back to normal.

[Liadan] It's colder, this early in the morning. Frost rimes windows of the unfortunate cars and trucks left to line the city's streets. Early morning commuters wake earlier than normal to scrape cars clean, warm up engines before they can be on their way.

And then there are the lucky fools who don't work regular hours. Who come and go as they please. Líadan is one such person. It's early, but she's out, jogging through Grant Park in sweats and a beige hooded sweatshirt, pink and white butterflies embroidered up the back right side. Her pace is easy, her gait long, her goal endurance rather than speed.

[Alexander] Alexander keeps a workaholic's morning hours, though that's about all he shares with such individuals. Up at 5:30am, throw shorts and a shirt on, a sweatshirt if it's extra cold; make a protein shake down in the kitchen. Out the door by 6, run all the way to Tribull, indulge in a good two, three hours of warmups and workouts and sparring before heading out around 8:30, 9 to run all the way back to the BroHo again.

So when Liadan comes jogging through the park, who should she run into but Alexander fucking Vaughn, going the other way. A gym bag's hanging across his chest, the strap pulled short so it bounces against the center of his back instead of his ass. His shirt's sleeveless, grey, charcoal where he's sweated through it front and back. He's not so much jogging as he is running, keeping a clip most fitness buffs wouldn't dare, and he smells like he's been working out for the past three hours.

"Liadan." He slows as he nears, doesn't stop, just turns around and falls in next to her. "Lookit you, up and at 'em."

[Liadan] Her endurance is paying off. Her schedule is somewhat similar to Alexander's. Awake at 6:00am, coffee and water, toast, then a circuit through the park, east on Jackson, south on Lakeshore, west on Roosevelt, north on Clark. She can go farther for longer these days. When she runs into Alex, she's on her second circuit. Her breathing is steady and even, her heart is pounding in her chest, her blood is pumping, and she really should have taken something for the pain in her arm.

She sees a familiar figure running in her direction, and her eyes rolls skyward. He slows, turns, and falls in beside her, and she keeps going. "Yep. Always." She tilts her head at him. Her hair, pulled to the nape of her neck, tries and fails to slide over her shoulder. "Haven't seen you through here for a while. Guess I need to adjust my schedule."

[Alexander] "Ah," he says, the sort of sound someone might make at the conclusion of a particularly difficult mathematical proof, "and back to hating me on sight, I see. Where'd you go after the tussle in the subway yesterday?"

[Liadan] She laughs at that. "I told you. Rip your face off. Set it on fire." She pantomimes and explosion with both hands. "Though I guess don't hate you too much. I could've let that nice lady give you a kiss." She lets it go at that, smile fading with each pound of her feet to the pavement. "Home. Shower. Then I think I went drinking with your roommate, but I don't really remember."

[Alexander] That nice lady, she says. Alexander doesn't laugh. The morning is grey and cold; the glance he shoots her is dark and intense.

"I was pretty sure for a second that nice lady killed your ass," he says.

[Liadan] "Yeah. I've found I have this weird inability to die easily. I don't know what it is. You want to know what I've been through since I moved to here in March?" Líadan looks at him, genuinely curious.

[Alexander] "Not really," he replies, his breath a plume of white in the crisp morning air. "I've heard the rumors flying around. Not sure I wanna hear all the ghastly details."

Her stamina's improved over months of jogging. His was already impressive. They keep pace with one another easily enough, though in truth Alexander's not built for distance running. The bones aren't long enough. The muscle's packed on too thick. He's made for strength and static endurance, and for bursts of raw vicious power.

"Why, you wanna tell me?"

[Liadan] "There are rumors about me?" Lee perks up at that, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth for a moment and then it's gone. A rare sight of the woman behind the barriers.

"No. Well, kinda. But not really. What about you? Where'd you go yesterday? I didn't see you on the train."

[Alexander] "That makes you happy?" He's openly incredulous. "Rumors usually aren't flattering, Lee."

A shrug, then. "Got off at the north end of Grant. Was going back to BroHo anyway. Just didn't wanna get on the train one big bloody crowd and then get back off at the same stop." He sniffs, the cold air making his nose run. Hawks it back, spits to the side. "So tell me," he invites. "What's Liadan Whelan been through since descending on the great city of Chicago?"

[Liadan] A shrug. A guarded grin. Otherwise, no further comment on the rumors. He hawks, Lee looks away over the lake to their left. "Well, let's see. Car crash. First time I ran into someone in Crinos it was a Spiral that wanted to rape me. I saw someone turned into a fomor and she tried to eat me. Mostly things try to eat me," she observes. "Shit keeps biting me. I was jogging through here one night and this couple tried to kill me, but they let me go for some reason. I had a dream where this guy kept calling me is queen? And then I saw him on the street and had to kill him. I was locked in a diner with a guy with shotgun and a silver bullet factory. And there was that thing at the club the other day. And yesterday was my second zombie." She sucks in a deep breath, then coughs into her fist. "Oh. And I was stabbed in the chest. I really thought I was a goner that time."

[Alexander] For once, Alexander keeps his big mouth shut. Listens to something other than his own mouth running with something like patience. Maybe it's just that he's running again, running after punching and kicking and wrestling and grappling and lifting weights and pulling bars and running some more. Maybe he's saving his breath.

But then he turns to look at her again, sparing only the occasional glance ahead to make sure he doesn't run into anything. Or anyone.

"That feel better, getting all that off your chest?"

[Liadan] "Heh. Yeah, I guess." She keeps a good conversation while running, only breaking here and there to take a breath, to keep oxygen flowing so she doesn't accidentally make herself pass out. That would just be embarrassing. And then she shrugs again. "I guess it's no big deal, though. I think I just, wanted someone else to know." She fixes him with a sidelong glance, and then turns back to watch the path ahead of them.

[Alexander] Another long regard before he turns forward again. Several steps, several yards of silence. Alexander runs steady as a metronome, slower than his usual pace, step by step by step pounding down the winding pavement trails of Grant Park.

"Tell me why you were angry," he says suddenly, "that night I took you home."

[Liadan] "Which time?"

[Alexander] "After the 'thing' at the club. When I asked you about your Scotsirish wolf."

[Liadan] Lee's brow furrows in thought, and her eyes roll skyward. Maybe there's a plane up there, trailing a banner with the answer she's looking for in bold letter across the sky.

The thing at the club. Alexander found her on the Mile, and took her home. And then...oh, right.

"That wasn't me angry. If I was angry I probably would've taken a crack at your head with your helmet."

[Alexander] Alexander snorts. "I bet you would've," he mutters. "What was it, then?"

[Liadan] Líadan doesn't answer right away. She watches him from the corner of her eye. "Why are you so interested? Think it'll help your campaign to help the downtrodden kin of Chicago?"

[Alexander] Another snort, louder. "Oh, not you too. What is it with women and assigning noble reasons to my behavior? What, does it threaten you that maybe I'm just acting like this because I want to?

"I'm asking because I'm curious. I want to know what it is that you didn't want to say so bad you'd say please to me."

[Liadan] She laughs outright, a harsh bark against the cold morning air. "I would've thought you at least could pick up sarcasm, Alexander. I don't think you're a good decent nice person. I don't think you do anything out of the goodness of your heart. You're like a kid with a magnifying glass and an ant hill. Which is why I want to know why you'd even care.

"And the answer is it's none of your business."

[Alexander] "Why are you asking?" This has turned into a tournament of questions. "What, if my reason's good enough you'll tell me, but if it isn't you won't?"

[Liadan] "No. I'm not going to tell you either way." There's no laughter now, not even sarcasm. "Contrary to what you might think? I'm not an idiot. Whatever happened in that ferris wheel, that happy fun sharing time? That doesn't make us friends. You might be asking out of curiosity now, but that doesn't mean you won't try and use it against me later."

She huffs suddenly, having spoken too much without remembering to inhale/exhale to keep her body moving. When she has her breathing back under control, she says sharply, "So excuse me if I don't give you bullets to shoot me in the face."

[Alexander] Anger flares in Alexander. Liadan can sense it as easily as she can feel the air in her lungs, the strain in her body telling her to save some breath for breathing. He's silent for a moment; then he snaps, "You know, Liadan, you are a piece of work. What the hell makes you think I want to be friends with a crazy, damaged, selfish, paranoid bitch like you? Huh?" He drops out of his jog, slows to a glaring halt. "To hell with you."

[Liadan] He stops to glare after her, Lee grinds to a halt a few steps later and turns. "Oh, yeah?" Dark eyes flash behind black-rimmed glasses. Her cheeks are flushed from exertion and from the cold. And still, this is not Líadan angry.

"Because you could've fooled me. Or do you think doing all...whatever it is you're doing is going to make me want to fuck you?"

[Alexander] "If I still wanted to fuck you," he comes forward those few steps she'd gained, gets right in her face, "I would've followed you upstairs that night. Get off your delusions, Liadan. A little interest in how your twisted little mind works doesn't make you the love of my life. Or someone I'd like to befriend."

[Liadan] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Liadan] He closes the distance, gets in her face, and there's one brief moment where Lee wonders how it is that he gets under her skin so god damned fast.

"I'm deluded? You fucking told me you picked me up for our little 'date,'" completely with air quotes, "you just wanted to fuck me. Get your stories straight and leave me the hell alone." She reaches up, plants her hands on his shoulders, and shoves him.

[Alexander] You told me you just wanted to--

"WanTED," he shouts back at her, mid-sentence, and now passerbies are whipping their heads around to gawk. "Get your goddamn verb tenses straight, Liadan -- "

and then she's shoving him, and he springs back with it, keeping his footing so deftly he almost looks like he'd intended to step back. Alexander's hand comes up. He points a warning finger at Liadan.

"You watch it, Lee. Pull that shit with me again and I'll break your fucking face this time."

[Liadan] "You watch it. Stay out of my face, asshole." She steps to the side, intending to head back north, around him.

[Alexander] Alexander turns with her, his breathing quick more with anger than exertion, his dark eyes fixed and furious until she's all the way past, heading north.

He was heading north. Going home. Fuck it; he turns south again, taking off at a run that eats distance up and soon leaves the site of their almost-tussle far behind.