Buffy?

Central Park South -- New York City

This portion of Central Park, the 843 acres that attempt to provide a break for the crowding in the city, is one of the more visited areas of the park, and ther e is plenty to do. Found here are The Mall, The Dairy, the Sheep Meadow, a Zoo a nd The Pond, a body of water at the southern corner of the park. In winter month s, Wollman Memorial Rink is open for ice skating, and throughout the rest of the year, for rollerskating. In addition to the attractions, there are ample wooded paths on which to lose oneself.

Hope(#2987PXUfnc)

The most noticable thing about the lady before you is the honey-gold blo nde curls that flow over her shoulders and back, almost to her waist. Layers aro und the face give way to stray tendrils that frame her face. Her somewhat almond shaped eyes are of the most brilliant green color and are framed by long light brown lashes and lightly arched sandy blonde eyebrows. Her nose is small and but ton like. Her lips are full and rose colored with a slight sheen of clear gloss. She stands at around 5'6 in shoes and has a slender build, similar to that of a n ice skater.

The Girl before you isn't dressed in the best of fashion but looks awful ly comfortable. A long blue/grey/black flannel shirt hangs on her form, reaching about mid thigh. There are various other colors splats here and there in spots from paint that has dried. The sleeves are rolled up to ther elbows and the coll ar undone at the first button hole showing the long sleeved thermal undershirt s he also wears that is a creame color, Well worn, loose fitting jeans cover her l egs and a nondescript pair of white sneakers on her feet.

l gambit

Standing before you is a tall young man, about 6'2" with the wiry frame of a gymnast. Long auburn hair hangs down just below his shoulders and continual ly falls into his eyes. And those eyes: bright red irises blaze, surrounded by p itch-black sclera that should be white in a normal person. Full lips twitch in a barely suppressed smirk as you regard him. His face is not what you would call classically handsome, being a bit angular and with a proud nose that gives him a mildly hawkish appearance, and certainly not with those eyes peering about. How ever, there's something about the man, his graceful cat-like strut and his arrog ance lend him a magnetism that make him attractive beyond mere physicality.

Remy's long legs are clad in a pair of tight black jeans that seem to sh ow off every muscle in his strong limbs. Stretched across his torso is a charcoa l grey shirt that shows off his well-developed musculature. A pair of brown 8-ho le Doc Martens cover his feet and his hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck.

l tony

Tony stands a little under 6 feet tall, and appears to have an average s ort of build, which is difficult to discern under the large, pillowy New York Gi ants stadium jacket he seems to perpetually wear. His head is covered in a match ing Giants bandana, though upon closer inspection you may see a few strands of a uburn hair straying from their restraint. His deep, brown eyes, though, are not hidden and shine with a bright laughter that hint at a secret, silly joke no one has told. His face is open and warm, and a smile seems to almost always be plas tered to his face. He swaggers as he walks, every movement seems exaggerated and "over the top", even to the heavy New York accent that blankets every word he s peaks...not necessarily fake, but perhaps...

Gambit stands near the skating rink. Somehow he has become involved in performin g small slieght of hand tricks for the children nearby who laugh and clap deligh tedly as he produces small trinkets for them.

Hope wanders back towards her little home away from home, also called a dorm aft er hours of deep contemplation in the heart of Central Park. Not exactly the bes t place for a young girl to be alone at night but hey, she's seen worse. Heck, s he's /been/ worse. She doesn't pay attention to where she's going as much as let ting her feet guide her like a trusty horse.

One of the girls in the group surrounding Gambit runs off to show her mommy the shiny coin the man pulled from behind her ear. Likewise, not watching where she' s going, the girl plows right into you.

Hope nearly pitches completely forward, feet almost knocked out from under her. A suprised comical expression on her face as a decidedly country sounding voice says "Whoa...where's the fire?" She catches her balance and places a hand on the little girl to catch her "You alright hon?"

Gambit looks over as the girl runs into you, a faint smile on his lips. The girl laughs and points over toward Gambit. "He does magic!" she exclaims, then slips out of your grasp like an eel and rejoins her mother.

Hope grins and watches the girl point then turns her head to see her scamper ove r to her mother, chuckling slightly as she pushes up her sleeves and continues w alking, taking closer to the Magic Man.

Gambit has begun teaching the children a game remarkably like 3-card monte, thou gh they seem to be doing all the winning which is rather unlike what most people would know of the game.

Hope pauses by the children to watch the game, a whistful smile tugging at the c orners of her lips at the seeming kindness of the man to these kids. Nice to kno w that not everyone in New York is a bad guy...well..or a vampire, or a werewolf , or a...She sighs and then her gaze goes to the man's face to smile at him.

Gambit's gaze flicks up to you and he winks. Odd that those kids aren't freaked out by the fact that he's obviously a mutant, but it seems that magic (even pret end magic) still can win out over fear.

Hope seems slightly off kilter as she notices his eyes, her smile faltering slig htly. Her mind automatically grasps for the supernatural as opposed to the mutan t side of things. After all she's recently been through, she can't help but to b e wary. She composes herself though and says to him in a quiet tone, hopefully o nly heard by him and not the innocent children "Um...mister? Wha..what are you?" Yes an odd question but a girl can't be too careful these days and there are ki ds at stake here.

Gambit raises an eyebrow at the odd smile. It's been a weird night already, but he shrugs and tries not to take it too amiss. "Ya ain' gonna freak out if I say I'm a mutant, are ya?" he asks. "'Cause it's been a long night alr eady." He says this somewhat playfully.

Hope watches him carefully as he speaks and at the mention of him being a mutant her face, once tense obviously relaxes and a small sigh of relief is heard. The small smile reappears and in her soft southern tone she replys "I aint gonna fr eak out over something like that. SHoot...some of my best friends are."

Gambit grins. "Good," he replies. "I don' feel like tryin' t'change any more minds t'night," he murmurs and gives out what looks like a quarter to a boy. "Go on, now." He shoos off the kids and leans against a nearby tree.

Hope just stands there looking awkward and a little embarassed. "You sure don't sound like you're from around these parts." she tries to make small talk to ease the awkwardness.

Gambit chuckles. "Nor you," he retorts, walking a gold coin across the back of h is hand absently. "Where you from, cherie?"

Tony arrives from the northeast. Tony has arrived.

Hope smiles again and pushes her sleeves up again, noticing a bit of paint dripp ed on her arm and rubbing at it. "I'm from a little town in Kentucky."

Gambit grins. "What in de worl' you doin' in dis place?" Gambit is leaning against a tree near the skating rink, talking to Hope.

Tony comes walking down a random pathway, stopping every few steps to look aroun d. Once in a while, he ducks behind a tree, then peeks out from behind it, then returns to walking down the path like he owns the whole place.

Hope shrugs slightly and laughs.."School....I go to NYU." She dabs a finger to h er tounge and then rubs at the paint again, finally getting the little splotch t o come off. "How about you..I'd say Louisiana or maybe even southern Mississipi"

Gambit chuckles and bows with a flourish. "Nawlin's originally," he replies. "Yo u pretty good."

Tony stops and looks over at the sound of laughter, and the heavy accent of the south in reply. He watches the two people with a strange, almost perplexed look on his face, but doesn't seem to move from his spot on the path.

Hope tilts her head down at the bow and flourish as a pink blush begins to sprea d across her cheeks. She remembers her manners and walks a step or two closer to extend her hand "Hope....Hope Winters, nice to meet you Mr.?" she says her own southern accent seeming to lessen somewhat with the formality.

Gambit takes the hand and brushes a kiss across the back. "Jus' call me Gambit." Tony listens for a moment, then begins walking toward the pair, not quite strutt ing as he was before, but with a more well-defined intent in his mind.

Hope's eyes widen and the pink tone to her skin deepens to a red tone as the blu sh extends to her ears, thankfully hidden under all her hair. She blinks a for a moment and then clears her throat softly, trying to find her voice again, the ac cent coming back the more she is flustered "Nice ta meet ya Mr...I mean...Gambit ." she says with a small nod, retracting her hand.

Gambit grins at the reaction. "Pleasure's all mine," he replies. He's obviously enjoying this little chat.

Tony stops about 15 feet away, with his arms extended out from his sides ina ges ture of non-aggression, then speaks quietly, a heavy New York accent dripping fr om each word, "Heya! How's it goin', eh? Don't mean to interrupt you lovebirds o r nuthin', but uuhh...in case you hadn't, like, noticed, this 'ere is Central Pa rk, and it's awfully late to be just hangin' around. Ya never know what kinda cr azy people you might find in a place like dis at dis time of da night, ya know?" He grins, a warmth and mirth written all over his face and in his eyes, as he's clearly trying to insinuate himself as one of the "crazy people" you might find .

Hope looks to the ground, her eyes still a little wide from the gesture. It's be en a while since she experienced southern customs. As the man approaches them sh e looks up quirking one eyebrow at his gesturing and promptly turns a deep shade of crimson at the mention of being a love bird. In a faltering voice she says " Oh..n..no..it's not...like that at all...We were just..." She gestures with her hands, trying to find the words.

Gambit, going on instinct, pushes Hope behind him as Tony steps out of the shado ws. Seeing the non-agressive stance, he relaxes marginally. "Evenin', mon ami. W onder if ya shouldn' take you own advice. Afterall, ya never know what kinda cra zy people be hangin' out 'round here." He grins lopsidedly as he tosses Tony's o wn words back.

Tony practically jumps back, his body also acting on instinct more than anything else as he sees the man become defensive. He maintains his non-aggressive gestu re, and smiles again, a surprisingly reassuring and warm smile from the man who looks like he does. It's clear that Tony has had this kind of reaction to his pr esence before, and though he did take a step back, he seems relaxed and without fear. "Actually, I DO know what kinda crazy folks you'll find out here. That's w hy I'd hate to see anythin' happen to some folks like yourselves who are just ha vin' a good time talkin' and laughin' and whateva." He pauses a moment, "Don't h ear too many people laughin' anymore, ya know? Too many people got too much on t heir minds, ain't got no time to laugh. I don't like dat, ya know? I like to lau gh...like it when others do, too. So...I'd hate to see you two get mugged or som ethin'...be a lot betta if you always had a reason to smile, ya know?" He smiles again, the heavy New York accent seeming almost out of place with his concern a nd his strange insight.

Hope bites her bottom lip and peers around Gambit's shoulder as the man talks, i nstantly drawn in by the man's words and a look of true sympathy in her eyes. Sh e steps just a bit to the side but remains behind Gambit, thinking to herself .o O(Yeah...I /was/ one of those things people didn't want to run into..NO..no no n o..SHE was..not me)Oo. she reminds herself. "Th..thank you for your concern sir but...to be honest, Ah've been in the park on numerous occasions at night an Ah' ve never been attacked or anythin..well there was this one time but.." she shake s her head as a shiver runs down her spine, draining the color from her face.." Every person Ah've met has been real nice." Her voice tends to emphasize the wor d person a little too much, more than she meant to really.

Gambit looks over at Hope and smiles a little. "'Sides, if anyone tries t'hurt e ither o' us, he'll be in for a nasty surprise. I'm pretty good at takin' care o' situations like dat, homme," he adds as a silvery rod that seems to've appeared out of nowhere snaps open into a 5' long bo staff.

Tony sighs and drops his hands to his sides, as well as his head to his chest. H e shakes his head a little and says, "Aww...shit. Look, man...I dinna come over 'ere for a fight. I just wanted to make sure everthin' was cool...doin' my round s, saw ya over 'ere, thought I'd just check it out. So...c'mon...put that thing away. You got nuthin' to prove to me...and from the sound of her voice earlier, ya got nuthin' to prove to her, either." He looks up and smiles at Gambit, but h is eyes gleam with a solemn and serious nature...not malicious, just certainty. He looks over at hope a moment, and his eyes soften a bit, "Miss...one time is a ll it takes...if you've gotten jumped out here once and lived through it, then y ou're one of da lucky ones. I've seen others get nailed and dropped long before they even knew it was comin'." He looks at her, his eyes (again) surprisingly de ep and knowing, as if he knows just what she's feeling. "I just hate to see good people end up in bad ways, ya know? Been around dis block too long to just let that go on..."

Hope frowns slightly as the bo staff comes out. SHeesh..men around here eat too much red meat. She places a tenative hand on Gambit's shoulder and then looks to the other man, her eyes going back and forth between them "Really...Ah don't th ink any of us have to worry about it right now. You both seem like very nice fel las. I know. why don't we all have a cup of hot cocoa from the vendor over at th e rink. My treat?" She turns her gaze to Tony and considers explaining more abou t the first attack but shakes her head and realizes she'd be the one they all th ought was crazy if she started talking about vampires and stuff so she opts to r emain silent.

Gambit grins and the staff goes away. "Neh, chere, don' worry you pretty lil' he ad," he says and nods to Tony. "No worries, we on de same side, apparently." He offers a hand as he walks toward Tony. "Folks call me Gambit."

Tony me shakes his hand with a firm grasp, but seems restrained somehow, as if, pehaps, he is much stronger than he appears, "Gambit, huh? Like takin' a chance? I kinda like dat...My name's Tony. And I like the hot cocoa idea...but, I uhh.. .wouldn't feel right 'bout the young lady pay, so how 'bout I treat, since I cam e over here and disturbed your conversation, eh? Give me a chance to umm...make right a little, ya know?" He grins, then makes a sweeping motion with his hand t oward the vendor to allow the other two to go first.

Hope follows gambit over to Tony and stays quiet as they make thier introduction s.. "Hi Tony..nice to meet you. I'm Hope." she says extending her hand to shake. as they walk. "But really I don't mind payin..it's only a couple of bucks after all and hey..it's just money. "

Gambit smirks. "Hope, ma chere, I don' t'ink Tony *or* I woul' feel right lettin ' a lovely young lady buy us drinks. I was raised t'believe dat was bad manners, " he says, ushering Hope toward the vendor.

Tony waves off Hope, dismissing her idea as she puts out her hand, "No, no no... I couldn't possibly. See, it IS only money, but I don't need it for nuthin', and you're gonna need it for painting stuff...so, you betta save it and let one of us gents here pay for it." He grins over at Gambit, and winks once, "'sides, I'm a little old skool myself, and it ain't cool to let a woman pay for a coupla gu ys who wanna pay anyway." He grins at her, his whole face a beacon of warmth. He waits for the two to begin heading over toward the vendor, then follows behind, scanning the trees and the other dark areas of the surrounding park.

Hope can't help but to blush again. Even though she's received more male attenti on since coming to New York than she has her entire life she still isn't real us ed to it. The fact that she's in love with two other men, neither of which she c an be with for various reasons like species, and being undead and all doesn't st op the automatic physical response of embarassment either. She sighs soflty and nods "Alright then. Ah suppose Ah should let y'all get it but" she shrugs as the y come to a stop in front of the vendor. "Ah just don't want y'all ta think you have to or anything. After all it /was/ my idea."

Gambit laughs. "Like I said, no worries." He motions for Hope and Tony to order first, casually scanning the area.

Tony steps up to the vendor, and quickly puts a finger to his lips to suggest si lence toward the vendor when the others with him aren't looking (so he hopes). " Hey there, mac, we'll have three of yours best hot chocolates....and make mine a double." He smiles at the vendor, trying to make his lame joke sound at least a little funny.

Hope has her attention diverted by Gambit as Tony motions to the vendor, thus mi ssing the motion. She does chime in, in a very polite, almost shy voice "Could I have some of those little marshmallows in mine please?" her accent again fading a bit as the formality creeps in.

Gambit appears not to notice the gesture to the vendor. He grins down at Hope. " Dat goes double f'me," he add with a wink in her direction. He just *loves* that pink color she goes. And it's so easy to do.

The vendor just nods as he pours the drinks into cups, dropping a few mini-marsh mallows into each of the three cups. He looks at Tony, "That'll be four-fifty." Tony slides the guy a ten dollar bill, "Keep the change, mac." He nods at the ve ndor, then takes the middle cup....he inhales the aroma deeply, savoring it perh aps a bit too much. "Ahhhh...I do love a good cocoa, don't you?" He grins at the other two.

Hope's eyes quickly dance from Gambit's as he winks trying to hide the blush she knows is creeping up to her ears again from the heat she feels in her face. She takes the remaining cup and blows across the top a bit first, sending the melti ng marshmallows skating before taking a sip. She nods to Tony and smiles shyly " I never could get into coffee so this is my caffine drink of choice." Tony makes his way over to a nearby picnic table and sits down on the top of it, resting both feet on the bench part of it, "I actually prefer cider, myself...but hey, whateva works for ya, right? I usually keep stuff like this on hand at my club...try to have stuff for the folks who don't like the hard stuff so much, ya know? Less likely to go out and do crazy stuff that way." He sips at the cocoa, then looks back over at her, "So...the guys who jumped you here? Was it a muggin' or somethin', or....well...I'd hate to think it was somethin' worse. But, hopefully someone got 'em, right?" He looks fairly concerned, and yet a bit on edge, as if talking about such people really gets under his skin.

Gambit sits sideways on the bench, straddling it. His eyes darken perceptibly as though sharing Tony's feelings about those who would prey on a young girl. He takes a drink of his cocoa and watches Hope's response carefully.

Hope sits down in the middle, between the two, crossing her legs in an automatic ladylike fashion. She sips her cup and sits a moment silently before answering, trying to figure out what to say and wishing she could start thinking before sp eaking. "It was...kinda a vendetta thing...the monst...people who did it weren't out for money. It was...." she sighs and tries to explain, her hands shifting t he cup as she uses her hands to talk as well "You see, I have..had this friend w ho was kinda messing up the way these people's boss did things and they wanted r evenge on him ...so..." she gestures with her hand again "They tried to kill me. " She stares into space a bit but then snaps to and looks quickly at both of the men. "But I got better and all" she tries to lighten the mood and make it seem not so bad.

Tony nods, loking not the least bit surprised, and sips at his cocoa. "The EV's. ...aw, man...you ran into some bad customers there, m'dear. You're pretty lucky you're still with us, ya know? And they're mosters alright...you coulda said tha t...Though, I know some people who would make monsters like dat look like teddy bears. Lot worse things down in the Zero than the freakin' creeps who run around here for their bosses." He shakes his head sadly, "Sorry you got messed with... .kinda wish I woulda been there to have stopped it. I don't take too kindly to t heir kind doin' that sort of crap in my town, ya know?" He looks over at her, an d an almost overwhelmingly sincere look crosses his face as a fire burns in his eyes, not at her, but at the thoguhts running through his own mind.

Gambit looks over at Tony. "EV's?" he asks curiously. "What's EV's?"

Hope swallows hard and has no clue what EV's are either, just figuring they're a local gang or something. She smiles slightly at his sincere gaze and then looks away quickly, hoping she need not say more.

Tony continues to look at Hope, but answers Gambit, "They're why I'm here in this town, man. They're the worst of what the night has to offer. Rotte n to the core, and the nightmare of every kid in this world. Even someone like y ou with your silver stick ain't gonna stand up too well against one of 'em." He turns and looks at Gambit almost apologetically, "No offense or nuthin', I can t ell you're good, just by how you carry yourself. But there's always someone bett er...specially when it comes to things that ain't quite human anymore. Don't get pissed, just take it as a friendly observation, alright? I've seen too many goo d people go down because they thought they could be a hero...just don't work lik e that in the Zero, man...and especially not against the freakin' monsters in th is town..." He nods once, then sips at his cocoa, tilts his head back and looks up at the sky.

Gambit raises an eyebrow. "Don' tell me we talkin' 'bout vampires again," he mut ters. "Dis de second time t'day I met someone who was attacked by vampires. So, I gotta ask myself dis: when exactly did I wind up in dis episode o' Buffy an' w hen's de cute lil' blonde come out t'kick some undead ass?"

Hope's eyes widen as first Tony hints at her thoughts and then Gambit speaks the m bluntly. She glances first to one and then the other without turning her head and takes a deep draw fromt he hot chocolate to keep her mouth occupied so she d oesn't have to say anything. Trying to make her self small and invisible she lea ns forward a bit ove her legs.

Tony laughs out loud, then looks over at Gambit, "You really wanna know where th e cute vampire killa is, man? 'Cuz I'll tell ya, if you really wanna know....you both just gonna have to promise me you'll keep quiet, ya hear?" He seems to poi ntedly be ignoring Hope's expression, though it's clear in his facial expression s that he seems to know exactly what she's doing and feeling over there.

Gambit grins. "Oui, I can keep a secret," he replies. Good God, he almost appear s eager to go up against one of these blood suckers as he says "Wonder if dey ne ed any help."

Hope stills says nothing, not wanting any part of this. Her mind reeling, wonder ing if her beloved will be safe from whoever it is. Knowing he's not one of thos e types of vampires. Again she drinks deeply from the cup, a little too fast tho ugh as some of the liquid goes down the wrong pipe causing her to begin coughing .

Tony looks over his shoulder at Hope, "You alright over there? You seem a little worried about sumthin'. Did I say something to upset ya or sumthin'? 'Cuz I'll shut up if you want me to...." He smiles reassuringly at her, trying to understa nd what's really wrong before he answers Gambit's question.

Gambit reaches over to pat Hope's back gently. "Need t'drink it, no' breath it, chere."

Hope sets her cup down on the ground beside her, straightening up a bit and shak ing her head as she taps her hand against her chest in an attempt to clear her t hroat. Her small chuckle at Gambit's comment not helping. She eventually gets it clear and shakes her head again, clearing her throat. "No..I'm fine..just tried to drink too much too fast..really" she tries to reassure them both.

Tony nods, but is obviously not convinced...though he decides to let it be. He l ooks over at Gambit, "Well, I hate to disappint ya, my Cajun Creole friend, but you're looking at the cute, blonde, vampiah ass-whooper." He grins at him almost proudly, then quickly adds, "But only the EV's, man...let's get it straight...o nly the ones that really deserve it...ain't doin' this all willy-nilly or nothin '...just the ones who are really fuckin' other people over, ya know?"

Gambit grimaces. "No offense, mon ami, but I t'ink I prefer de Buffy look," he r eplies. "'Course lookin' at her woul' prob'ly get me in deep trouble wit' a pret ty powerful TK I know, so it's prob'ly a good t'ing you ain't my type."

Hope clears her throat again and asks timidly, not looking to either men. "So... only the bad ones right?" Her face has a worried expression. She nervously threa ds her fingers together and apart and then together again as she sits there star ing off into the distance.

Tony laughs hysterically at Gambit, then replies, "Ah, no worries, man. Hell, I' d be a little afraid if I WAS ya type, ya know?" He laughs again, "You're alrigh t, Gambit...I dig your sense of humah..." He narrows his eyes a little, though h is face is still smiling, "You serious about lendin' a hand, even if da person a in't the cute blonde you was hopin' for?" He grins again, but his eyes reveal hi s serious intent. He then looks over at Hope, his gaze seems to know far too muc h, "Yeah, hon....only the bad ones...the really bad ones...the ones that don't h ave a decent bone in their bodies. There's a few good ones out there, though the y few and far between, ya know? And most of the time, the EV's just get 'em anyw ay...it's a damned shame, ya know?" He pauses, "But don't go worrying...I ain't gonna go after anyone you're worried about....and yeah, it's written all over yo ur face that you're worried...in case you're wonderin' how I suddenly became psy chic." He smiles warmly, then looks back over to Gambit.

Gambit smiles and nods. "Yeah, I'm serious. I'm doin' de hero bit anyway, might as well branch out a little, neh?" He looks at Hope and touches her shoulder gen tly. "An' I ain' in de habit o' beatin' on innocent folks."

Hope jumps ever so slightly at the touch to her shoulder, probably not noticable to the naked eye but probably felt. Her expression relaxes slightly and she nod s, turning her head to first smile to Tony and then to cast a smile in Gambit's direction . "Thank you...both of you." she says softly. She stands and leans ove r to pick her cup off the ground before turning to face them both "Ah...Ah reall y need ta get goin..early class tomorrow an all" she stammers, looking down at t he cup.

Tony nods and smiles at Hope, "Yeah, you take care of yourself...maybe we can ta lk a bit more about your 'attack' another time, eh? I might have some info for y a..." He turns and looks at Gambit, "Maybe you and I should talk a bit more, if you want, about you wantin' to play hero, eh?"

Gambit frowns a little, watching Hope leave. "Pretty jumpy dere," he murmurs and shakes his head before turning back to Tony. "Hey, in for a dime, in for a doll ar, eh? I'm already puttin' my neck on de line ev'ry day, might as well add some one else t' de list o' enemies.

Hope bites her bottom lip and nods to them before turning and dropping the cup i nto the trash can on her way through the plaza, making for the subway station. I t might be soon too soon to call him but she just needs to hear the sound of his voice. She needs to know the one she loves is okay. Silly her worrying about a centuries old vampire. Ah the irony.