Owner	Pose
River Banks	BEEP. Swipe of a 'gift card' in black, with RH on it at a handy bodega, late night. Children's cough syrup, a couple cans of soup and a box of crackers -- twenty-five bucks. Ridiculous, but required.     "Thanks, Mr. Kim, G'night!" River calls out, a cigarette hanging from her mouth unlit as she makes her way out into the drizzly night.     She pulls her hood up over her head, and begins the trek back home, stepping lightly in soggy, cheap tennis shoes and listening to the sound of the city at night, a city that never sleeps. She hums some old country song under her breath as she goes to keep herself company, smelling like disinfectant and Vick's vapor rub as she goes. She's not expecting anything to happen tonight.     Except that someone who was used to getting a payment from her hadn't gotten paid yet. PRefered cash, you see, and he couldn't have these people who owe him money simply vanish into thin air out of the Carolinas and up to the NOrth East. And she owed him an awful lot of cash money.     So hire someone to put the 'Fear of God' into her, make her productive again. SOmeone who didn't mind getting a little wet from some metahuman girl.
Victor Creed	There were lots of different types of jobs that would come his way, but this was one of Victor's favorite. The shakedown. Particularly, villain on villain shakedowns. There was something inherently delicious about going after a crook who just wasn't crooked enough. They couldn't exactly go running for help, and often times, it helped him feel justified in what he did. Not that he ever stopped at what was justified, of course.     The job was pretty straightforward. Figure out if the target was intentionally bilking his client for money, was just utterly incompetent at what she did, or if she was lying about failure. Either way, he could make some extra off it. If she was lying about it and had the scores, well, he could help himself to some of them, and tell any kind of story. But if she was actively betraying the client? The kid gloves could come off. Not that they were ever really on with Victor Creed.     He had found his quarry easily enough, snagged her scent in a more public arena, and was now moving along the rooftops. There was no way she could evade him, not when he had her scent captured. It was only a matter of choosing the best possible time for him to find her. And the worst possible time for her. All the same.
River Banks	Shake it down, shake it down, whoa-ah...     She was completely unaware. Checked something on a cheap smartphone. Tucked it away as she heaves a breath out and chosing to avoid a couple of cops up the street with their flashers on, the young woman ducks down an alleyway, seperating her from the main beat. She pops a bright pink bubble of gum, feeling the rain soak through her hood and a couple of drips making their way down her neck. Brrr.     The client indicated she was to be left alive... mostly. Can't ever tell with these low-level thugs if they're going to make a quick get away or stand and fight, can you?
Victor Creed	The best part about hunting criminals was that they were always ducking cops, the light, and everything else. An alleyway was Victor's favorite place to hunt, in a city at least, and somehow the heroes never seemed to inadvertantly end up in there. The villains? Always.     He lopes along the rooftop as River heads down the alley, waiting until she is far away from the street as possible before hopping over the side. His claws dig into the bricks leaving a trail of sparks and dust in their wake as he uses them to slow his descent, only barely, such that he drops down directly in front of her.     Sure, he could have had the drop on her entirely, and this would already be over. But where is the fun in that?
River Banks	Don't want to end things too quickly.     The young woman startles, almost dropping the bag with soup and crackers in it as the simply huge form of Sabretooth drops before her. She takes a stumbling step back, the much smaller bank robber's eyes going wide as she looks up, trips, and falls into a puddle, soaking through her jeans as she gives a yelp of "Jesus--!"     She's got green bruising on the left side of her face and a scar forming on her chin. Her fingers grip against the pavement, dull nails scratching as her breath halts, and for a split second, there is definitely the expression of 'I am going to die' scrawled on her freckled face.
Victor Creed	As suddenly as he appeared, Sabretooth moves down to grab at the front of River's shirt, seeking to hoist her up and slam her against the brick wall of the alleyway.     "Nope. He's a bit shorter, longer hair." He glares into her eyes, the glint of a fang appearing in the alleyway as he grins at her. "But unless you /do/ want to meet him soon, you got some 'splainin' to do."
River Banks	River's heaved up. She doesn't weigh a whole lot, not compared to Creed, and the breath is knocked out of her as she's slammed against the wall. She grimmaces, feeling pain blossom at the back of her head.     "S-Sorry Ricky, I ain't Lucy!" she growls back, and she raises her hand.     A good gallon of water forms into a cannonball-sized bubble forms to the bottom left of Sabretooth's side, and she whips her hand up, trying to smack him with it to set him off his game. Not everybody expects sudden wetness to come UP their pants, after all!     "Geddoff!"
Victor Creed	Typically, Victor is extremely well briefed on his targets. It is a point of importance to him, and one he stresses with his clients. This particular client clearly did not get this memo, as he is surprised by River's command of water.     With a grunt he lurches a bit to the side, releasing his hold on her suddenly, giving her a good two foot drop towards the ground, but free of his control. For the moment.     "Well, this ain't gonna be about love then, either," he snarls.
River Banks	River drops and rolls, giving a gasp as she comes into a kneel, pushing herself up off the pavement as she turns and spits to the side. Ooh, blood. That's not good.     "Great, 'cause ain't got love for someone who smells like they ain't seen a toothbrush in a decade!" she fires right back, and she pulls up more water, several bubbles surrounding her, each the size of a softball.     The client might have mentioned she was some sort of metahuman, neglected to mention any offensive capabilities. Gonna have to have a talk with that guy.     "Who the *HELL* did I piss off enough to send a big fella like you after me?"
Victor Creed	"Have you managed to fuck up a bunch of jobs for MORE than one crook lately?" comes the snap back as Victor looks at those globes of water. He seems to consider how mobile they may be for a moment before darting forward in a lunge that is far faster and longer than any human could pull off, closing the distance rather quickly. Perhaps fast enough to get in close enough to slash at River with one of his claws, if she underestimated him as badly as he underestimated her.
River Banks	The woman's hit hard. One thing about Victor, he's equal-opportunity beat down. The would-be bank robber yelps as she gets slashed, a rip in her sweatshirt ashowing red from a T-shirt beneath, and the smell of blood as the claw lacerates her stomach.     The water drops as River tries to get a hold of herself, breathing heavily as she scrambles backwards.     "Byron fucking Buller-- /bastard/! DOes he think I'm gonna rob a bank when a freaking Titan or a /BAT/ show up and say /'no'?!/ I fuck up plenty but I ain't STUPID." she hisses, pushing herself back, heels of her boots scrabbling against the pavement as she hitches a breath.     "So, he pissed off enough that he's gonna kill me? Do it."
Victor Creed	Perhaps the first slash is just a warning, as Victor stops after that initial vicious strike. He watches River drop down, and perhaps more importantly, he listens to her words. Then he laughs.     "Dead people can't pay debts," he says, before reaching down to try to grab her and pick her up again. "And you got a lot of debts right about now."
River Banks	"Great. Getting lectured. Again." she breathes out, and with her eyes closed she grunts, and raises her hand again with effort.     This time the water's coming quicker and harder, but with far, far less finesse. Two gallons of water rise up and try to slam against Creed's head as he reaches to pick her up, the young woman abandoning the plastic bag for the moment, turning to try and book it out of the alleyway.     Maybe he's not going to kill her if she cries out for the cops she saw. Maybe he'll kill them. Or heck, maybe he'll decide to turn over a new leaf and not kill anyone?     Girl can dream!
Victor Creed	There is more of an impact of water against Victor, and he snarls. Maybe there is some truth to the idea of cats and water. But it does not quite deter him, as he watches his quarry dashing towards the relative safety of the cops.     He leaps forward and gives chase on all fours, at a speed which should be enough to easily over take the girl. He leaps at her, talons out, determined to both tackle her to the ground and give her some healthy slashes along the way.
River Banks	She's easily overtaken, like someone in a horror movie as she looks back, time slowing down as she watches Victor leap at her from all fours, her eyes going wide. Her cry is quieted quickly and she goes down, hitting the pavement and being dragged by their inertia along it. The claws rip through her sweatshirt and the tee below, delivering several deep gashes along her back as she curls defensively, covering her head with her arms, twitching slightly. She's beginning to get a bit shock-y. Poor thing. Some people just can't handle their mutants.
Victor Creed	The weight of his body holding her down, Victor leans over and brings his fanged mouth next to River's ear, his words coming out as a hoarse whisper.     "I know your scent now, girl," he says, before leaning over to run his tongue against one of the small cuts. "And have tasted you. So my advice is to pay what you owe him, and don't fuck up again." A taloned claw runs along her side, tearing slightly at the sweat shirt but not enough pressure to cut deeper. "Because I will /always/ be able to find you again, now."     And with that, he pushes off her to stand, turning to make his way back down in the other direction of the alley.
River Banks	River stays curled up, her hands over her head. She twitches, feeling those cuts on her back ache and burn and bleed, mixing with the rain and the puddles in the alleyway as the drops increase in size, soaking through the remains of her clothes as she breathes hard. Wait for the rain to dissipate her scent. Wait for the water to flow around around her. Wait for her heart to quiet down so that he can't hear how scared she is.     She'd have to move. Soon. This wasn't going to do.