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The morning is warm enough that there wasn't even any frost for the rising sun to melt away, and a few hours ago this particular park was full of people getting in their pre-work workout. Now, though, it's a little emptier, and so the person sitting on an out-of-the-way bench with their knees tucked up to their chest is a little out of place. They seem to be nursing a scraped-up hand, and they're doing their absolute best to look as unassuming and invisible as possible.
But there is someone walking the paths. Not jogging, right now, just walking. Calamity recognizes her as Jade Marlowe, a pretty brutal fighter with a scrappy street fighting style. She's been known to fight well past the normal limits of endurance, just to prove a point, occasionally going home with literal broken bones. But today, she isn't wearing that persona. She looks tired and perhaps a little grumpy, but not...brutal. Not dangerous. She's in a hoodie and jeans, her hair back in a little ponytail.
They absolutely do a double-take, and start to uncurl from where they've been sitting. "...Jade Marlowe?" They glance up and down the path, to make sure they're not outing her to anyone.
She flinches slightly at hearing that name in this context, then squints at the kid. "Who's asking?" Her gaze rakes over them before zeroing in on the injured hand with a frown. "And what the fuck did you do to yourself? Please tell me you weren't trying to imitate my fucking stunts."
They cower just a bit at her stare. "Oh - nothing, um...nobody. I've...just seen you fight, and you're real good." This close, she can see that the side of their face is bruised and scratched too, and they wince when they give her a small smile. "Nah I wasn't, I just fell." They wave it off, like it's nothing.
She pauses, but seems to accept that as truth. "Mind if I take a look at it? I've dealt with a lot of scrapes and bruises in my day."
The smile drops off their face, replaced by trepidation. "I. Uh. Okay, I guess?" They pull their hood slowly from their head. They sure had a hard fall, but it looks like they put a hand out to stop the worst of the damage to their head. As a result, their wrist took the worst of it.
She reaches out to examine their face and arm, her touch gentle, almost tender. She's trying to get a sense of the extent of the injury without exacerbating it. And her hands are so very warm, and the warmth sinks into their skin, and when she pulls away, the pain in Calamity's wrist is much, much less, and the bruises don't sting as much. "It looks worse than it is, really. Probably more of a scare than anything major. You'll be alright soon, I'm sure."
They blink, frowning at her and their wrist as the pain eases. "Yeah, it's...I'll be fine, I've had worse. Your-your hands are really warm..." They're suspicious now, definitely, but what are they gonna say? 'Hey, what the fuck, you healed me?' That's not something normal people think.
"I get that sometimes." As she pulls her hand away, one hand moves to gently cradle the other wrist; the same wrist Calamity hurt. She tries to be subtle about it, but...well, Jane's not the most subtle person around.
"..Okay, what...you did something." It's an accusation, but they're not afraid, or looking at her like she's crazy, or anything like that.
"So what if I did?" She gives them a quiet Look, something that stops short of being threatening, but is Not Amused, nonetheless.
"So...it'd explain some shit. About how you fight." Their voice is practically a whisper, and they glance around again. "If...if you did something."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. What, you think I make my matches more dramatic by healing my opponents during the fight?" She snorts, shaking her head. "Okay, I might heal faster after a fight than most fuckers, that's a thing. But." Her expression shifts to a thoughtful frown. "You're taking the possibility of me doing a thing pretty serious."
"Only 'cause you are. And most people don't keep fighting when they've got broken bones and shit, 'cause that shit doesn't go away easy. Unless..." they gesture. "You can do shit."
"You know anyone else who can 'do shit'?" She raises an eyebrow at them.
"Not that kinda shit specifically, but...weird shit in general. Yeahmaybe." They shrug, like it's No Big Deal.
"Almost kinda like some psychic shit? Like some sorta X-man?" Her tone is just as casual as theirs.
"Yeah, kinda like that. Maybe." Another shrug. "D'you know anyone else who can do 'kinda like some psychic' shit?" There's a tiny hint of hope in their voice. Sounds like maybe they don't know a lot of other people like that.
She nods. "Yeah, I do. There's...definitely a good few of us around town. I mean, different types, of course. Shit, there's enough other people who do the healing thing that I haven't told anyone else I do that, to be honest."
"...Huh. Cool. Never met anyone who could do the healing thing, that's...useful. Didn't even know that was a thing, honestly."
"What are you more familiar with, as a thing?" Not asking directly what they can do, yet. Keeping it vague; keeping it safe.
"...Controlling...shit. Making it go where I want." They dig in their pocket as they speak. A second later, they produce a beat up zippo lighter and flick it open. The flame's a little hard to see in the sunlight, but they casually pass the flame from finger to finger. It looks like a magic trick, really, and it's clearly something they're comfortable doing.
She doesn't seem freaked out by the display. "I know a guy who does something similar with electricity. First time we met, he showed me a sparky thing kinda like that."
"This kinda stuff is...it's easy to do in public, people don't freak out. They just think it's a trick." They close the lighter and make a fist, extinguishing the flames. "Other stuff...I mean you know. Not the kind of thing you want most people to see."
"I know what you mean." She nods a little. "Because I know other psychics, I've gotten to know a bit about psychic shit. If you, uh, wanted starting points for looking more into all of this, I can give you some tips. But...you gotta be careful, right? Not just for you, but for all the rest of us in town, because if one of us Fucks Up, it could lead to big problems for everyone. You know what I mean?"
"Pretty sure I wouldn't be alive if I wasn't careful. But...I don't even know, what I don't know. It's been a lotta experimentation, so far. Skipping some'a that...could be nice, yeah." They nod.
Jane nods thoughtfully, and then smiles. "Right, so I'm not a scientist about this shit, but I've been around long enough to pick up useful terminology. So, the power to move shit with your mind, in general, is telekinesis. Depending on what that shit is, you use the thing and then -kinesis for talking about it. So like, the sparky thing is 'electrokinesis', cold is 'cryokinesis', and your trick would be 'pyrokinesis'. That can at least get you to googling the right shit."
"Cool, yeah. I think I've seen pyrokinesis in the shit I've looked at. It's...like you said, it's like X-men shit," they say with a chuckle.
"Yeah, kinda. You know, some of us all hang out sometimes. There's an occult bookstore where I work, we meet up to talk shop, help each other out. They really...when I first started, I wasn't really under control, and the healing wasn't what developed first for me. So they helped me get myself in check. You could come meet everyone. I mean, if you wanted. But there's something you'd need to remember, if you did."
"I think I've...got my stuff under control, mostly. What um, what do I gotta remember, if I meet your...friends?"
"They have never met Jade Marlowe, and most of them never fucking will. I don't want them to hear that name from anyone--I've had close calls before, it's not cool. And that's not like 'I think you're going to leak', that's 'I'm terrified about leaks'." She offers her hand that is not currently hurting. "I'm Jane."
"Calamity." Their hand is small, but their grip is confident. "I got plenty of secrets, I can keep one more." They smile at her. "And I...might stop by your shop sometime. Bookstores aren't really my 'thing'."
"Calamity? What kind of name is that? And...seriously, from what you know about me, do bookstores seem like my thing? I'm there as a favor to the old man who owns the place. Someone's got to keep him safe and watch his back."
"It's my name, 's what it is." The wrinkle their nose at her a little. "And I guess that makes sense. I'd prolly trust you to keep me safe, if you were on my side of something."
"Yeah? Would you want me on your side in anything? If so, seriously, pop by the bookstore. The people who hang around there, they're 'my side'. Through and through. Like, not saying everyone's perfect, but...they're almost like family to me." She shrugs. "You, uh, mind a weird question?"
"...Depends on the question." They narrow their eyes. Suspicious of everything, this one.
"Are you a dude or a chick? I'm going to, like, mention you to the others who hang out at the shop, because if some kid just comes in talking about me, they might get defensive. So I wanna be able to talk about you right, but, uh. Yeah." She has the decency to look embarrassed at having to ask.
"...Uh." There's a beat, and Calamity looks Jane up and down. "Neither...?" They almost sound...afraid to answer.
"Okay...but what are you?" There's nothing sharp about it, just...confused.
"A Calamity." It's an off-the-cuff response, and they grin at her. "But uh, I'm literally neither, I don't...gender."
There's a bit of a long pause. She seems to be processing that. "That's an option?"
Calamity opens their mouth to respond, and then their eyes widen slightly as they have an Oh moment about exactly why Jane's asking. "Yeah. Definitely an option. Not an easy option, people are fuckin' shitty about it, but..."
Jane simply sits with that all for a long moment in a stunned silence. And then she shakes her head. "Right, sorry, that doesn't matter, not a big deal. How do I talk about you behind your back?" Stuffing all her feelings away to deal with never.
It looks like they almost want to push the issue with her, but change their mind with a small nod. "You can use like, they and them. Gender neutral stuff? Like...'I met this person in the park and they may come into the bookstore. I think they're pretty awesome.'" They finish with a grin.
"Are they, though?" She huffs quietly. "Calamity...cool. I'll do my best to remember that. Thank you."
"Yeah. You uh...maybe wanna find some more people to talk to about...gender shit. If it was a realization like...that. Just sayin'."
She laughs. "No, no. My brother has the monopoly on gender shit in the family."
"Some people say it runs in families. Doesn't, uh...didn't, for me, but...?" They shrug. "You talk to him about it?"
"Eh, I've used up my good credit with him for the month, I think. It's really not a big deal, though. Really."
"'F you say so." They give her a quiet Look before settling back onto the bench. Every few seconds they look at their wrist, marveling at the lack of pain.
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