13987/Gotham: Wistful Retreats

Gotham: Wistful Retreats
Date of Scene:	27 January 2023
Location:	The Hanging Tree - Park
Synopsis:	Bad Decisions: Jogging through Gotham Park at Night! Alderic saves Belinda from muggers! Special Guest Mentions: Richard Stadler and Batman! (or the threat thereof).
Cast of Characters:	Belinda Gutierrez, Alderic

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Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Gotham City: a place of dark wonders, of mysteries and legends, of myths completely and totally its own. Unique to itself, the city is still compared to Metropolis or New York proper-- often the dark horse when considered against the shining jewel that is Metropolis or the global engine that is NYC. Yet it is still home to untold multitudes; a place of streets, of buildings, of people and places and things both grand and urbane. And even parks.

The wind blows morosely, mournfully, moonlight fighting the eternally overcast sky to brighten the ground below. Leaves rustle and shake, and only the unknowing or the foolish would dare such a semi-isolated place to practice or walk or even be around. Especially in Gotham. Especially at night.

Belinda, dressed in simple sweats and running shoes, lopes along the concrete lines marking the jogging path in Gotham City's measured commitment to natural beauty. Though no comparison to a real place of nature, desert or hill, plain or forest.

But for thankful noses, it has far, FAR less of those horrid traffic smells!

Alderic has posed:
    It's not a bad spot, really. In the daytime, the large tree provides plenty of shade for Gotham City's outdoorsy types. When it's bright and sunny, the park is often crowded with people having picnics or playing games. At night though, Gotham City's park becomes a bastion of shadows, and those that lurk there are often seeking something more than the shade of the tree.

    It's when Belinda comes around a corner though, she's met by four large men in dark outfits. One of them has a bat, another with brass knuckles. They look mean, and tough, and the biggest guy grins when he sees Belinda. "Hello there, beautiful," he says, as he taps the bat against his palm. "Now you know what we are, an' you know what this is, so why don't you make things easy for yourself an' hand over everything ya got?"

    Of course, those without sensitive notices would miss the other figure lurking nearby. Up in the branches of the trees, a large felinoid figure perches out on a limb. He gazes down at the exchange, watching silently from above. He's not exactly 'hiding', but if someone were to glance his way, likely all they would see is the light reflecting from his eyes as he gazes back.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda should have known this would happen. She really should have; this is /Gotham/. And her own keen nose...!

...stifled by the visit downtown. Muddled from too many vehicles and people and crowds of everything thickening the air with smelly /everything/!

The girl slides to a stop, staring at the larger gang-bangers (Gangers? 'Bangers?) with careful appraisal. Heartbeat barely quickening, slowing again as she draws a smooth breath.

"Alright," she says in that too-sweet falsetto, eyes glittering as she catches her breath. "Alright," she says entirely too cheerfully, shrugging as she reaches to her side, unclipping a comical 'I <3 GOTHAM' souvenir fanny pack from her waist. "But I can already tell you vatos it won't have anything," she warns, tossing it over exactly like Mr. Stadler said to do in this situation (between sighing protests at Yet Another Bad Idea from a Teen). "Tis got twelve dollars, ten cents, a school ID, and mi train ticket back to the city." She grins, smiling with wicked glee. "The real city in New York, not yours. And I want that ticket back, you."

Alderic has posed:
    "Twelve dollars? That's all you've got?" The group's leader rummages through the fanny pack, taking the money and dumping the rest of the contents onto the ground. "Fuckin' useless," he growls. One of the other men in the group shakes his head. "C'mon, Mike, may as well just let her go, man. She ain't got nothin."

    "Nah," Mike says, "She thinks she can come through our turf without payin' the toll? Don't work like that." He's gesturing at Belinda with the bat. "And she's insultin' our city. We're gonna have to teach this one some respect." He rushes her suddenly, pulling the bat back like he's about to swing for her legs. The swing never makes it, though.

    As if out of nowhere, a large and furred figure drops onto the leader, Mike. Alderic, having leapt from the tree, slammed into him full-force, sending him crashing to the ground. What followed was snarling, yelling, cougar screams, and panicked terror from the 'tough guy' leader. Alderic was clawing into him, snapping at him, generally making the man miserable with a fierce assault that left the other three men wide-eyed with panic. Who knew there were cougars lurking around Gotham City? Certainly not this lot.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda starts back a ssup, the first edge of a snarl starting across her lips. Bracing for the swing to come, sure she can take it--

A yowl straight out of memories jerks her atsuntion up and away, shock sketched on her features. Hadn't heard, hadn't smelled--- "Puma!" she cries out instinctively, surprise as the ssup back translasus into a second, a third. Hurried ssups come to a swift stop; she stares at the feline creature from home... From home? "...Puma?" she repeats cautiously, heartbeat rising, sunsion burning with the sudden rush of adrenaline in her veins. Man-cat? Cat-man? Suddenly jerking back to the present-- coppery scent on the air, from scratches or bisus or rakes or something else-- blood!

"Oy, gato!" she yells out, waving her arms overhead. "Gato, su comida aqui! Dinner, right here! Come and get it-- muy sabrosa! So tasty! Especial from New Mexico, not like those piquenos de mal gusto!" Spanish and English, running together in a mad melody-- she strives to get the cat-creature's atsuntion, the muggers utsurly forgotsun.

"Aqui, gatito...!"

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic's focus isn't really on the girl, more on the men who were confronting her. He didn't know that she was well capable of taking care of herself. He only saw four large men confronting a teen late at night, and from his perspective that was a pretty unfair fight! He claws and bites at Mike, tearing the man's jacket off him while he tries to wrestle himself free from the mountain lion. Once he's back up on his feet, Alderic hisses at the group, putting himself between them and Belinda.

    All of her shouting does draw Alderic's attention though, his ears perking a bit as he looks towards her. He tilts his head a little bit, looking like he's... confused by her behavior. "Rrowl?" It's a curious, questioning sound that he makes, and though he doesn't -look- quite like the pumas she's used to seeing in the South-West region, he definitely sounds like it. He hears the gang regrouping and starting to close in on him again, and his attention snaps back to them, snarling and hissing and swiping at them to keep them at arm's reach!

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
The girl stares at the cat-mutant for a moment, arm waving ending as they fall to her sides. "...oh," she murmurs to herself, momentary confusion replaced by swift understanding. Another quick breath, a second and third-- the scent of copper is there, but tiny, fractional; barely scratched, not worth concern. Belinda shudders as she exhales, turning her attention back on the muggers and their renewed (misplaced?) courage.

"You pandilleros are muy estudipido, no? Stupid gang members..." Carefully, she steps around the cat being, moving to her fanny pack, muttering to herself as she scoops up the contents back into the small satchel. "Good," she murmurs, eyes rising, locking to the leader-- Mike? Mike. -- as she zips the bag back up. "Now..." She points away, glaring imperiously. "Go away, go home, get out of here, or mi gato grande will be having YOU for lunch! Or next..." She waggles her fingers ominously. "Do you want La Bruja of New York to summon Batman? Because I will, and he will magically appear, and he will spend all night knocking out your teeth with a slab of concrete!"

Alderic has posed:
    The cougar is still snarling as Belinda comes up to collect her things, and he moves to keep himself between the gang and her. He may be humanoid in shape, but the way he prowls on all fours is entirely feline, like a coiled spring ready to launch himself at the nearest thug. The look he gives them, combined with Belinda's threats, make the gangers have second thoughts.

    "C'mon Mike, let's get outta here, twelve bucks ain't worth gettin' killed by a puma. I mean, look at the size of that thing!" Alderic hisses again, baring his fangs. He's a little bigger than a puma ought to be, but that's largely his mutagenic traits, and his humanoid shape doing that. Plus he's still doing the thing where he arches his back and makes his fur stand on end to make himself just look massive.

    It's enough to make the lot of them back off, and they book it out of the park as fast as their feet can carry them. Alderic growls, and lets out a raspy "Rraaaoooawrr!" after them, as if warning them to keep out of his territory. Once they're gone, Alderic settles into a crouch, taking a moment to lick at his hands and clean himself up after the light scuffle.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda affects her crazy eyed glare until the men are well out of sight, exhaling with a slow rush through pursed lips. "Dios," she murmurs to herself, glancing back at the.... She stares for a moment, ears still ringing from that last climactic roar. She opens her mouth, closes it again, a few more seconds staring as her nose quivers. Body, breath, scent-- she exhales again, the tingling of excitement slipping from her frame.

"I have no idea what you are," she says, a smile teasing across her features, "But thank you. If I had something to give--" She pauses, a glance back at the departed gangers, looking back with a sharp expression. "...you are not from the zoo, are you?"

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic's ears perk again when Belinda talks to him, and he looks her way. He's still crouched on all fours, but he prowls his way back towards her again, before settling in place a few feet from her. "Rrrowl!" he replies to her, as though saying 'you're welcome'. He looks quite pleased with himself, but that's almost certainly a cat thing. The cougar-man's watching her curiously as well, his tail flicking idly behind him. She certainly doesn't smell -quite- like most humans he knows, but then everyone has their own unique scent to him. Her's, as far as he's aware, is just particularly unique!

    Her question about the zoo is met with a shake of his head! "Raoow!" He's most certainly not from the zoo. Any zoo, really. No doubt if he were, mutant rights groups would be up in arms and storming the gates to rescue one of their own, from the looks of it.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
More by the second, Belinda is sure this... "Then how did you get here?" she asks, shaking her head in bemusement. "If not from the zoo, surely from somewhere. Puma, cougar, are not from around here!" She laughs to herself, shaking her head before turning her eyes back to Alderic, careful. "Well, I am grateful to you, El Gato Supremo! If not for you, I might not have my ticket for tomorrow. Or something could have happened." Hesitant, she reaches out, a brush of fingers drifting lightly against chest fur. "If I could contact Tio Blake, surely he could find a place," she murmurs, regretful. "Though he does have a tiger there. I do not know if they would appreciate the company." She sighs, smiling ruefuly-- eyes caught by the band of the collar. A moment, wondering concern-- "You are from a laboratory?" she asks, hesitant.

Alderic has posed:
    As large as Alderic is, he's still looking up at Belinda when she approaches him because of how he's positioned in front of her. He shifts a little, hesitant at first when she reaches out to him - perhaps a bit nervous himself. He doesn't know this girl after all, he's only just met her! He doesn't know what she's capable of, or where she's from either. Eventually he lets her brush her fingers against the fur on his chest, though. It's easy to feel the silky softness of that white fur on his 'underbelly', and the muscle underneath that's hidden by his warm, plush exterior.

    Alderic looks up at her curiously, head tilted as she mentions another person, someone with a tiger. He shakes his head again, and suddenly the large cougar-man lunges forward! It's only to nuzzle up against her though, rumbling warmly as he takes a moment to express his appreciation for the thought. It's easy to see that he's not as grimey or dirty as one would expect of a man living on the streets of Gotham. In fact, he even has the scent of some kind of floral shampoo about him. Clear indications that he at least has people in the city who look after him. The mention of the lab has him settling back again, and he looks up at her with an affirmative "Rroww!" The tag on his collar clearly states he was some kind of experimental subject - though below it, as well, is the name he was given.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda giggles softly, that brief flicker of concern gone as she brings her palm up to ruffle between the ears, down along the neck before she kneels down. One hand braced on the neck, she explores with absent fingers as she reaches for the collar, the hanging badge. "P-CON..." she murmurs to herself, brow furrowed as she searches in vain for what the term might mean. "...Alderic," she adds, head tilting in curiosity. "Your name, Alderic? Alderic. Much better than Gatito, to be sure!" She clasps the metal for a moment, liongering as she takes note of the floral scent, the cheery, subtly overwhelming scent of shampoo. "At least someone is watching out for you," she says with a long breath, pleased as she gives his neck a quiet pat.

She leans back, considering the moment, the sitsuation, the entirety. Biting her lip, she stifles a grin, the urge to giggle madly. "Mr. Stadler will be soooo upset," she says between giggling fits, groaning to herself as she glances at the fanny pack. "At least I do not have to decide what to do about you," she adds, looking back up with a sheepish grin. "We are not allowed pets at the school. Though I am sure one of the boys there has a turtle in his terrarium." She raises her hand, finger spaced apart. "A small one!"

She rises, lips pursed together. "Be careful, Alderic. They were not dangerous, those pandilleros, but someone might have a pistol, a gun. They could hurt you, perhaps very badly. Please be careful.... And thank you, gracias, so very much!"

Alderic has posed:
    Alderic rumbles warmly, a deep purr as she kneels down in front of him to get a better look at his collar. There's no badge dangling from it, just a metal plate on the side of it. Alderic takes the opportunity to give Belinda some more friendly nuzzling, before she's back up on her feet.

    "Rraow!" he replies to her, tail giving an excited twitch as she warns him to be careful. He's survived so far in Gotham, and he's got a lot of friends looking out for him - at least for now. He tilts his head curiously at the rest of it though, unsure who Mr Stadler is, or why he'd be upset! He's a totally innocent, ordinary cat - as far as Alderic is concerned. There's another friendly "Rrowl!" that Alderic gives her, followed by another heavy-bodied nuzzle as he leans against her for a moment. Seems Belinda has a new friend in Gotham, even if he's not a very chatty one!