Feb 17 09:09:13 106 PA

From Chronicles

A snowy park morning, though the flakes that fall are sluggish and plump, scattered enough that some are out without hoods or umbrellas to shield themselves from the fall. Vixen is one and she's not hard to find. The relative quiet of the park itself disturbed by the distinctive, angry snap of a bullwhip. The loud sound breaking into the quiet in a series of regular cracks with spaces of silence between them. After the latest series, Vixen has the whip laid over her neck, dangling over her shoulders as she sets up a series of objects she's scrounged on the back of a bench. An old paper cup, a pinecone, what looks like a broken action figure , a stone with a slender, flat end that lets it stand up and a small snack treat box. The box and cup already show signs of assault, tears in both from being snapped at with the whip before. With them set up she turns and takes a few steps away, flicking the whip down to trail along, held in her right hand.

Peace and quiet are perhaps some of the few casualties of the bustling city life. Leonard may have had more than enough during his solitary journey here, but occassional solitude is still welcome. He enters the park seeking such, cloak wrapped close against the chill. The sharp sounds are unexpected, easily drawing his attention and leaving him rather more surprised at their source. Booted steps take him towards Vixen and her... practice? venting?, though he does not immediately interrupt.

Vixen doesn't show any sign of being upset as she turns on her heel to face her set up of targets, her left arm relaxed, stance casual. Indeed, there's a sense of calm as she flicks her right arm back, the whip rolling to lay out straight behind her. Her eyes intent on the targets before she moves in a flurry of snaps. She handles the whip with an obvious skill, the sweep of arm and twist of the wrist that directs it a focused thing. The cup flips away as the snap of the tip almost cuts it in half. The rock going next, toppling back on the backhanded roll that follows the first. A snap wings the outstretched arm of the action figure, making it wobble and fall. The snack box missed. Her lips quirk down slightly and a final snap catches the pinecone squarely, sending it spinning away. Mildly disappointed. And, for the moment, oblivious to Leo's approach as she inspects the last box standing.

Leonard comes to a halt at what he imagines to be a safe distance, even if he is anything but familiar with Vixen's choice of weapon. She is obviously familiar and skilled, her movements admired as much for their precision as their femininity. His lips open to speak as he takes a step forward, then pauses as she appears to take careful aim at the beligerant box.

Indeed, the affront of the box's survival seems to go without being humbled. Her left hand lifts, resting on her hip as she taps the grip of the whip with her index finger for a moment before she flicks the whip up, catching the box squarely. An angry snap that sends it flipping away. And brings amusement back to Vixen as her lips curve in amusement. Her eyes then flick towards Leo, the slight curve growing just a bit, though with a sly edge. "Let the commentary begin."

"I am thankful to not be a box..." Leonard offers his commentary with a grin. "An interesting choice of weapon, and probably difficult to master..." His eyes lower from her sly smile to bootheels and return, cataloguing her current pose with the whip. "but somehow it seems very... you." Must be all the leather.

Vixen laughs lowly and turns towards him, her arms relaxing, drawing up the whip to start coiling it loosely. "Just like anything, once you get past scaring yourself up with it, it isn't too hard to deal with. Though you'd never know to look about that long part of the process." She gives her shoulders a casual shrug. "So you don't see me as a sword swinger?"

Leonard looses a chuckle and rolls his shoulders in a shrug, taking another step or three towards now that the swinging seems to have ceased for the moment. "I haven't yet, but no doubt you would be just as dangerously graceful with a blade. Call me new-fashioned, but I am more a 'point and shoot' sort. Moving in closer to something that wants to kill or devour me just sounds like a bad idea."

"Actually, I've never used a sword before," Vixen admits. "I have some knives, but never trained with those either. Been considering it, since I can't really block people with the whip. And those undead things don't seem to be smart enough to fear when it starts making noise." She shakes her head slightly as the whip is drawn into a precise coil and she glances down, inspecting it briefly as she brushes off the snow that has clung to it. "I do know how to handle an energy handgun, though. I keep a nice one for when I need it."

"They wouldn't fear much of anything, I don't believe, nor would the whip do much harm to most of them." Leonard continues his commentary, as it were, with a nod, "My rifle has yet to be used outside of some practice, which is just as well. I like to travel light, and wouldn't be completely defenseless if something unfortunate did pop up."

"It can still trip 'em up like anything else that has to deal with balance," Vixen notes. "But yeah.. not ideal." With her whip passing whatever internal test she has for it, she flips back her open coat, a slender loop at the back of her outfit curled over the coiled weapon, securing it discreetly. Though this also reveals the 'Long Pistol' inside her coat as well, a well known and powerful particle beam pistol. "I've seen action. Nothing too bad yet, though."

Leonard nods at her advocation of other benefits to the weapon. "It would, and they can be slow and clumsy to recover. There is usually some weakness to most anything that can be used against something, if you can learn it. The strange and supernatural are no different, and maybe even more vulnerable to a little knowledge." He smiles. "I hope you won't be offended if I prefer that you not see any action that is 'too bad.'"

Vixen shifts her coat once she's secured her whip, settling it around her once more, starting to button it up again against the chill. "You don't gotta worry about that. I don't like fighting. But not knowing how to do it is pretty much like making yourself a victim around here. I prefer shooting with my camera rather than my sidearm."

"One lessened worry is always welcome." He chuckles, then exhales a sigh, "I know exactly what you mean, unfortunately. The strong, or those that think they are, do like easy targets..." After a trailing off and slight pause, Leonard switches tacts and topic with a returning smile. "Speaking of your camera... any new stories or interviews? Or should I expect to wait anxiously by the receiver like everyone else?"

"There's always something new, but it isn't always all that interesting," Vixen replies. "Though I suppose it's a good thing that real bad stuff doesn't happen everyday." She glances down a moment to see that her coat is in good order. "As to you.. I have to decide what to ask. Usually blind interviews aren't so good and I'll admit, I haven't sat down to consider it yet."

Leonard shrugs easily and nonchalantly. "No news can be good news... and I'm not in a dire rush to have the camera pointed at me." The smile proclaims he has no real objections to it, however. "Although it is an easy excuse to monopolize your time, I know you have a large city to cover. Take your time. You have been very talented at catching me completely unaware so far, and I don't think the interview will be any different."

Vixen smirks faintly, her hands sunk into her coat's pockets deeply as she steps closer to Leo. Amused again, surely. "So I guess I could get you to do almost anything when it comes to time with me, huh?" Her brows rise slightly. "Dunno why people seem to be so scared of the camera, though. Not like I can force anyone to answer any questions or anything. It's an opportunity."

Leonard waves a hand from his cloak to brush off the indirect implication of fear. "I'm not scared of it, but the thought of having every deed recorded can be a bit...intimidating." The small act of bravado passes into a more vulnerable smile, and her step is mirrored to bring them closer, still. "Or maybe it is the woman behind the camera that is the culprit. I think I am getting very fond of her and her company."

Vixen cants her head slightly. "Only if you know you're being recorded." A casual statement given before she considers him. A few moments of pause before she wonders, "Fond, huh? That can mean a lot. But I suppose the details don't really matter that much just yet."

"One has to learn more to make an informed decision, or so a wise woman once told me." There is a slight roll of Leonard's shoulders with a somewhat awkward chuckle afterwards. "Something like that, at least... Maybe I should start using a recorder, too. I don't want to be the next whip target for misquoting you."

Vixen chuckles lowly and shakes her head slightly. "I save the whip for people looking to do harm. I got other ways of handling unruly men." She lifts a hand from her pocket to lightly pat Leo's shoulder before she moves past him. "If you want to carry a recorder, that works for me. Just drop the tape into my post office box if you record anything juicy. Catch you later."