Forums » General Roleplay » Don't Tell (1x1)

Even with all the light pollution, the city seemed so dark tonight. Maybe it was the storm clouds hanging heavily over the towers, or maybe it was just the part of town she was in, but it was definitely darker than usual. Gunellie's plans were precise. At around 12:45 A.M. her target would be rounding the corner, entering an alley way, and on his way to meet up with some of his clients, if you will. But here she stood, atop the fire escape balcony, hiding in the darkness, just watching. Waiting. Two minutes 'til and she could finally see his shadow growing slowly across the ground, eventually giving way to his silhouette. Quietly, very quietly, she slipped down the fire escape and pulled the taser gun from her belt. She wanted it to be quiet, since the city was still bustling, so a taser would be used to prevent too much resistance.

He was past her by the time she got down, although now she was following. Her eyes adjusted to the scene before her, mind filled with nothing but data she'd gathered from watching and learning about the man, all sense of self and emotion pushed to the side for a later date. It was best that way. As she grew closer, Gunellie shot the taser and it stuck. Sure, he made some noise, but not enough to gather attention, as when he dropped, she pulled the pieces attached to him off and kneeled down to cover his mouth. Her other hand dropped the gun at her knee, then plucked a combat knife from her belt. Within moments, his throat was slit and she was forced to flee. Before she left, she pulled his wallet out, tossed the insides around a little bit, and grabbed the money. When she threw the green away, it was easy to say she was attempting to make it look like a mugging gone wrong.

Now she fled toward a dumpster, having little idea someone might have just caught the tail end of her hit.";

Meet Jane. Jane has the worst luck in the world. Don't believe me?

Today she just witnessed an assassination. Yup. No lie. She was just walking down the street, minding her own business (and only her own, she literally actively avoids other peoples' business,) when suddenly this man in front of her gets jumped on by this girl. Holy crap, she just slit his throat. Poor guy. She didn't even know why she was walking around at exactly 12:45 midnight. She couldn't sleep, or some equally stupid excuse. Great job, Jane.

Of course Jane has the urge to squeak. Stupid Jane. Seeing that guy lying there, choking on his own blood. The dollar bills just added to the effect.

It wasn't even abnormal for Jane to see someone like that: Dead or dying, with lots of blood. But for some reason this time she squeaked.

See Jane cry. Cry, Jane. Cry. No one is safe, Jane. Not even random businessmen. Isn't it depressing?

But the girl was gone now, right? Surely she was far enough away that she didn't notice- Screw it. With Jane's luck, she'd have the mafia, cops, and Phoenix all over her like... Three things that chase something all at once.

Heck, with Jane's luck she might even get caught up with the Vatican, Justice League, Soviet Union, Anonymous, Cooking Channel, Queen of England, FBI, your grandmother, and the Watermelon Monster.

Good luck, Jane. (Run, Jane. Run.)

The squeak didn't go unheard, and instinctively, Gunellie turned to catch a glimpse of the person there. If she looked hard enough, in the darkness, Jane could tell that the girl had glasses, a young face, and bangs cut off at the brow. Her hair was hidden by a beanie and pulled back into two braided plaits, which dangled only momentarily before she took off running.

Frantically digging through the dumpster as she arrived, the girl pulled out a large object swallowed in a black trashbag. She violently tore open the bag, grabbed the guitar case inside, opened it, and took off her black clothing. Beneath the clothing was her typical attire, a stereotypical prep school girl's outfit of a pleated skirt, sweater vest, and white button up with a tie. The tie was abandoned though, left at the bottom of the guitar case, against the actual "guitar."

Shakily, she opened the compartment in the guitar (The guitar was a box?! NO WAY!) and shoved the knife in there, along with her previous clothes so that it'd cushion it as she walked. When done, she closed the guitar case and threw the thing over her shoulder, running now out of another alley, likely a few buildings in front of Jane.

She'd stare at the girl for a moment, almost convinced she wouldn't blend in, but realized she needed to calm down. It was alright, right? If worst came to worst she'd just follow her and kill her or something. She hated that, but if it was necessary....

So now she stood, imitating an exhausted individual crumpled over against the exterior wall of the building closest to her, her guitar case being the only thing between her and the wall. She forgot to undo her hair! Quickly she fumbled with the braids until they were loose again, hoping the darkness helped to shield her from being seen doing that rather than just a silhouette fiddling with her hair.

Now she waited. Depending on the girl's reaction to her when she'd pass would determine whether or not she pursued her. Jane better hope she didn't recognize her; Gunellie sure did.

This is one of those times that Jane does the stupid thing, even after she's already done the stupid thing. It's also one of those times that Jane wishes she didn't have super awesome stuff, like enhanced senses. Especially eyesight.

Just her luck, the face was easily analyzed and stored away in memory. It was a dark rendition, but the glasses, hair, and outstanding features (cheeks, nose) even in the dark gave her a good idea.

So of course she just calmly walks away, around the dead guy and his ever-expanding pool of blood, and straight into... Oops! That's the girl! She has the same hair and hat and everything! Jane, being a mere few yards away at this point, gasped.

What should Jane do at this point?

Option A. Run fast the other way.

Option B. Stand there like an idiot.

Option C. Run fast straight past the girl.

Option D. Offer a handshake.

Jane chose option C. She wasn't by any means the fastest of the Experiments, but she was faster than your average girl. Survival instinct kicked in. She figured if the girl was an assassin, (which she was,) that she couldn't have any loose ends. Even if those loose ends didn't say anything to anyone. Suddenly jumping into a nearby alley, Jane continued to run, stripping off her jacket.

She wants me dead. That's great, great job. Lovely. What I need now is to get lost. Let's see... She's probably a trained assassin. Of course, idiot. What else would she be? Okay... Think.

Underneath the jacket Jane wore a black t-shirt. It was made of a strange synthetic material, and Jane's wings fit through the back without tearing large holes. She had been wearing it since she escaped the lab. Still didn't know how the shirt fit over her wings like that.

The seven foot wings were folded tightly against her back. (Multiple joints, apparently?) Jane's fight or flight mentality was literally flight. But only if the girl followed her. She waited in the alley, hiding behind a dumpster. (Hey, Gunellie, here's a hint: She forgot to pick up her jacket. It's just laying there.)

I swear I don't know why I even walk around this damn city. What's the point, anyway? Gosh, I can't believe I got into a mess like this.

Still catching her breath, trying to calm herself, Gunellie witnessed the girl stop in her tracks just a few yards away, heard her gasp, and knew right away that she was found out. Ellie slowly got up, but by the time she got to her feet, Jane began to run. "Shit!" she fussed beneath her breath, now letting her legs carry her in the direction the stranger fled.

As she slipped away, Ellie rounded the corner to follow and saw nothing. No woman rounding a corner, no silhouette standing there or hiding against a wall, no shadow from around the corner itself, nothing.

That is, of course, until she saw the jacket on the ground. Her gun and knife were both in the guitar case, so she couldn't outright grab them up. Shit, did she have to kidnap the girl or something? How would she even pull that off? Ellie was fairly small and not too strong. ...Would she just let her run away? Nervous, the girl swallowed and approached the jacket, picking it up and studying the material. She looked around and began to drawn near to the dumpster.

Gun tried to keep her steps quiet as she approached, but when she got close enough, she opened the dumpster. Nothing but trash in there, and rancid trash at that! When nothing was found, she looked about the area, eventually slipping to the side where she'd look behind the dumpster.

She narrowed her eyes briefly and released a heavy sigh. "Why are you running?" she asked rather blandly.

Jane stifled a scream. The girl found her, and she was going to kill her now.

What they both didn't realize is that the other probably couldn't overpower them. What with Jane's augmentation and Gunellie's combat training, (assuming she had it,) there was a close match.

Instead, Ellie wasn't sure how to handle the situation, and Jane was assuming that her pursuers had finally found and were ready to kill her. (They had, in reality, found her ages ago. They weren't really worried for now, so they've let her be.)

Jane sniffled. Sniffle, Jane. It makes you feel better.

"Y-you're- You... He..." Jane hadn't spoken in so long. Combine that with the fact that she was paranoid and scared to death right now and you've got a recipe for a stuttering mess. She eventually managed to force out a "You killed him," but she had probably repeated multiple variations of those and other words like "Me." Either way, the point was clear.

Now she was crying. Great. Crying while curled up in the fetal position is kinda not good for your image, Jane. You've got freaking wings. You're an angel, not a baby. Go be a superhero or something. Gosh.

Tears stained the pathetic little overgrown baby's face. Hard to see, though, because her hair was covering it too. And she was also looking down.

Poor Jane Ellie.

"... Why haven't you killed me?" Jane asked between sniffles.

Ellie got a good look at the girl while she sat there crying. Really, she wasn't sure what to do and it bothered her to no end. Plus, the wings were freaking her out. Maybe she was jealous? Hell yes she was! She'd give anything just to fly away from this damned city.

Shaking her head, she decided that wasn't the point and instead attempted to stick to the situation. "Calm down, stop stuttering," she mumbled, not yet changing position or reaching for anything dangerous. And how could she? It was all safely tucked away in her guitar case!

"Why didn't you lie...?" she asked, disappointed. As for the question, the girl just sighed. The girl took off her vest and shoved it at Jane. "I don't know. Stop crying."

Ellie didn't move, though. She wasn't sure what the Hell to do! Last time she let someone live, they wound up dead anyway and now she'd been left heartbroken. Of course, this time she wouldn't be so torn up because she didn't plan on falling in love again, but she still wasn't sure.

"You don't want to die, right?" she finally asked. "Then come with me."

Ellie really wasn't too well trained in hand-to-hand combat, which was exactly what she'd have to use if she intended to hurt the girl right now, but Jane probably didn't know that. Especially if she saw her kill the man.

See, Jane? Even Ellie agrees you have nothing to cry about. Your wings are uberly cool.

Jane caught the vest, confused. She wasn't sure why she hadn't lied. Most people lied easily. Ellie's question seemed more inward than outward, however, so Jane kept her mouth shut. She also turned off the faucets, that big baby.

Jane was surprised and even more confused when this girl told her to follow. Jane sniffled, wiped her tears away with her hands and shook her head. She stood up reluctantly.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, still holding the vest.

Gunellie sighed. "Wipe your eyes and blow your nose," she muttered, pointing to the vest. "It's gross just to snot everywhere."

Whether she did it or not, she didn't care. She loosened her tie a little bit and began to walk in a seemingly random direction. To Jane's question, Ellie just pinched the skin between her brows and shook her head. "I don't know yet. I don't know what I'm going to do about any of this. God damn it, why didn't you lie?" she asked again, almost angry but mostly sounding desperate for a legitimate answer. She wanted to know if there was any way to undo what she saw, and as desperate as she was for that to happen, it wouldn't. Gunellie wasn't trained in sparing people, and really she shouldn't have been careless and allowed herself to be seen. She thought the alley she killed the man in was dark enough! Guess not.

"Where were you going originally? Where do you live? No, I'm not going to burn your house down or kill your parents or whatever. I'm not evil." Paranoid much? Yeah, a little bit. Ellie had a good heart, she really did, despite all the murdering and apparent kidnapping of helpless winged girls. But was it kidnapping if she didn't use force? If the girl followed on her own? She didn't even have any weapons at the ready. So was it more like peer pressure? Haha, what a thought!

Jane did as she was told, sans the blowing her nose part. For whatever reason she didn't feel comfortable shooting snot into another person's clothing. Jane followed Ellie slowly at first, but began to quicken her pace gradually.

"I don't know. You knew I saw you so it was kind of pointless, I guess." Janie's speech became bolder, although the emphasis is on the er. She still kept a very quiet tone, as if she were scared she might hurt something with her voice. The change was more from a shaky, sobbing voice to a small, quiet voice. She was definitely still scared.

Jane was confused about the girl's questions, but figured there was no harm in giving away info that didn't matter anyway. "I... I guess I like to walk in the city at night when I can't sleep. I've got a flat downtown, but it isn't much. I don't have any parents."

Jane's insane paranoia of others was only paralleled by her outrageously and irrationally quick trust of people who were nice to her. She almost instantaneously trusted this girl after she didn't kill her, and was no following her most likely to some evil lair where she'd meet her untimely demise.

Ellie let her gaze hit the ground and she frowned. "I guess... I probably would've just bonked your head or something and ran off. You could report me. I can't let that happen. I thought about taking you to my house, but that would be asking to be put away. So, since you live alone," she said, pausing to turn on her heel toward Jane, no longer walking. "You're taking me home with you."

The girl was given another once-over and Ellie pushed her glasses up her nose. "What are you, anyway?" she asked. Kind of blunt, wasn't she? Yeah, I know. She tried to ignore the no-parents part because, well, that was sad. Ellie couldn't afford to be sad. She still wasn't sure what she was doing, though, or if it was a dumb idea or a good idea. Probably the former.

She convinced herself that by learning her home's location, she could watch the woman closer to make sure she didn't do anything to get her in trouble with the law, holding the weight of death above her head like an anvil in anything Looney-Toons. That could work, right? Gun seemed genuinely distressed and maybe a little scared, but she kept quiet about that much and would remain standing still until the girl began to lead her.

Jane just nodded, not saying anything. Although in all honesty she hated having to talk to officials. They scared her. She tried to avoid any kind of authority if possible. Ellie didn't know that, though, and she wouldn't believe Jane even if she explained it. So Jane stopped when Ellie stopped.

"I'm... Not really sure what I am." Jane frowned. Her wings weren't being pushed down by her jacket anymore, so they had some room to stretch. "They told me I was an experiment. And I was supposed to follow orders. I was... I was supposed to kill people." Jane winced. "They had a machine that took away my memories but it didn't work. I ran away."

The girl turned and began to walk towards her residence in silence.

Ellie smiled. "You and I are a lot alike. Only problem is, I never had anyone trying to wipe my memory hah...," she mumbled in reply, then began to follow her. "At least you have wings. You could fly away, you know. You could fly off and never come back to this city again, and everything would be alright."

She stared at the woman with complete jealousy, though. She dreamed of having wings more often than she'd like to admit. "Glad you ran away from them, though." Were you really, Ellie? Yeah. Sorta. Gun was a nice girl when she felt like it.

"I ran once. I came back. You have to keep running if you don't want to go back. I stopped running after a while, so here I am. Back home. Wonderful, wonderful home." In a sick way, Ellie wanted to know if she could have the same fate as Jane. She wondered if she could get those wings somehow, someway, and learn how to use them. Her constant gawking hinted at that longing. Poor Jane. Getting creepy stares by a tiny purple-haired hitwoman. Dafaq?

Jane shook her head. "I can't run away from here. This place... It's big, and makes me harder to find. I didn't live here before... I ran away from Russia. There was this hidden base here that we lived in... They said that if anyone tried to escape that they'd find us... They'd bring in people who tried to escape and they made us watch them... " Jane winced. "They made examples of them."

Jane shook her head again. "I like the wings, but they don't do a whole lot of good when you're up against the likes of people who can crush boulders with their minds... I prefer to lay low. I hate being cramped in that tiny apartment sometimes though, so I take walks. Sometimes I can't sleep, like tonight, and that's why I saw you- I thought you were one of them."

Jane stopped abruptly and turned to the left, towards a small apartment building. It looked cozy, and she pulled a key out of her pocket to open the door.

~~~~

Jane lived on the 7th floor. They walked a while before coming to her home: Apartment number 707. "Here it is-" Jane said shyly before opening the door.

Oh Jane, so shy. The door led into a small apartment. Look to your right to see a kitchen: there's a fridge closest to you, and a stove/oven next to that. Above those are a few cabinets. At the far end there's a door- Presumably a pantry. There's a dishwasher and sink in the counter on your left side of the kitchen, where there's also a counter.

On your left side you'll see a living room. If you'll turn to your left you'll see that at the very back of the room it has a small television pushed against the wall, on top of one of those TV shelf things that people put TVs on. In between that and the sofa there's a glass coffee table. The wall to the right of the couch had a sliding glass door closer to the TV than the kitchen that led out onto a patio.

You'll notice in the wall to the left of the TV there's a small doorway that leads to a bedroom and bathroom, respectively.

In between the kitchen and the living room is a counter with barstools on the living room side to allow for eating.

Jane sighed and flopped on the couch: it was clear this was her home.

"I've got a DVR if you want to watch something... And there's Chex Mix in the pantry." Jane had a lot of memories here. She sighed again and stretched her arms. She figured she wanted to ask some questions too, but then again she was still wary of the strange assassin girl. The odd looks hadn't gone unnoticed (although they made her blush more than anything else. No one had ever really appreciated her wings like that before- Except for one guy. But that was a different story.) and she wasn't exactly about to learn "too much information." She knew what that got you in this business.

Jane settled on a compromise. "... I... I don't think we exchanged names yet. I'm Jane." Great job, Jane! Making real conversation is a huge step towards not being a social outcast! Now just don't screw anything up like you did with Ren.

Gunellie seemed to think Jane was joking when she compared her wings to such a thing. Did that even exist? Hell, she'd ask that! "What? Is that a real thing? Crush boulders with their minds...?" she questioned. Ooooh how she did! Maybe not to encounter as an enemy of sorts, but just so she could see something like that happen. Except preferably without people. Basically, Ellie was a sucker for fiction, and it seemed she was dropped right in the middle of one of her favorite MMOs.

"You should be grateful though. You have something a lot of us wish we had," she said quietly as she continued to follow the woman. When they finally reached the apartment, Ellie remembered she wasn't here to hang out and have fun. She nearly forgot the reason why she demanded to come home with her! Again, anxiety swept through her and she began to grow nervous and sort of frustrated with the situation. She liked the apartment, it was much cleaner than her own, but she wouldn't say it.

Ellie looked down when she gave her her name. "I'm not going to give you my real name. That would be too dangerous. You can call me Catherine, though."

She welcomed herself to the floor, sitting down with both arms draped across each knee. She seemed to be focusing on the problem at hand, now. Unsure what to do and making that very obvious. "I really don't want to kill you," she said quietly, letting her head bow so she could get a better view of the floor between her knees.

Jane gave Ellie an "Are-you-serious" look. Of course they existed! Wake up, sheeple!

"And of course there's also the many variations on physical strength, the ability to manipulate thoughts, the ability to create plasma in your hand... The list goes on. As for my wings, yeah, they're pretty great. I'd enjoy them more without an organization filled with super freaks looming over me though. Just last Thursday I nearly got taken back in. These three guys, one made of fire and the other two with multiple limbs attacked me. I managed to fend them off, (don't ask how,) but I guess I'm trying to balance hiding and being able to live a partially normal life."

And just like that, Jane was an open book. Ellie could probably ask anything at this point, because Jane was so desperate for companionship since her last attempt at human contact ended in heartbreak. A friend would be nice, although that wasn't what Ellie was here for.

"It's good to meet you, Catherine..." Jane paused. She hadn't quite heard what the other girl said, but it sounded pretty much like what she thought it sounded like. She was suddenly and rudely reminded of who this person was, and cautiously waited to see what she'd do next.

Ellie just smirked and kept her eyes on the ground. "Ah. I'd trade you," was all she had to say on the matter. The thought of being able to do anything like that was so fantastic, so amazing that Ellie would likely just sit and daydream about it for hours! That is... if she didn't have a more pressing matter on hands. Still, the thoughts were floating about in her mind, coming close to the surface a time or two before slipping underwater again, hidden and silent.

When Jane said it was good to meet her, the girl just laughed a little. "No, it's not," she replied, shifting a little in her seat. "We met because you saw me killing someone. And now I'm faced with whether or not I should do the same to you. How is it 'good' that you met me?" She wasn't mean-sounding, just... baffled. By then, she had peeled her eyes from the carpet and looked up at the woman. "I don't trust you not to tell. I don't trust you not to follow me home up above where I can't hear you. I don't trust you not to report me to the police. I just don't trust you. And I can't. But at the same time, I'm also risking myself by staying here." Ellie got up with some struggle and kept her back against the wall, leaning there. "So I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

Jane was surprised at the sudden outburst from Ellie.

"I.. I guess you're right. I guess I was just saying that because it's the polite thing to say? I don't really... Know. I can't make you trust me, but I don't really trust the police. I don't interact with other people much. I don't want to know where you live, and I wish this whole thing never happened." Jane pulled her knees into her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.

((I worked on a post for this, I guess I exited the tab and thought I submitted it haha. I'm sorry!))

Gunellie relaxed a little bit against the wall there. "You don't need to be polite. God, I wouldn't be if I was stuck with someone who wasn't sure if they were going to kill me or not." The woman shifted some and deposited her guitar case beside her. It was growing uncomfortable leaning on it. She returned to pressing her back against the wall, lowering her head as she sighed.

"I'm really not sure how to resolve this. I can't leave town for obvious reasons. Plus that would be a little extreme when an easier resolution is right within my grasp. I don't know a good compromise, gah-" she cut herself off with a groan, running her hand over her face and clenching it into a fist at her forehead. Her glasses were uneven now, but she didn't seem to care much. It was really bothering her. Eventually, her hand adjusted those glasses and dropped to her side, limply dangling there.

"Convince me not to kill you."

(It's no problem at all! It's not like I'm counting on you every second. )

Jane sighed.

"I'd kill you first." Was her simple response. "After years of working for and then running from those freaks, I've learned quite a few things. I have a serious aerial advantage, and I'd most certainly be able to run away if all else failed. That is, of course, if you tried to kill me." She sat silent for a moment, contemplating this further.

"I don't like interacting with people, especially authorities. Even a simple phone call could put me back on the map. I don't like those kinds of risks. Is that convincing enough?" Jane at this point had turned so that her back was leaning against the armrest of the sofa, her legs kicked up onto the cushions.