The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
>>“Up…ugh…right…then take Broadway all the way down.”
Ashley nodded, knowing where she was going. She could barley read, yes, but she knew the streets rather well; she had too. Her very life depended on it at one point, and she still felt like she now knew most of New York like the back of her hand simply out of instinct. That didn't mean she didn't get to know the names of the streets though, so following basic and simple directions was still in the realm of possibility for Ashley, despite her lack of education.
To her credit, Ashley didn't gun the Ducati much, and decided that going at a medium speed was okay. The way Geo had it modified would have made it impossible for normal cop cards to catch her anyways, should she be smart about the route she would be taking. She loved her Ducati and, in the short time she's had it, had developed a bond with the machine that she was pretty sure was unhealthy. But it was there, and Ashley lost herself in the moment, feeling the wind whipping by as the lights turned to streaks, the wind in her ears making hearing anything impossible. But she was grateful for that.
Because the burning she felt from Agnes' touch was getting to be unbearable. She knew that side effect of her power was receding, going away because of Bentley's ministrations and slight touches and caresses. But that didn't mean it was gone. No, it was still there, and the feeling of Agnes' hands on her bare stomach was getting to be unbearable. She knew she wouldn't go unconscious, not yet, but there would be a mark there, a burn that would eventually go away.
But it was nothing, nothing compared to the ache that was devouring her body. The feeling was more intense then she'd ever felt before, and Ashley was pretty sure she was going to die from being consumed by it. Her breathing was heavy, her teeth gritted and there were other...'effects' Agnes was having on her body that Ashley didn't welcome, if only because she knew in the back of her mind that she cared for Bentley deeply. But...Bentley wasn't here, and Bentley was never ready to explore these feelings, despite her having the same ones for Ashley herself.
It wasn't until they were close to The Mansion that Ashley stopped to really recognize the place. So deep in her own thoughts about Agnes and the current situation she was in that she barley knew their current location, as her body was moving and swerving the motorcycle as if by muscle memory. Ashley stopped just a bit away, looking at the guards that blocked the general public from the school, balancing herself and the bike again, her heart pounding in her chest so fast she was surprised Agnes didn't hear it, loud bike or no.
“Live here?” Ashley said, her whiskey-on-the-rocks voice taking a curious tone. “The Mansion? Like...Andrew? So...you're mutant? Like me?”
Ashley went from her position of being slightly bent over, her hand son the handlebars, to sitting straight up as she felt her passenger’s breath on her back. She shivered, closing her eyes as the unexpected feeling coursed through her and settling at her very core. She gritted her teeth, though not from pain but from an ache she had familiar dealings with, particularly when Bentley decided she felt like walking around the apartment naked. Her breathing a little heavier, Ashley calmed herself forcibly, taking deep breathes and closing her eyes.
>>“Rhythm...thank you, in advance for the ride.”
The guitarist nodded, taking both of her hands and putting them onto Agnes' own, giving them a gentle squeeze. She reached behind her and flipped the visor to the girl's helmet down before looking back. It was then that she finally noticed how small the girl was compared to her, how fragile and...Ashley stopped herself. She gave Agnes' hands one more squeeze before powering the Ducati on and revving it a few times before she shot off in the direction they were walking before.
At a stop light, Ashley balanced herself and the bike before turning her head back again, this time so she could speak with the girl that was holding her tight. “Where to?” she said, her voice huskier, deeper from the ache that was making her stomach feel slightly empty and...wanting. “Directions, I mean...”
She stopped breathing again as she felt Agnes' fingers splayed across her belly and, feeling hot, Ashley reached down and lifted up her shirt so those cool hands could access her seemingly overheating body. She didn't think of what Agnes could be feeling, if maybe her passenger was now feeling most uncomfortable or not. All Ashley wanted was to make her body less like a volcano. She lifted up the shirt just beneath her breasts before putting her hands on the handlebars again.
She was breathing heavier again. Her stomach tightened at a sudden, inappropriate thought and again her stomach seemed to retract. She wanted to reach back and feel Agnes' breath on her neck, to have the girl claw at her six pack and...and...something!! The feeling burned within Ashley, and by now she couldn't control her feelings.
She was only broken out of her seemingly passionate daydream by the honking of a horn.
“Sorry...” Ashley mumbled as she made sure Agnes' hands were once again tight around her before shooting off straight down the same street they were righting on. “Ummm...directions again, please?” Ashley breathed a moment later, slowing down so Agnes could hear her. “I, uhhh...didn't hear...”
>>“Alright. Um, yeah, sure. I would love to ride with you. Sorry, I’ve…never ridden one before. I’m just a little nervous. But I want to.”
Ashley liked the slightly determined tone Agnes took on about the motorcycle. She knew the ride wasn't for everyone, and many would have rather walked then ride the bike even though it was much faster. Ashley herself was apprehensive the first time she had ever ridden a bike, but now couldn't imagine taking anything else as a form of transportation.
“Come.” Ashley said, cocking her head in the direction they needed to go. “This way.”
The guitarist led back the way they came, though it wasn't that far since parking a motorcycle was easy as pie, and Ashley could basically park on the sidewalk in front of the place if she wanted to. Benjamin encouraged it, since it told people that she was there, and her bike was unique in it's appearance. This was something Ashley didn't want, since she had stolen the bike and didn't want to get it recognized, but she didn't argue.
The Ducati was a work of art, Ashley admitted to herself as they neared it, but she knew that long before that moment. It was a habit for her to remind herself just how powerful the machine was, just how much she had to control herself while she riding it out and about in everyday life. The urge to just punch it and fly through the streets was strong, but Ashley restrained herself. She was going to have to reel in that urge even more not that she had a passenger.
The tomboy straddled the motorcycle, petting the front of it lovingly as she looked back at Agnes. “You like? Strong between yer legs. Purrs too. Not loud, not really, but smooth. Come. Get on.”
Ashley patted the area behind her designated for the passenger. “Strong grip.” Ashley patted her tummy, nodding to Agnes. “Around me. Hold tight.”
>>“Um…well, from one musician to another, you’re guitar playing is absolutely great. You have a real passion for it. I play music too. I play the violin. When you were up there playing, you looked…how I feel when I’m playing. It’s an honor to meet someone with that much passion for music as I have.”
Ashley did her best not to blush and failed spectacularly. She stopped walking backwards and instead walked side by side the woman, thinking of what to say. Sure, she got compliments all the time when she played, and more often then not the compliment was followed up by an offer to buy her a drink. She usually declined and took the treatment in stride, but the compliments coming from Agnes seemed more...sincere. Ashley couldn't put her finger on it, but they seemed to mean more coming from this strange little girl...
“Yo, Red.” the deep baritone of Sisko reached Ashley's ears, and the brunette turned to face him. He jogged up to them and held out a motorcycle helmet to Ashley, a small smirk on his face. “Don't forget you drove here, eh? Ya thinking of driving home?”
Without question he grabbed the pizza from Ashley's hands and stuffed the helmet into her stomach. Ashley blinked a few times as she stared down at the helmet she was given before her thought process finally caught up with her. Well crap, she dove here on her motorcycle!! She inwardly groaned. Riding here was bad enough with her guitar, how would she be able to drive with a passenger and carry the instrument at the same time? Sisko, however, seemed to have a solution to that.
“Give it here, girl.” Sisko said, motioning for the guitar. “You know where to pick it up. Benjamin would be very cross if your stuff got taken from his place. It'll be safe, trust me.”
And Ashley knew it would be. Benjamin was a man of honor, if not a bit pushy, and he loved having Ashley over. Sisko was also an honest soul, when he wasn't busy teasing Ashley as only he could. So, the guitarist nodded, handing over the case of the instrument that had become so important to her as of late and watching as Sisko (with a final, teasing wink the bastard) took her things and stalked back to The Closet. Which left Ashley with slightly embarrassing job of turning to her companion and holding up a little key she dug from her pocket and dangling it in front of her while holding the helmet out to Agnes.
“Ummm...ride?” Ashley smiled hopefully, flashing her pearly whites. “It's motorcycle...but can seat two. Just gotta hold tight. And direct me, yes?”
>>“Please? It’s getting a bit too, uh, hot in here for me. And I can’t go around stripping off my clothes can I? Um, y-you don’t have to take me all the way home. I wouldn’t mind a nice walk though.”
“Piffle.” Ashley waved a hand as she motioned Agnes with her head towards the exit before beginning to walk in that direction herself. “Only right I walk you. All the way, I mean. Only...gentlemanly.”
That was one of the words Bentley threw around a lot when it came to them and any activity they did, always calling Ashley a 'gentleman', something Ashley resented but had gotten used to the more they went out. But Ashley didn't know the word for the woman equivalent for being a gentleman and so she merely kept her mouth shut. She briefly wondered if there even was a word for it but decided she didn't care. They reached the cool night air and Ashley sighed into it, adjusting the guitar case that was strapped to her back and making sure she had a firm grip on the pizza she held in hand.
“Sorry...about the guy.” Ashley looked back to Agnes with a small shrug. “Heard him, before. Annoying, so...yeah. Shut him up.”
And it was annoyingly easy. The friends the little boy had merely laughed uproariously as he was dragged out, no doubt thinking that it was going to be one of those stories they repeated on the guys wedding day for some laughs, or to a girlfriend later on when they wanted to humiliate him. Ashley could deal with both. But she didn't want to make an even odder impression on Agnes then she probably already had. Justifying it seemed pointless now that the poor kid was knocked out and he really didn't do much more then be loud and irritating.
Well...is this what they called hindsight being twenty-twenty? Ashley huffed.
“Not violent, really.” Ashley continued as she walked backwards, still looking at Agnes in the eye and trying not to imagine what that oversized shirt was hiding. “Believe me?”
>>"Well, if you really wanna get that one, then that's your choice. But you may want to get something else as a backup. Maybe, like, a teddy bear, or some flowers, or something? I'd be happy to loan you money for it if you need some."
Ashley stopped just before she hit the checkout place, more or less freezing in place as she closed her eyes. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Charlie was being one of those good Samaritans that Bentley always talked about believing in, and she appreciated it. The other, more prideful half of Ashley's mind, begged her to turn around and give this girl a piece of her mind.
And that probably meant a fist, since her mind giving sounded a little silly considering how she spoke.
And while Ashley had much confidence in her ability to run away from the cops should they be called in (they almost always were), she really didn't wanna do that. It was a lot of work and there was still that nagging tone that told her that Charlie meant well, and punching her in the face would be more bad then good, no matter what her pride said. So, she stopped, breathed and turned on her heel, looking at the beautiful women with the funny accent and glared.
“No.” she said firmly, wanting to say more but stopping herself, giving her the appearance of a fish out of water...which, at the moment, she kind of was. “Want to...come from me. No help, no ones. Just me.”
She hoped she communicated that well, but she didn't have the greatest history in doing that. But Charlie didn't seem dumb, and if the girl liked to spend her time in libraries (as Ashley guessed she did giving her ability to make books purple) then she must be smart enough to understand, at least a little. So Ashley turned back and set the book on the checkout counter, further showing off her own inability to do something as simple as math when she gave the clerk a twenty to pay for a two dollar book, despite having several ones and fives in her wallet.
This time Ashley knew when she was doe playing, and had time to open her eyes to enjoy the applause she was being given. There was a rustling of many a chair as she got up and packed up her guitar, as many of the regulars knew she was done playing and were either going to leave or retreat to the outside area where it was much cooler then it was inside. Ashley wished to join them herself, if nothing more then to get feedback on her playing, but she had a girl watching that Ashley didn't wanna keep waiting.
She approached said girl with a genuine smile and took the pizza that lay forgotten on the bar counter, much to Sisko's irritation. Still, that didn't stop him from giving Ashley a small thumbs up and then waggling his eyebrows in Agnes' direction. Ashley rolled her eyes before reaching out and touching the girl's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze as she walked by her.
“So, ummm...where to?” Ashley said. “For you, I mean? Your place?”
In retrospect, Ashley didn't mean for it to sound as...sexual as it did, but at the moment she really didn't notice. All she really wanted to do was walk this nice woman home and have nice conversation on the way. In a way Agnes reminded her of herself back before the days that people like Bentley and Andrew had forced her to talk and socialize, before people like Isabel (and really just her) had brought out the need for Ashley to have someone in her life that would actually mean something.
“Hey, yer both hawt!!”
Ashley's fist flew out nonchalantly, connecting with the guy's jaw as he stalked up to both women, no doubt getting ready to represent his sex in the most spectacular way possible. Ashley barley blinked as the body crumpled, and further ignored the bark of laughter Sisko let out before he signaled the bouncers to carry the body to the couch in the back so the stupid boy wouldn't get robbed blind as it lay unconscious on the floor. Ashley shifted from one foot to the other as she meekly looked to Agnes, appearing as if the entire event didn't even take place.
>>" I'm curious. Are you, like, dyslexic or something? Color-blind, maybe?"
Ashley heard the question, but didn't answer. Sure, she knew a question like what Charlie had asked would come up concerning Ashley's lack of comfort around the books she was surrounded with, but she really didn't know how to answer said question. She didn't even know what dyslexic meant!! Feeling truly stupid, Ashley picked up that book and held it close, trying to prevent Charlie from seeing. So what if she was a little curious about it? She could be, right? There wasn't anything wrong with that!!
“I...don't know.” Ashley responded, not looking at the girl with the funny accent. “Just...”
She didn't finish the sentence, scowling (and slightly growling) at her own lack of ability to speak properly. This disability had been coming up more and more lately and she hated every second of it. She could fight with the best of them, and with her power was pretty damn hard to put down. But try to engage her in a conversation and Ashley floundered like a fish out of water, and the worst part was that she didn't know what to do about it.
So she didn't say anything at all.
She didn't mean to clam up. Charlie seemed like a nice girl, and her accent made her appealing to Ashley in a way that she couldn't rightly explain. But silence was a default mode for Ashley, and she did it well enough. She thought of a time before she ever had to open her mouth for anything, and slightly missed it. Then again, she didn't have Bentley back then, so maybe it wasn't so good after all. She'd rather endure having to talk then go back to when she wasn't cared for.
Another growl sent Ashley skittering towards the checkout counter. A purchase of a perverted book would be much better then enduring another moment feeling as stupid and ignorant in this place. After this, Ashley was pretty sure she'd avoid bookstores on principal alone.
Though she did take one, long glance at Charlie. Hey, eye candy was eye candy. Offhandedly, the brunette wished she had a cool accent too. Then maybe people wouldn't look at her like she was an idiot when she spoke.
>>“T-Thank you, but, I do have someplace to stay. But…I-I don’t mind hanging out for a bit. I-I’d love to hear you place some more.”
Ashley nodded. Of course she was proud. The brunette felt a sense of shame in assuming the girl was homeless simply because of a smell. She all she knew that could have been someone or something else. But Ashley would bet her bottom dollar that, at some point, this girl was homeless. The scars were all still there, readily available to see for anyone that was paying attention. But the girl's confusion on what Ashley was offering was a bit her fault, she knew, since her speech wasn't the greatest.
“Ummm...I mean, like...stay here.” Ashley pointed to the bar stool at the end of the bar. “Till I'm done. Then...maybe I take you home?”
Ashley couldn't help but be thrown back in time when she offered Bentley the same thing after the girl had literally slammed into her while she was out running at night. The innocent dancer didn't know any better, after all, that taking a jog at night in New York City through the park of all places was just asking to appear on the nightly news. Or maybe it was Andrew's personality rubbing off on her, but she couldn't help but to try and assist Agnes any way she could.
And then there was the fact that she was beautiful.
The thought hit Ashley like a lightning bolt, and she stopped whatever she was going and really looked at the girl before her. Her jeans were snug and her shirt was far too big. But for some reason it fit her, and the air of vulnerability made Ashley look all that much closer. Dark eyes and hair that contrasted sharply with pale, white skin...Ashley felt herself lick her lips a bit before bowing her head and toeing the ground a tad, a habit she had developed when she was nervous, and sticking her hands on her back pockets.
“No disrespect, please.” Ashley muttered, looking up to Agnes and smiling again, her eyes pleading with the girl to understand. “I play a song. For you, okay?”
The brunette gave a small wave before going back up to the stage with much applause from the crowd. She didn't really know why she had offered to play for Agnes, but she once played a song for Kealey, and that had turned out quite good. So...maybe if she played one for someone she was actually attracted to (at least physically), it would turn out better? She took her usual position on the little stool and barley had her fingers in position before her fingers seemed to take a life of their own.
She closed her eyes as the music once again flowed through her, smiling this time as she did so. She never really smiled when she played. Not because playing her guitar was serious business or anything, but because she never had a reason. But now she wanted to play to impress someone, and even though she did that with Bentley whenever the tiny dancer asked, this time it was because she wanted someone to like her back. Hey, Bentley already liked her. Now she was fighting, and she hoped Agnes liked it.
>>"Yeah. turns out I'm a papyrokinetic. Funny how that works, ain't it? Wait...too? Are...you a mutant?"
Ashley eyed Charlie with a raised eyebrow and pointed at her headphones. “Music. Makes me strong. Fast.”
She went right back to looking at the books, trying to keep an eye out for an interesting cover or...something. Plus, explaining her power was harder. Sure, the old point and describe usually worked, but there was more to it then that, and it was far to much (too hard) for her to explain, especially with her limited vocabulary and social stupidity.
And what the hell was a papyrokinetic anyway?
Well, she didn't want to ask, since she was risking sounding dumb more and more by the second. Being in a library was bad enough, but once people started to bust out the big words, Ashley was outta there. So maybe Charlie could help, with her cute face and fancy words, but Ashley didn't really feel like being ridiculed. It wouldn't be long before Charlie was asking why she talked all funny and would guess she couldn't read.
So, off she went, hoping Charlie might just forget she existed. She turned her head back to where she dropped that Karma Sutra book. Maybe...maybe that wouldn’t be so bad? Bentley was always dressing her up in tight clothing and having Ashley show off her body more...maybe this would be something the tiny dancer would be into?
>>"Well, since she's a dancer, I guess a cookbook is out. Dancers are always trying to watch their figure."
Well, she really couldn’t say much about that. Bentley really did watch her figure. The only time Ashley had seen the girl eat anything remotely unhealthy was that pizza.
Ashley watched as the woman sauntered away, doing something very strange to the books. Okay...so she was a mutant? Or something else? Maybe it was all just an illusion. Ashley rubbed her eyes and looked at the purple line thingy Charlie was leaving behind. No...still there. She reached out and was about to touch it but held back. Okay, that would be stupid. Who knew what those purple lines were? For all Ashley knew they could be...poison! Or...something.
Ashley decided to go for the leap and settle on the fact that Charlie might be a mutant. Well...okay. Whatever. It wasn't like Charlie was hurting her, and in fact was doing the exact opposite...she thought. Charlie looked like she was lost in her own little world, and she had a rather cute expression on her face as she soared through the books. Ashley let her lip twitch into an almost smile as she watched Charlie pick up a book.
>>"Now this...would make a wonderful joke of a gift."
Joke gift? Ashley knitted her eyebrows as she took the book from Charlie (who was laughing hysterically) and glanced on the cover. From what Ashley could observe, it had something to do with food. But didn't Charlie just say that dancers watched their figures? Ashley knew that much from observing her girlfriend eat rabbit food all the damn time. Why would she need a book like this.
Ashley, remembering Charlie and the purple lines, held the book like it was a poisonous snake as she took it from Charlie. She set it aside and shook her head. “No...jokes bad. Need...romantic gift. Something she likes. And why're books purple? You're mutant too?”
>>“Agnes. My name is Agnes. N-Nice to meet you…Rhythm. Um…you…uh, you played…absolutely great up there. Y-You have a beautiful talent.”
Ashley stopped fanning her shirt and instead nodded to Agnes. She took the offered napkins and dried the shirt off as best she could before throwing the now soaked napkins into a nearby wastebasket. She sniffed a moment, then eyed Agnes. Yeah...she knew it. She would know that smell anywhere. It wasn't that long ago that Ashley had it all over herself; the smell of trash. Homeless, maybe? She looked the part, certainly. Ashley's mind went blank for a moment as she continued to look the girl up and down.
“Hey...” Ashley held out a hand and put it on Agnes' shoulder. “You wanna stay? Here? Sisko makes pizza.” She looked over her shoulder, where the bartender was watching the show with much interest and amusement. “Right, Sisko?”
“Anything for you, Red.” he replied, ignoring multiple orders that people were yelling to go do just that. “Though it'll cost ya a kiss.”
Ashley scowled; that's what he always said, even when she just wanted some pretzels. She rolled her eyes before looking back to Agnes and motioning to a chair at the end of the bar. “Ummm...not the best. But stay, okay? I play for you, yeah?”
Ashley then did something she thought she'd never do; she flashed a smile on purpose, this time trying to charm the pants off this girl so she'd stay. She didn't like the idea of Agnes being homeless, and she knew why; most of the people she'd met on the streets were there because they wanted to be. That fact may have shocked a lot of people, but they only saw the homeless that didn't wanna be there. Agnes had that look, but then there was something more.
She didn't wanna be there, and she wasn't homeless by choice either.
The brunette prided herself in being able to read the people she met on the streets. Hell, it was almost a required skill for most of the people out there. You couldn't trust just anyone, after all. And Agnes...she made Ashley's heart ache. She was no doubt gorgeous, and being that pretty out here was a curse. But guitar player didn't make any assumptions about Agnes' fighting ability, as such a thing could lead to a whole new set of problems. Instead, she wanted to hear the girl's story.
Ashley smiled as she brushed a loose piece of hair behind Agnes' ear. “Sit. Eat. Listen. Yeah?”
>>"Interesting name. Wish I had one like it. I'm Charlie. Charlie Fletcher."
“Pleasure.” Ashley nodded, looking at Charlie's outstretched hand and hesitating a bit before taking it. The pain was immediate, but faraway. She winced before smiling and letting go, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “Charlie...” she rolled the name off her tongue as if she were tasting it, and smiled, looking as if has tasted good. “Nice.”
Ashley hated to be out of her element, and relationships were about as far off as you could get for the ex-homeless thief. Thinking up gifts for someone was out there as well, and a book? Well, sticking Ashley into a library when she wasn't just gonna crash out on the couch was fixin' to make girl very nervous. Still, the idea was stuck and now she was determined to get Bentley this book.
“She's smart.” Ashley looked off into the distance, as if talking about Bentley would help Charlie understand. “Gentle. Like, ummm...soft. Yeah. She...takes care of me.” Ashley blinked, then scowled at herself for gushing like an idiot. “So, ummm...ideas?”
The brunette didn't like putting faith in anyone other then herself and maybe a few of her closest friends. Andrew she could trust, Bentley she could...not many others though. Ashley looked Charlie up and down, nodding. She looked trustworthy. Besides, you weren't gonna find to many creeps inside a library, were you?
The splash of water was actually quite refreshing.
Still, it didn't help that all Ashley did was yelp at the contact, jumping up and blinking like an idiot for several moments. She sniffed, looking down at her soaked shirt and thanking whatever deity was listening that she didn't go with the white shirt of differing variety she usually went with. She peeled a bit of the shirt and pulled it from her skin, flapping it get it to dry as she looked up, wondering who did it. She spotted the guilty looking perpetrator right away, looking horrified at her actions. Ashley merely smiled.
“Sorry.” she said, thinking of how to calm the young woman down. “Ummm...my fault. Was in the way.”
So maybe she wasn't, but the young girl looked like she was about to run and it was all Ashley could do to keep her there. And being as socially retarded as she was, she couldn't think of any other way to make the situation any less awkward then it already was other then take the blame. Still, it was stupid, and at least it wasn't something that smelled horribly, like vodka or beer. Water would dry out, and she knew that later on she was going to be wishing that a whole bucket of ice water to be dropped on her head, especially if the heat kept rising as it did.
“Rhythm.” Ashley flashed what she thought (hoped) was a winning smile at the girl that had splashed water on her. She heard Sisko snort in the background. He often told her that, if she so chose, she could probably make some people faint if she ever smiled regularly, a comment she payed no attention to. “Play here, sometimes. Your name?”
Somewhere in the back of her mind Ashley felt like she was being laughed at by this woman, but she was too preoccupied by getting this present right for Bentley that she pushed it away. Besides, being laughed at wasn't so bad. She could deal with it. And she did just save Ashley from giving Bentley a book about...well, whatever the hell that book was about. What in the world was The Crawling Mantis Position anyways?!
>>"So...if you want to give this girl something nice, you'll be needin' to know what she likes. I mean, does she cook? Does she travel? Does she...I dunno, make paper monkey feet or something like that?"
The brunette pursed her lips and twisted her mouth from side to side, thinking of the tings Bentley liked. Well, ballet was one of them right? Ashley nodded, her mind made up. She then stopped, thinking that giving her a book on ballet would probably be, you know...obvious. But they hadn't spent all that much time together, and right now they were...well, not spending all that[/]i much time together because of her ballet and Ashley's...toublemaking. But, going with what was safe was best for now, so Ashley nodded again to herself.
“She's ballerina.” Ashley finally responded, knowing she probably looked like a fool while sorting out her thoughts but not caring. “She's student...Julliard, I think. Maybe...book about that? Ballet?”
She didn't mention the part about not being able to read. Even thinking about revealing that to pretty woman in front of her made her blush madly. It was then that Ashley blinked rapidly, realizing she didn't know the woman's name.
“Rhythm.” she said suddenly, nodding. “My name. Yours?”
