Khione sighed, eyes sweeping over the woman for a moment before she pulled herself up fully to stand. There was another quick scuffle over in the thick of things, the shooter attempting to get out of Rico's hold, before he stopped them. She didn't glance over. "You're gonna need a band-aid or two, maybe some ice. You should be alright, injury-wise."
The strange woman pushed her hair back from her face with the hand that was armored, her other hand digging around the pockets of her jacket. She had a bandana in there somewhere. Now it was just a matter of finding it. The pause in conversation had her growing used to the quiet as the other woman sorted through her thoughts, her vision blurring for just a second due to her exhaustion.
"A fight." Khione stated simply, when the woman-who's name it might be semi-useful to know-spoke again. Her answer was decently dry, but it seemed she wasn't done there. "They happen pretty often out here. Some anti-Shifter protest starts up, and then somebody gets all pissy in response. Those damn Panthers have started using them as a way to start shit in general." She shook her head slightly, finally fishing out a blue and black bandana. Pressing it to her nose to staunch the bleeding, she turned to look over at Rico, signaling a few times with her hands and getting a nod in return. "You aren't from around this neighborhood. New in the city, or just 'round here?"
Freya nods, taking in the information she was given. This was a surprising day..not something she was expecting to happen. She did expect protests, but not of this type. Hedo City was..a lot more than it was spoken about, let’s just say.
“Yes, my injuries are pretty minor, but I’ll take care of them when I get the chance.” Even small injuries could get infected, not that Freya had too much to worry about. They would be probably almost all gone within the next day or two, minus the bruising. She hasn’t heard of the Panthers, but judging by the way this woman speaks about them, they’re a group. A gang, maybe. Freya’s too familiar with those.
At the question, Freya seems to falter a bit. Like she opens her mouth then closes it, before finally answering. “I’m from the slums,” she begins, “Human Slums.” She seems to quickly finish. There were two types of slums out there, the human ones and the Shifter ones. It wasn’t a complete lie - she was from the slums, just not from the species she said she was of.
Freya seemed at glance at the streets, as the sirens in the distance grew ever closer. Another worry came along, the nasty detectors police would sometimes carry to detect implants. That could prove troublesome. She’d just have to follow her own advice again, lay low.
Returning to the current conversation at hand Freya took note of the other person the woman seemed to have some sort of relation to. She wasn’t sure what it exactly was, but that was none of her concern. For now, Freya seemed to look up again.
“My name is Freya, by the way. Freya Bell.” It was an average name. Maybe a bit German in its origins, implying she could have relatives from there.
“Call me Frost. Most people do.” Khione said with a nod, tilting her head and giving a two fingered salute. It was a slightly delinquent gesture, one she’d picked up in detention and never gotten rid of. But in this situation, it wasn’t all that rude. Just kind of…casual, all things considered.
The woman, Freya, looked slightly nervous. Not looked, per se, but definitely carried the signs of nervousness and wariness in the way she shifted and stood. And Khione could bet it was the cops on their way who were at fault. “You headed somewhere particular?” She asked, arching a bleached eyebrow at Freya. She wasn’t quite sure why she was asking, because it really didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, especially considering the fact that something about the woman bugged her. But that was easily overlooked, when she payed attention to everything else. Maybe she was like them, caught up in something bigger, some criminal organization or a mess she’d started on her own. Maybe she was on the run. That was something Khione understood, and when you were running, any help you got was nice.
Freya nodded. “Pleased to make your acquaintance then, Frost.” The nod she gave was slight, kind of like a greeting sort of nod.
Freya glanced around, again. “Something like that. Just seeing where life takes me, I guess.” Which, Freya usually did do that. She liked to see where it took her, though Freya personally preferred routine if possible. Though Freya needed to tread carefully. Most Normals didn’t have good opinions on Shifters, and she needed to be careful who she exposed her identity to. “I’m just trying to make my way back home. It’s not that far, though.” She said.
“The police will be here in a few minutes,” Freya notes off to the side. Maybe two minutes or so. She knew a lot of people, both Shifters and Normals didn’t like to stick around the scene of a fight. Probably within good reasoning, too. Freya had her reasons. And she was sure other people had theirs.
Khione met Rico's eyes over the crowd of people still stunned by the events that had transpired, the two sharing a quick nod as something passed between them. They wouldn't want to be here when the cops got there. With their records, and their connections to the gang life in this part of the city, they were a shoe-in for scapegoats for whatever this was, even with the Panther right over there, tied up with some business man's tie and his own gun pressed to his temple. Plus, Khione had no interest in being arrested again. Especially with an ex on the force, working the streets right here.
"They will." She finally said, turning back to Freya, chilly as ever. Rico was working his way towards them, after passing the gun off to some wealthy looking business man, missing a tie. "And I'm not sticking around for that. Neither is my brother." Tucking one hand into her pocket, she wiped at the blood trickling from her ear, smudging it on her hand before tucking that hand away as well. "I don't think you are either. I can get you a map, if you need one. But I'm leaving now, so you'd have to come with, or just find your way about."
Freya brushes at one of her cuts and looks to the somewhat open streets. Sirens are growing louder and louder. Freya may have a good memory, but she hasn’t been to most of the city yet. She doesn’t know where she’s going. After some consideration, Freya looks back at Frost, ready with her answer.
“I’ll come with you. I’m not familiar around here, so it seems like the better option.” Freya nods. She knows she’ll need to get home soon, though. If she’s out too long - the border guard will know she’s still logged into the system; displaying her ‘out of the slums.’
She hasn’t been out for that long, though. She’s got a fair bit of time left, so Freya just focuses on calming her interior and making the effort to look that way on the outside, too.
"Then keep up." Khione said simply, spinning on her heel and starting off down the street in the opposite direction she and Rico had come from. Just in case. Rico met up with them as soon as he could, falling into step beside Freya and cradling one hand in the other. His wrist looked swollen to twice the normal size of a wrist, and was covered in ugly splotches of purple and yellow.
"Well hello there, gorgeous. You taggin' along with us?" The man greeted, eyes twinkling with an almost child-like light as he grinned a lopsided grin. Warm brown eyes and dark hair that flopped into his face almost gave him the appearance of a puppy, though something in his walk said he was a bit more dangerous than he appeared, if the Reapers jacket he was wearing was any indication.
She nods, tagging along. She keeps her pace even, also giving her some time to inspect the surrounding buildings. It’s clear Freya hasn’t been out of whatever home she came from very often, or she just stays around the same area. Which is, to be fair, true.
Freya looks at the man who had just spoken to her. She’s still walking, but she nods as she responds, giving a small smile. It’s best to be friendly for as long as you can, Freya is taught. Even when you’re nervous.
“Yes, until I can get a map at least so I can head home. I’d rather not stay back there though, with the police on high alert.” She notes at the end. She looks back ahead, moving a hand to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear. It must’ve come loose.
"Oh, you fit right in." Rico commented lightly, still grinning as he faced forward again, keeping an eye on Khione. "We don't stick around for the cops either. Can't, really. One more arrest and I don't get bail for a week, and if the police even look at Frost, she's out for months." He rambled on, waving his arms about as he talked, and wincing every other word as he upset injuries.
"Spilling secrets to strangers is such a you move, Rico." Khione commented from up ahead, not sounding that upset, but just dull. Empty. Such a strange thing, listening to someone talk like that. Like they had no emotions at all.
Freya looks ahead. “Yeah,“ she starts, “I haven’t had too many run-ins with the cops myself. I’ve been apart of certain situations though, where I’ve had to lay low. Not be a suspect, I mean. I’ve even seen some of the Riot Cops once, and they’re ten times worse than your average cop. A lot scarier.” Which was true. Freya got out of the old apartment back then just as the Riot broke into the building for whatever reason they may have. There were a lot of arrests that day.
She stretches out her arms slightly as she walks, releasing the stiff feeling she had in them before. “My mother used to tell me, if you ever get a feeling, listen to that feeling. Could save your life. Maybe even change it.”
She takes notes of how her two acquaintances talk. She does that with everyone, really. She’s heard some people like Frost speak before, but she knows each person is different, with their own personality and history, reasons, and more. She doesn’t comment on it, though.
“Where exactly are we headed to?” Freya asks.
"The Hole." Khione and Rico answered at the same time, the former's deadpan clashing with the latter's cheery tone in an almost comical way. "That's the bar." Rico continued, to explain. "Frost's bar, technically. It's called the Watering Hole, but everyone just calls it the Hole, because of how many people practically live there."
"Anyway, your mother was right." Khione said, referring to Freya's earlier comment. "Trust your gut. My ma used to say that, sorta similar, I guess. Managed to drill it into my head so thoroughly, it saved my life in my first fight. Gut said duck, and I missed the first blow without even realizing I was being swung at." She said, probably the most conversational words she'd said in succession since they'd met. "Hole's just another block this way, don't worry." Subject changes were, apparently, a common thing from her.
Freya nodded, giving a slight smile. She brushed at her arms, looking at them momentarily, before returning her vision back to in front of her. “Ah,” she said, “I’ve never been to a bar before. Never got the chance. Guess this’ll be my first visit then. On odd terms, though..” She ended her statement, referring to the incident with the fight.
“Yeah, we’ve got those ‘gut feelings’ for a reason. Keep us alive, usually.” She glanced up to the sky for a second. “Good to know that we’ll be there soon, then.” She gave a look behind her as she walked. As long as no one shows up, of course but I don’t think they really care about us considering we left the scene so early. There was a slight change in her expression, a cautious, maybe even suspicious one, but it fell fast and she returned to a more neutral-slight smile expression.
((sorry! this got buried in my notifs for a while!))
It took them about five minutes, true to Khione's word.
The bar entrance was situated in one of the cleanest looking(and smelling) alleys in the city, just across the street from a pizzeria. It was a two level building, the upstairs level functioning as an apartment for Rico and Khione, and whichever other Reapers needed a place to crash or get fixed up at any time. The door itself wasn't locked, and Khione shoved it open, motioning Rico through and holding it open for Freya.
The inside looked exactly like one would expect an empty bar to be, desolate, and quiet, though it was warmer looking than one would expect from a bar ran by someone like Khione and frequented by gang members. The shelves behind the bar were lined with various bottles of liquor, and the chairs were stacked upside down at each table, except for a few places where Khione hadn't gotten the chance to put them up.
"Welcome to the Hole. Fancy a drink?" Khione asked as she shut the door behind them, leaving it unlocked again. "My first aid kit is behind the bar, so it'd kill two birds with one stone. Rico, my maps are upstairs."
