ArchivedLogs:Strange Coincidences

Strange Coincidences
Dramatis Personae Rogue, Felix
In Absentia	2013-05-22 Felix meets Rogue for the first time at Evolve Cafe, another person gets to enjoy the gift he can provide.
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Tucked down an alley, this out of the way coffeeshop is easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. Unassuming from the outside, its inside makes up for it -- spacious, with abundant seating and plenty of plush couches and cosy armchairs along the room's edges. The coffee is good, the prices are cheap, and there is a definitive alternative vibe to the room, from the music they play to the art that hangs on the walls. The real draw to this place, though, stems from its client base -- one of the very few businesses in the city that is welcoming to mutants, Evolve has become widely popular as a hangout with that crowd, and it is quite common to see them among clientele and employees both. At night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits over the coffeehouse. It's not terribly late in the night, not even the 'shank of the evening'. Rogue has decided on a highly caffienated and sugared beverage to pump her up for the evening, toying with the idea of going upstairs. She's certainly dressed for it, parts of her white streak purple and green with hair chalk, the whole mass curled and laying over her shoulders. Her top is a silky material with a sweetheart neckline, before mesh continues to shadow her fair skin with a shimmery silver and black. Paired with fitted black pants and silver heels, more makeup than she wears around the school, she is certainly dressed for an evening out. The only odd note, is the ball chain one can see under the transparent mesh, that slides under the solid fabric. Felix is already sitting at one of the tables and looks just like one of the nerdy college professor type, dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. A sport coat is set over the back of the chair and he has a large cup of coffee, black, in front of him. He looks up from the book he was reading, even before the front door opens and watches as the women enters and gets her order. It looks like he is studying her, but not in a bad way, as his face conveys both curiosity and confusion at the same time, almost like he sees something else about her. He is not good at hiding such things, so it is obvious that he is, well staring at the woman. Rogue looks much like any young woman her age might, though she's covered shoulders to toes. When she gets her coffee, she tosses her money onto the counter (with a hefty tip), smiling at the barista. She picks up her cup, the black lace gloves that disappear under the ends of her sleeves are very much in evidence. But maybe it's just a fashion choice, even in the warming weather? Being stared at sits ill with Rogue this evening, perhaps because it eats at her self confidence in her appearance. A brow arches up, her head tipping slightly as dark red lips sip at coffee, leaving a lip print on the lid. "Somethin' Ah can help you with, sugar?" She asks the man staring at her. With a quick shake of his head, like he has been snapped back to reality, he realizes that he has been starring. "Oh, my apologies." there is a light but obvious Russian accent when he speaks. A light blush appears on his face, "I was doing it again." He frowns at his own actions and looks down at the table briefly then takes a sip of his coffee, obvious that he is trying to recompose himself. Looking back up, first around the room, then at the woman, "I may be able to help you actually," he says with a warm and inviting smile. He pushed out a chair with his foot and closes his book, setting it aside on the table. "Doing it again?" Rogue asks a little less sharply, eyes curious. She has her own accent, though it's deep South, not Russian. She's curious, but clearly not a fool. She warily takes the chair, since it isn't like she has other plans for the moment, but she does loosen one glove a bit. "Help me? With what, exactly?" "Yes, it, staring. I am very bad at being subtle." Felix looks a little uncomfortable, but not because of the womans appearance. "You are the second young woman I have seen in the coffee shop who likes to /cover up/." He sits back in his chair, attempting to relax a bit. "I have an idea why you do this." Still smiling, perhaps he knows more? The book on the table may not be important, but the title reads 'Beginners Guide to Parenting'. "Subtle is over-rated, you ask me." Not that anyone did, but Rogue doesn't care. Fingers brush her multi colored streak out of her face. "Ah prefer blunt honesty, myself." Her face is composed, but for her brows lifting. "You have an idea, do you? Other than my outstandign fashion sense?" She sips at her coffee, glancing at the book. "Expecting? Congratulations." Felix blinks his eyes a few times as the woman says she prefers blunt. Ok, he can do that. "Expecting, no. It was a mutual adoption." Looking the woman straight in the eyes, leans forward a bit and lowers his voice, "I can tell that you cover yourself because touching others is /unpleasant/ in some way. /You/ do not have the /control/ you desire over the problem. I can help you with both." He leans back, blatant statement now made, waiting to see how she reacts. There is the slightest jerk through the young belle, that starts at her shoulders, and ends with her hands fisted in their gloves. Her jaw clenches, chin lifting. There's a total roiling mix of emotions that flush her cheeks, turning her eyes darker a moment. "Unpleasant isn't the word. Not for me, or the one Ah'd be touching. And how do you propose you'd help me /control/ that?" There's a vener of anger, of kneejerk reaction, covering the much deeper conjoined emotions of guilt and longing. Both of Felix's hands fly up, indicating 'woah, no offense', clearly he does not want a physical altercation of any kind. Slowly he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. "Let me show you some pictures of my /daughter/." He sets two pictures in the middle of the table and withdraws his hand. One picture is of a mutant, red scaled with long talons for fingers and toes, very animal looking. The other picture is that of a young girl dressed in pink and black goth style clothing. "She looks like this," pointing to the first picture, "unless I with her and helping." There is a very caring look on his face when he talks about his 'daughter'. "My gift is to give others peace, guidance, and help them find their /center/." "Unless you're with her?" Rogue asks, touching the pictures with gloved fingertips. "And help her how? Ah mean, it's awesome that you're helpin' her, and she's not even your blood, Ah just... Ah don't know how you'd help me." Felix looks at the woman straight faced again, "I can turn your ability /off/ for a short time. Think of it like a volume control on others." Taking another sip of his coffee, he knows she is very unsure about this whole thing. "But, only if it is something you want to do." Eyes jerk to this man's face, emotions warring in her expression. Hope, fear, wanting, doubt... "Turn it off... for how short a time, exactly?" She's cautious, but curious. So very, very curious. "An' how, exactly?" "It is just like flipping a switch, or turning a knob for me, all I have to do is think about it." Felix offers a reassuring smile, "That is my ability, I am like you... /different/" He looks around the room again, making sure that there are no prying ears within range. "It does work best with touch, but it is not necessary." Rogue just watches his face, as if she can tell if he's bluffing. "You don't want to touch my skin. Ah.. It would be bad news. Sure, Ah'd be able to have your.. different gift, but you would be in a world of hurt. And if you're really trying to help me.." She shrugs a bit, sipping at cooled coffee. "But about how long is a short time?" Felix takes in what the woman says about her powers and ponders for a moment, "That does not sound pleasant at all. Perhaps without touch for you." Touching his thumb to his fingers, he seems to be calculating something. "Well, my /daughter/ gets twenty two minutes. So, maybe eighteen minutes, give or take a minute. I can also stop the timer at any time before that as well." "Eighteen." Rogue seems to be doing some mental calculating of her own. "Eighteen minutes isn't a terribly long time... would my powers come back all at once, or slowly? " She's still curious, watching the man's face. "I guess time is a matter of perspective." That must be the math geek in Felix talking now. "If I am around I can ease the powers back on, otherwise they come back all at once." The expression on his face has not changed, it appears that Felix has been and is telling the truth, his expressions are extremely easy to read. There's a blush, before Rogue is finishing her coffee as a subterfuge. "It's not long enough to be able to run home and touch my best friend, is all. It's an amazing offer, Ah just.. if Ah could touch, there's one person in the world Ah'd wanna touch without hurting, before anyone else." Felix nods, understanding that this is one of those special connections that some people have. "Again, the choice is yours. If you wish to experience what it is like, then you will also know that you can touch that person without hurting them." He does not appear to be pushing the woman, the choice must really be hers. Rogue fires off a text quickly, barely glancing at her phone as she does it. Then she's looking at him, head tilting. "Why would you wanna do this for me? You don't know me." Maybe she's thinking nothing comes free. "When my powers showed up I struggled with them for several years." Felix takes a couple sips of his coffee, but it is not hard to tell that talking about his past like this is a bit uncomfortable. "When I figured out what my powers were and how they worked, it just seemed like my calling was to help others who were struggling with control, fitting in, being uncomfortable." Rogue bites back the urge to make a sarcastic response about it being more than uncomfortable to have a couple older men running around in your head. "So... you're really saying there's no catch." She states slowly, setting an alarm on her cell phone, it appears. "All right. Ah'm willin' to give it a try. " "You fill feel a sleight shiver when I do this. When it gets close to going off you will get a warm feeling sensation. Neither cause pain." Felix wants to make sure the woman knows just how this will work. "There is no catch, I am just here to help." He leans forward in his chair, "You are ok with this?" asking for confirmation before he proceeds. Rogue bites her lip. "Ah'm not scared of pain.. Ah.. " She clears her throat, a deep breath to steady herself. "Ah'm okay with this. Ah want this, if only for the little while." "Before we go further, I am Felix." Pulling a business card out of his coat pocket, he slides it halfway across the table. "You can contact me with this." Then he holds out his hand, palm up on the table, and closes his eyes for just a moment. "It is done, you can confirm by touching my hand if you wish, but you should have felt the shiver." "Rogue." The young woman whispers carefully, even as she feels a chill over her body, actually shifting in her chair. She eyes that business card, wondering. She doesn't yet dare to hope. She plucks her left glove off, before her hand settles into his. Felix does not flinch, does not appear to be in pain and does not appear to be relinquishing powers or thoughts. He smiles at the young woman, allowing her to leave her hand there for as long as she wishes. "How do you feel?" Rogue waits, her heart pounding in her throat, unable to really breathe. She's waiting, waiting for the veins to show, waiting to get his with his memories... And nothing happens. "Ah feel.. feel fine. It's.. odd. But not in a bad way." She pulls her hand back, staring at it. It's small, pale, and doesn't look terribly lethal."Ah.. " She looks up from her hand. "Ah think Ah'm gonna go dance for a little while, if that's all right by you." It looks like Felix is very please that he could help, a big grin on his face when the woman declares that she wishes to go dance. "Would you like me to go up with you, I can keep resetting it so you can spend the night dancing if you wish. I just have to be in the room with you." He does not look like he will be offended if she declines. "I will stay in the background, and I will know when you do when it is wearing off as I will begin to sense you again." Rogue pauses in the act of putting her glove back on. She takes the other one off, instead, tucking them into her back pocket. Eyes watch him, study him. "You don't have plans for the rest of the night? Ah'll feed you an' all, of course." "No plans, I was just reading my book. Helping is more important than reading." Felix is genuine in his offer. He downs the rest of his coffee, picks up the pictures and returns them to his coat pocket, grabs his book and coat off the back of the chair and waits for the woman to lead the way. "Just a couple hours. It'll make a huge difference in my life, Ah promise." Rogue is lit up from within, an effervesence to her as she catches his hand to lead him upstairs to the night club. Good as her word, she will make sure he doesn't go without a drink or whatever they have for food. She'll only ask him to stay a couple hours, before she'll offer to let him go home. She'll hope for an appearance from the mystery person she texted, but will be disappointed.