Split open grin (Leta/Nina)

[Rina Vade]

Rina

Who'd you expect?

Rina blinked, surprised, as the man began speaking excitedly about teaching her Parkour. He mentioned the word Traceur, but she wasn't sure what that meant. Oh well, she would soon find out, wouldn't she? For the guy was now handing her his cell so that she could punch in her number. At his mention of having Mila and Senji join them, she glanced at her friends and raised a brow. Mila shook her head. "I can't do stuff like that," she said, then shrugged with a smile. "But maybe I'll come watch?"

"I'll go! I wanna try!!" Senji was practically bouncing in his seat. Rina couldn't hold back the grin that spread over her face. Senji was such a kid. Turning back to the man, Rina heard him say they could call him Marcus. She smiled. "Nice to meet you." she said, putting her number in his phone. "I'm Rina, but everyone just drops the 'a' and calls me Rin usually." she handed his cell back to him and shrugged at her last statement. Looking over at her friends, she introduced them as well. "That's Senji. He's mostly an idiot."

"Hey!" he nearly whined, and she snorted, smirking in amusement. "You're just too serious. You need to loosen up more!" she stated with a nod of his head, as if to affirm this even with himself. Mila giggled. "Oh, this is my cousin, Mila."

The said raven-haired girl smiled. "Hi." she said pleasantly. "Like Rin said, very nice to meet you." at this, Rina rolled her eyes. Her roommate just had to add that 'very' to her words, didn't she? All elegance and everything. Stupid private schools...

Snapped out of her thoughts by the intensity of the feeling of excitement, she glanced up to see the blind girl slip closer and take a seat directly next to the small group. The excitement was just floating off of her now. When she spoke, saying that Marcus had been the one to jump onto the trolly, he played along. Her face flamed as she wondered why he was covering for her like that. Well, sort of. It didn't matter anyway, but she was glad he was drawing the attention away from herself. Rina hated being the center of attention. Wait. "Is that supposed to be some sort of mobster imitation? Because, sorry, but even though you have the accent..." she snorted, trying not to burst out laughing as she put a hand to her mouth and shook her head, laughing silently. "You'd be tossed out before you even set foot in the door!" and then she couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down in a fit of giggles.

"Oh MY GOD!! Rin is laughing! Actually LAUGHING! It's an Apocalypse!" Senji's eyes grew wide. Despite the laughter that escaped her lips, Rina reached over and smacked him on the head. He ducked. "Hey, I'm only being realistic here!" he said with a whine.

This only made her laugh harder.

I'm not just the girl next door.

Notes;
Words; 650
Muse; Totally AWESOME
Other; Sorry, I'm in a goofy, loopy mood!

[Marcus Prasad]

Well, looks like he would have two birds under his wings then.
Senji's enthusiasm made Marcus chuckle. It reminded him so much of himself when he was a teen. All gusto with little Hindsight.

Nothing wrong with that sometimes.

The older, more eloquent one. The one Rina called Mila. Marcus looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. He nodded respectfully at her formal greeting.
"The pleasure is all mine Miss. You know a wise man once said that the only limitations you have, are the ones you put on yourself."
Marcus stated with a warm smile.
"The invitations always open if you ever change your mind."

That wise man was Bruce-fucking-Lee by the way. Just so you all know.

Rina's little quip about his accent only got Marcus laughing right alongside Rin. Obviously this girl has never watched a Movie from the 50's. Still, her Laughter was too infectious to come up with a good retort.
Just as the laughing died down, Marcus' Stomache chose that moment to roar. Not growl, ROAR, leaving the man red in the face.

"Erk....Sooo hungry."
He whined as he clutched his stomach.
"Hey I got an idea! Lets Celibrate new Friendships with a big hearty Lunch!"

Marcus turned in his seat to face the Blind girl.
"Hey Detective Platinum? That invitation extends to you if you'd like!"

'She definatly looks like she could use a good meal.'
Marcus mulled.

[Leta]

They're all so talkative.

Apparently Marcus was an adamant Parkour recruiter. While Rina and Senji appeared to be very enthusiastic about a trip around the city, the third party, Mila, was less sure of herself.

Leta was absolutely not going to join them on their trip, seeing as she was blind, and would likely run into a pole. From experience, running in obscure places always led to poles. She only ran if she had to. Running also screwed up with her step counting from destination to destination. All of these are just excuses not to exercise.

There was a silence among them, and a loud grumble sounded from Marcus' general direction.

"Erk....Sooo hungry," he said in explanation, "Hey I got an idea! Lets Celibrate new Friendships with a big hearty Lunch!"

His enthusiasm was overwhelming. A shift in his seat signified he was now facing her.

"Hey Detective Platinum? That invitation extends to you if you'd like!"

Leta turned her head away from them shyly. People didn't ordinarily invite her to lunch. Biting her lip, she turned her head toward the sky. She was hungry...

"Well... I only know the way home from the trolly stop..." she pondered. It was several thousand steps (give or take) from her house to the trolly station. "I suppose I would walk back to the trolly after we're done..."

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus looked from Leta, to Rin and her group before clapping his hands together.
"Guess it's settled then!"
He said with a broad smile. From travelling alone for a decade to gaining a new clutch of friends? Not bad. Not bad at all One would say.
Marcus had to admit, it felt good to inject alittle brightness into others around him today. He had to admit he felt quite taken aback at Rina's friends reactions to her laughing and smiling
'Looks like I might be a good influence on this little raven. Have to admit she has quite the pretty smile.'
Marcus was a firm believer that all women look thier best when they have a smile on thier face. So he would make it his mission to put one on them.
Considering the state of Long beach. Hell, the rest of the US for that matter, he would have his work cut out for him.

Leta would be a more interesting case. Speaking of,
"Since I'm pretty sure you DONT want me calling you detective Platinum, Do you mind if I ask you your name miss.....?"
Definaty getting over excited. Not good to forget the small details like that.

[Rina Vade]

Rina

Who'd you expect?

Another surprise.

Marcus invited everyone to lunch. To celebrate new friendships, he says. Rina shook her head, amused. "Well, now that I think about it, I AM hungry." Senji muttered, gazing down at his stomach in a longing manner. Rina snorted.

"You're always hungry, you glutton." she said.

This remark brought a grin to Mila's face. Senji was a glutton all right. He ate three times the normal person, and he was a guy, too! She glanced up as the trolly rolled to a stop, the breaks making a faint squealing noise. "Let's get off here." Rina suggested, getting to her feet.

Looking around, Mila jumped up excitedly. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "The greatest Sushi and Grill restaurant is right down the road from here!"

"I forgot what it's called..." Senji spoke up, blinking and scratching his head, looking puzzled. He turned to Rina, but she shrugged helplessly. So they all looked over at Marcus. Did he have any ideas?

Rina looked thoughtful, then said, "Oh. What about Detective here?" she grinned as she used Marcus's temporary nickname for the blind girl. "You know us, so what's your name?"

"And do ya have any restaurant ideas?" Mila piped in, smiling.

I'm not just the girl next door.

Notes;
Words; 308
Muse; Ok
Other; Tired *yawn*

[Leta]

Slightly shocked, she answered their questions.

"Leta."

They were all eager for food, friendships, something to do--she didn't know exactly why they were all so eager, but she might as well go along with it.

"I'm open to anything. I don't eat out particularly much. But when I do, I just go to a burger joint down the street from my house," She paused to think about the times she's gone, a pensive look on her face. "It's really bad." she said at last.

Wherever they took her to eat would be a nice victory lunch for her deducing the mystery of the person who jumped on the trolly. Somebody should write about her.

....

"Leta May and the Case of the Tricky Trolly Jumper."

[Marcus Prasad]

Leta, Rina, Senji, Mila. Marcus let his eyes flick from person to person, Mentaly logging faces to names.
Well, it was a choice between Awesome Sushi or terrible burgers........
"Sushi 'tis then!"
Marcus cried with a smile as he got to his feet.
"Alrighty boy and Girls, Looks like we have our destination. Now I suggest we start making our way down, our stops comming up. Now Leta, I know you had your heart set on that crappy burger shack but I figure now would be the best time to broaden your horizons alittle."

Of course he was just teasing the poor girl.
"Ack, sorry. I think I'm taking up too much room."
And with that, Marcus vaulted over the side of the Trolly and climbed his way back down and through the window, back to the first level. His display also had the added benefit of scaring the crap out of the conductor."

'Damnit! What is WITH you bastards? Havent you ever heard of stairs?'

Marcus could only grin his Wolf like grin.
"And where would the fun in that be, hmmm?"

[Leta]

Leap of Faith.

When it was decided that they would be enjoying lunch at a sushi restaurant, Marcus jumped over the side of the bus. His excuse was the he was taking up too much space, but Leta just figured he wanted to jump over the edge, and maybe show off a little for his newfound friend, Rina. Whatever the case, Leta found it humorous, and expressed a faint smile.

However excitable this bunch would prove to be, Leta would not follow him over the edge. She took the safe way, down the stairs. She just reached the first level, when the trolly attendant once again decided to shout. Marcus replied with a sly remark about having fun. Leta turned to the angered man, and calmly said, "Your language is very crude, and I might just inform your boss about this." She raised her eyebrow, and walked away with a bounce in her step.

In all actuality, she didn't give a damn about his language.

She would take Marcus' lead, following close behind, counting every one of her steps away from the stop.

[Rina Vade]

Rina

Who'd you expect?

In the end, the Sushi bar was the resturant of the day. Secretly, Rina was glad that no one had any other ideas. She loved sushi. Just then, Marcus decided to go for another dive. Literally. He leaped over the side of the trolly, scaling down and dropping to the street below. "Nice one. Wooot!!" Senji cheered, grinning.

Although Marcus had claimed that he had been taking up too much space, Rina wondered what he had really been thinking.

She chuckled. "Show off!" she called, pulling herself up and over the side just as he had. Senji followed and Mila, like a sensible person, made her way to the stairs and headed down and off the trolly. By then, the driver must have gotten fed up with everything and tired of them jumping up and down the sides of the car.

'Damnit! What is WITH you bastards? Havent you ever heard of stairs?'

Not only was Rina and Senji grinning, but Mila was, too. Like a madwoman. She laughed outright and flicked the conductor off. His face reddened and he looked like a balloon. "Mila!" Rina gasped, appaled. Where in the world had she learned that?

Senji looked away guiltily. Oh, he was so in for a lecture.

Mila giggled and raced over to stand next to Marcus. Rina and Senji followed, the raven-haired girl smirking when she heard Let's comment to the driver. "You go girl." she said with a half-grin, knowing full well that the blind girl was just saying that to taunt the poor man. As everyone made their way to the Sushi place, Rina dropped into stride next to Marcus, a faint, mischivious look in her ocean-colored orbs. "Hey Marcus, teach me some Parkour on the way and I'll race ya...?" she nudged him slightly, a slow grin appearing on her face. She was a quick learner and she was sure that she'd easily pick up on it. He'd be surprised.

And a race sounded fun.

I'm not just the girl next door.

Notes;
Words; 433
Muse; Better^^
Other; Only a little tired xD

[Marcus Prasad]

Well shit! Even Mila was getting into it. Marcus sat back and watched as the gang piled it on the poor conductor. Well, mabey that would teach the guy to be alittle more forgiving when it came to harmless shenanigans.
He especialy enjoyed Leta's quiet dignity when she pricked the conductor with her verbal barb.
That girl was definatly full of surprises.

As Mila moved to Marcus' side, he gently reached out and mussed the top of her head with the palm of his hand. He was enjoying the energy rolling off these kids. So full of life and vigour. Almost in direct defiance of all the misery and suffering that surrounded them due to Barkers insane bombings and his band of thugs.

They exited the Trolly and began walking towards the Sushi place. Marcus was definatly looking forward to that. He loved sushi. Ate it quite often back in New York City. He suddenly felt a pang of Homesickness as he thought about the little hole in the wall japanese restaraunt he always went to.
Marcus noticed as Rina moved to his side. To be honest, he had high hopes for the girl. Her little display back on the trolly definatly proved she had the spark of natural talent. All he had to do was open her eyes to a new way of looking at the world.

Suddenly the girl challenged Him to a race. Her blue eyes were alight with a fire Marcus could appreciate.
"Ah, Eager to start eh?"
Marcus thought for a moment. Like any other disapline, Parkour was 90% Mental, 10% Physical. There was alot of Basics she would have to go through before he would even consider teaching her a few moves, but he didnt want to risk boring her either.
"Alright. Lets start with the number one thing you're going to have to keep in mind. Senji, listen up now."
He said, wanting to make sure he had both thier attentions.
"Perception Is Key. The way you view the world colors the way you interact with it."

Marcus suddenly stopped and turned himself towards Rina and Senji.
"Quickly now, Tell me the first thing that pops into your head when I say....Brick Wall."

[Leta]

The company expressed a few congratulatory remarks, and they were soon on their way. To a sushi restaurant. Yum. Leta had never actually tried sushi before, but it sounded completely unappetizing. How good can raw fish get? When suddenly--

"Hey Marcus, teach me some Parkour on the way and I'll race ya...?"

What... >_>'

"Ah, Eager to start eh?"

No. Not eager.

"Alright. Lets start with the number one thing you're going to have to keep in mind. Senji, listen up now."

Leta sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, annoyed. She was blind. She wouldn't be able to keep up at all. Running and jumping like they intend to be would not lead to good things for a blind girl. It would lead to walls, poles, and bloody noses.

"Perception Is Key. The way you view the world colors the way you interact with it."

I hardly know what color is!

"Quickly now, Tell me the first thing that pops into your head when I say....Brick Wall."

"Pain. Pain is what I think of."

A little reminder that she was there was all she was going to say on the matter. If they decided to run ahead on a magical Parkour adventure, she would simply leave and count her steps back to the station.

[Rina Vade]

Rina

Who'd you expect?

Upon hearing his name, Senji looked up eagerly, eyes bright.

Yes! They were going to learn some freerunning!! Er...Parkour. The silver-haired teen gave Marcus his full attention, as did Rina, but her enthusiasm was more concealed. At Leta's words about the 'brick wall', Mila laughed lightly. "It's okay. I'll walk with you. The sushi bar isn't to far up ahead, so I won't lose sight of them." she moved closer to the blind girl and twined her arm through hers, smiling. "I hope this is alright...?" she asked in a freindly voice.

"Umm...buildings?" Senji said, shrugging and looking a little puzzled. A lot of things popped into his head when he thought of a brick wall.

But Rina's reply startled him.

"Vaulting!" she grinned, and Senji knew she was just itching to take off and run up a said brick wall.

I'm not just the girl next door.

Notes;
Words; 236
Muse; Bleh
Other; ....

[Marcus Prasad]

{OOC} By the way, This is now the theme song for this thread ^_^ {OOC}

Senji wasen't the only one surprised with Rina's answer.
Marcus actualy found himself taken aback for a moment.
'Ha! This girls got the attitude alright. I think I might even be able to just take the training wheels right off.'
The thought made him break out in a wolflike grin as he reached back and gave his ponytail a tug.
"Now look at the language you all used. Pain? Buildings? Words used to describe obsticals, boundries. Pain Defines boundries. It Hurts you, so don't go near it, don't touch it, dont think about it.
And Buildings.......are....well......."
Marcus literaly scrambled in the bowels of his brain for something profound. Damn Senji, alittle immagination please?
"Sometimes I feel like they try to keep you out more than they Invite you in. Know what I'm sayin?"

Reaching out, Marcus put an arm around Rina's shoulder and gestured towards her with a free hand.
"Now Take Rina's word. Vaulting. Makes you think about movement, Getting past, Overcomming. Now all of a sudden that big scary brick wall don't seem so scary anymore. You see? Change your perception and you changes the way you interact with the world around you. A Brick wall isn't an obstacle. It's a springboard, a launchpad, a stepladder even. Same goes for anything. Tables, chairs, cars, fences."

Suddenly Marcus' stomach let out another growl, much to his chagrin.
"I tell you what, I wanna see how you two move. Make your way to the Sushi place, choose a starting point first. Get there at a walk or run, your choice, but you HAVE to move in a straight line. No going around, you either go over, under, or through. Now remember, Your not being judged by the route you take, but by how well you overcome the obstacles in your path until they STOP being obstacles."

[Leta]

The less energetic of the three, Mila, hooked Leta's arm to signal accompaniment. Leta shrugged away from her a little bit, as she was breaking Leta's unspoken "keep the touching to a minimum" rule. But she let it slide. The girl had good intentions--well, at least no mal-intent--and Leta could appreciate that much. However, her effort to show it was minimal. She just let her limb hang limp in the girl's hooked arm.

"I will gladly accompany you to the restaurant." She spoke quite formally, hoping to ensure the girl that she was fine with it. Although Leta had her distastes, like touching, she often tossed them aside for the greater good.

Marcus gave an inspiring speech to the four of them about over coming obstacles.

Leta scoffed.

"Marcus, that's all well and good, but I'm blind. A wall will always just be... a wall to me." she would reply to his enthusiastic description. Rational thinking was all Leta had going for her. She could only perceive so much of her world--why should she bother extended her biological boundaries? She would just get uselessly hurt. And who were these people to tell her that that was a good way to live? If a fight was useless, then what's the point? Leta's fight was pointless self-exertion on the looming 63 foot wall that was always in front of her, disabling her vision from the world. No, no. Not just her physical disability. The wall she had built in herself to keep people out. But, just as she could sometimes see through some strange adrenaline rush, she sometimes let that wall crumble for a few people, only to have it mysteriously reappear as quickly as it fell.

If Marcus intended on changing her view of the weld, it would take a lot more effort than a speech about overcoming obstacles. Her entire way of being was an obstacle she had learned to overcome through experience. At a very young age, she had learned to memorize a mental map of her surroundings, based on the number of steps it took to get from one place to another, accounting for turns and the like. She had learned to keep all her steps the exact same size. When she was running, her strides counted for about two of her normal steps. She learned to always be aware of her surroundings through listening to them--she memorized people's step patterns, bird calls, etc. Living life in the dark was her way of life. Then why not apply a little excitement to it with Parkour? Because there were too many variables. Namely, step size, altitude, and surprise pole attacks.

Walls were what she used to guide her through the city--running her fingers along them, feeling the bricks and stucco. She would not test them.

"However, if you insist that it be a race, I can run. I have my own methods of getting around quickly and... safely. Tell me where it is, i guess."

[Marcus Prasad]

"Damn girl, It's not like I'm trying to trick you into running off a cliff or anything. I'n not that kind of asshole. I mean i can be pretty assholish sometimes, but not enough to warrent sending cute little blind girls over cliffs aight?"
Marcus said with a sigh. He knew he could be passionate sometimes, mabey even preachy, but he wasent about to start making anyone do anything they didnt want to do.
"Look, that whole brick wall thing is just a metaphore. The wall represents the various limitations we as a people put on ourselves in our day to day lives. Every time we say 'I cant' or 'It's impossible', thats just another wall we are refusing to overcome."

Marcus was starting to get alittle heated by this point. Usualy what happened when he got passionate.
"You're blind, I get it. I mean I dated a blind girl for what? Five years? Her and I had been through alot too so I definatly understand what kind of chains shackle you down. Lemme guess, Blind from an early age? Mabey even at birth? And yet here you are walking around without a cane. That already puts you miles above the average blind person. If I had to guess, I would say you have a hyper developed sense of spacial awareness. You build the world around you inside your own head don't you? Thats pretty fucking amazing if you ask me."

Marcus stepped ahead of them and turned to face them, walking backwards.
"So what the hell are you doing using being blind as an excuse? I'm a pretty good judge of character, and if it's one thing I can pick out, it's a person with the fire in thier guts. That burning that keeps them standing when others fall, that makes them get back up again and again no matter how many times life knocks them down. I don't want you guys thinking I'm some sort of Obi wan Kenobi or nothing, but I cant help but say that You ALL have that spark inside of you. You Leta, Mila and Rin. Hell, Even Senji."
Marcus added the last name with a laugh.
"You guys give me hope that even in a world as cluster fucked as this one, theres still a few bright spots in the shadows and the rainy gloomy muck."

Marcus turned back around.
"Now common, My Belly demands Raw fish!"
He said with another hearty laugh.