Girl Bonding (Stumble)

[Alicat]

Did we have to come here?

"Why? What's wrong with this place?"

Alexandra paused at the question, stopping her trek through the empty city streets as she considered. This town wasn't nearly as big as NYC, as it was a few miles away from all the hustle and bustle of the city, and that should have been a good thing. She really hated crowds; hearing their voices, their very thoughts inside her mind was enough to drive her mad. It had, once upon a time. So she should have been grateful to be a smaller city.

But now things always seemed too quiet.

Instead of saying anything, the young woman simply reached over and grabbed Jack's hand. Almost immediately the images her 'father' saw appeared in her mind, and she began to fiddle through them, until she found the store they had come to visit. Even if she didn't care too much for shopping, it was always a good excuse to get out of the house.

Jack took the hint and nodded, wrapping his arms gently around the woman's shoulders. He knew he would get a few stares for this, but, once the people saw his adopted daughter's eyes, he knew they would relax a bit. The altercation with Switchblade had left her eyes useless, only there to take up space. And while she seemed to have adjusted well, he was still guilty about letting her get hurt like that.

He had failed her, after all.

[Stumble]

::Ambellina stepped from the fitting-room and into her father's line of sight. She twirled around in the black dress, posing nervously as Rampage stood, holding his head in his hand.::

"Uh...Amby? Doncha think we could do somethin' else? I mean...I'm no good at this. You look great, but I'm not sure I'm the one you should be askin'..."

::Amby dropped her pose and shot a disbelieving look at her father.::

"You said you wanted to hang out and buy me something, Dad...would you rather buy me boxing gloves?"

::She turned to the mirror checking out the dress. It was a little bit more expensive than what she was used to wearing, but Rampage said that he had been doing well now that his business had taken off, and he wanted to treat her to something.::

"You bet your bottom I would..."

::The young woman ignored her father's remark and continued primping in the mirror. Rampage, hearing the bell on the shop door ring, turned and saw two people entering. He could spot a military man from a mile away, and knew that the man was here on the same sort of trip that he was. He chuckled out loud.::

[Alicat]

Jack glanced up at the sound of chuckling and saw what appeared to be another father-daughter pair out for a shopping trip. He gave the other man a nod, as he rarely ever smiled, unless it was directly to his daughter. He knew immediately the man was one to be respected; he was always good at judging people.

"Go ahead and pick out whatever you want, Al," he murmured, giving her a gentle nudge forwards, "I know it's been a while since..." He hesitated, not sure how to finish that.

Since we dared to leave the house? She supplied, reaching out to run her fingers over the fabric of the nearest dress. Jack focused on the appearance of that one, letting her see through his eyes. She crinkled her nose, No, thank you. Look at the woman.

Jack did so, out of the corner of his eyes. Ali turned her head, so it would appear as if she was looking at Stumble, and gave a smile. "It's pretty." She said quietly.

[Stumble]

::Amby turned excitedly, unable to contain her surprise and excitement at the comment. She rarely ever received compliments. After shooting her biggest smile at Ali she turned back to the mirror.::

"Gee, thanks!! You think so? I mean, I always hate to go with fancy dresses, 'cause they're so not me, you know, but do you think I could pull it off?"

::Rampage shook his head, knowing that the time that they would spend at this shop had most likely doubled at the least. Crossing his arms over his wide chest, he settled in for a long wait. Leena swished back and forth, examining the skirt of the dress, which fell just to her knee.::

[Alicat]

Smiling at the girl's words, Alicat gave a nod, "I think it's a very beautiful dress. I don't like wearing them too much, either, but there are those one or two that you just put on and..." Her smile widened slightly, and she tilted her head to the side, "Well, they work. And that's one of them."

She was interested in this woman, and the thoughts that seemed to echo in her mind. Alexandra hadn't been away from home, save for the occasional "unapproved outing" in a long time, and even those had stopped when Switchblade has basically destroyed her eyes. She had been lucky to convince Jack she needed this.

And, like the good father he was, he had allowed it.

But now Jack was just standing there, kind of awkwardly. He couldn't look through the dresses, otherwise he would look...yeah. And he didn't want to look like that. He also couldn't look directly at the young girl, lest her father think something. So he was kind of in an awkward position.

[Stumble]

::Leena twirled one more time, satisfied with the dress.::

"This one is good, Rampage...Can I have it?"

::Rampage sighed with relief, nodding and looking over his daughter.::

"You sure can sugar...now let's get outta-"

::Amby cut him off, speaking quickly and turning to the girl.::

"Thanks for all your help! Now let's find something for you!"

::She turned to face Ali fully, he jaw nearly dropping to the floor.::

"Wow, you have great hips...we should work with that."

::It was then that she saw Ali's eyes. She diverted her own eyes, and didn't say anything, instantly uncomfortable.::

[Alicat]

The young girl beamed when she received the compliment, taking a moment to "look" down at herself. She had seen herself in Jack's eyes a million times, so by now all she had to do was recall the image. However, as soon as Leena went quiet, Alexandra knew that she had seen her eyers. Looking up, she gave Leena a gentle smile.

"You don't have to avert your eyes because of these," she waved her hand in front of her face, smiling lightly, "It's not like I can see them anymore." She gave a soft chuckle, turning her head towards Jack. He shook his head, albeit rather sadly.

[Stumble]

::Leena smiled nervously, lifting her eyes again. However, her expression soon turned to confusion, and she nervously adjusted the dress that she was wearing. When she spoke it was with the sensitive and hesitant tone of a young girl who had just been mocked.::

"Then...why do you pretend to see?"

::Leena shifted nervously once again, not sure what was going on. She finally settled on a commonly defensive position, crossing her arms in front of her in a show of insecurity. Rampage recognized an awkward situation when he saw one, and decided that he would let Amby work this one out for herself.::

[Alicat]

Alexandra smiled, tilting her head to the side, "Don't look so down, Ambelina. I can see, just... Not with these." She waved her hand over her eyes again, then chuckled. She pointed over to Jack, who looked over at Leena, "I see through him."

"Al-!" Jack hissed, taking a step towards her. She held up a hand, though all it did was hit his chest and bounce off harmlessly. "Don't do it."

"I'm psychic. Telepathic, to be exact. I 'see' using his mind, and his eyes." She pointed to the dress, "Nice color, by the way."

[Stumble]

::Leena smiled nervously, relaxing just a little bit. It was always slightly refreshing to meet another person with super powers. She would have said something about her own, but she hadn't even broached the subject with Rampage yet. She was still hesitant, but dropped her anxious stance.::

"Oh...well thank you."

::She decided not to inquire any further into the subject of super powers.::

"Well, I guess you already know my name...this is my father, Rampage..."

::Rampage nodded to them, a little bit freaked out at the knowledge that the girl could see without using her eyes.::

[Alicat]

Alexandra nodded over at him, smiling lightly, "Pleasure to meet you, Rampage. This is my adopted father, Jack." She turned to head to where Jack was sitting; he nodded over to her. He had no desire to speak at the moment, and it seemed as if his daughter was handling herself well. For now, he would just leave her be.

She seemed to take the hint, and turned back to Stumble and Rampage. But then, the corner of Leena's vision, she saw a particularly pretty black dress, and immediately flocked to it, though she stumbled slightly when she remembered her feet didn't match up with Leena's vision.

She sighed.

[Stumble]

::Leena looked at the dress, cocking her head slightly. It was...interesting. She would not have picked it out, but thought that it would look good on Ali. When Ali sighed she put on a sympathetic look.::

"Why the heavy sigh? That one's cute...you should try it on."

::She ran her fingers over the fabric, enjoying the texture. Rampage took a seat beside the dressing rooms, settling in for the long haul. Leena took the dress off of the rack and led Ali towards the dressing stalls.::

[Alicat]

Jack watched as his daughter was practically dragged to the dressing room, a half-smirk on his face. He was contemplating going in to rescue her in about ten minutes, but then realized she may actually have some fun interacting with another human outside of her messed up family.

So he crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Alexandra blinked, following Leena into the dressing room, taking the dress and just kind of standing there, awkwardly. She looked up at her new-found "friend," blinking her eyes once or twice.

"Um... I guess... okay." She slid into the changing room.

[Stumble]

::Leena handed over the dress and closed the door behind Ali. She walked over to Jack, extending her hand to shake. She decided that she would be cordial as she was waiting for Ali to finish up. Leena smiled her widest smile.::

"It's very nice to meet you. Your daughter is gorgeous. Trust me, I know how unpleasant this is for you."

::She indicated Rampage with a motion of her head.::

"He goes through the same thing."

::She milled awkwardly, waiting for the surly man in front of her to say or do something.::

[Alicat]

Jack looked up as the girl stuck a hand in his face, obviously wanting it to be shaken. So, like the good ole' boy he was, the Retired Colonel stood, as was proper when addressing a lady, and accepted her hand, giving it a warm squeeze. He smiled down at her, trying just as hard as she was to be cordial.

When it came to his daughter, Jack was like a pitbull. He was generally kind, and always protective, but often regarded as a brutal, evil man. But he was okay with that, because it kept people away from her. But since Al apparently wanted a friend or two...

He nodded politely over at Rampage, "Daughters, huh?"