Santa Monica Boulevard
Bright neon signs bathe the sidewalk in harsh light, and each side of the strip
is lined with bars and nightclubs ranging between high class establishments to
buildings that are little more than densely populated Raves. The street is
packed at any time of day with people and cars, making parking an issue for most
anyone. The occasional crowd of Paparazzo can be seen here or there, hoping to
get shots of some well known celebrity coming out of one of the sleazier
establishments. Continuing to the east and west, traffic travels down single,
congested lanes, looking only a bit wider than the sprawling sidewalks, and the
street lamps leave plenty of illumination in the night. Between many of the
buildings, dark alleys offer places for the less savory population of the strip
to do their business with mild obscurity.
* Exits *
north - Hotel California - Lobby (Avg NPCs: 10)
east - Santa Monica Boulevard
west - Intersection of Santa Monica and Vine
Maxwell hangs up his phone and slips it into his pocket, taking a seat on a bench outside of the Hotel California, where he waits for the woman, "Shit. She didn't say where she was..", he mumbles to himself.
Sofiya walks down along the side walk, clutching a large hand bag over one arm as she makes her way down Santa Monica. She humms softly as she slips her phone back into the bag within a pocket as she approaches the hotel. She spots Maxwell as she speaks up, "So, shopping you say?"
Maxwell jumps a bit as the woman manages to sneak up on him, or at least, while he was musing over something. He pushes to his feet, shoving a hand through his hair and grinning, "Man. All I had to say was shopping, huh? I think I'm starting to get the hang of women..", he teases, before trying to hail down a cab, "Yeah. Shopping. I've got a few things to pick up..".
Sofiya chuckles as she says, "Well, I'm not use to having men wanting to go shopping. You surprised me when you called asking for me to come." She smiles as she stands near him, "Is all well with you and Charlotte? Didn't get to say much to you after.. yeah"
"Yeah. We're fine. I rented the largest fucking room that I could find last night, ordered the shit out of room service, and I didn't let her get out of bed until like, noon or more..", Maxwell states, nudging the Silver Fang in the side a bit with a grin, "She deserved it though. We try and have a date, and walk into that shit. How ridiculous..". It's about this time that a Taxi does pull up. Max opens the door for Sofi, but before letting her in, he stoops in the peer up at the ceiling, as if checking for something.
Sofiya watches Maxwell for a moment before speaking, "Yeah. I kinda saw you two leave the restuarant." She takes a step into the cab once Max is done checking it as she continues, "I just hope you get more moments together. Something I hope for when it is available for me." She smiles to Maxwell.
"I don't think we're going to. It's getting rough. Shit is hitting the fan. It's just going to get worse before it's going to get better..", Maxwell admits, closing Sofi's door before hopping around to the other side of the Taxi and getting in himself. He offers up a location to the driver, before finishing his topic with the other Kinfolk, "That's pretty much the purpose of our little shopping trip. We're definitely not going going to Bed, Bath and Beyond..".
Sofiya quirks a brow as she says, "Oh? Now I wonder where you are leading me too." She smirks as she sits back, holding her back near the floorboard as they travel.
"Well. I figure we'd hit up Home Depot first. I need another Chainsaw for the back of the van. Also, some rope. Climbing rope. Something durable..", Maxwell admits, flicking a piece of lint off of his shoulder before draping his arm out of the window again, "Then a self defense shop. Or a knife shop. One of those big fucking rambo knives. Then to Wal-Mart or something. Travel supplies. Toothpaste. Toothbrush. Changes of clothing. A duffle bag. I'm not getting caught flat-flooted again like last night..".
Sofiya nods, "Understandable. Gonna try to keep myself out of sight abit better than before." She chuckles as she speaks, "Basically get enough things to have in storage for everyone?"
"Well. Enough for me. And for Charlotte. She rips through clothing and supplies even when she's /not/ uh. Doing her thing. With the claws. I'm getting us some duffle bags to keep around..", Max admits, letting his hand dance through the force-driven wind outside of the Taxi, playing in it, "I'd love to do it for the others. But I'm not rich. I got paid for the ship thing, but I need to save, too. So, I can do it for them too if they want to toss up some green. But I'm putting a lot of it into my warehouse, also..".
Sofiya nods, "Yeah, I know. Perhaps there will be those in the group that will help out. I can only do as much as I can." She looks out the window, watching as things go by as she speaks, "Just dont' know what much else to say with what happened in the last twenty-four hours."
"Yeah. It was fucked. I wish I could tell you the half of it. There was way more than what you saw. We're too public right now, though..", Maxwell states, leaning a bit out his window to hang his head in the air for a minute. When he pulls back in, he's on a completely different subject, "Man. I could I could be a dog. Just to do that like a dog does. How awesome that must be..".
Sofiya chuckles as she looks at Maxwell, "You would be the one who would want to be a dog with it's head out the window." She looks to the driver and then back to Max as she says, "Tis one reason why I go for my runs every morning and evening. Just to think and feel the wind go by me."
"Yeah. I'd much rather be in a car and doing it. I hate running. We go running, and I /still/ can't stand it. It's like..death and work and taxes and more death, all wrapped into one..", the Glasswalker Kinfolk states, allowing a smirk to curve up his lips just a bit as he uses a hand to push down at his wind-tousled hair, "I'm putting you in a locker at my warehouse, too. You should know. Along with the pack. Just for storing shit. Or whatever.".
Sofiya boggles at Maxwell, "Me..in a locker? Why?" She wonders why he thinks this as she turns in her seat to face him directly.
Maxwell slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand at the statement from the woman. He pauses for a second, clearly working to get his brain moving again. His jaw works back and forth. Once. Twice. Before he manages to get it out, "I'm not putting /you/ into a locker. I meant like. I'm putting a locker in /for/ you. Holy Shit.".
Sofiya blinks, "Oh." She chuckles wholeheartedly as she says, "That would be good, I guess." She smiles to Maxwell before looking out the front of the car as it continues to drive on.
"I don't know. The more and more I think about all of this, and the deeper and deeper that we go, I start to think that I should just like, live out of my van or something stupid. Something that moves. That people can't just walk back to and know where it is..", Max admits, grumbling at this notion of what he'd just confessed, before draping his arm out of the window again, "..I don't know. Man, do I hate all of this.",.
Sofiya nods as she says, "It could be a wise thing or a poor decision. It is like this in most parts of the world, though, Maxwell. We live each day as it goes.", looks back to Max.
"Yeah. It is. This whole world is going to shit..", Maxwell admits, leaning his head against the door of the Taxi a bit and watching the buildings go past, "..People complain about politicians. And shit. But most of them don't have a fucking clue.". The Glasswalker Kin goes eerily silent for a moment, just pointing his hazel sights towards the flow of the outside world. Eventually, he asks, "But we're going to fix it, right..?".
Sofiya nods, "Yes. We are going to fix this." She continues to look at him. She's silent for a moment as well, looking to her window and out it as to ponder things.
"Yeah..", the Kinfolk repeats, trailing off and back into his thoughts again. This is something that is just not a characteristic of his. Being silent, and all of that.
Sofiya hears his words as she doesn't really know what else to say. She looks down to her hands and her thumbs seem to twiddle as in wait of when the ride is over.
As the cab pulls up to The Home Depot, the attention of the Glasswalker Kinfolk picks up a bit, "Keep going. Drive around the block a few times..", he orders, before slumping his head back into it's former position. There's another bout of silence as the car gets back into traffic again, before Maxwell states, "I was raised around them. The cousins. I always knew what it was about. But I don't think that I ever..really /cared/, until I met Charlie. I mean. I don't know how to explain it. I cared, I guess. I had to. You always feel that…connection. But I cared a lot less. What I did, I looked at like work. Stupid. Pointless. Sort of like..doing chores. No fun, but you know you have to..". He lifts his head a bit, glancing over to the Silver Fang Kin, before adding in, "It's changing now. Because of her. I guess it like..put me on a more personal level. It's different when most of them treat you like the odd little brother. But when one of them looks at you like you're an equal for the first time. It just changes things. I've never wanted to get out there and fix shit for them. For us, like I want to now..".
Sofiya looks over to Max, nodding, "Things do change when someone comes around and shows you the way. I'm growing into my part for helping in this area. Charlie is good for you as you are for her. A person should have another who will balance them out for life." She smiles, brushing back a curled strand of her honey hair from her face.
"Yeah. They do. I'm glad as shit that it happened. If it hadn't, I'd be sitting on the couch, smoking a joint. Getting fucked up and smashing shit on Mario. Which used to be good. I guess. It sort of pales in comparison now..", Maxwell admits, before leaning forward and telling the driver to stop, "We'll walk the rest of the way. We can shop, but I just want to like..wander..for a bit..". He fishes the correct amount of cash out of his pocket (and then a bit more), passing them up to the Cabby, before getting out on his side, "You can come with. If you want. Or go ahead and get home. It's up to you. I'm just going to be doing a lot of thinking out loud. I guess I wouldn't mind the occasional feedback though..".
Sofiya opens the door on her side, smiling to the cabby with her thanks as she says in response to Maxwell, "I'll walk with you. I do not mind the listening or responding back." She chuckles as she pulls the straps of her handback up over her shoulder as she waits along the sidewalk.
Maxwell taps the back of the Taxi as it takes off, giving it a bit of a polish with the sleeve of his shirt. Stretching out a bit, the Glasswalker Kin begins to walk back toward the opposite direction that the cab had brought them, "Thanks..", he states, trailing off a bit. Another ten feet or so of walking goes past, before he goes on to speak more, "..It's so weird. Just a few weeks back I was doing nothing. The old Max. That's what I like to call him. You'd be surprised at how life-changing it can be to explode a ship into ten-thousand million little pieces..".
Sofiya looks over to Max, "Exploding a ship? I would believe it would be such a drastic change when having to do something like that. Haven't heard the story to that." She smiles to Max as she walks along with him.
Maxwell walks along next to the Russian woman, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "Do you know what I did, before I met Charlie?", he asks, arching his brow in a bit to show that he really was curious as to how much knowledge she actually of him.
Sofiya shakes her head, "I don't. I did not know much of those who lived here except meeting up with Dimitri." She looks over to him as she keeps her arms wrapped about herself.
"Well. You know there's shit out there..other than our cousins, right? Shit like them..but different? You know. Birds. Bears. Spiders.", the Glasswalker Kin reveals, walking along as he continues, "I used to chase that shit down for them. I was put into school as a Biologist. So. I guess I've always been a bit of an animal nerd. It wasn't..combat-related. I mean. There was some danger. That's why I carried a Tranquilizer gun. But. It wasn't like..some of the shit that we do now..".
"I think I might have heard of them, but not to well.", speaking softly as she looks to him, "Why were you going after the others?"
"..To find out more about them. To learn. To watch. Our cousins find it hard to get near them. Too much..uh..conflict in the past. So that's what I did for them. I was a field researcher. Something of a scientist..", Maxwell admits, pulling a hand out of his pocket so that he can check the time, before pushing it back in, "Then, for some fucking weird reason, they pulled me. Wanted me to..get rid of a ship. I was so pissed off. And scared. You'd think there were mercenaries and militants for that shit. They told me I'd be working with a woman named..well. You know her name. She's blonde, and pretty bossy. But adorable. Anyway. They said I'd be working with her. Someone I'd never met before..".
Sofiya nods as she speaks, "Yeah, seems like that they are like that with anyone. Dimitri nudge me into joining the pack here. I really never did a thing with anyone until now." She thinks for a moment back, from when in Russia, as she shakes her head as says, "If they know something is going wrong and want to get rid of it to fix it, they will find the way to do such."
"Yeah. I know. But who is going to pick an animal nerd to go out and blow up something, right? I mean. That doesn't make sense. I would pick someone who, you know..was experienced in that. Not the odd son..", the tousle-haired American points out, allowing a bit of a smirk to work across his face, "So I got there. And met my partner. I didn't think much at first, of course. She was..uh..excited. Excited to go out and kill shit. I wasn't too thrilled. But I knew that I had to go, right? You don't just decline with a polite nod. So I went.".
Sofiya nods, listening to the man speak as they walk. "And that is your first real experience in having to do a combat orientated situation?" She looks to Maxwell.
"Yeah. I guess I fucked up a bit. I wasn't that impressive. I wasn't supposed to be though, I guess. I mean. I /did/ make the..uh..thing that got rid of the ship. And I /did/ do my part. I wasn't very graceful about it. There was a lot of cursing and screaming. Like a girl..", Maxwell admits, turning down a street as they come to a crosswalk, so as to not have to stop walking, "..So we finished that, and got out of there. It was just like an action movie, I swear. I sent her some flowers the next day..to apologize for being stupid. She sent me steak back. I found the flowers planted in the park, a few days after..".
Sofiya chuckles lightly in hearing his reponses. "I can't say what she was probably thinking on her end. But you had good intentions when you did such." She smiles as she tucks away another loose strand of her hair.
"I guess I got attached after that. It's hard enough though, to be a normal Kin and live up to what a Cousin can do. We're just..not the same. But it's even harder when you're a /defective/ and /lazy/ Kin. So I guess I just decided to change it. It was that simple. I mean. It's not SIMPLE. But the decision to do it was. And I started. And now, every time I go to bed, I'm usually tired as shit, or feeling like I need to spend a week or fifty in a hottub. Ask me if it's worth it though..", Maxwell puts out there, shifting his hazel glances to the Russian woman walking at his side, for all of a second. He does stop at this crosswalk, waiting for the red hand to tell them that it's fine to go ahead and cross without getting owned.
Sofiya looks to him, waiting at the light as she asks, "Is it worth it, Maxwell?" She did only what he asked, knowing that she's seen some of the stuff that goes on with the society in Russia.
Staring across the street for a minute, Maxwell seems to wait for something. He pulls a joint out of the pocket of his shirt, looking at it for a minute or two before tossing it into the gutter. He then reaches down into his pocket, pulling out a red-wrapped Tootsie Pop. Disrobing it, he sticks it in his mouth and tucks it into his cheek. With a bit of a half-cocked grin, the Glasswalker Kin looks over to the Russian woman and nods, "You bet your ass it is..". Just then, the red hand across the street changes into a white pedestrian. He steps off of the curb, into the street, and crosses.
Sofiya chuckles as she walks across with him, keeping pace with him as she says, "I don't have my problems with being what I am. Though, there has been one thing negative that happened to me, but it is gone now." She seems to look abit down for a moment before continuing to walk with him. "That is why I am in America. To further myself here, for my being and for those around me. And I have made new friends here that I think they are like my family."
"Yeah. We're here for you. That's what a pack is for. And that's what we all are..", Maxwell admits, getting across the street and stepping back up onto the curb of the other side, "Besides. We're in a bad place. All of us. Los Angeles is one of the worst. We're all that we've got. And that's worth something..". He nudges the Silver Fang Kinfolk in the side a bit, allowing her a quick grin, before turning into The Home Depot.
