katherine in streets ( katherine | open )

[wedlocks]

(( Choose a scenario below or write your own! I'm flexible o7
She's new, so please bear with me. Apologies in advance for the slow. ))


a. rain & coffee

[What a relentless downpour.

Sure, she was expecting rain, but this hadn't exactly been what she was hoping for when she dragged Vincent out today. It came on so suddenly, too... but there's still so much to do. They can't afford to lose any days, especially with the both of them working so much lately to pay for it.

Their wedding...

Katherine sighs, shielding her face (and glasses) with her hand as she presses forward in a dash. She knows there's a coffee shop up ahead -- maybe they can at least wait out the storm there...? Something sweet...

...]

Vincent. Hey, be sure to keep up...

[She shouts sternly over the rain, glancing back for just a moment. Hearing no response and not seeing that familiar goofy face, though, she slows -- her expression hardening.

But it's too late.]

Vince --?

[Wham.

She slams right into someone in front of her. Her glasses loosen and nearly fall off her face, and she hears the clattering of that person's belongings all over the pavement.

Damn it.]



b. night circus (cloud maze)

[Okay... so there's a circus in town tonight. And for some reason, Katherine isn't questioning whether she's too old for this (she definitely is). She wanders around what is apparently a maze made of clouds, which makes he feel extra childish, but... isn't that just fine?

Isn't this supposed to be fun?

Something nags at the back of her mind: like why hasn't she heard about this place on the news? Why is it only here now that the sun's gone down... and why didn't she notice anyone setting up at all?

If someone looks like they could possibly be an employee of the circus, she may approach. Otherwise, she'll wander blissfully by herself, trying not to fall...

And anyone near by may catch an occasional rare smile of hers.]



c. zombies?

[First it was all over the news. Something about a deadly virus. Of course, Katherine didn't want to believe it herself -- she was far too busy to get involved. Isolated incidents becoming more frequent, they said. She questioned the newscasters' sanity for reporting such a thing. She questioned her own sanity.

But then it happened.

The smell of blood and exposed flesh, when she so happens to stop at the store for a gallon of water -- preparing for this so called "emergency" coming. The hungry snarl that gets louder as she approaches the check out counter. The feeling of foreboding when she realizes it's entirely too quiet, and she hasn't seen a single other customer.

...Nor anyone on the street.

The cashier turns, revealing the ugliest face she's ever seen in recent memory. Katherine's eyes widen in fear and disgust, as the thing opens its mouth, looking far too interested in her. If it was once human, it isn't anymore.

She screams. The only thing she can think to do, despite the fact it's likely to make it worse.

She remembers she has a knife for protection -- she reaches for it in the purse at her side, but it's too late. Her legs have already made the decision for her, and she starts to back away.

She's running, and the sound of the store bell rings in her ears as she bolts out the door.]

Comments

[grappler]

[It was the scream that caught her attention, and the undead that she was stalking turned its attention toward it as well. She came out of where she was hiding and ran up to the zombie, before killing it with something that looks similar to this.

Now, it was time to find the source of that scream, if it was even still alive.

Fortunately, Katherine was running in her direction, and she steps out into her way.]

You're only going to get killed that way, you know.

[She nonchalantly crosses her arms over her bare middle where her dark pink sports bra doesn't quite reach. A dirty, lighter pink vest was over her sports bra. Her hair was in two high pigtails as well, with some falling in her face. Completing her look was a pair of shorts and brown boots that had deadly looking heels.]

Screaming is just going to make more of them come.

[wedlocks]

[Katherine notices the stranger, though of course there isn't any time for hellos. Instead, she watches in awe (and terror) as the girl slays the cashier -- who had apparently chased after her.

...She breathes heavily, having long stopped screaming. The girl's words barely process, but she recognizes condescension when she hears it.]

So I noticed.

[Not really. In fact, she hasn't seen any more of them -- yet -- but she no longer has problems believing it. Her eyes focus on the weapon as she asks, voice shaking:]

Who are you?

[Though with the tone she's using, she may as well have been asking, "Are you responsible for this?"]

[grappler]

[She might be looking out for people, but that doesn't mean she won't point out when she thinks people are being dumb.

With her free hand, she brushes her stray hair away from her face. The other woman sounded shaky -- and for good reason. She'll sound a little less harsh when she speaks up this time.]

Pi.

[She'll ignore the tone used, of course.]

And who are you?

[wedlocks]

[...The change in tone is noted, though she's still far from comfortable. There's a notable pause before she finally takes her eyes off Pi's weapon, and quietly she looks off to the side.]

...Katherine.

[That hardly matters now.

Her breathing does begin to slow, though. She her arms cling to her purse, but she's still not sure what to say. She looks like she's ready to bolt any second. Especially as she starts picturing Vincent in the middle of something like this.

He'd better be alright.]

I -- I can't stay.

[grappler]

[She can't hardly blame her, really. And when she looks like she's ready to bolt, she taps her foot on the ground briefly.]

Can you protect yourself?

[Despite how she might be reacting to the situation, she doesn't want to see anyone get hurt.]

Or do you have a way that you can, eventually?

[Maybe she might not have a weapon now, but she might later...]

[aprilfools]

[Dio wasn't sure why he actually went to the circus dressed like a ringleader when he really wasn't the one for this circus, let alone any. Yet here he was, seperated from his kawaii date Luna and lost in this weird cloud maze!

He walked around for a good 30 minutes without seeing a single other living soul. What the hell kind of maze was this? For that matter, what kind of circus had a maze?! Ok admittedly Dio didn't actually know if circuses had mazes or not, lbr.

...wait were those footsteps behind him? It must be the lovely Luna he is obviously has the dokidoki's for! He turns...]

Ah, Luna there you are-- [what wait shit wrong person. His smile goes into his general kinda annoyed expression re: see icon] --Oh. Who the hell're you?

[wedlocks]

[your worst nightmare]

[aprilfools]

[He ded now, please pour out a 40 in his honor, Sigma.

Goodnight sweet prince u were taken from this world far too soon. Dio's body was never actually recovered from the maze, nobody knew what happened to this poor young man-clone. All that anyone was sure of after the news broke was that he died as he dressed-- centerstage at the circus except he was center of a maze w/e details.

The world will never know what cruel psychopath murderer took his life, Luna will never get justice. Dio's soul still haunts those labyrinth pathways to this very day.]

a

[sheepwalks]

[ and this is vincent, lagging behind in what is in his mind an attempt to be a gentleman for katherine (it's their wedding after all, he's gotta make it all count) and not realizing he's being topped to hell and back by his beautiful fiancée. but he just wants to make her happy, damn it...

... and then he realizes just how far he's lagging behind and peers around his stack of boxes he's carrying just in time to hear katherine shouting for him in the rainy distance. ]

Yeah, I'm--! Hang on, I just gotta--whoa! [ as he notices his leaning tower of boxes threatening to topple off into the puddles of rainy downtown, he frantically leans back to his original position and spends a few moments coaxing everything back into balance -- annnd he's not doing any better at keeping up, he realizes with a furrow in his brow. he sighs, but while the Old Vincent (what he was affectionately nicknaming the harbor of all his previous vices in regards to katherine before they'd gotten back together again) would say "fuck it" right about here and go at his own pace, he's not giving up just yet.

precariously attempting to pick up the pace, he shouts ahead at a katherine he can't see for the life of him -- ]

...On my way!!

[ to his own surprise, he'll have caught up with katherine (or what he can partially see of the side of her back) a lot sooner than he thought he would -- only to notice something's not quite right, for her of all people to make a full-stop in the rain like this. wondering what the hold up is, he risks another peek around the boxes again -- ]

-- What's wrong?

[wedlocks]

[ embarrassing.

...and she doesn't mean her fiancee who almost tipped over all their boxes, either. katherine looks a little flustered for a moment, which is unlike her, but then gives her apologies as the stranger picks up his belongings and shies away.

at least he did manage to catch up. she takes that small victory as she turns around and takes some of the boxes off vincent's hands.

they should be sharing their burden anyway from now on. ]

Nothing. [ her voice is stern. by now they're soaked. her eyes linger in the direction the stranger took off in for just a moment, but then she quickly averts them with a sigh. ] ...Let's hurry.

[sheepwalks]

[ he nearly protests in a very Guy™ "i can handle it!!!" kind of way, because if there's anything he's fucking good at, it's moving around with inconvenient block-shaped objects. but some emergency sensible side kicks in (hint: it's your neck, vincent), and he cedes a few cases to katherine.

he's about to inquire what's up with her again, but she immediately regains her footing from... whatever she'd lost it from, so he doesn't get the chance. ]

O...kay... [ tucking the new much more manageable number of boxes beneath his arm, he steals a glance at the stores lining the next few blocks. ] Chrono Rabbit's just up the block if you wanna try and wait it out there.

[ fuckin' rain. vincent musses his newly-free-hand through his damp hair and thanks his lucky stars for the modern luxury of fairly impervious shopping boxes. ]

Heh... Good thing we didn't go for anything perishable today, right?

[ little silver linings, he guesses. ]

[wedlocks]

[ vincent has basically read her mind -- that is, chrono rabbit was where she was headed in the first place. particularly on a dreary day like this, that's a pretty good sign for things to come, so she can't help but crack a smile.

she continues walking at the same hurried pace quietly, however. she's in no hurry to shout over the rain again, but she does sense that maybe vincent was a little worried about her just now... so she feels a bit obligated to reassure him. ]

You mean it's a good thing I checked the weather forecast.

[ her voice teases -- because of the two of them, she definitely has more foresight to check into these things than him. but no matter. she takes a moment to adjust the falling strap on her purse, clinging to the boxes in her possession with the other arm as she does so.

chrono rabbit -- almost there!

thank goodness. ]

[sheepwalks]

[ but why would he ever watch the weather channel when he can watch women's wrestling. he tenses slightly at the teasing though if only because it reminds him that she Knows. they've known each other for 5 years -- in theory, it makes sense that he's an open book even when he doesn't say anything. guess the mind reading goes both ways. ]

Y...Yeah, that! Haha... [ trailing off momentarily, he further puts that free-hand to good use by going ahead and opening the door at chrono rabbit's front steps for katherine. ] Good stuff.

a

[inlets]

[Tao loses his phone on the sudden impact, the device clattering face down onto the pavement. The bright light emanating from the screen persists through the sides. Water from the downpour gathers at the small crevice in which the phone lay, threatening.

No matter. Tao's gaze is leveled at the woman, sizing her up even as his knees bend out of the need to retrieve what he's lost, umbrella in his left hand and balanced against his shoulder.]

Ah, Miss! Are you all right?

[wedlocks]

[The umbrella blocks Katherine's view of what he dropped, namely the cell phone. She starts to bend down at the same time he does regardless, after recovering, but stops when she realizes she's been thoroughly beaten to the punch.

She's given up on staying dry, too. She was hoping to be at home by the time this mess started...]

Wetter than I'd like to be.

[I knew I should've grabbed our umbrella before we left... she chides herself. Her smile is sheepish and apologetic. But really, she just wants to get out of this rain.]

I'm sorry about that.

[inlets]

[He'd almost forgotten that it was raining, in a bizarre way. With a start, Tao snatches the sodden phone off the pavement and straightens to lean the umbrella over them both. Buying an umbrella big enough to fit three people paid off.]

I feel the same way. I should have watched where I was going . . . At least nobody got hurt.

[Exhaling, relieved, Tao steals a glance at their surroundings. He doesn't see anybody, though he remembers hearing some kind of name before the bump.]

Are you looking for someone?

[wedlocks]

[-- a phone?

It's hard to tell when he snatches it so quickly, but her eyes do widen. She'd rather not ask, though... maybe she was just imagining the light emanating from it just now.

It doesn't matter. No -- nobody got hurt, and they both should have been watching where they were going. She's usually better about this.]

...Yes, actually. [Now that he mentions it, she glances back, pausing. She tilts her head, because Vincent seriously had been right behind her; but she won't make excuses now.] But it's alright. I'll find him.

Oh, and -- [Katherine looks up, noticing the umbrella.] ...Thank you.

c because why not

[aideing]

[He's not supposed to be here. He's supposed to be protecting Prince Zen, he's supposed to be forever by his side. He can't watch his back like this, nor can he watch Kiki's--

But here he is. His hand is on the hilt of his sword already as he tramps down step after step with his boots; he's out of place in his medieval garb, but that doesn't seem to matter, not when it's already practically a ghost town.

He doesn't want to know why that may be.

But when he hears a scream, his knightly instincts kick in, and he runs, drawing his sword--and upon seeing a woman running from a monster creature, Mitsuhide acts automatically, sweeping his blade around in a perfect arc to behead the thing. He's not usually one to go for the killing blow, but when things are this serious, there's really no time to waste. And that creature was horrifying.

Even with his sword still held out at the ready, he has the time to glance over his shoulder.]

Are you all right, miss?

[wedlocks]

[She might just be cowering, hands over her ears as the killing blow is dealt, because it's all a little too much. Her eyes are closed, like maybe she can wake herself up somehow, if she concentrates hard enough. Maybe Vincent had been right about the nightmares all along. But when she opens them again, looking for the source of the voice she'd just heard, there's only the face of a stranger.

Friendly though he may seem.]

I... [She's about to answer that she's fine. She is so close to regaining her composure, she can feel in her grasp, but then she catches sight of that thing's head. She looks away from it, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth -- though luckily she isn't so far gone as to actually throw up.] It's... It's disgusting, I can't believe...

[Her voice rises in pitch, and she can feel her breathing and heartbeat steadily quicken. She wills herself to slow down, now that the immediate threat has passed: She's fine. She's fine.]

[aideing]

[...ah. Of course. A young woman who isn't accustomed to things like this shouldn't have to see them. He quickly sheathes his sword, moving to step closer to her with his hands up in a clearly non-threatening gesture, speaking as soothingly as he can.]

I don't know what is happening here, but...we should get away from this place. Everything will be fine, but--it isn't safe here.

[Perhaps not the best thing to say to someone hysterical, but he sure is trying.]

[wedlocks]

[The soothing tone does help. She counts her breaths as she listens to him, pointedly looking away from the remains of that thing, and after a moment, she's almost back to normal.

She isn't about to throw up.

And she's going to be fine.]

You're right. I... [She swallows, correcting:] We'll go.

[Let's go. But where? Her eyes start to wander, her head swiveling and it looks like she's trying to think.]

haven't finished my icons yet but WHATEVER also b

[cyberphones]

[ He may not be apart of the circus, but he defiantly looks like it. Sticking out like a sore thumb is a tall, seemingly lost boy wandering around the maze as well.

... And by lost, I mean really lost.

He stands dazed at one of the barriers covering the maze, obviously taking the wrong direction to the exit. ]

Um... excuse me? [ His voice is soft, pleading almost, to anyone in the area. That includes you, Katherine! You looked like you seem to be having a lot of fun- so why not help someone out, too?

Y-yeah. ]

[wedlocks]

[She is so distracted. It's like she's in a dream, and after all Vincent's said about dreams, this shouldn't be a good thing. But then she hears that small voice...

She doesn't know if it was meant for her, but she turns around after lingering for a few moments.]

Me?

[He looks like he's part of the circus, too, yes...... but he does seem lost.]

[cyberphones]

[ Ah, someone actually noticed! The more we would ask or walk up to someone, the more awkward their demeanor became. They seemed almost unwilling to help the boy, and through silent refusal, only walked away.

However, with the new voice, Konoha's face seems to lighten up. He eagerly approaches, moving his arms meekly in every direction as he does so. ]

Lost. I'm... [ His voice fades, attention looking over the maze. ] I'm lost.

[wedlocks]

[Oh. His movement is a little awkward, so she can kind of understand the temptation to walk away -- but she stays. Maybe it's the motherly instincts inside of her.

She actually cracks a small smile, looking around also when he seems to consider the maze.]

I think that's the point, actually. [Her voice vibrates in a small amused laugh.] Did you want some help finding a way out?