Description: Naerose seeks to get better at flight, but how to do that aside from jumping off a really high building? Perhaks Vince has a suggestion, or Maybe Setsuka?
"She's gonna jump!"
People cry and shout from the street, pointing up to a high high sky scrapper where just a speck of red can be scene over the edge, peering down and .. looking like she might actually jump. It's a pretty terrifying scene that has caused a crowd to gather. But that isn't all. However up on top of the building, the scene is a little different.
*Teeth chattering*
"Sss s sssss sssscarry." the witch whispers while staring over the edge of the sky scrapper where she stands, on the ledge, looking like she is about to jump. With broom in hand, it turns out, she really did go up there about to jump and while initially there was some resistance, having been a contract member of mad gear, she got up to the top easily and then the scene which unfolded soon after, a girl apparently about to jump, the gang stopped trying to stop other people from going up there, possibly hoping that someone somewhere could talk the woman down, afterall, who wants a mess on their front porch. All the same, one thing is evident, the witch has not yet jumped. Though many may wish she would. With painted red nails digging into the railing as her knuckles, white from gripping refuse to let go, the witch teeters on the edge of the world, oh so close to following in the footsteps of Geese, king of flying off of a skyscrapper to apparent doom.
A woman jumping from a skyscraper? It would figure that a simple cross-cultural field trip would result in this sort of mess. Amidst the crowd of wide-eyed onlookers is a cluster of uniform-wearing students from Pacific High, the females looking terrified and the males trading observations of their own.
"Awesome!"
"Sweet!"
"Jump! Jump! Jump!"
"Shut up, man! Not cool!"
"Dude, I hear they always land facedown!"
"Dude, I hear they always land on YO MOMMA! HAW HAW HAW!"
Squabbling ensues until one of the students suddenly asks, "Hey, where'd Vince go?"
The adventurous young swashbuckler had, in fact, immediately made his way into the skyscraper to do his duty as a good, decent person - true to his heritage, as he would say. What exactly he planned to do, though.. well, he hadn't yet decided on that. Halfway up the skyscraper, Vince considered trying to talk the person down. He did have a gift for diplomacy after all, and considered his tongue to be rather silver all in all.
But now that he's just one floor below the roof? Heck with that. Simply talking someone down would not befit the extravogance of a LaRose. Finding enough compliance from the local gangers (something that hasn't even occured to him yet), Vince procures a thick bundle of wire in the various clutter. This is quickly loosened with some spinning and coiling, and he opens a window on the right side of the building to Naerose. The youth leans out, then slings the cable up to the corner of the building. As desired, it wraps around a tall corner structure, and a few sharp pulls indicates enough to him that it's safe.
So the next thing the crowd below will find is a caped figure, complete with feathered hat and sword, swinging from the side of the building towards the woman looking ready to jump. Not an uncommon trick for Vince, riding the cable as it curves up towards Naerose with the intention to simply grab her and tumble onto the building's rooftop safely with her. The cable will just be left to hang from the building's corner. Sure, Vince hasn't had the chance to really recognize who he's trying to save, per se.. but that matters not!
People jumping from a skyscraper... well, it actually happens a lot more than might be expected. The commotion was first noticed by Setsuka as she walked through the crowd below; with a moment's thought and consideration, she quickly altered her destination and path and has made her way up the skyscraper. Fortunately, there isn't much security--fortunate for them, that is. Setsuka makes her way upwards calmly. She looks dangerous, exudes that air, but the gangers are probably not paying much attention. However, maybe Naerose will notice, as the big steel door up to the roof swings open, slamming against the concrete of the portico leading out onto the roof.
There is Setsuka, after all, leaning against the concrete, her blade hidden behind her, held in her left hand. "If you're going to jump, you should just do it," she says, casually, with an achingly sweet smile.
"Who knows, perhaps you might even survive... though from this height I think it's more likely that you'll hit head first, your skull shattering like an egg. But we should find out... make sure."
This, then, is certainly Setsuka's way of talking Naerose down--down as in down to the ground, via the outside of the building, as opposed to down through the building.
The cries hardly reach where Naerose stands, knees a clattering with fear about the whole jumping thing. She doesn't have the look of someone who is thinking the world isn't worth living in, more likely someone who bit off WAY more than they could chew and was in the process of regretting it. That is until she's started by a caped crusader or maybe a modern day Don Juan. She doesn't have any time to consider this because she's startled and has heeled boots on, a really bad combination for narrow ledges on buildings. She starts to fall and is all like.
"EEEEEEEEEEE!" It's the sort of cry that a woman would give while falling to her doom, though she is a self proclaimed witch and does have a broom stick. The question that some might be asking is.. What is the level of danger here? Well if the witch's level of fright is any indication.. Real danger. Maybe she should just let herself get rescued, but in half fall, one foot on the ledge by a toe and with Vince coming at her, stared at through wide eyes so big the rims of her shades totally don't hide the brown chocolate depths from displaying their full range of fright - one thing is apparent, her brain needs to be reboot.
Setsuka was just what she needed. If she has any way of telling that this woman is dangerous, it doesn't show on her face - why would it, having hung around people like Marise, Elle, Aislinn, Ayame, just to name a few, Naerose should be used to really dangerous people in small packages, but she needed the brain reboot.
"Woah!" Naerose cries, grabs the railing with one hand, but not both, never both, she won't let go of her broom, not for her life!
Setsuka and her goading is not noticed, Vince is wooshing through the air. This is probably for the best, at any rate.
The cable is released, and Vince is propelled as desired. Not so desired is apparently startling the woman - but it can be remedied with the original plan! Only he doesn't mean for the impact to be as violent as it turned out to be. Sure, the angle is weird to work with, but he thought the adaptation wouldn't be that difficult to make.
Well, it was.
Wham.
Witch and swordsman are knocked from the edge of the roof onto the more flat side in what could only be described as an unceremonious tackle. But it got the job done. Hopefully.
Vince quickly gets off the woman and simply crouches, half-leaned over her with giant, soulful icy blue eyes. "No jumping! It's nev-.. Naerose!?"
Effectively stunned by this realization, Vince just stares down at her in disbelief.
Well! That was... unexpected. Setsuka has no idea who Naerose -or- Vince are, but that spectacle was worth the price of admission. (Naturally, the price was free.) The raven-haired woman lets her blade hang from her hip, while she claps, slowly. Yes, she is in fact 'slow-clapping' at the pair. Vince's reaction is pretty clear, apparently he didn't expect the jumper to be Naerose.
She was denied her 'splat', though--because really, how many people jump off a skyscraper and live? "That wasn't a bad save... but I have to lodge a complaint, I was expecting some blood. Well," she muses, "rather a lot, actually, the human body has a good amount of the liquid inside it. I'm disappointed." Is she joking? Or serious? It's hard to tell; she's smiling, but there is that odd, sharp edge to it, and her voice is singsongy and light.
"I think you need another take..."
"Woah woh - oofff" *Tumble "Huh? Vince!" Exclaims the witch, then a confused look mixes with shades sort of skewed on her face.
"Jump?!" exclaims the witch, noticing the black haired woman, whom she already noticed but only in a split second, now she really takes a moment to look at her, then at Vince then puts one and one together. Comes up with three.
"I wasn't going to jump- okay, I Was, but I wasn't going to hit the ground, I mean, I wasn't planning on it, but it's so high that when I finally got to the ledge I started to think, maybe this was a little too high for training you know? I err.. I just wanted to get better at not hitting the ground. I figured.." She bites her bottom lip and clutches her broom at the perceived threat that maybe Setsuka means to toss people off of high places onto the concrete below.
"Hey you know, I'm already wearing red, how would you ever know the difference between my clothes and er.. you know, red stuff?" the witch reasons peacefully.
Vince simply gives Naerose -the look- and sets a hand to her shoulder, half forceful, half reassuring. While his hand sets there, he looks towards the other woman and quirks an eyebrow at her. "If that was your intention, Miss," says Vince, silky smooth voice laced with just a hint of a French accent, "you're standing at the wrong vantage point. You would want to be down there with the others. Not so much a show to be had up here." It's said with some hopeful humor, giving Setsuka the benefit of the doubt.
Vince's attention then turns more seriously onto Naerose, and he frowns at her. His hand, if left undeterred on her shoulder, now lifts to remove his hat. His hat is then 'bamf'ed at her face a few times, each 'bamf' punctuated with a stern, "No," or, "Bad."
"You do not jump from skyscrapers to train.. eh.. -flying-. You jump from sheds!"
Setsuka would -never- just toss someone off, when they're willing to -jump-. That's sacrilege. Her smile remains sweet, amusement flushing through her face and voice, as she speaks again. "How would I know? Your clothes would look different, of course. And they won't splatter across the pavement." Duh. Setsuka eyes Vince... and a touch of disdain enters her expression.
"What's with the clothes, kid...? They look... frankly ridiculous. But, ah... I think you're quite wrong about that. There -is- quite a show to be had up here, I think." Then Vince chastises Naerose, and Setsuka bursts out into bright laughter at the end of it.
"If she really wants to fly, there's no better way than jumping off a skyscraper. Either she learns or she dies... it's wonderfully inspiring, the fear of death."
Naerose is admonished and looks like a puppy dog whose nose was just swatted with a newspaper, it's really endearing, for those who like Naerose. She looks droopy, with her shoulders, even her hat top is drooping a little and then she tries to defend herself some.
"Well, I wasn't planning on dying, I mean, I figured.. I could get enough lift to at least break my fall, if not actually get some good flight.. But I really wanted to learn to glide.. you know? Cause er.. well getting lift isn't as hard for me as sustaining it.. If I could figure out how to glide I could increase my air time a lot.." She shifts a little, wholly unaware of how rare and degree of flight is and she talks about it like it's nothing. Though far from true flight, the witch seems also content to lament her short comings.
Meanwhile there is Setsuka, she hasn't frightened Naerose yet, the woman is just far too similar to other members of Blackjack, to which the witch is used to this kind of abuse from, or worse. Setsuka hasn't tried to flat out murder her yet.
But she -has- insulted Vince's clothes. Not that he doesn't receive quite a bit of critique as it is, but...
"Coming from you, Miss?," Vince asks incredulously, peering towards her through the corners of his eyes. "I find that a bit hypocritical. In the appropriate setting, my clothes are hardly out of place at all - even stylish. I'm sure it's the same for you."
His own sickly sweet smile is trained on her for a few seconds, content with his backhanded compliment.
Then those icy blues soften and turn bck onto Naerose. "Try a large trampoline, then. You could get some fair elevation from that, but nothing so high that you'll be injured."
Another laugh. "My clothes are stylish in any situation. Yours are best for a effete swashbuckling idiot in an ancient Errol Flynn movie," she replies. She isn't even trying to hide her mocking laughter. "Do you actually walk around in that hat and cape? Do other people actually deign to stand around you with them on?"
The swordswoman shakes her head, chuckling. "About the only good thing about your... ah... clothing... might be your blade. If it isn't just for decoration." His sickly sweet smile, and the backhanded compliment, have little effect on her--rather, she meets it with her own. He can say what he likes, but she isn't the one dressed like a Musketeer.
Naerose, however... well, Setsuka probably won't be trying to murder her. Really, she doesn't murder many people... often... really. Being willing to jump off a skyscraper has actually earned the witch a fragment of respect in the swordswoman's eyes.
It's odd, this is a situation where Naerose, who runs around in a red dress, heeled boots, and sometimes more eccentric things, a witches hat for sure and shades, might be insulted for how she dresses, but she isn't. Though for the record, she just has the shortish red dress, knee high brown leather heeled boots, her token witches hat and the shades. Though knowing she would be easily seen up skirted.. she also had the foresight to wear some pretty opaque tights, of the color red, of course, but a might softer shade than the rest of her dress. She could be defined as tacky, but perhaps not as showy as Vince at the moment. Still Naerose remains silent, gets to a sitting position and looks from Vince to Setsuka. For her part the witch is much more open minded toward unusual dress. She adjusts her hat on her head so the brim doesn't cover her eyes and waits, listens, watches.
The smile is trained on Setsuka again, face revealing a seemingly limitless reserve of patience. "It's good to know that a nice dress does not count for class, courtesy, or civility. Still, I must degress. Your clothing is by far more redundant than mine own - there are quite a few more streetcorners for which it can be worn than there are 'Errol Flynn movies' in which I might appear." His head tilts, feather bobbing just slightly aside. "Regardless, to each their own..."
Vince looks to Naerose again and exhales a mild sigh. "Do try to keep from dying. I might not be convinced you're a witch, but you're unique enough to hopefully keep alive."
Vince rises to his full height again, cape falling about his shoulders and hiding the majority of his torso. He begins to move back to the corner of the roof where the cable has been secured, dragging up the loose end.
A look is shot over his shoulder to Naerose, and he pinches the tip of his hat towards her.
"Adieu."
And with that, Vince leaps from the rooftop's edge with the cable, swinging around to the other side of the building to leave the way he came - through the window.
Setsuka just smiles; Vince may think, naively, that the last word was his... but his youth shows. Nice implication, though. "I'll be sure to tell your mother hello when I see her," she murmurs--probably Vince won't even -hear- it, so perhaps it isn't really aimed at him. Setsuka turns to look at Naerose for a moment. And then another moment. Her lips quirk upwards.
"If you're going to go learn to fly, I really do suggest just leaping off the edge. You will be terribly surprised at what you can do when you're completely out of your mind with fear... almost everyone is." That said, she turns towards the door, walking slowly, casually, her boots clopping on the rooftop as she approaches the door.
"Hey.." Naerose starts, realizing it will probably have no effect on the departing woman.
"Whats your name?"
Pointless. She isn't expecting a reply. The witch picks herself back up again and considers the edge. Well actually she had a point, jumping would make her see.. Naerose shakes her head and banishes it from her mind. No sane person would do that and if they did, it would be a manufactured danger she reasons.
"I'll find you again!" She shouts after the woman. It was an interesting meeting.
Log created on 15:17:56 08/18/2008 by Naerose, and last modified on 11:02:36 08/20/2008.