Theives and Dancers {Max}

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

So, while Alex had been subtly watching the pair, the girl had taken off; by Max's somewhat worried expression and the absence of Prometheus, he supposed it was to scan the crowd for the absent weasel. He sighed inwardly, trying to turn his eyes away from Max and focus on something else. Why couldn't he let go of that guy...?

And Max did look worried...for a moment, Alex almost considered joining the search himself. He thought he had seen a glimpse of Prometheus a moment earlier as he had been walking through the crowd...surely, the animal was close. And if he brought it to Max, maybe he could win some gratitude...

B-but what did he want with Max's gratitude, anyway?! Alex flushed madly and went back to examining his camera with a little more gusto than necessary.

As he was fiddling with his camera, the very weasel the two seemed to be searching for hopped into his lap and began examining his camera. Alex smirked a little bit as he watched the creature. "Bonjour, petit Prometheus," he said in French, his voice amused and welcoming. He kind of liked animals. Sometimes they were a lot more tolerable than people, anyway. "An interesting contraption, non?" he asked the creature. "It takes pictures--oh, be careful with that!"

Suddenly, a voice in his ear caused Alexander's head to jerk up and his face to flush.

"You stalking me, Angel?"

"O-oh, h-hey, I didn't, um..." He swallowed hard. "Di-didn't see you coming..." Alex cleared his throat. Keep your cool. This is no big deal. Keep your cool--ohgodhe'ssittingnexttome.

"I-I'm not stalking you," he added, almost defensively. "I'm here to work on a school project." He jumped a little bit as the flash went off on the camera, momentarily confused, then chuckled as he watched Prometheus run away from the bright light.

[AISHA]

Aisha watched from the tree for a moment, dropping out of it after she heard Max’s whistle. She brushed her hands against her sweatpants, following Max from a distance. She tried to pick the pieces of wood out of her pants—no good in getting poked if she sat, or next time she tried to wear them. Max wasn’t running—which was good, because after all he did have her bag.

She approached slowly, her blue eyes watching Alex, before glancing to Max. Maybe they knew each other? With Max now sitting and talking to Alex, she was almost certain that they were friends. Sort of. She glanced down at at her palm, plucking out little splinters, before reaching down to grab the strap of her duffel bag and heft it over her shoulder

Aisha didn’t like to socialize very much; Max was an exception. He understood where she was coming from more or less, and she had something to gain by being in his company. But this blonde haired….child, pretty much, seemed too clean. And that fancy little camera of his was a luxury of someone with money to develop the film on a whim. Unless those were one of those fancy digital ones, which still didn’t help the case.

Immediately, Aisha nailed Alexander with an ‘Outsider’ mental tag, and took a step back from the two. She hesitated, glancing at Max, then looked down to Prometheus, “I’ll see you around, little guy.” Aisha smiled to the little ferret reaching out to pet his little head, then glanced at Max again. She was still trying to figure him out, but he was alright. However, when she looked at Alex for a final time, there was a slight anger in her vivid eyes. And irritation. Some city slicker, fancy kid, who had a bed and a shower every night…thought he had what it takes to hang around with people who did whatever it took to survive? What a naïve kid. And that almost seemed to register in her eyes.

No, she didn’t like that one. Not much at all.

[MAXIMUS PETULENGRO]

"O-oh, h-hey, I didn't, um... Di-didn't see you coming..." Alex muttered, the usual shyness that Max found ill fitting for the otherwise seemingly confident guy coming over him. Max would have to sort that out. Couldn't have Angelface going into a tizzy every time he encountered Max. "I-I'm not stalking you, I'm here to work on a school project."

Max laughed, as if skeptical. "A likely story." Aisha walked back over to them, her eyes watching Alex suspiciously. There was that anger again, that self righteous grudge. He knew he was right in pegging her that. He watched her closely, for any signs that she might try to pocket Alex, but this seemed to not be her prerogative.

Instead, she grabbed her bag, and gave a short farewell to Promie. “I’ll see you around, little guy.” Why'd he get a goodbye, and Max got a look. That hardly seemed fair. Shrugging at Alex, he watched her walk away, not really sure what to say. Free country, she could leave if she wanted.

Prometheus had something else in mind. Darting off from Max, he leaped into Aisha's bag, burrowing deep in her cloths. "Prometheus?" What the hell was he doing? The little ferret popped out, something shiny in his mouth. Oh dear, Max truly hoped that wasn't that Roma jewelery she had been going on about. But something told him that eye wasn't a fashion statement. "Prometheus, put that back." Ignoring Max, the little ferret whizzed around each of there ankles, trotting off a bit in the distance, before turning his little pinched face back to Max. OH! So a chase was what he wanted.

Slipping out of his coat, he took his double sided coin out of it's familiar pocket, and shoved it in his jeans, before handing the coat to Alex. He couldn't give two shits about anything else in there, but the coin was special. On his feet, he darted towards Prometheus, who skirted away. "Prometheus!" Stupid little git! He knew he wasn't suppose to steal unless Max pointed out what he wanted. That was how it always worked. Well, more or less. Sure, sometimes Max let Promie do his own thing. But this went from being cool to just damn inconvenient. Chasing his own damn ferret around Central Park. He dived at the little shit, who wriggled out of his brief grasp, and let out an annoyed growl. "Your fixin to be a nice pair of gloves you little-"

In the chase, they had neared a little cliff sort of formation, with a low ditch beneath, strewn with bushes and plant over growth. Careful around the edge, he heard Prometheus in one of the little bushes on top. Whistling a low tuned version of Pop goes the weasel, Max went to the bush before inspecting it from all angles. Just as the Pop part of the song was about to escape his lips, Prometheus leaped out at him, unfortunately causing Max to lose his balance. "Ah, shit-"

Tumbling down the sharp slope, Max braced himself for the impact, though he didn't yell or anything on the way down. And he did make impact, his back landing on a log most uncomfortably. Prometheus, who perhaps could sense how much trouble he was in, put the stolen ring in Max's hand. As he gripped it, the ferret pressed his nose against Max's, an apology of sorts. Gingerly, Max sat up, holding up the acquired treasure. "Got it." He laughed out, despite a sharp pain in his side. Damn, he might have cracked a rib. That suck-

What was that? Looking over through the brush, he saw a cave of sorts, which melted into the foundation of the slope. It was covered, like a secret time had forgotten, but the thicket around, caught by Max's acute eyes. Standing up, he brushed himself off carelessly, walking over to it, pushing the bushes out of his way, and seeing a sewer cover inside the little cave. The cave itself was uninteresting and unimpressive, being about four feet about two, smelling of moss and earthy mold. But the sewer cover itself was old, very old, with the words: New Amsterdam barely legible in the rusting metal. "I think I found something!" He called up to his companions, feeling like a Indiana Jones sort of fellow.

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

For a moment, Alex's blue eyes flickered to the girl who had come to stand by them, still a little perplexed by her presence. What was she to Max, anyway? And why was she looking at him like that when he had never done anything to her?

Alex wasn't exactly a master of reading the atmosphere, but it wasn't hard to get an idea of what this girl thought of him, and the idea made him shrink. She was right, of course, and he knew it - Alex was an outsider. He had no right to be talking to them if they didn't want him around; what did he know about the hardships of life? He'd been spoiled by his older brother most of his life, he didn't know about living.

The thought brought him back to Max again, what Max thought of him. He had to know that Alex lived somewhere, had new clothes every day, showered every day...and yet, he didn't seem as judgmental as this girl. But...but what if he still was judgmental, and he just didn't show it because he was...a better actor or something? He could easily have just as much disdain for Alex as she did...

"A likely story."

Max's voice jarred him back into reality, and he flushed a little bit; of course, Max was right. He wasn't really here to take pictures. Since when did Alexander Fortescue finish ANY school project on time, anyway?

For a moment, he was lost in thought, not really noticing the girl walking away or Max trying to call back Prometheus until Max threw his jacket at Alex. The blonde caught it, started, but barely had the time to call out a "Hey, where are you going?!" before Max was running off after that ferret. Alex sprung to his feet as well, clinging to the jacket and chasing after the man, uncertain of what to do.

He saw Max linger at the edge of what looked like a cliff, and then--

"MAX!" he screamed as his dark-haired companion disappeared over the edge. Picking up speed, Alexander darted to the edge of the ditch and hesitated there, looking down, trying to decipher where Max had gone with his eyes. "Max, are you alright?!" he called, trying to keep the note of concern out of his voice. Was he actually...concerned for the security of another human being? Nonsense.

And then, to Alex's relief, a voice.

"I think I found something!"

Leaning a little farther over the edge, he shouted back, "'Something' is a pretty vague description, what the hell is it?!"

[AISHA]

As Aisha left, she was suddenly aware of a tiny weight on her bag. She looked down, just enough to see a fluffy little something pop out. “Promie…” Aisha said slowly, narrowing her blue eyes at the little sneak, noticing the ring in his mouth. “No, Prometheus---give that back…” Aisha said, making a grab for the ferret, only for the little thing to take off running.

She leaned down, trying to grab the ferret as he darted around the three pairs of ankles, and then rushed off. Panic thrummed in her chest. He had the Evil Eye ring. That wasn’t good. Aisha took a deep breath, and tore off after Max and the ferret. Her shoes pounding on the ground, just a few yards behind Max, slowed down by her bag. And then Max disappeared.

“MAX!”

Her shout of his name echoed with Alex’s, and she ran at Alex’s side coming to a stop at the edge. She looked down, and glanced up at Alex, before sliding down into the ditch. Unlike max, she was prepared, using her feet and hands to guide her a little safer down the edge. Her heart thrummed in her chest; Max could’ve very well snapped his neck, or broken something important.

And she heard his voice, and she relaxed a little bit, still edging down. She straightened up when she was at the bottom, and looked back up at Alex, her expression hard. “Don’t stand up there like an idiot. Come down here if you don’t mind getting your fancy little jeans dirty.” Freakin’ spoiled kid. Acting all concerned, but couldn’t be bothered to come down to check on his friend.

Aisha turned her back on Alex after that, adjusting her bag, before heading towards Max’s find. “Are you okay?” She asked, though her eyes were looking at the cave over his shoulder. “A cave and a sewer. Aren’t you supposed to be the King of New York or something? There are sewers everywhere.”

[MAXIMUS PETULENGRO]

He could hear them a little, as he leaned down to the sewer hole, inspecting it closely, putting Aisha's ring in his pocket for safe keeping. "'Something' is a pretty vague description, what the hell is it?!" And then he heard Aisha say something, her tone not what one would call pleasant. Max paid it little mind, rubbing his hands together and attempting to hoist the corroded metal out of it's home.

He heard Aisha come up behind him, as he bit down on his cheeks, his eyes burning as his ribs protested this action. Prometheus rubbed on the girl's legs affectionately, as if apologizing. “Are you okay?”

Grunting a little, he heard the metal start to give. "Never- Nnngh- Better." Finally, the sewer cap popped off, much to the relief of Max's body. He grinned up at Aisha, tossing the rusted metal aside, and digging the ring out of his pocket. She looked doubtful, as he pressed the ring into her hand.

“A cave and a sewer. Aren’t you supposed to be the King of New York or something? There are sewers everywhere.” He rolled his eyes, moving past her out of the cave.

Not because he didn't plan to answer her. He did. And not because he didn't want to inspect his new find closer. He definitely did. But it was because it was time for Max to go all MacGuyver. Grinning at Alex, whose cherub face was round and startled by the turn of events, he took his coat back and started digging in the pockets, until he found his small collection of zippo lighters. There was a huge benefit of being a chronic pack rat. Tossing one up in the air, she assured his Angelface of his well being. "Just a tumble, just a tumble. And worth it too, for what I found." His whismy grin spread widely across his face, he searched for a long piece of wood, which he found easily. Pulling off his top shirt (as he was currently wearing five, of various sleeve lengths, a tore it into shreds, dousing said shreds with the lighter fluid. He then wrapped a two of the strips of cloth on the tip of the stick.

Oh yes.

A torch.

He put the other shreds into various pockets, making sure to keep it on the left, as he'd be holding the torch on his right. Pleased with his work, he went back into the mini cave, sticking his head into the hole. Cobwebs, awesome. It had the distinct smell of dirt that had been sitting, and a bit of rotting wood, but no shit could be detected in Max's nostrils. Perfect. This must have been more a rain catch or something, way back when. "You two up for an adventure?" He asked, gripping the stick in his teeth, and hopping into the darkness.

Alright, Max probably could have exerted a bit more caution. After all, he had no idea how deep this thing went. But he was a creature of luck, and once again it was on his side. Falling promptly on his ass, after falling for a moment, he was surprised to find the earth relatively dry. Digging in his pockets once more, he pulled out some matches, lighting the torch. It would keep for about a half hour, which was why he had back ups. Looking down the tunnel, he grinned, seeing it go on a ways. "You two comin? It's awesome down here!" He laughed, as Prometheus chittered happily.

[ALEXANDER FORTESCUE]

The zippo lighter he saw tossed in the air did reassure him a bit, and he relaxed slightly, wondering why he'd been so worried in the first place...this was Max, of course he was okay.

“Don’t stand up there like an idiot. Come down here if you don’t mind getting your fancy little jeans dirty.”

Alex winced a little bit at that, glaring subtly at Aisha as she passed him and slid down. It wasn't that he was afraid to get his jeans dirty - that wasn't the case - he just wasn't sure how they'd get back out, and frankly, he found the idea of sleeping in a ditch highly unappealing. "I'm coming," he half-growled, and carefully slid down the slope after the both of them, nearly crashing into a bush on the way down. "Zut," he hissed as he reached the bottom, straightening and dusting off his clothes a little bit, almost as an afterthought, before catching up with Aisha and Max.

"Just a tumble, just a tumble. And worth it too, for what I found."

Alex's eyes widened a little as he recognized what Max was indicating. "Mon Dieu...une petite caverne! Je me demande où cela mène..." he reflected quietly in French, probably too soft for Max or Aisha to hear - or, if they heard it, they wouldn't understand. He watched Max create the makeshift torch with a little smile at how innovative he was.

"You two up for an adventure?"

Alex laughed a little bit, excited out of his mind. A real adventure! "Hell yeah!" he exclaimed, grinning and advancing a few steps. He let the smells of the cave hit his nose, but didn't shrink away, glancing around and hurrying to catch up with Max. No way was he missing out on an adventure as awesome as this one.

"Wonder where this goes...heh!" He was almost bouncing with his excitement. When was the last time he'd done something this interesting?