I didn't like the practice ° but that was at first glance.

[relicta]

They only bring her out when they need extra insurance, but never one to look a gifthorse in the mouth, Natalia is all too happy with the prospect of helping to keep S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most valuable asset in line. She's afraid to be too cheerful however, as though her own keepers didn't already know she preferred to be outside the facility, at least every now and then. She ties her hair into a tight bun with a red ribbon and gets in her little black car.

By the time she shows up at his apartment it's mid-evening, maybe 7 o'clock. She doesn't greet him at the door but rather barges in in that very Prussian way. She has thick black winged eyeliner on but no other makeup and under her calf-skin jacket are light barre clothes, her point shoes in one hand and plain white keds on her feet. When she speaks she speaks in a heavy Russian accent, though her annunciation makes her fairly easy to follow.

"Your agent told you I was coming for a sitting, yes?" A confirmation she doesn't seem to need as she turns away from him and moves to sit on his couch presumptuously, flicking off her sneakers and beginning to lace up her shoes.

Comments

[valuedstrength]

Kate had made it clear this woman was going to be a handful. She also let him know that if he sucked it up, he'd have a great reference on his hands. Steve couldn't argue with good work.

It seemed his agent had done right by him. Sure this strange woman just barged into his home, however humble it may be, and acted like she owned the place. Visually she's exactly what he wanted. He respects the fact she wants to jump headfirst into work as well.

He shuts the door and heads for his kitchen area. Now more than ever is he grateful for the open living space. "She did, yeah. Can I get you anything before we get started? I've got coffee, bottled water, milk, protein bars, and homemade cookies."

[relicta]

"None of that is vodka," she criticizes, so deadpan it's impossible to tell if it's a joke or a true dig. The truth is it's more like a combination of both. In her point shoes in record time, she rises to her feet and strips off her jacket, unceremoniously flopping it over the arm of the sofa. She narrows her eyes. "What kind of cookie?"

She's ready to get started pretty much immediately, but she was sent here to do a job and that means talking to her mark for better or for worse. While an expert at extracting information, she doesn't always have the softest approach, especially not right off the bat.

[valuedstrength]

"Chocolate chip with bits of pretzel in it." Steve replies without hesitation. He wonders if he can get away with ignoring her criticism as he drops off a plate with cookies on it near her. It doesn't take him long to realize that he may as well say it off to bat.

"And I don't drink." He goes to gather up his paper and pencil. Kate's advice to roll with it sticks with him. He's not going to let the frankly odd behavior get to him.

Once he's settled in at his little station, Steve picks up the conversation again. "When you're ready, take me through some basic moves. If you don't mind." He tacks on despite know that's what she's here for.

[relicta]

Oh wow, that sounds delicious. Distracted for a moment, she stares at the cookies but doesn't reach for one. What he says next gets a laugh, though it's a shrill bark of a thing. Natalia doesn't say anything to him, instead getting off the couch and moving to the center of the room before unceremoniously dropping into a split, bowing her head down over one leg to stretch her back out. "American men are strange."

[valuedstrength]

Steve wonders if maybe she doesn't trust him enough to accept anything. He dismisses it quickly because if that were true asking about it would only make it worse. He smiles at her comment, studying her stance with a critical eye before trying to replicate it on the page. It can't hurt to keep it as a reference.

"Here I thought it was just me."

[relicta]

That gets a full-out snort, and she cranes her neck to catch his eyes over her shoulder. "I can assure you it is not." She knows far too many of them, and she definitely knows weirder. Clint springs first to mind. "Besides, Russian men have no sense of humor." Which bores her, as do most things. She turns away again, springing up to her feet and taking up a simple barre by the mantle.

[valuedstrength]

"I'll take your word for it, ma'am." Steve replies as he tries to carefully follow her movement from stretching to that simple barre using small figures. It is not an easy task when her eyes catch his. She really does have striking features. Kate really did a solid by him. "I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure."

[relicta]

"Lucky for you," she declares, and like everything else she says there can be no room for argument. Feeling sufficiently warmed up, she moves into a full Arabesque to hold for a few minutes. She never once looks like this is taxing her, though she is silent for the next little moment as well.

[valuedstrength]

Steve initially works quickly since he can't be sure she can hold the pose. The model quickly surprises him by holding it past that initial sixty seconds. He's able to effectively add in all the details including a light touch of red to further highlight that who exactly the model is. It's not something he can normally pull off so he's smiling by the end of it.

"This is great. What else have you got for me, Ms....?" Steve realizes now he never actually asked Kate for her name. That was incredibly rude of him.