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| If We Never Fall… | |
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| Participants | Layla, Marrow |
| Synopsis | Layla prevents Marrow from tripping over a significant crack in the sidewalk and the pair have an odd discussion of falling and corrupt business. |
| Location | Lower East Side, Manhattan |
| Time | January 24, 2016 |
| Posted By | Marrow |
It's a quiet Sunday afternoon that finds Layla sitting on the stoop of a closed shop, her back against the graffitied metal grating that's been pulled down in front of the door. Feet encased in battered old Docs poke out onto the sidewalk, resting upon a skateboard, as she watches the sparse traffic happen by, wheels splashing in the dirty slush. The skateboard drifts lazily side to side as she moves it with her feet. She plays with a tatty bit of string, absently doing the beginning moves to Cat's Cradle over and over again. She's dressed as vibrantly as ever, stripped socks and a stretchy little skirt, with a couple of bright T-shirts layered one atop the other. Over it all, she's wearing a man's pea coat, several sizes too big, which at least keeps her posterior from feeling the chill from the cement step.
It's cold and damp, yet Marrow has had to grow used to being a bit cold, considering how many holes her coat sports in the back to accommodate her rather nightmarish protrusions. With her hands shoved deep in her pockets, the woman with purple hair hunkers down more deeply within her air conditioned coat and glances about as she walks down the sidewalk. She's easily recognizable by many law enforcement, so she has to be ready to book it at the drop of a hat — and that means always being aware of one's surroundings. Her gaze flickers briefly over the girl playing with the string as she approaches on the sidewalk, though she doesn't say anything yet — she doesn't exactly have a reason to at this point, does she? But perhaps there's something about the Cat's Cradle game which captures her (albeit brief) interest.
Layla glances up as Marrow approaches, though she doesn't pause in her game of Cat's Cradle. She's done the moves often enough that it's basically just muscle memory at this point anyway. Really, trying to overthink it is only liable to get her fingers tangled up. She doesn't seem shocked at the rather grotesque sight of the woman, but then, she is loitering here in mutant town, so it's not a huge stretch she'd run into another, now was it. Still, a keen gaze flickers over those protruding bones, considering them thoughtfully. "Watch out for the crack," she advises conversationally, without glancing down at the sidewalk. Then again, it's not a stretch to imagine she got caught by the uneven bit of pavement earlier herself.
There's a brief moment as Marrow blinks in confusion about the abrupt warning. Sidewalks have cracks in them, separating them. Surely she didn't mean the bony one might trip over one of those. But she glances down and abruptly stops, nearly tripping over her own booted feet in order to do so. Sure enough, the patch of sidewalk in front of her has a large, unnatural crack through it which has allowed the one half of the piece of concrete to slip upward a bit, leaving a significant lip to trip over. Standing there, staring at it, Marrow sniffs once, then swivels her head on her neck to look up and over at the girl again. In a grunted tone, she replies, "Thanks. Didn't see it." Perhaps she's about to move on, perhaps not. Regardless, there's something that compels her to ask, "Seen a few others trip on it already?"
Layla just gives a little nod of acknowledgement for the thanks, watching a moment longer before dropping her gaze back to the string, which has become tangled when the clumsy knot caught another bit on the way through. "Nope. You'd have been the first," she replies, fingers beginning to tug on the snarl to loosen it. It's not too bad a tangle, and in a moment, she's tugged it free, leaving her to look back up at Marrow again. "I bet it'd hurt, falling on those," she grants, nodding towards the bones sticking out of the woman's back. Perhaps one of the reasons she opted to go with a warning instead of just waiting for the fall. Or maybe she's just making conversation.
So the girl just noticed it and out of the kindness of her heart told a mutant freak to watch their step? Interesting. This seems to intrigue Marrow. It doesn't necessarily soften her demeanor in the slightest, but she doesn't just stomp off either. Instead, she offers up a slight nod and adds gruffly, "Well, thanks. An' yeah, it'd hurt. Bu' I'd have to land on my back to do that, so… just th' same, th' warnin' was appreciated." She watches as the girl seems to not be creeped out by the bones. Marrow is pretty used to revulsion as a response from people, but an utter lack of response is not a reaction she's used to. The girl acknowledged their existence so it wasn't the big elephant in the room, so to speak, but doesn't seem troubled by them. For one that young, it's a surprising reaction, perhaps. The bony one sniffs at the air briefly, out of habit, not to smell anything, really. Then she gruffs, "So, you just sit here all day an' warn people about th' crack in th' pavement?"
"Don't mention it," Layla replies easily, not expecting this tiny service to be met with a great deal of gratitude or attitude-softening anyway. Really, watching Marrow fall would have accomplished nothing, as far as she can tell, so just as well to save them both the hassle. Rather than returning to her sedate game of Cat's Cradle, she bundles up the string in one hand, absently tossing it into the air and then catching it again. It's only string, so not exactly an impressive show of dexterity, but … it's something to do, anyway. At the idea of being Watcher of the Crack, the girl actually smiles, though it's an inward and subdued smile. Still, it's amusing to her, that much is clear. "I've got nothing better to do," she replies with a shrug. "But … no. I only warn certain people." Though she offers no further explanation as to the rhyme and reasons for who gets warned and who doesn't.
As Marrow watches the girl, something changes ever so slightly. Maybe Layla might not recognize the sparkle of amusement in the bony one but those who know her might recognize that very tiny quirk at the corner of one side of her mouth. It might look more like a small facial tic. "Most people don't usually think to warn th' walkin' freak about much, kid. You must be pretty bored then," she says in a hoarse reply. Especially if Marrow is one of those 'certain people'. She braces herself against a particularly chilly gust of wind for a moment. "Not into video games, I take it?" she asks, casting a glance over at the arcade not too far from where she's stopped.
"I didn't warn you because I was bored. It probably would have been more interesting to let you fall," Layla points out, at least in terms of sheer entertainment value. "But not because you're a freak." There's no quick reassurance to that, just a statement of fact. "I guess we're all freaks to someone." People often find her a little freaky, after all. She stops rolling the skateboard back and forth to lean forward for a moment, eyeing the arcade thoughtfully. "Sometimes. But not very often. Besides, I'd just lose all my money today." She speaks with such certainty - but then, from the looks of her, she can't have that much money to begin with.
Even Marrow has to admit to herself that the day would have gotten a lot more 'interesting' in this area had she fallen. So, what is it then? A Good Samaritan? In Manhattan? She finds that hard to believe. But she's already starting to lose interest in the apparent reasoning. Why does there have to be some deep secret reason why the girl warned her? Besides, she's thanked her already, so… she decides to drop it with a low grunt of general acceptance. Looking to the arcade, then back at the girl, she rasps, "They're all rigged so you spend more, so yer likely right about that. Fair 'nuff, really. Anyway… guess I should get goin'…" She doesn't have a huge reason to stop and keep talking to the girl on the street when she could be spotted by a Sentinel or cop without warning, but she can't help but be curious by the unusually thoughtful kid.
"It's hard enough for people to win at things without others rigging them against it," Layla allows, giving the arcade another thoughtful look before she sits back again. "But I guess that's just the way things work these days." She opens the loop of string, putting it over her bony knees as a place to keep it for the moment. "Don't let me keep you. I have nowhere I need to be for awhile." Hence, the sitting. And not being in a particular rush to get off somewhere else. Green eyes study those bones again, considering them. "You probably wouldn't have fallen on your back, anyway," she muses, though this seems to be more to herself than for Marrow's benefit. Coming down to an after-the-fact matter, that's just conjecture on her part, something to contemplate.
"Yeah, tell me," Marrow agrees, pausing as the girl continues to speak to her about the arcade. "Someone always out there tryin' to get a good swindle in. Gotta watch for them," she points out. And now, even as the girl suggests not letting her detain Marrow anymore, she starts to step over the crack, preparing to make her departure — and then the girl speaks again. So she pauses and looks back at her. "Nah. Probably not. Trips while walking usually mean yer gonna fall on yer face. At least, that's wha' my experience has been. Takes a bit fer me to fall backward."
"Sometimes a swindle is necessary. But I don't think the arcade has that excuse," Layla muses, leaning forward to give it another look. Business can't be all that bad, so they could probably stay afloat even if they kept their games legitimate-like. "They don't even ever have to pay out." It's all income, in other words. She sits back more heavily this time, the metal grating rattling in the frame behind her. As Marrow looks back to her again, Layla offers up another amused smile. "And it would be pretty silly to work at it. Falling on your back, that is. Unless you had some reason you wanted to get hurt. But I don't see what that would be."
Hitching up a shoulder, Marrow replies gruffly, "People do strange things fer different reasons. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong. It depends on their situations. Bu' really, it's an arcade. It's like games at a carny. Always rigged." She grunts again and shoots another glance around, starting to get a little antsy. She doesn't like sitting still on the street too long or too often, out in the open and vulnerable to attack. Not that she can't take care of herself. And not that she doesn't enjoy a good rumble. But she can't always afford to indulge. "Uh, well, I don't generally work at fallin' on my back, no. No reason fer it an' it ain't pleasant." She may act nuts sometimes, but even she has limits and isn't one to enjoy inflicting pain upon herself.
"Their reason is to make more money. Which isn't really all that strange. But they could just make the games harder, which seems less unfair." Layla considers this a moment longer before shrugging. "But you can't really expect fairness. I just don't want to lose all my money today. I'll need it later." Her gaze sweeps back up to the woman, noticing that she's getting antsy, but not commenting upon it directly. "No, it wouldn't be," she agrees, of falling on a back of pokey bones. "Though then you might not want to fall at all. But sometimes there is a reason for it. If nobody ever fell, it'd do weird things."
"Right, bu' there are different reasons fer wantin' to make money, right?" Marrow suggests with a shrug. "So… keep yer money. They don't need it anyway." There are plenty of other kids who are willing to go in and spend all their own money today. "Yeah, I suppose there are reasons to fall…" Though she's drawing a blank right now as to what those reasons might be. But instead of dwelling too much on that, she crinkles up her nose a bit and adds, "Weird things? Because no one ever fell? Oookay, sure." Maybe she thinks all of the kid's money is going to be going to drugs at this point, who knows?
"Different reasons, I guess. Though they all seem to come out the same in the end," Layla ponders, eyeing a vacant storefront across the road. The basic needs, comfort, power… "But no, they don't need mine. Not today." Another day, who knows. Her gaze flickers sidelong back to the boney one as skepticism is expressed. Layla just raises her eyebrows and shrugs her shoulders, fully into enigmatic mode now. She's probably not doing much to dissuade the impression she's on drugs. "You'd be surprised." In a world where the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a tsunami, a huge change like no one ever falling is sure to have a pretty massive impact. "But there doesn't seem to be any chance of that happening, so I guess you won't be. Surprised, I mean."
Not that Marrow has any issues with people doing drugs. She doesn't do them herself, primarily because they have little to no effect on her so it's a waste of money and time, but she doesn't care if someone else wants to find a little chemical escape with all the chaos in this city. "I suppose if we weren't meant to fall, we'd be born in plastic bubbles or somethin', bu' anyway…" That's about as philosophical as the bony one gets. With another patented grunt to change subjects, she adds, "Yeah, anyway… I should take off. Watch yer back, kid." She won't say why but one can guess that it's likely just a random, generic warning of keeping oneself safe. She takes a step back, preparing to take her leave so that Layla can get back to her string games and warning people about cracks in sidewalks. She pauses, then looks back. "Yer alrigh', kid. You ever need anythin', ask around for Marrow. Someone will find me fer ya."
"And if we never fell, we'd never learn," Layla philosophizes, though that doesn't seem to be what she meant by the weird things that would happen. Then again, who knows what she meant, since heaven forbid she give a straight answer about anything. The warning to watch her back actually earns a little grin. "I always do. Try not to fall on yours." Watching it, after all, seems a little superfluous. Anything coming at Marrow would be unwise to choose her back as the point of attack. As Marrow looks back at her, Layla considers the name and then nods. "Marrow. All right." The string is removed from her knees and she begins positioning it for the opening moves of another one of those games. "I'm Layla. Layla Miller." She doesn't bother to look up from the string, figuring Marrow will make her way off now.
Yet again, Marrow offers a grunt of general agreement about how 'we' would never learn if we didn't fall. With a slight shiver against the cold, the bony one offers a slight nod and smirk. "Right. No fallin' on mine." There's a pause before she offers up a rasped, "Layla Miller. Got it." With that, apparently being more of a woman of few words, she hunkers into her jacket a little better and turns away. In the next second, she is once again in motion, letting her booted feet carry her back down the street as she looks about a bit to make sure she's not being followed.
