“Yeah, shut up. You cheated anyways.” The guy lightly threw his controller aside, half sulking at the defeat “You always do.” He added, crossing his arms over his bare chest and staring at her defiantly.
She turned, her face flushing slightly as her eyes narrowed ”Slander! How was I cheating anyways? I killed you fair and square!” She’d stood up off the edge of the bed and barely managed to tower over him as she waved a finger in his direction ”Well? Answer me then?”
His sulk melted away to a smile as he chuckled “You’re using feminine wiles to distract me and such. Being topless to say the least, I’d call that cheating.” He would have probably said more but she laughed a little and hit him with a pillow to stifle his laughter.
”Very funny, but you were losing well before I got undressed. Speaking of which, can you find me my clothes while I grab a shower. It’s almost mid-day as it is, I’d better be going.”
Roughly half an hour later she was weaving her way through the hustle and bustle of New York, half fighting a losing battle as she dragged her hairbrush through her unruly mane. Her lips were holding a hairclip loosely while she tried to mumble along to the music coming through her headphones. ”Mm-mm, we’ll be Counting Stars.”
Her backpack was hanging loosely from her left shoulder, as she finished brushing out her tangles so she tightened the strap the straightened up her jacket to ease the weight. Catching sight of her reflection she smiled and did a little twirl for her own amusement as she appraised her if her outfit still worked from the night before, even if it was looking a little more crumpled after spending several hours in a heap on the floor. She’d settled on a tanktop with a black knee-length skirt to go with brown boots. While her leather jacket finished off the look, though even she couldn’t say what it was she’d been aiming for beyond “first thing I found that was clean”. Thankfully she’d made sure to keep a few clean essential items in her backpack for events like this. Her fingers lingered on the necklace for a moment before she continued through the crowds, puzzled a little by its strange warmth given the shade.
Her route after leaving Mark’s apartment was usually a little meandering, but today she felt even more taken by wanderlust than normal. Turned sharply she ducked into a nearby coffee-house and left with a jam-filled donut in one hand and a hot chocolate in the other. Taking a quick bite she turned her hand to allow her to use her little finger to scoop a drop of whipped cream into her mouth. Smiling at the taste she made to cross over central park back to where she’d been staying while she finalised her permanent accommodation. Sighing contentedly as she finished her donut and drink she threw the rubbish into a nearby trashcan and traced a roundabout route through the park. Her fingers were half conducting an invisible orchestra as a longwinded instrumental began to play, causing her to half sing along to the rhythm. While doing so she saw something out of the corner of her eye which caused her to pause, tilt her head and take a few steps in reverse before turning to get a better look.
”You don’t see that every day… At least I don’t think you do.”
As she puzzled at the sight of a strangle girl in a tree she felt the warmth in her necklace flare for moment and reached for her, almost yanking her hand away as if burnt.
”Ouch, bloody hell.” She yelped just as she heard a loud thump. Glancing up she noted that the girl appeared to have fallen out of her tree, on the other side of the nearby bushes. Walking round, which ended up taking her a little longer than she’d thought, Cali saw the girl rushing in her direction before she collided suddenly with a preoccupied girl before falling backwards onto the grass. She chuckled a little to herself as a guy moved vaguely to help before his dog managed to reach her first and slobber all over the rather bewildered girl, while the target of her collision tried to see if she was uninjured. This unusal couple seemed to have now gathered around the rather stunned tree-climber, even if she was no longer tree-bound.
Coming a little closer to them she waved somewhat awkwardly and greeted them, partly out of curiosity as to why the girl had taken an urge to climb trees in a park where they often gave you vicious looks if you lingered too long near the grass.
”Everything, alright? Fancy a climb over there, did you? Central Park might not be the best place for that.”.