3576/Arachnid Meets Canine

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Arachnid Meets Canine
Date of Scene: 26 September 2020
Location: Bronx
Synopsis: Spider-Man meets a very helpful canine, and shares some apple pie with her.
Cast of Characters: Peter Parker, Kainashi




Peter Parker has posed:
"There are eight million stories in the naked city, and this is one of them."--James "Jimmy" Breslin

"Boy, Jimmy, you weren't just whistling Dixie there," the guy in the red-and-blue longjohns (currently on their 4th day of strenuous use between washings) mutters to himself as he pursues the guy on the ground.

Greg down there had an awfully good idea to get three of his friends to rob a jewelry store together by going through the wall like those guys in the movie CASINO.
However, they chose a night when Big Jake had set up his chili dog cart just one block away, and ever since Spider-Man had rescued him from a major hero/villain battle, he got free chili dogs any time he wanted.
AND they didn't think about the store having a wall sensor, so Spidey was JUST settling in to enjoy two chili dogs when the alarm went off. The Parker Luck in action.

So, here he was, chasing down the one guy he missed, while carrying a cardboard tray with two chili dogs in it.

Kainashi has posed:
    Parker luck nothing. There was chili dogs to be had, there was the great smell of street food and NYC was the best place to find the most questionable and possibly not what they advertised street food!

    There had been a shadow in the alleys attempting to figure out if they had enough to purchase a snack (they didn't), but when the guy ran by, with a red-and-blue-clad figure in hot pursuit -- well. Someone's gotta make fetch happen.

    So Kainashi was off, agily moving through back allies, scaling up a building and making her way on a rooftop -- easier to run.

    She has her nose to the air, following the smell of the chili dogs in action as Spider-Man is in hot pursuit! She gets just a bit ahead of the runner, a figure in a black hoodie and jeans on the rooftop, nimbly making their way over alleyways and sidestreets in a single bound!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is closing in on Greg when...

What the...? Son of a beach ball, they's being PACED.
He glanced up to see the hooded figure moving above and ahead of Greg and LOOK OUT-

His Spider-Sense had warned him, but by the time he looked back to Greg and saw him duck into the subway, he barely had enough time to dodge the fire escape...
...and hit the flag pole. He spins around as it catches him amidships, slowing to a stop.
WHERE are the chili dogs?!
He looks up and is just in time to catch the tray, the chili dogs none the worse for wear, but Greg was heading down into the subway and he was draped over a horizontal flagpole.

"Oh, gosh, I hope no one saw that..." he whispered...

Kainashi has posed:
    "No one saw it." comes a chipper, if squeaky girl's voice from the alleyway as Kainashi moves to try and intercept the figure heading into the subway. She moves fast and low, the red-and-white of a furred tail showing before she reaches i nto a pack, and slings something forward -- two little gray pellets sling out, and with a 'pop pop hiss hiss' (oh what a relief it is! Alka -- wait no, wrong item) -- smoke errupts from the little smoke pellets! Kainashi dips into the smoke, holding her breath agaisnt the peppery sting of it, tracks onto Greg and tries to SLING him out of the subway like the bag of dirt that he is!

Peter Parker has posed:
Greg almost made it. He had gotten to the base of the stairs, and was making plans to jump the turnstile...

And then a large clawed hand/paw grabs him.
He has just long enough to think *TEETH* before Kainashi yeets him back up through the subway entrance.

Spider-Man is looking down at the smoke in the stairwell before a body flies upward.
Well, he's screaming bloody murder, so it's not a dead body.
Spider-Man looks to the wall where the guy is going to hit, and shoots a bed of sticky webbing to make sure he gets a soft landing.

"Wow...never knew the subway system had such a proactive return policy."

Kainashi has posed:
    Out of the smoke comes a relatively dimunitive figure, a little too oddly-shaped to be properly human, wearing a dark hoodie pulled down low over their face as they make their way up as the smoke clears, and she attempts to bypass Spidey entirely, now that Greg was in full custody, and get back to the alleyway where she belongs!

    After all, the Bronx wasn't exactly mutant-friendly, and she's not the one wearing the All-American style underoos.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man spots the figure, recognizing the figure as the rooftop runner. He doesn't stop her, but he does follow her as far as the mouth of the alley, stopping just inside the entrance.

He could try and snag her with a webline, but that was a bad idea.

"Hey, listen, whoever you are...!" A brief pause, then, "Just...thanks. For the help. He would have gotten away if you hadn't gotten involved..."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh... uh..." the squeaky voice comes back, and the figure pauses. Something under the hood wriggles, and she dashes behind a dumpster. Her tail is still showing, for a moment, before she curls it.

    "D-don't mention it! People gotta watch out for the city, right? It's for the best! You wanna make sure that people are safe... and that... uh... the bad guys -- they don't get away!" she states -- and then the hood peers out from around the dumpster, and looks at Spider-Man.

    "... do you really eat people?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinks. Jeez, WHAT is JJJ SAYING on his weblog?

"Uhm...no. No, I don't eat people." He suddenly realizes he is still carrying the tray, and holds it up.

"...I eat chili dogs. Want a chili dog? Big Jake's wife makes the chili fresh every day."

Kainashi has posed:
    "I heard you eat some of the bad criminals. You catch them in webs--" the figure retreats behind the dumpster, then hops on top of it, then hops to a fire escape and pauses.

    "And then you slurp out their insides. Like their /spleens/."

    And there's a sniffing sound, and a very canine nose can be seen in the dim light of the alleyway. "Ah... y-yeah. I don't have enough money for one though, it's okay!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Webs, yes. After that, I just leave them for the cops to take care of. Considering the humiliating positions I web them up in, they might prefer being eaten...rather than just display on the NYPD's Twitter feed."

Spider-Man tilts his head. She isn't the first canine he's seen, but it's been awhile since he's seen Alopex. He hopes she is okay.

"Truthfully, I don't have any money either. Big Jake just gives me free chili dogs because I saved his life and his hot dog cart once. Here...you can have one of mine."

Kainashi has posed:
    The figure seems to fl atten out a moment. "Why is it local superheroing has no paycheck? I bet you Iron Man doesn't have to wait for freebees." she mutters quietly, and then points up.

    "Rooftop?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is about to answer, then looks up. A rooftop DOES have a lot of room to move, and someone might feel easily cornered here.

"Fair enough." He raises the other hand to fire a webline, then uses it to pull himself up to the third-floor fire escape, then hops along the wall to make it up the rest of the way. All while the right hand is still holding the tray.

Spider-Man hops onto the roof, looking around. This is actually much better. You can see the New York skyline from up here.

Kainashi has posed:
    You can! And up here it's a little easier to move around, and the canine girl removes her hood.

    Spidey might not like what he sees though. She's some sort of pitbull-looking dog, has a bit of a big head, squared muzzle, and her face is just covered with scarring. It slightly disfigures one of her eyes, and small scars run up and down her muzzle. There's a couple places where her red-and-white fur doesn't even grow anymore.

    She takes out a couple of water bottles -- refilled from water fountains around a park, and sets one out for Spider-Man as she sits on top of one of some generator on the rooftop. Her ears -- one in which has a couple of Kanji tatooed in it -- rise up as she takes in the red and blue clad friendly neighborhood spider-man..

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinks. There is no tensing of fear, but a sudden upswell of concern.

What unholy jackass would DO that to someone?
He takes a deep breath, then walks over to the air-exchanger support block Kainashi is sitting on...then sits down next to her. He lifts up the tray, then gently lifts one of the chili dogs out, steam still issuing from it...and hands it to the canine hybrid. "...Here you go."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai's face lights up at the gift of food! She gives a nod, and carefully nudges one of the waters over to Spider-Man, and accepts the chili dog, carefully attempting to work out a way to eat it without getting it all over the place.

"Thank you. I'm Kai." she introduces herself simply, and her tail wags (which creates a hollow sound as it hits the box below). "You're the Spider-Man!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey lifts his mask up to his nose. The bottom half of his face looks completely normal. No pincers or fangs or anything like that. Kinda boring.

"Well, I'm more of *A* Spider-Man. There's quite a few Spider-Men and Spider-Women in the Big Apple." He picks up the bottle and unscrews the cap. "Pleased to meet you, Kai. Would you be surprised if I told you you're not the first humanoid animal I've met in the last six months?"

Kainashi has posed:
    Her ears go up at that. She was about to take a bite out of her dog, and she looks -- actually very surprised! Her amber eyes open wide. "Uh... who... said I was a dog?" she asks, lamely.

    Not the sharpest lightbulb in the cookie drawer, this one. Her tail curls a little bit, and she looks to Spidey, her head canting to one side as dogs are wont to do when inquiring.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man tilts his head slightly. "Your face shares many qualities with the pit-bull canine breed. I ought to know. I'm one of the best dog-walkers in Queens. But I didn't say dog, just animal. I've met another one, Alopex. I haven't seen her in awhile, but you seem a lot like her."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... OH!" the canine blinks a moment, and she seems to get embarrassed, her ears pinning back a moment as their insides turn a bright pink, and she gives a toothy grin to Spider-Man. "Alopex is my best friend and teacher!" Kai replies, and she visibly relaxes. "She rescued me from the Foot Clan and taught me how to be a ninja. She's very nice and very brave but very, very scary when she's angry." Kai replies to the other hero in confidence, and then takes a big ol' bite out of her chili dog.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Yeah, I can believe it. I've also heard about the Foot Clan. Heard a lot about them, none of it good." He sips some water, then takes a bite of his own chili dog.

Perfect. There is a reason the big man is one of the most successful street vendors in the city.

"Well, I'm sure she's a great teacher. I had someone teaching me ninjutsu, but she got assigned back to Japan, so I'm doing my best to keep up the training."
He glances to her, then relaxes himself. It's good she's enjoying the food. Just...those scars. Did the Foot do that to her? The bastards.

He had some experience with being hurt and preyed upon, just that his scars didn't show.
"How long have you been in New York, Kai?"

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai chews thoughtully as she considers if there was anything good about the Foot Clan worth sharing... and deciding their wasn't her ears went a little flat. She draws her shoulders up a little bit, then swallows as he asks her a question, and at that she smiles brightly.

    "All my life! Born and bred New Yorker!" she states, the Bronx in her accent coming out plain to hear. Her tail wags happily as she answers.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man smiles, the lack of mask giving it away easily. "Same. Grew up in Queens, myself." He looks out at the lights of all the buildings of the city laid out before them. "Nothing like New York. I guess it is true what they say...if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." He takes another bite, chewing quietly. "Do you have any problems eating anything with apples in it? I know chocolate is dangerous, but I felt I should ask."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Aah... sometimes too many apples can make me sick? I know I can't have grapes, those would make me really sick..." she trails off, considering, and then she gives a soft huff as she looks to Spider-Man.

    "Okay. I'm a dog. Do you have any issues eating anything? Y'know, like solid foods?" she asks, giving a bright smile. She can obviously see he's eating a hotdog. She's poking fun."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "Only when I'm full."
He sets down his backpack, then takes out a triangular plastic container, about the size of a slice of New York pizza. "For instance, I think I'm a little too full for this dessert, and I was wondering if you'd like it."

Then he opens the container on what he has called his "secret weapon."
It is a symphony of smells. Apples, sugar, fine flaky crust, a hint of molasses, cane syrup, and some other sweetness nearly impossible to identify, but easy to savor along with everything else.
The eyes identify it as a large wedge of lattice apple pie.

"You're welcome to it," Spidey said, his voice wry but not mean.

After all the bad those scars tell, a little unwarranted good seems like the best way to go.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Fair enough! I can't eat anything when I'm full." Kai replies in a friendly voice, and she takes another big bite of her chili dog, and chews thoughtfully as Spidey takes out his own backpack (can't blame him; hard to hide a wallet in skin-tight suits), and she raises her eyears a moment in curiosity. Butter. Molasses. Syrup. Sugar. Lard. Flour. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Allspice. A little bit of ginger.

    And baked apples, of course. Her tail gives a wag, and she sees the edge of alttice style apple pie, and she gives a soft sound, rubbing the back of her head a moment.

    "I... I couldn't, that's your food." she replies quietly, politely, and she points out: "You said you didn't have any mother either!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "She's not my biological mother...but she's my mom in all the ways that count." He places the container next to her. "Besides...it's a sign of respect to share good food with other people." He produces a plastic fork from the backpack, then holds it up. "I dunno if you have issues holding small utentils...but if you just want to have at it, feel free. No one is going to judge you here."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... but I'm just a..." Kai begins, and she rubs the back of her head. She shifts her weight a bit, and she looks at the Pie... then looks at Spider-Man, and she breathes out.

    "Thank you, I'll find a way to repay you, Spider-man!" she states quietly, and sniffs.

    "You do smell a bit like a spider... but you also smell kinda humany. Not the same as we do, I mean, I smell like a 'dog', and Alopex like a fox, I think she smells like a fox... I haven't met any other foxes, but I HAVE met other dogs. Just not like me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Yeah, that makes sense, I was a baseline human that got a hot dose of spider DNA, so I'm technically a hybrid. But, still have two arms, two legs, no fangs...even the webbing is synthetic."

He holds up one arm to show her the mechanical web-shooter. Streamlined, but still mechanical.

"Would you like to know the best way you can repay me, Kai?"

Kainashi has posed:
    Kainashi pauses, and she looks on with interest as Spider-Man holds up his arm to show the mechanical web-shooter. She gasps!

    "OH! OH! You're a smart guy, like Donnie! You do science stuff and superheroism!" she states, incredibly excited to the point where she bounces on the metal box she was sitting on, and she claps her hands -- almost forgetting that there was the remaining quarter of a chili dog there -- that she eats before she claps, and she chews on the dog a moment before speaking with her mouth full.

    "How do you want repayment for the pie?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks at Kai for a few moments.

"Instead of paying it BACK...I'd like you to pay it FORWARD, instead. Some time in the future, no idea when, someone is going to need help. It may be annoying, uncomfortable, or even dangerous to help them. But when you help that person, whoever or whatever they may be...then you've paid me in full. And I'll just trust that you'll do it."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... oh, I do that already. Some lady screamed and hit me with her purse." Kai states in embarrassment, and she rubs the back of her head as she grins. "I... I like helping people. 'S why I helped you. Ha ha..." she gives a little laugh as she embarrassedly adds "I thought you were going to ask me to not tell anyone about how you wiped out on the pole!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man winces. "Ouch. You saw that?" He sighs. "Well...for me, superheroing was a lot of on-the-job training..."

He stops, then takes out a tablet from the backpack. He brings up a browser as he says to himself, "If you saw it, then hopefully no one..."
He brings up the website SPIDER-FAIL.COM.

The newest picture was posted five minutes ago. It shows him with the flagpole hitting him in the belly. The picture makes him look like a cartoon character.

The caption reads, "WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!"

Spider-Man groans. "...of course."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Yeah, ninja-ing is on-the-job sometimes. It can be hard, and you never know how people are going to react to you when you look like me." Kai gives a wry smile, then pauses, and she looks over at the picture on the tablet, and winces.

    "... yeeeaaah. I saw it too." she winces again.

    "... I have burn cream if you need it."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles as he puts the tablet down. "Not enough burn cream in the world, Kai." He shrugs. "Ah, well...I can handle people laughing at me. When they are laughing, they usually aren't shooting."

He looks at Kai for a long moment, then says, "Sorry...I'm staring. I shouldn't really, I am the one swinging around in my underwear."

Kainashi has posed:
    "It's OK. You're not... it's not like the Foot when they would stare. Typically they'd have weapons, but you seem like you're one of the good guys." she smiles, and she points at her face.

    "I used to be target practice. It's OK. I'm not there anymore. Alopex made sure I would get out." she smiles, and then looks alarmed.

    She looks over Spider-Man's outfit.

    "THAT is your underwear?! But-but.. that's not... they look more like pajamas!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "The design changes every time I update it. It started out as sweat pants, a balaclava mask, and a sweatshirt. Shoulda seen me in the early days, Kai...but yeah, I tend to wear this under my clothes when I'm walking around. Thank heaven summer is over."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Yeah, summer is super hard on *anyone* who has to wear long sleeves." she states, pointing at her sweatshirt. "One of the major reasons I mostly patrol at night. And it's quieter, a little, less people in the way." she explains to Spidey. "At least it looks like it's light? I don't have anything like that. Wish I did. OOH! Maybe something on it in bright pink but changes color to dark ninja gray when going into Stealth Mode like on one of the Young Heroes episodes when Kid Chamelon shares the color-changing technology!" she states excitedly. "it's powered by little chameleon-shaped nanobots!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looks a little thoughtful. "Well...there are simpler ways..." He looks to Kai. "Would you like me to see what I can find out? If I can think of a way to make color-changing cloth, maybe I can make you a jumpsuit or something like that. I just finished a costume design project for someone else. It would be an interesting scientific problem to puzzle out."

Kainashi has posed:
    "I... I would have to ask Alopex permission first. And I know that science costs money to science. Or something. I'm not smart." And the show she referenced was for the 7-10 market. She gives a soft huff out, rubbing the back of her neck as she gives a little shrug of her shoulders.

    "An' pink's kinda alame color anyway, for a ninja."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiles encouragingly. "It won't cost anything to do a little testing. The lab has plenty of materials, and that kind of thing could come in handy for me, too. So...I'll see what I can find out."

Kainashi has posed:
    Kai blinks, and she breathes out in a little huff.

    "I.. would still have to ask Alopex's permission. I could be in trouble just for being out in the daytime, so I want to make sure she knows I had good purpose to be out." she gives a slight grin.

    "So, I'll get back to you. Have my people call your people." she jokes.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey grins. "I have a few caches spread out over the city. You want to leave me a message, head over to the 12th Street subway station and look for storage locker #389. It's near the subway platform. Just slide any message you want to send me into the vent of that locker, and I'll get it within a few hours."

Spider-Man waves. "Nice to meet you, Kai...and thanks again for all your help."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Will do, Spider-Man! Nice to meet you -- and any time you need a hand -- or nose -- I'll be happy to help!" She states, shouldering her pack, picking up her water bottle, and she takes off, hopping over the alleyway and running along the rooftop before she drops back into the alleyways to travel in the gloom there.