1902/Chat Contre Chat

Chat Contre Chat
Date of Scene:	30 May 2020
Location:	Rock Wallz Gym
Synopsis:	Alexander may have upended Felicia's plans by flipping himself from prey to predator in a
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Felicia Hardy

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Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "You sure you're okay?" The voice of the gym owner called out, both hands cupped around his mouth to lend some wings to his words even as he calls out up toward that faux mountain cliff-face.
    The answer he gets back is from the blond youth who comes in at times during this late evening hour. Usually he comes in, does his thing, wanders off. Sometimes he spends some time at the juice bar and talks with people, other times he gets his work out on. But tonight he decided to try his hand at the rock wall and shimmied on up it...
    And that was forty five minutes ago.
    For right now, in one of the small niches of the cliff he's got one leg planted into the side of it, extended so it pushes his hip into the other side of a rough outcropping. And there he's perched, been there for a good amount of time either keeping himself in place with one leg out-stretched, or one hand holding him up, or at times with just his knees wrapped around that precarious faux stalactite as he hangs upside down.
    Weird kid.
    But then he calls out, "What time is it?"
    The gym owner hollars back up, "Ten something?"
    "Kay." Is the answer and with a casual drop he twists down and catches one of the further handholds, then starts to swing back down the three stories, down toward the ground once again. Landing with a soft thip-thap of climbing shoes on the ground.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
From across the room, a woman is watching Alexander, as she casually employs a weight machine to its purpose. The weight isn't set quite at maximum, but she seems utterly unfocused on what she is doing there, and more inclined upon her gaze across the room. The weights, therefore, are being pressed almost absently, with little to no effort, despite the massive amount the machine is dialed into.

Felicia is wearing a black sports bra and matching leggings. Her silvery blonde hair is twisted up and clipped neatly to keep it out of her face. And she seems not to have broken a sweat, as yet.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The way he moved from afar, she could likely tell he had some form of training, some way that led him to maneuver and twist around those handholds, dropping with a surety of motion that belied the casualness of his manner. And when he straightened up from that last drop he smiled to the gym owner even as he fanned himself with the collar of his t-shirt.
    Words were shared between them across the way, quieter now that they were standing closer together. The youth smile wryly as he said something, and it caused the older man to snort as he shook his head and waved off as he stepped off and away.
    Which left Alexander there with the t-shirt curved to his athletic frame, his arms reaching across his chest as he stretches them out and starts to move back toward the training area, the free weights, perhaps even the locker room. Perhaps close enough to see her, for there is an instant when his eyes slide over her, then a second glance as recognition alights in those hazel eyes. His lip curves up slightly and lifts a hand.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Evening," Felicia offers in response to the gesture. "Good at what you do, aren't you?" She smiles and swivels to step out of the machine, picking up the disinfectant bottle and towel to wipe it down. "Come here often, do you?" He seems a far sight from the kid in the kitten tee shirt at the museum, and Felicia always enjoys aesthetic beauty when she sees it.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    No kitten tee for now, he's in grey sweat shorts, a white t-shirt with some mesh fabric on the sides, likely perhaps a basketball shirt of some kind, but those shoes are different, a beige color with a yellowish rough tread for gripping the sides of the rock-face. But on his way back over he had picked up a towel and thrown it over one shoulder, letting it rest there for the most part though at times using it to dab at his brow.
    "Here?" He asks as he looks the place over, head tilting to the side curiously, "Not so much, every now and again when I'm bored." Alexander's lip twitches a little and then he points at her as if conjuring her name forth from the ether.
    "Felicia." See, he remembers. But then again she's not exactly an individual that is easily forgettable. "Is this your usual haunt?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"I get bored easily," she replies frankly. "I rarely haunt the same place twice in a row. Or often. I have an aversion to getting myself stuck in a rut." Or creating a habit that makes her easily trackable.

"So I come here maybe...once a month? Twice, maybe. I keep memberships at a handful of local grinds." She lifts a brow, looking him over. "And are you bored tonight, that you find yourself here? How's a handsome young man like yourself /ever/ to get bored?" She sets aside the spray bottle and towel, and fiddles with her hair, stealing a coy glance at him. As if there is a coy bone in her body.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    There's a subtle tilt of his head as he looks at her, eyes narrowing slightly but the curve of his smile might rob it of obvious suspicion. But his eyebrows lift as he offers a murmur in reply, tone level and easy-going. "I'm sort of the same way."
    He steps over toward the wall near those weight machines, pulling a foot up as he drops onto a bench, resting there as she tends to the bench and cleaning it from her work out. Resting his hands upon his knee and his thigh against his chest, he says, "Try to wander around, keep things interesting. I have a few routines, but in the evenings I sort of catch as catch can."
    That said he leaaans forward to peer at the rod that holds the amount of weight in place, then reaches over to disengage it with a click, checking what weight she was working with. Eyebrows lift, then he pushes the rod back into place in case she chose to do another set.
    "Did you ever get to go in and see the exhibit?" He asks, of those jewels where they met.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"I'd seen the exhibit before we met. But I did find my way through, again," Felicia replies offhandedly as she watches him examine the machine. But she doesn't flinch. She doesn't seem to know the meaning of subtlety.

"How did your study session go? Did you get anywhere with your moral dilemmas and introspection? I assume this is for a pretty significant assignment, else you wouldn't delve into a subject that cannot be neatly narrowed to a specific focus." She smirks and gives him a wink. "You can't write a five page paper on moral obligation in the society we occupy." She rocks her weight back and forth for a moment swaying slightly as she watches him. Her eyes sparkle ever-so-slightly with interest.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    She can tell that there is a curiousity there as well, intrigue perhaps for that weight she was pushing was... rather considerable. And there's barely a hint of exertion there as his head tilts slightly to meet her gaze. His eyes have just a glimmer of slyness, there in those deeply recessed golden rings on the edges of his irises while he looks to her.
    "What are your plans for tonight?" He asks, blinking with an ease as if trying to focus on her through a hint of fog but then espying her anew. "Work out, and compare study plans?" At that last word his smile slips toward teasing in return even as he pushes up and off of that bench and standing in front of her...
    And curiously enough they're almost the same height as his eyes drift between hers, then down as if considering her lips, her cheeks, then back to her eyes again. Perhaps not an entirely... flirtatious glance, though appraising all the same.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Work out. Eat something bad for me. Find something new and interesting," Felicia replies, ticking off the items on her fingers as she lists them. "Two out of three isn't bad, eh? All I have left to do now is eat something dangerously decadent." She inclines her head with a hint of an amused curve to her lips. "Have you any suggestions where that's concerned?" She looks back at the weight machines, as if considering whether she is, indeed finished, or she might continue her workout awhile longer.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Am I the new and interesting?" Alexander says as he steps past her and then without so much as a by your leave, he sits down on the military press she was using only moments ago, settling in on the bench seat in front of her, hazel eyes lifted to meet her gaze. His fingers curl around the bar and then his eyes narrow as she'll see the muscular contours of his broad chest clench, tighten and then his biceps flex sharply as he pushes up on that bar...
    There's a faint clink as the weights fully engage and he lifts it with a smooth motion, then lowers it back down with a clank of the metal plates lighting upon each other.
    "Or were you more meaning this place?" His features tighten a little as he focuses again, focuses his breathing, then pushes up once again through several more repetitions.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Felicia's brows arch, as Alexander begins reps without changing the weight setting of the machine. Her lips twist into a bit of a sly smile. The setting is certainly within the realm of human ability, but it's well above the average gym patron. "You /seem/ new and interesting. I'm willing to lend that title to you, until such time as you prove otherwise." Felicia seats herself on the mat, her legs together out in front of her, and she stretches forward slowly, focusing on each muscle as the tension relaxes into the stretch. "This place works, but it's much like any other. Far from interesting, I'm afraid. Or maybe I'm not easily entertained."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A series of steady repetitions, executed cleanly and then the bar is lowered with another louder clank. He leeeans forwards, resting his arms on the weight machine as he peers at her, turning his head to the side as he says, "What would you find entertaining?" The youth's words are asked with such openness that she might well think he is legitimately curious.
    Which he is.
    "Usually I work out for a time, then I head home. Then I try to sleep and get up in time for class, but... no class tomorrow." His eyebrows lift as if that were such a horrible sad thing. A glance is given sidelong.
    "I was thinking of taking a swim but then I realized..." He gestures with one hand toward the wall that he was climbing on, "No pool."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Truly a pity," Felicia laments with clear sincerity. "One of the shortcomings of this place. Pools are usually overcrowded at gyms, anyway. I tend to do my swimming more privately, at home. At least during the warmer months. Afraid I've not found the time to install an indoor pool, so the hot tub has to do during the winter." She sits up from her stretch and curls her knees up toward her, wrapping her arms lazily around them. "And where do you tend to swim, when you do? I don't suppose the school has a pool that's open twenty-four hours, hmm?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "At another gym?" Is his answer given with an ease of delivery, still leaning there on the piece of machinery. Thankfully there are no others in the local area seeming to want to make use of it, lest there might well be any number of people tapping their foots or giving them the stink eye. Or perhaps just him.
    But then he gives a nod, "Though, to be fair, the school does have an Olympic sized pool for use, but I don't think it's twenty-four hours." Those hazel eyes meet hers, gleaming with a hint of amusement.
    "Ever since there was a sort of hazing thing, I think." Those Delta Chis are jerks after all. But then he draws his lower lip between his teeth and nibbles at it some before he asks her rather point blank, "Was our meeting here an accident, Felicia?" It's then that he eases off of that bench and rises to his feet, but only then to settle upon the mats opposite her where he'll stretch his own legs out in her direction and gesture for her to do the same.
    And if she should do so then he'll extend his hands in her direction for her to take them, as it seems he's inclined to help her stretch out some.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Does anything ever happen by accident, Alexander?" Felicia asks, as she takes his hands and begins to stretch, proving to be as flexible as she is strong. "I'd claim it to be luck, but that would be a lie." As if lying were outside of her wheelhouse. But perhaps, under some circumstances, it is.

"I saw you come in, and I thought...why not? I haven't been here in weeks. Perhaps I hoped for another chance to talk." Perhaps. There's something of that sparkle in her eyes again this time building slowly, and not so fleeting. "Do you fault me for that?" But her expression is far from apprehensive. In truth, she looks more amused.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    For a time he sort of just watches her as they slowly bend forward and back, stretching out their calves and thighs. But then he nods and tells her, "I appreciate your honesty." Since in truth she didn't have to give him that much at all really.
    But then he spreads his legs a bit and shuffles closer on his rump towards her, letting them shift the stretch to their inner thighs as they move that stretch to them doing sitting splits opposide each other. And now when they leeeean back and then forth, each is forced to stretch even further. Which, as he seems terribly flexible as well, she might be a touch surprised.
    "I don't fault you," He says finally, as he's pullllled forward and looks up to her eyes, leaning close enough to draw in a deep breath with his chest almost touching the mats, then he leeeeans back upright and lets her extend.
    "I'm just curious as to the reasons is all. You play things close to the vest, Felicia."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Anything less is perilous in society, these days," Felicia replies matter-of-factly as she stretches forward, her nose nearly touching the floor between them. "Tell me, Alexander. What's your major? I was truly curious, given the subject matter that you'd chosen for your project. I was an art history major, myself. That's part of why I was there. But your reasons extended far beyond art history, and into the philosophical."

His flexibility, in fact, does somewhat take her by surprise. But she's already surmised that there's more to the young man than meets the eye.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Another stretch forward... his hands warm in hers, and when she extends toward him she can catch the subtle scent of him. That tang of masculine musk and exertion mixed with the pungent smell of the chalk and plastic from the wall's hanging grips. He leans forwards as well and holds the streeetch, then releases her hand as he pulls his legs up to sit cross-legged before her. With one hand he draws his foot up into his lap almost like a half-lotus.
    "I was thinking Archeology. That or History. My family sorta has an angle on that so just through osmosis I might be able to get ahead with it."
    He lifts his chin, "That's strange, you don't strike me as an art history major. With how much weight you were pushing I'd say phys ed."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Always good to stay in the family business. Keeps your connections and resources close at hand..." Felicia smirks slightly. "I did much the same, and for those very reasons."

Casting a sidelong glance back at the weight machine, Felicia shrugs. "I was blessed with a physique that bears keeping finely honed. No sense in letting it go to waste." She may not acknowledges the looks she gets wherever she goes, but she definitely notices them. No point in playing dumb about it. "But my passion lies in the challenge of finding and sometimes unearthing fine art, gems...artifacts. To be honest, archaeology could easily have been my field, for the sake of argument. The more challenging, the better."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    For a time he simple watches, listening to her, watching the way her lips move in that way of his, even though he does not seem to be deaf. At least as far as she can tell. A few points he nods and his eyebrows lift in agreement.
    A faint exhalation is heard as he lets his breath ease free, perhaps it would be a laugh if he gave it just a touch more energy. But for now she'll have to settle for the laughter in his eyes and that wry half-smile. A nod is given at her answer even as he pushes himself to his feet slowly, offering her his hand for a moment to aid her should she so wish.
    "Are you done with your workout for tonight, or did you have other exercises you needed to do?" His eyes slip to the side as he considers the treadmills, the free weights, the stationary bikes. But he looks back to her with a quirked eyebrow curiousity lighting his features.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Oh..." Felicia looks around distractedly as she rises, taking his hand, but scarcely leveraging it as she stands. "I think I'm probably set for tonight. And yourself? Heading into the night, I suppose, to enjoy your freedom from rising early? Or is a break of dawn run in the cards for you no matter when you go to bed?" She pulls out her phone, checking something quickly and smiling ever-so-slightly. "Because the ice cream shop is still open for another hour..."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    When she rises with his hand in hers, just a gentle lift though she assuredly doesn't need it, he cants his head curiously the other way... and doesn't step back at all. It's a moment where she gains her feet and they're looking eye to eye for they're so close in height, the tip of his nose very close to hers, she can even feel the faint brush of his breath against her cheek.
    Yet it's those eyes that lend him that eeriness, those pale blue eyes that slowly change in a barely perceived cascade toward the pupils leaving blue and moving towards a jade color. Eyes that hold hers, then lower again as if considering her lips before returning to her gaze.
    "Would you like to spend more time with me, Felicia?" He asks. So easily, as if there was naught else more innocent to say in such a moment. Then he smiles. A smile she's familiar with, since it's one she so often sees in the mirror or in her mind's eye.
    For it's the smile of a feline that seems to have spotted what it might well perceive as prey.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Felicia's own eyes narrow at the innocence of the question, coupled with the familiarity of his expression. She looks for a moment as if she's thinking on the question with fresh and unexpected consideration. But that look in his eyes is a challenge if ever she saw one. Curiosity gets the better of her, and all intention of playing aloof might as well have grown wings, as fast as it flew out the window.

"I'd like to spend more time with you, Alexander," she replies candidly. That green sparkle in her eyes is fierce now, lending itself to an entirely new shade of aqua as her pupils dilate like she just found a new favourite toy. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    That slow blink given, the way he lets his head tilt now the other way almost in perfect counterpoint, his eyes curious and quizzical. He takes a moment to bite his lower lip and holds it there between his teeth as he lets his eyes lower, then return to hers as if having considered the sentiment, those words shared.
    His eyebrows finally lift as he murmurs, "Hm," As if still pondering. And then there's that smile returning, reaching those eyes as he tells her calmly, gently, "Then come and play."
    He turns his head back towards the cliff-face and then back to her as one eyebrow rises higher than the other as he tells her then adds with the challenge in his voice, his tone, his words, and in those eyes. "If you can keep up with me."
    And with that he turns to move back toward that rock wall, smiling over his shoulder, then breaking into a run.