April was still kind of doing the roundup of places she apparently liked that Danny had given her. April was glad that her older-self had bought much more thermal laced clothing because it made walking around New York site seeing in the middle of winter a lot less painful than it otherwise would have been. But she still couldn't get away with wearing the sorts of clothes she normally would, and that bothered her.

Okay, so the blue jacket and scarf and beanie were sort of stylish but she couldn't show off any skin! Well, unless she wanted to actually literally die of frostbite she couldn't.

The current stop on the site seeing tour was a little corner of central park her brother had informed her she'd been to a lot. She hadn't been sure why until she got there and realised a lot of pretty people liked the spot, it seemed like she probably hung out here to pick people up, or just let them know that they were gorgeous and went well with the scenery.

Most of the city had a dusting of frost today, but there hadn't been any actual snow around her all day which was a good thing. April hated the snow, it was pretty and all but she hated being out in it. Photographs were fine, and watching it outside from the comfort of a fire and a preferably an also warm body were also fine. But liquid ice? Nah, no thank you.

She was lost in thought and maybe checking a passerby or two out as subtly as she could before she came across something most unusual. With a little gasp she blinked and leaned forwards. It was snowing, but only in this little localised area, almost like a little clearing of snow. And in the centre were these glittering ice sculptures of different people and animals, they truly looked like the work of a master.

She had no idea how there could be so many, and in such a good condition before she chided herself. It was probably the work of a mutant, that'd explain the little ring of snow. She fished through her bag and muttered "Should've brought a camera April." and eventually settled on a pretty low fidelity snapshot or 10 with her phone. This was less about actual photography and more about having something to show Danny to prove she wasn't making it up.

Stephanie was not born for cold weather. She was a Carolina girl, and while New York City was pretty, the winter was kicking her ass. She was working with the limited funds she had while she waited for the remainder of her laundered money to get to her. Money was not plentiful, but it was no longer so tight she could not splurge.

Donning her new peacoat, scarf, and knitted hat, she dressed Malia in her own winter clothes and lined her stroller with blankets and toys. There was snow in Central Park, and somehow, Stephanie had birthed a daughter that seemed fascinated by snow. She blamed the father who stuck her with a kid in Chicago.

Stephanie was trying to decide on babysitters she could trust, and with her funds slowly expanding, she could be picky and test a few out. Wendy was peppy and a year younger than Stephanie herself. She had experience with kids and was going to school for Early Education. That was a selling point; if she started with Wendy now, Malia would benefit from that nurturing nature.

In the park, the chill was present, but Malia was smiling and giggling, and for that, Stephanie would endure the weather.

The baby might have liked the snow, but all three of them found the towering ice sculptures fascinating. Stephanie got that tingle; the tingle where, if she could test the angles and feel out the space, there was a perfect photo. Grinning, she grabbed her camera from the undercarriage of the stroller. She never left home without her camera; well, not unless she had plans as Silhouette. ”Wendy, would you mind taking Malia for a walk while I try taking a good shot of this?”

“Sure, Miss Graves!”

Stephanie smirked. ”Stephanie is fine, Wendy. I’m nearly your age.”

The polite redhead blushed, but nodded. “Of course, Stephanie. Come on, Malia! Let’s go see more of the park!”

Left to her own devices, Stephanie walked around the ice sculptures, focusing on each piece and getting a feel for them, even daring to snap a shot occasionally. Not the shot, though. She would find the shot eventually. Until then, she would walk around the space looking for beauty in it.

April was very pleased to see that there were a few people that were as appropriately dressed for the weather as she was. Well, people that might be as terribad at temperature regulation as she was at any rate, didn't matter. She didn't feel too out of place. She approached some of the sculptures and turned her head as she walked around them captivated by the way they sparkled like diamonds. Some small, mischievous part of her brain wondered what would happen if she lobbed a fireball into them...

April's eye caught a cute little redhead with a baby chatting with another woman, visibly blushing a little and then walking away with a stroller. Oh how she loved pale skin, it showed blushes on the cheeks so perfectly. Especially with girls.

As the woman drew a camera and started pacing around looking for good pictures April felt a little more immediate allure spread throughout her. It didn't look somebody contracted to be here, it looked like a gorgeous woman appreciating natural beauty, well maybe not natural but beauty none the less. She could respect that, she could even show some appreciation for that.

She remained where she stood, near one of the statues, just a little off to one side as she'd paced around it and smiled as the woman began taking shots, lost in her own little world. "Couldn't resist bringing out the camera, huh, gorgeous?" She called in a low drawl as the brunette neared her. Oh, she a pretty face, that was for sure.

They made the right choice coming out while the sun was still in the sky. For one, there was some precious warmth offered by the rays beaming down. There was snow, but that warmth kept the weather from being biting or frigid.

The sunshine also brought beauty with it in the way it played with the world it cascaded across. As a woman of shadow, Stephanie loved the sun. A shadow needed the light, and that light met the world and created the dark beauty of varied, diverging shadows.

Snow met the sunshine and shimmered like diamonds falling through the sky. The ice sculptures glittered as rays of light passed through them, distorting and breaking like prisms of delicate glass. Natural beauty always found new ways to shine in the sunlight.

> "Couldn't resist bringing out the camera, huh, gorgeous?"

Broken from her trance, Stephanie looked away from her lens to see a woman, bundled up for the weather, but radiating her own kind of warmth. A glow in her smile. The sunlight lit her blonde locks like fire. Stephanie grinned; natural beauty loved the sunshine, after all. ”Well, how could I? There’s so much to admire out in the park today.” She lowered her camera to meet the woman’s hazel eyes properly. ”And what brings you out into the snow on a fine afternoon like this?”

[blocquote]April was of the honest opinion that there were beautiful things everywhere if you looked hard enough, especially in people. For example, she'd have already called the cute brunette attractive, but the fact she had an artistic talent like photography sort of just enhanced things.

April glanced around the park quickly and took in a few of the other people here. So many people were starting to flock to the park, noticing the beautiful site. She wondered who could have done this? If some mutant with snow or ice powers had just decided that the park needed some more beauty out of the blue. She certainly didn't see many signs of professionals around, and there wasn't anybody that looked to be charging people to go near or inspect the sculptures, which was usually a tell for when something had been set up by people with or looking for money.

Was she flirting, or just making an observation? Hm. "I've really got a thing for natural beauty. Even if this isn't really natural, it's just so unique and gorgeous." She admitted. "I'm kind of wandering around site seeing you could say, and this caught my eye. It helps that there are a lot of gorgeous people around too, pretty ice and pretty people~"

There were odd changes Stephanie had to adjust to in 2019. Her last memories before all the time she evidently spent growing old came from the beginnings of the 2000s. Now, the people her age were being born at the turn of the millennium. A fifteen to twenty year change should not have altered society so much in theory, but the world had spent every year since she was gone evolving like mad.

Sure, some of that came from her alternate universe upbringing. Things were different in this world in small and large ways; Steph was still wrapping her head around an X-Men team that was respected rather than hunted. Still, she did some research regarding the world she lost, and it went through a similar cultural and technological revolution.

Stephanie finally got her hands on a smartphone when she realized how ubiquitous they were. That research she did? So much easier with the internet, but she worried about how much of her life seemed to involve the internet now. Social movements and trends were so much larger than she expected in a short time, and she was pleasantly stunned by the strides in things like gender and sexuality. Being out and bisexual was not the social stigma it was even in the nineties. What a time!

Of course, there was a problem to go with this good news: gay culture was entirely different than what she remembered. Anyone could potentially be queer, and there were so many kinds of queer girls. Stephanie still had no clue how she was supposed to align her gaydar with the wide range of gay subcultures out there now.

”Really does make you wonder—festive ice mutant or extremely ambitious ice sculptor operating under the cover of night? The world may never know.” She used her index fingers and thumbs to form a frame as she observed a sculpture shaped like Lady Liberty.

The frame moved back and instead framed the blonde woman. ”Well, how goes your search? Anything catching your eye? Ice or people.” Her trademark easy smile was unassuming, but color her curious to see if she could figure this friendly woman out.

April had never been one to be shy on her preferences, she'd been around people that took issue with them sure, even those who would throw around slurs like it was going out of style. But she wasn't fragile. It didn't remotely bother her what people like that thought of her, because really all that mattered was that she was happy with herself, and had fun with life. And she did that for sure. It probably helped her family just sort of accepted that she was a sexually charged nutcase.

April nodded in agreement, she'd have pegged it as a mutant but she supposed she didn't know too much about how ice sculpting worked. Could this have been done overnight by a really talented sculptor?

A slightly sultry eyebrow was raised. "Well I've found plenty of pretty things, and people the last few days." New York really had so much to offer, it was borderline ridiculous.

She gestured at the sparkling statues. "Obviously the ice sculptures caught my eye right away, though gotta admit ice normally isn't my thing, cold in general really. I prefer a warm fire to snuggle somebody by~" She examined them a little more. "Everything is also elevated by the cute people running around in awe of them, and the gorgeous ones capturing them." She turned back to Stephanie with a smirk.

Stephanie did her best to pick out details when she spoke to people. Small details could be useful, and not all crimes involved purely stealthy endeavors. Occasionally, she had to schmooze or coerce information from the right people. She had to be charming and she had to be smart, so it helped to practice those skills in casual life.

It did not hurt that Steph had an interest in picking up details about this woman. She mentioned finding pretty things and people in the last few days. No reason to quantify that unless she had only been around a few days.

And that comment! The gorgeous one had to be Stephanie, right? If that was not flirting, then it was horribly misleading. Tentatively, Steph was going to play with the assumption that Miss Warm Fires was interested in women. ”Quite the flatterer, aren’t you? Not that I mind,” she assured her with a warm smile. ”I get that, though. I’m a Carolina girl originally, though I’m sure you can guess that by the accent.” With her own accent, Northerners seemed to find her a hot commodity.

Of course, if Steph was right, there was no saying this woman was a Northerner. Shifting her camera to one hand, Steph offered the other. ”I’m Stephanie, by the way. Figured it’s about time I offer my name. You’ve done a good job earning it,” she teased playfully. ”I’m still kinda new to the city. What about you? Transplant or native?”

Most people wouldn't actually peg April as super observant. She could often field assumptions about the airhead blonde stereotype from the way that she interacted with some people, especially pretty ones. But she was generally pretty sharp and good at taking in details. According to her brother, and some 'colleagues' she'd spoken to she was a pretty excellent EMT too, before she lost all that time. 

There was something about the way that the brunette angled herself, the way she held her camera and stole glances at April. It was interesting. She'd chatted up more than a few people since she'd woken up here, and no two of them were the same. It was exciting and amusing and a little terrifying all at the same time to find all these different personality traits among people. She supposed a photographer ought to be detail oriented though. 

"I am quite the flatterer. Nothin' wrong with letting the beautiful people know they are so." She teased. "Lots of interesting accents~" She purred. Oh she liked this one, she seemed to have some hidden depth, below the surface. 

"Oooh, and she has a name!" She cheered, a little quietly. "A pretty one at that." April wasn't sure how to answer the followup, exactly speaking. "I'm from Oregon, originally. Living here for now, new to it~" It wasn't technically speaking, a lie. It just wasn't a whole truth. You didn't just drop the fact that you were missing 8 years of your life on people. Especially people you were interested in. "And the name is April, beautiful." She replied. Directness helped. 

It was dangerous to make assumptions about people. This flirty, perky blonde might seem almost bubbly in her demeanor, but that did not mean there was not more behind that. People were complex, with their own secrets. For all Steph knew, April might be a de-aged, dimensionally transplanted art thief. Wouldn’t that just be wild?

At the very least, Stephanie was growing more and more confident that April was queer. Well, she was either queer or she was intentionally leading Stephanie on. That would be rude, but hell, Steph could make a challenge of seducing a straight girl in over her head. Until then, Steph would let herself guess this woman’s agenda. If she was right… well, it was not a bad agenda, now was it?

”Well April, I guess we’ve got that in common. New to the city, trying to get settled in.” She doubted April was settling in by picking babysitters and daycares, but once again, who knows? Maybe this fated meeting in the park would net Malia a playdate with a precious blond brat. ”Exploring the neighborhood, figuring out all the good places to grab a bite to eat.”

April was direct, but Stephanie liked to lead things in the right direction more carefully. ”After all, if I suddenly found myself with a few hours to pick out a place for a date, I need to have a hidden gem worth taking her to, don’t I?” Or him, she could have added, but for the purposes of this conversation, that felt like unnecessary information to offer up.

April was finding Stephanie more intriguing than most people she met already. Most people either responded in kind, were oblivious or bounced off April entirely. It sorta felt like Stephanie was probing, testing the waters with her. Which wasn't something that happened to her all that often. It was new and exciting.

Honestly it didn't matter all that much to April if someone didn't swing her way, she'd still get some enjoyment out of chatting to and subsequently flirting with them. And she was sure that most of them would get some enjoyment out of it too. Just because you weren't attracted to an individual didn't mean you were impervious to honest compliments from them.

She quirked an inquisitive eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" She wondered how long Stephanie had been around. She certainly wasn't wandering around lost and all doe eyed, that was for sure.

She'd definitely picked up on April's intent. That was good. There had been a few people ready that were dense as a pile of bricks. It wasn't even like she was subtle. April prided herself on being very up front with intentions. "oh, any luck with that yet? Food is all over the place, in quality that is."

A little grin sprouted on her lips. "Oh really?" she purred. "I can respect that. Wanting to take a lovely date somewhere and treat her right~"

Stephanie liked the vibes she was getting from this woman, honestly. She was only a few years older than Steph if she had to guess, but April had playful energy. Something about her was unmistakably warm amidst the winter weather.

The question now was whether April would close the metaphorical gap Steph was leaving or if it would be on Steph to stop dancing around and ask the unspoken question. ”I’ve been lucky enough to find a few great places in my limited hunting. It would have to depend on the woman, though.” Woman. Gay. I am one of the gays. Please don’t ignore that, she almost mentally broadcast.

Nonchalantly resuming her perusal of the ice sculptures, Stephanie continued like there was no pressure in the world. ”If she was feeling something spicy, there’s a nice authentic Indian restaurant. More traditional? I found a cute Italian bistro. Of course, I can’t say where these places are,” she added. ”Can’t just give up all these secrets for free, right?”

Oh April liked this game. The dancing around the actual words. It wasn't something she did very often. Truth be told April was generally speaking pretty blunt. She made it clear what she wanted. Who she wanted.

"Colour me impressed Stephanie, that's more than I've managed to do so far." She hummed, glancing around at the beautiful ice sculptures. "And how would the type of woman influence you, exactly?" She turned back with a sultry, if slightly amused smile on her face.

April rolled her eyes in amusement. Stephanie was definitely one of the most immediately captivating women she'd ever met, she played the word game very well, probably much better than April. "That's awesome. Both of those sound like great places to take a date. I'm more of an Italian girl myself." She purred, stepping a little closer to Stephanie. "And what, per say could I do to loosen your tongue and learn some of your secrets?"

Stephanie shrugged a casual shoulder. ”Some women have different tastes and different vibes. Can’t force the wrong aesthetic if I want the night to go well. And my secrets are mine alone. Well…” She turned back to look to April with a grin. ”Mine, and whatever girl I’m taking out. Can’t very well keep a secret if I want them to show up.”

The brunette almost continued with the logical progression of this flirting when the sight caught her. ”Oh. Wait. Keep your arms how you have them, but… step to the left just a smidge?” She spoke quietly, like a loud voice would ruin the parts she was lining up. April had made an effort to draw closer, which was welcome, but Steph needed to create distance for a moment.

Brandishing her camera, she adjusted her positioning just so… and…

Clck-clck-clck.

”Perfect,” she spoke proudly, stepping closer now that she was successful. Turning the digital preview on her camera on one of the shots she captured, she let April check it. Positioned behind April almost perfectly was a large ice angel, but the young woman obscured the statue. The only parts to make it into the shot were the wings, which emerged from April’s shoulders. The sunlight cascaded and did what sunlight does. The wings shimmered and broke the light. April’s hair blazed.

”Sorry. Once I saw the shot, I couldn’t ignore it. Where were we?”

That was definitely true. April did try to adjust her approached with some different men and women. She'd had a few guys that seemed totally oblivious to her advances and she more often ended up being pretty direct with them. She tended not to do it with oblivious women, because she figured that was a much higher chance of incompatible orientations. Of course it could happen with the dudes too, but it was just the way that she operated. She smiled sweetly. "That makes sense. Girl with mysteries can be so much more. Alluring."

She blinked, lost for a few moments before it dawned on her. "As you wish my lady~" She purred, doing as the photographer directed until she gave her the all clear to move closer again.

Something about the way that Stephanie stopped and had to capture something she found attractive really spoke to April, the way she concentrated on it until it was done. She really respected passion. More people needed to explore passion, in multiple ways.

"Don't apologise sweetie~ I appreciate you needing to capture something gorgeous~" She replied, moving across the crunchy snow to a closer position, an amused smirk on her face. "Where we were?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well I think we were playing a fun little game. Hmmm. I think you were winning~"