to test the thing. It can't hurt though, and if you're really up for some, um. Down-and-dirty approach, it's yours. The Security Chief would just swat me like a bug if I walked up to her with that thing on." Probably. Even if she'd spared Kenzi a couple times when she shouldn't have.

"They're easier to get out of than they look," Cara deadpanned. What, it wasn't like she was planning on showing up at Bo's office wearing nothing by the amulet and a smile, give her more credit for subtlety than that. "But if that works, I can offer her what she wants, then give her what she needs. Quickly and painlessly."

If it didn't work didn't she just had to hope she was quick enough with an agiel.

"Luck," Kenzi said, letting go of the amulet. She looked at Cara, then blurted, "She saved my life once. Before I came here." She rubbed at her face. "She maybe would even thank you, if she was, you know. Herself."

"I can believe that she would," she said softly.

It was the truth. She might have been able to hide her true loyalties for over two years, but Cara still couldn't believably lie to spare someone's feelings.

"Yeah. I wish..." Things were different? Whatever. Kenzi shook herself. "Thanks. And, you know. I'll look for you tomorrow, if you need anything that goes boom." She ducked into the shadows, then called back very softly, "Stay alive, Cara."

Or one of those stragglers was just a silhouette for a moment before disappearing back into the trees, coming back from her trip to Caritas.

Surreal wasn't going to launch herself into the fray tomorrow without seeing Cara tonight.

...partially because she needed someone to yell at for letting Bluebell Karla do something that fucking stupid.

In Cara's defence, she'd had no way of knowing that Karla would do her best Denna impression after being brainwashed. She'd never even met her.

Cara grinned and followed the silhouette into the trees.

What? She needed the stress relief of someone trying to stab her.

Stab her, play tag, lure her away from prying eyes, or yell. Surreal was up for any of those.

Surreal slipped to the side, waiting a beat before tossing a rock off in another direction, to see what Cara would do.

Cara wasn't stupid, but she was curious about just what Surreal was planning here, so she obligingly turned her head in the direction of the sound.

Since you know, clearly Surreal was the kind to make noise moving through the undergrowth.

She could be! Or it could be a loyalist or a stupid kid out after curfew, or...something.

Instead she just leaned in to try and tap Cara's shoulder. "Boo. Resistance got you."

Which would be why Cara's hand didn't actually leave her agiel until Surreal spoke.

"You've discovered the secret weakness of the Mord'Sith," she deadpanned, turning. "Tapping our shoulders."

"You forgot 'challenges' and 'good food' in that weaknesses list," Surreal joked.

"Also 'hot baths', 'warm beds' and 'mouthy girls with knives'," Cara added. "Don't know where I could find any of those?"

"Well, I was out hunting earlier, and no one had been near the onsen for at least a few weeks," Surreal mused. "Shall we see what we can do about the hot bath portion?"

Not that she knew any mouthy girls with knives. Just one with her agiels.

Cara nodded. "We mightn't get another chance to. If this plan works everyone else will start wanting to use them."

Because that was clearly the thing she was concerned with, people interrupting their bath.

Surreal just grinned, reaching out to try and snag Cara by the loops for her agiels, while carefully keeping her fingers away from the weapons themselves.

Look, her ribs STILL hurt.

"Well, if I'm going to die tomorrow, I'd rather be freshly bathed," she laughed. "Help me with my hair?"

~~And somewhere in another universe, the shippers squeed.~~

Hey, hauling people people around by their straps was Cara's ~~kink~~ job. If Surreal started doing it too, they wouldn't even make the Onsen.

"You're not going to die tomorrow." This was not assurance, it was a statement of fact. "I don't think there's anything that can help your hair though."

This was a lie, but it should be obvious by now that Cara liked making Surreal mad. ~~And was apparently sometimes capable of using her words in universes with oppressive magic regimes.~~

They could always make the Onsen later.

"You are a horrible bitch sometimes," Surreal complained, rolling her eyes. But she did not let go of Cara's ~~kinks~~ straps. "My mother loved my hair."

So long as they made there at some point.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Oddly enough, Cara did not sound very sorry as she reached over to tug Surreal closer. "There's nothing that can help your hair because it's already perfect. Better?"

"Shut up, Cara," Surreal sighed, before grabbing for the other girl's hair to pull her in for a kiss.

It would be better to use the Onsen later, when they both needed to clean up.

Cara did shut up then, but only because she was using her mouth for something much better than talking.

After all if it was the last time they'd be using it, they really should make it worth the trip.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Streets of Umbridge Island, Friday Night

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject