[Rina Carmen]

The night was going somewhat off the rails for Raven. During what was originally just her exploring a bit more of San Francisco, ended up with her going on what was becoming a bar crawl. Granted she wasn't sure there was even a name for it when it was done just by one person.

She hadn't long left a place which had turned out to be woefully disappointing. For what she considering in the high range of prices, had turned out to be watered down bottles of her normal tipple. She had gone on to drinking random shots which another patron had helpfully paid for. Probably as a means to try and get into her underwear. She'd had no intention of finding out whether that was the case. Instead she had waited until the male had left to go to the bathroom, then had disappeared out of the bar completely.

There she was now. In an alleyway. One hand pressed against the wall. The other trying to shove her loose black hair out of her face as best as she could. While she was literally beginning to retch, on the verge of emptying the contents of her stomach. The shots had been a bad idea. The fact they were tequila was even worse. She always had this reaction to it.

Drunk she was. But it her inebriated mind once she had managed to purge herself, even if was in not the most appropriate place, she would be able to continue on her current drunken binge.

CBE-177/"Anna"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

Anna's relatively peaceful walk home was interrupted by the sound of someone upchucking.

Jack had this habit of asking her to deliver packages at odd times, usually coupled with the request that she not take a lyft or uber there or back. She could ride to a distance away, but she had to walk to the actual delivery, and then she had to walk until she was far enough away to call another ride. On this particular night her walk back had become delayed. She had been unexpectedly struck with the urge not to return right away- Jack had nothing else that needed her attention for the night- but simply to wander the city. And so she had.

She had been in this modern America for many months now, and still she could not shake a small sense of wonder when she took it all in, this world of glass and concrete, plains and computers you could fit in your pocket. A world of incredible abundance, so that she could spend hours in the mall simply staring at what was for sale. It raised strange emotions in her. Sometimes it all felt so... useless, so ethereal. She thought of her own sufferings, and wondered, what did it mean to any of these people? How could they even begin to comprehend it? But at the same time she was glad she had lived to see it. In Laboratory 1 pain had seemed to be the entire world. Now she knew it was not true. The evil she had known had ended, the nation that had enslaved her had fallen into the rubble heap of history, leaving a legacy of nothing more than infamy. It comforted her to know that people lived who could forget about the USSR. It was as her thoughts turned in this direction that she heard the noise.

Turning, she saw the woman in the alley. Taller than her (but who wasn't?), black hair she was trying to grab back, and bent over, clearly about to vomit. 177 didn't hesitate. She strode over, and, reaching upward, pulled the other woman's hair out of the way so she could throw up in peace.

Rina Carmen

[Rina Carmen]

Since she was literally starting to vomit at the time that she had felt someone's hand go into her, Raven's usual reaction to grab the wrist of the person just wasn't there. At least that hand that hold of her hair seemed to be helping to keep it out of the way. Not a grab or tug.

She leaned over more so there would be slightly less mess, or at least an attempt to reduce the mess. Vomiting wasn't exactly a mess free thing.

Raven vomited for at least a minute before she gave way to a cough instead. The back of her hand going over her mouth, in an attempt to clean herself up. Her head felt like it was pulsating. Not something she enjoyed. Now however she started to straighten herself up. All five foot four inches of herself. Her boots boosting her up by another two inches, bringing her up to about the average height.

She shoved her hand over her hair to get some order to it. She turned to look to her helper. An eyebrow raising up being as she had to look down. "Wow, you're short." She stated abruptly, her words a little slurred. "Really short. Thank you short woman. Thanks a lot. Let me thank you properly. I'll treat you to something. Something nice. Something good. Something to make you grow. Something awesome..." She started to ramble towards the stranger before her.

She began to reach out in order to grab hold of the woman's arm, missing in the process, which was likely for the best. Raven's control over her strength always went a bit iffy while she was under the influence. One moment she was able to cope with the strength, and another she would forget herself, causing some considerable damage. Usually on a drunken binge night the victims of her strength was furniture and whatever she had been drinking from.

"Come on I'll treat you. Great bar round the corner. Great cocktails from what I've heard. Plus cute guys behind the bar, gotta love something to ogle while drinking. C'mon." She made a motion with her arm for the woman to follow her.

CBE-177/"Anna"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

The first thing the other woman pointed out was that Anna was short. It was good that she did so, since Anna might not have realized it otherwise. Anna gave the other woman a small glare, but cut it off when she realized what was happening. The woman was drunk. Drunk enough to throw up. Anna could smell it on her now that she took a moment to do so.

The fact that she had just gotten through throwing up (which couldn't have been a pleasant experience) didn't seem to discourage the other woman from drinking, though, since she proceeded to invite Anna to another bar. Anna raised an eyebrow. It didn't seem like a particularly wise plan to her. No doubt this other woman would need someone else to hold her hair for her while she throw up for a second time this night...

The thought struck her, suddenly and absurdly, that it had been forever since she had had a drink. With the thought came an odd sort of melancholy. Going out for drink... it was a surpassingly normal thing to do. Abruptly she found herself contemplating her life and the ways it had become different and strange. Being thrown into the living hell that had been Laboratory 1 had been bad enough. Yet even her escape in what could only be called a miracle of fate to this new land had not brought her any normality. She was different. It was as impossible to escape that fact here as it had been in Laboratory 1. It had been impossible to escape before the Laboratory, as well. Yet, a new life in a new land... she felt somehow cheated that the slate could not be made as clean as she might have hoped. Yet if she had desired a new start, had she really been living like a woman who pursued one? So much of her life was still ruled by where she had come from, by what she was, and she rarely considered the possibility of anything different. But this other woman knew nothing of that. So far as she was concerned, Anna was exactly like anyone else. (Well, shorter.) And that... that was very attractive.

She tilted her head and set her hands on her hips, studying the woman with a contemplative expression. A moment's hesitation, then a decision.

She turned her neck towards the woman to show the scar on it. She pointed at it, then made a motion like zipping her lips. People usually understood when she did that. Then she shaped her hand like she was holding a glass and tilted it back as if drinking.

She looked at the woman, and she smiled.

Rina Carmen

[Rina Carmen]

Raven looked towards the other woman, even if her vision was impaired to the point that the woman was mostly a huge blur. Upon seeing the gestures that she made, she moved towards her to get a better look. Close enough that most people would feel as if their personal space was being invaded.

She squinted at what appeared to be a scar on the woman's neck. She then leaned back and swayed mildly as she peered down toward the stranger. "Oh!" Raven raised a hand up and pointed towards her neck, before mimicking the zipper motion over her lips. "You can't talk can you! Wow!" A half laugh bubbled up from her and she gave a shake of her head. More than anything she was amused.

"Well now, don't worry, ole Raven here will talk up a storm for the both of us. She stated matter of factly as she introduced herself and gave a large yet drunken confident smile.

"Heck we'll come up with a system. Blink twice for yes and once for no, and a wink for more drink!" She exclaimed with an enthused laugh.

She took a step back and looked over her shoulder, then gave another drunken smile. "While we're at it we can figure out a way for you to tell me your name. I mean you gotta have a name. Everyone has a name. Whether real, really really crappy, or one of them um, name things, you know not real ones." She raised up her right hand and twirled a finger. "Crap what you call 'em...."

Raven kept twirling her finger before she suddenly snapped her fingers together. "Nicknames! That's it nicknames! Now how could I forget nicknames." She shook her head and chuckled again.

"Anyway, anyway, where were we?" She poked her tongue out the corner of her mouth, then smiled once more. "Drinks. Of course. Follow me." She half waved along towards out of the alley, where she would be able to have a pick of bars.

CBE-177/"Anna"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

Anna nodded rapidly when the woman suggested she couldn't talk and gave a thumbs-up as well. At least her drunk companion seemed quick enough. When the woman suggested she could talk enough for both of them, Anna replied with a smile. Yes, this other woman seemed to talk quite a bit, though whether that was normal or simply because of alcohol remained to be seen. At the other woman's suggestion of a system for blinking, Anna leaned forward and very deliberately blinked twice for yes. It was primitive, she supposed, but it would do. She tried signing, “Hello, I know sign language, do you?”, although she didn't expect much to come from it.

As Raven motioned for Anne to follow her out of the alley, Anna took out her phone and typed on it, showing the result to Raven.

Hello Raven. I am called Anna. How are you? This is the easiest way for me to talk. Thank you for inviting me to drink with you. It has been a long time since anyone invited me for a drink. Where do you want to go first?

She wasn't sure that Raven would be able to read it, but, well, it was a start.

Rina Carmen