#nikkithreads

[b4rredteeth]

OPEN STARTER capped ( 3 / 5 )

the glitter gulch, midnight, 30th of may

@boneyardstarters

Nikitha had her arms crossed, letting the sounds and sensations wash over her as if in doing so she could stretch her awareness to encompass everything within the boxed in space. She counted up to a hundred, sifting through memories and impressions. Then when she had, she let out a long breath. For good measure she breathed in again, held it there for four seconds, and then let it all out, emptying her lungs of anything that could hold her back.

It didn't truly happen, but it felt like her vision cleared, like everything was brought back into hyper focus. She did this once every time she entered a new space, centering her to the present. Because the past was a heavy cloak that needed to be lifted off her shoulders and dropped, only to be donned as soon as she left for a new place.

"Are there bets going on on the bull riders?" she asked, face remaining still as she turned to the hyped up audience. "Or is it over so quickly that nobody has the time." She slipped both hands into the pockets of her bomberjacket and started counting again, a hit for every criminal she saw. Tonight was not the night she found intell, but it was hard to break this new habit. She knew how to bide her time, she'd learned patience from the best. "We could bet between the two of us?"

[b4rredteeth]

CLOSED for @ofdesertroses ft. Dakota

where: outside of the glitter gulch, 30th of may

Nikki let out a long breath as she exited the Glitter Gulch and sought a new place to centre herself. She had to pace herself more in these kind of places than she would've liked, and for a moment she scolded that desperate need, the way her fingers twitched when she saw too many people taking their drugs, hoping to do so in secret. But she had once been one of them, and she caught the signs. And she could almost envision herself taking some with them, spending the money she had on her person for an easy fix, for something. But in her head she repeated the words her brother, her veera would speak when she was at her lowest, before she realised the drugs she bought were manifactured by him: choti, you don't need this. you are strong, you are tough, you are smart.

She checked the pavement, the buildings on either side of the street, she noted the scent of piss, of smoke, of sweat. She heard the music from inside, the laughter, the talking, she heard the softer talking and laughing to her right. She took stock of everything she could register around her. And then she found her own centre.

Then she heard Dakota, the sounds and scents of him were just as familiar to her now as any of the heist crew, and before he could even notice her - though she wasn't that hard to overlook so perhaps he already had - she touched a hand to his arm and claimed him into her space. Looking up at him without much of an expression, to the outside world. To family, she was clearly in over her head and looking for support. "Having fun?" she asked, a small wish to her tone that suggested she hoped he was having fun.