13938/More than one thing is prowling in Gotham tonight

More than one thing is prowling in Gotham tonight
Date of Scene:	22 January 2023
Location:	Alley
Synopsis:	Bluebird comes upon Alderic while out on patrol, a tracking device helpfully assisting her in cornering him. Through a little food diplomacy, things don't get too hairy, and Harper leads Alderic off to a safer and cleaner place.
Cast of Characters:	Harper Row, Alderic

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Harper Row has posed:
Bluebird is out and about. Part of her rotating patrol after her day job is to lend a wing to make sure the city is behaving. Her latest briefing amongst the Birds comes with it a number of things to be on the lookout for. Those wiley escape attempts of those that think their incarcerations should be shorter, reports of things going ba-bump in the night, and persons and entities of interest that have been sighted or tagged.

Harper reports in her position atop a building, getting good reception from her vantage, and also a moment to pull an energy bar from her utility belt. Her nose wrinkles, something discarded nearby on the rooftop from some teens wafting past her in the wind. "Just crossing Widow's Way. Gawd, when is that reputation ever going to wash away..." she murmers and chews. She nearly chokes when she gets a ping from a tracking device signal. The sound chiming in like an aunt saying she's chewing with her mouth open again. One last bleep and Harper murmers, "I think I'm in range of a P.O.I., so going to check it out before getting back on the route. Later gators."

Bluebird creeps towards the mouth of the alley from some stories up, and boldly descends the fire escape, past boarded and broken windows. She's not the most stealthy of the Birds, not creating an outright racket, but probably quite detectable by sensitive ears.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic had been tagged by Batgirl just the night before as someone to keep an eye on. He had the potential to be dangerous, of course, and the brief chase he led her on left more than one car with sizeable dents in them. That was all the way across the city, however, and no one would have expected him to ping on Harper's tracker tonight. It's quite a distance for man or beast to cover on foot in so short a time.

    As Harper descends the fire escape, apprehension rises. There's the sense that she's not alone in the alleyway, and then sudden crash of a trash bin being knocked over comes from behind her. When she looks, though, there's nothing there. Something is hiding - and is far better at stealth than she is. Of course, Alderic has the disadvantage of a hi-tech tracker being attached to his collar, and it would allow Harper to close in on him until he's found behind a dumpster, crouched and hudled back into a shadowy nook of the alleyway. He hisses at her when she finds him, but he doesn't lash out. He seems like a frightened cat, the way he's backed into the corner and hunched up to make himself appear larger - not that he isn't pretty damn big to begin with.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper is full of trepidation and anxiety as that tracker gives out those louder and more frequent pings. It's like that movie she saw once, where tension just kept rising before a reveal could be made. Her respiration rises, pulse thudding in her head, feeling like it's almost in tune with the tracker notifications. She has to fall back on her training to try and control her emotions. To use the fear and uncertainty for her own advantage than to let these chemicals in her veins be her undoing.

Closer...Closer...

Harper's voice comes low, and while she attempts to make it completely devoid of nervousness and be as stern as the heroes she worships back at HQ, she's still got some practice to make perfect. "Hey." The tracker is attached to her wrist, the audible pinging rendered more to small chirping, keeping her hands free if she needs them. Her gloved hand touches the dumpster, bare fingertips connecting with the damp metal as she braces herself as she peers around it. Bluebird's masked face is partially obscured, with the lower part of her head visible. Her mouth displays shock at what she sees if her eyes cannot. "Oh...Jeeeez." Her breath comes out in a huff. That hiss makes the hairs on the back of her neck rise up stiff and straight. "Oh hey. Hey hey hey." Her hands raise, fingers fanned. She stops approaching and stays where she is. "Hey buddy. S'okay...s'okay..."

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic is a big, muscular, furred beast in the shape of a man. He hisses one more time, fangs on display as Harper tries to take the calm approach. He looks like he's had a rough time of things in Gotham. His fur is matted and dirty in places from sleeping outside, and as he moves around on his hands and feet, the soles of his feet and his palms are darkened with dirt they've picked up from the alleyways and streets.

    Alderic gives a low growl, the kind felines make when someone they don't know is a little too close to them. His tail twitches irritably, and he backs up into the corner made by the wall and the dumpster a little more. He's not hissing though, and he's not trying to swipe his way out with those large hands that no doubt have claws. He's just unfamiliar with Harper, though she could probably find some way to bribe him out of the corner! Cats are, after all, notoriously food motivated.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper is a little stunned by the sight of such a big cat. And by degrees, she starts to pick out better details of form. What she might mistake as a runaway from a Zoo, this isn't it. That growl feels like a subsonic resonance that goes through costume and muscle. Instinctively, the kind of noise a powerful predator is capable of doing to send out a clear message. "Hoooo...Ho...Okay." She takes a small step backwards and takes stock of the situation.

"Okay big boy, this isn't a problem." Her busy mind reminds her that cats tend to hunt birds. Pouncing, swiping, toying with dinner before eating it. Little helpful facts like that from documentaries and life experience. "Thank you brain, didn't need that right now." Another thought pings into her brain and she moves her hand to her belt. A few batteries and gadgets are nudged about before she finds another energy bar snack. She raises it to her mouth and uses her teeth to rip off the wrapper roughly. Spitting the detritus to the ground, and pulls the snack fully out. With the food protruding from her mouth, she considers her next step and takes it in her hand after capturing a nibble for herself. "MmmmMMmmmmMmmm..." she mumbles over her portion and extends her hand to the cornered figure. Swallowing is hard and with her throat so dry, it catches a bit. "Hey hey hey, this is good, why don't you try some out here? I'd be...Lion if I said it wasn't." Honest to God she says that, offering a wincing smile as she tries to back away and coax with the food.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic calms down a little more after Harper backs away, but he's still watching her with intense, wide eyes. His ears are folded back, he's still hunched up in that "back off" posture. When she starts to eat something, though, that seems to get the big cat-man's attention. His ears perk up, and he sniffs at the air. There's a curious rumble followed by a raspy-sounding "Rowr...!" It seems Harper's got his attention!

    Slowly, Alderic begins to extract himself from the corner, being drawn out towards Harper with his attention on the offered food. He's sniffing curiously at the air, getting the scent of both her and the snack. The feline man draws closer to her, until he's near enough that he can snatch the energy bar from her hand with his maw! He quickly munches on it, dropping a chunk of it onto the ground but Alderic doesn't seem concerned about that. His head drops down and he eats it right off the ground, without trying to use his hands. He starts to rumble deeply, though it sounds less like a growl and more like a deep purring! It seems the offer of food was enough to spare her for the pun.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper flinches as the snack is snapped up. Seeing Alderic move is somehow more terrifying than when he was poised and defensive. Probably because she can see the amount of musculature at play. "Been out here awhile huh?" she offers, trying to put some compassion into her conversational tone. Harper reaches about herself for more, and unfortunately all she's got left is a packet of cold coffee and a flippin juice box, and one last protein bar. It's the flavour she hates, and has obstinately refused to sample unless circumstances are dire. All the same, she rips it open with her teeth like she was pulling the pin of a grenade in a really edgy way. She hates to simply serve it up in an alley like this, but she also values her hands. Tearing some cardboard from a nearby bin, she flips it over and puts the last bar onto the makeshift tray. "Okay, got this far. Now what brainiac." Harper rubs her hands together and considers calling it in. She peers over Alderic's form. Noting the collar, she hunkers down on her haunches and tilts her head to try and read what may be upon it. "I'm cool, you're cool...we're both cool. Just relaxing, no threats here, nothing to worry about. See? Just hanging out while I figure out what the frig to do next. You look like you could stand to have a place to hunker down, yeah? Someplace safe to take a breath." Yeah, safe for ~Alderic~, sure.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic finishes up the first protien bar before the second is served up to him, and he munches on it in much the same manner. They're small enough that they don't really take a lot of time for him to consume, but it's enough for Harper to get a look at the collar he wears. It's pretty simple - there doesn't seem to be a latch or a way to remove it at the moment. The plate on the side only reads "Subject PCON-04" and below that the name "Alderic".

    That's really all she'd be able to see before Alderic's head lifts again and he's eye to eye with Harper, right in front of her. He rumbles again, maw parted slightly with a soft panting breath. He sniffs at the air a few times, and then suddenly the large cat-man lunges at her! "Rraowr!" His weight and strength are easily enough to bowl Harper onto her back, and then, certainly, that's the end of her, right? A quick bite to the throat, some shaking, and it's Game Over.

    But that bite never comes, and instead there's a big, rough-textured tongue licking at her face, and a deep rumbling purr coming from the feline man. It seems she's made a friend with her offering of food, and though he's being friendly, it's not necessarily a comfortable one to be in, all things considered. His tongue is a bit rough on the skin, and he's been living in the alleyways of Gotham, and definitely smells like it.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper finds herself on her back and waft after waft of cat-breath panting in her face. Her face contorts with an ~auuuuugh~ expression straight out of a Peanuts comic. For a wonder her life didn't flash before her eyes, so that's a good sign. Her hands come up to either side of that muzzle, like she's signaling ~GOAL~. Thank goodness she's in costume, without too much bare skin to feel that rough texture, what is exposed getting tugged and dragged by the odd friction. "Holy frig!"

Score a point for diplomacy. Minus one point for her current predicament. Not very suave, Bluebird. Harper grunts and groans, patting at Alderic's neck to try and get some breathing room. "Al-Alderic...Alderic, let me up big guy. Okay, pals, right? Just...I don't know what I'm laying in or how many shots I'll need. Easy boy...easy." A pause and then, "Mrooow?" Please no one be filming this at the mouth of the alley.

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic takes a little persuading but Harper does manage to get him to relent. He backs off, letting her up as he settles into a squat a few paces away. He's looking around though, tail flicking behind him, but he seems to have understood her. Well, the actual words. The 'mroow' was just gibberish to him, like it is with most cats. At least, it seems, he can understand English well enough. His eyes move back to her and he tilts his head a little bit, curiously watching the costumed woman now.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper gets to her feet, wiping at her face that got all licked up. "Gonna need some backup on this." She takes a steadying breath and chews on a fingernail as she thinks. She starts to pace like something in a cage. "Shelter, proper food..." A peer towards the patient figure. "...clothes or something. And no big crowds." Another sigh and she quirks the corner of her mouth. "Going to get you to a safer place while this gets thought out. Alderic, don't worry, we'll get it sorted. Hey, are you willing to come with me?" She starts to think of the warehouse district, of storage lockers, places out of the way. Perhaps a power washer...perhaps after a tranquilizer. She beckons. "You wanna follow me? Maybe I can get you through some side streets and avoid trouble. Just temporary, right?"

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic's ears perk again and he answers her with an enthusiastic "Rrowr!" He prowls closer to her, his tail giving an excited flick. The cougar-man rumbles warmly up at her, still purring. It would seem he's not entirely unfamiliar with being around people. Perhaps Bluebird and Batgirl aren't the first people he's met, they were just strangers wearing masks and it frightened him. He seems willing to follow Harper though, where-ever she happens to lead him. She would find that he's a very capable climber, too, able to not only scale up the buildings to follow her on the rooftops, but he's also capable of leaping quite far - in most cases clear across the streets!