ArchivedLogs:Done Got Fat

Done Got Fat
Dramatis Personae Teddy, Violet
In Absentia	2014-08-02 This is a no diet zone.
Location <NYC> Busboys and Poets - East Harlem
A quiet, artsy spot nestled away on a side street in East Harlem, Busboys and Poets combines cafe and bookstore in a way a Starbucks tacked on to a Barnes & Noble could never achieve. The food is a solid, multi-national cuisine menu that caters to all kinds of dietary choices, and its fair-trade tea menu is extensive. Its weekend brunch tends to draw a large crowd, but there is ample enough seating both at tables and on its many comfortable armchairs and couches that at other times of the week there is never a wait. The walls are adorned with the work of local artists, and tucked in among and alongside the couches are rows upon rows of books, with a definite slant towards the political and the bohemian. Though not nearly as hot out as an early August afternoon can be in the city, the promised threat of an evening thundershower has kicked up the humidity into the cut-the-air-with-a-knife range, and when Teddy shoulders his way in through the door of Busboys and Poets, he does so as a giant, miserably sweaty boulder of a man desperately seeking air conditioning. He and heat don't mix so well. And as soon as he finds that first chilly kiss of air he seeks, he just stands there in it with a ridiculous look of relief on his face, oblivious to the fact that he might be in the way for people coming or going. Whatever. They can go around. Well. Maybe go around. Early August means the big man has just about hit his ~final form~, having spent the last few months putting on the pounds at a solid rate. Giant. Stocky. Well-layered in muscle and fat. A bigger mountain of a man than he was even two weeks ago. Big and tall stores have got to love the guy. He's still rocking that killer beard, too, despite the heat, though he's wearing just a t-shirt, cargo shorts, and flip-flops to try to help. Man, he really is hairy. While he just stands there, basking in cold air. Yesss. "You gotta pardon me for sayin' so, fella, but you done got fat." That would be Violet, who had the same bright idea about air conditioning or maybe just followed the smell of bear to cooldrycave. She is perhaps even /more/ miserable than Teddy--she might lack the insulation of muscle and fat but that fur goes from tip to toes, and she lacks /sweat glands/. To compensate she is wearing a string bikini top and a pair of jean short shorts that would both be indecent for casual public appearances if she weren't already pretty well covered with black-and-cinnamon fuzz everywhere. It does expose little dapples of white on her belly, making the classification between tortie and calico more tricksy. She is also standing directly behind him. Even /closer/ behind him once the door swings shut and bumps her in the tail, prompting a forward step that ends with her putting hands to his mid-back and /leaning/. Forward. Go go go! "Huh?" is grunted out as Teddy glances over his shoulder, but when his brain finally registers exactly what was said and who was saying it, he lets out a great, booming, deep-barrel laugh. "I can't help it. I'm hungry," he says, grinning away, and not the least bit offended. It is who he is. With the pushing, he gets moving, a few steps taken even as he tries turning around so that he can face her more fully, so that the last step is taken backwards. He totally does not bump a table in the process. Not at all. Nope. Okay, maybe a little. Just enough to make it rattle. But nobody's sitting at it, so that's fine, right? Anyway, isn't he nice, willing to share the cold air from the vent above? "How you been? Jesus, is that get-up legal here? This city is great," rumbles out of him, while he goes swiping at his face with the sleeve of his t-shirt. On the shirt, by the way, is a roaring, three-headed bear. A cerbearus, if you will. Eheheh. "Man, s'like rollin' a /boulder/ out've th'way. Now I know how Jesus felt," is her muttered comment as she gets her shoulders into it. Not until Teddy begins to pivot does Vi stop with the pushing, and then only because he seems to have enough momentum to let her...oh yeah, that's the spot, right under the cold air vent. She holds a finger up. One moment please, while she basks, eyes closed and hand scrubbing over her head. The fur might end standing in spikes but that makes for better air circulation down to the skin. Ahh, cool. That goal achieved she sighs and cracks an eye open. Her grin is immediate. "Think it's legal, yeah. No one's said boo, anyway. Maybe they're scared of bein' called out on checkin' out an /animal/. Said y'were hungry? Wanna have some dinner? I came into a li'l piece've cash, can spring for it this time." "Took him three days to get out for a reason," Teddy chuckles away. As Vi takes her turn to bask in the coldness, he grins away again, having hit that state of just bearable core temperature himself. "It's gonna rain later, must be why it's so damned stuffy outside. I dunno how those guys on Wall Street run around in shit like this in those three piece suits they wear. You think they have hidden coolant systems woven in or something?" Face scrunching up for a moment, he scratches away at some itch on his neck just below the beard, though really, the hair kind of keeps wisping on down his throat without stopping. "They're missing out, then," he says. Teases. And then he both lights up and chuckles at the dinner invitation. "I am definitely down for dinner. But I dunno about saddling you with the bill. I eat /a lot/." "Nah, I think they're just all robots. Programmed t'chase money and cocaine, somethin' like that. C'mon. We can go dutch then, yeah? I'm starvin', ain't had anything yet today. No talkin' bout th'weather at th'table though. S'a rule, that stuff's /borin'/." What was that? Was that Violet /dodging/ the teasing? Yes, yes it was. She eels by the big guy on a course to the counter. As she goes--and after flicking her tail out of the way--she digs around in a rear pocket to extricate some folded up green. Thin, delicate, well /worn/, these bills are and all due care is taken in peeling one from the triple fold before the rest are returned to pocket. The woman behind the counter gives the catgirl a rather dubious look but refusal of service doesn't seem to be on the menu. "I'ma order first, I think this fella's gonna empty ya'll out. Gimme th'salmon burger with that seaweed salad an' uh...sweet potato fries. Y'got any sweet tea?" That would be a no. Much drooping follows, and a mumbled order for a Coke instead. "Would explain the callous, inhuman disregard for the lower classes," he idles aloud, stroking his beard in mock hmming thought, brow cocked skyward and everything. But then Teddy follows after her to the counter. "Okay," he says. This could be for the going dutch plan. Or the no weather talk plan. Or for both things. He can't really help but... loom behind her, despite the whole lack of crowding, and when she let's the woman at the counter know that he'll probably clean them out, he just grins a big, cheery grin over Vi's head. Hi there, lady. "Ohmantheyhavesalmonburgers?" rolls fast out of him, like the mad, booming rush of spring thaw water over the side of a cliff, just kind of in the background while checking out the menu and patiently waiting his turn. When it's his turn to order? "Ohman can I get, like, three of those salmon burgers? And like a regular burger? No, no, like just a double bacon cheeseburger. Do you do those? With extra bacon? And like a double order of fruit salad. And fries. And oh the pie? Like a whole pie, not just a slice of pie, is that cool? The berry pie." Pause. Wait for it. "And a couple root beers." The look Vi was on the receiving end of is nothing compared to the goggle-eyed look that /Teddy/ gets as that order is rattled off. The woman's mouth works soundlessly and then she has to write double-fast to make up for all of that gaping, to keep up with him. "That's...that's going to ta--" Oh wait, he's not done. Root beers. Right. Scratch scratch write write. "That's going to take a little while, if you two want to grab a table. I'll bring your drinks out in just a moment." In the back, one of the cooks is also peering out of the order window, his expression an exact duplicate of the counter lady's. Laughing, Violet has already retreated--the twenty she'd peeled off is left slapped on the counter with a burbly, "Keep the change! in exchange for a plastic teepee with "4" on its side. One of the four-tops flanked by bookshelves is picked out as destination. She'd take a two seater but that...was a lot of food, and will need equal amount of table space. "I am so stealin' a slice of that pie. Just so y'know. I'll even try t'be sneaky bout it, if you want." Teddy grins under the goggle-eyed looks. It is not the big, toothy grin meant to show off his overlarge canine teeth, but the kind of grin that is apologetic and yet hopeful. An I-know-it's-a-large-order-but-I'm-hungry-help-me-out grin. Instead of cash, he presents a debit card to pay with. It makes things so much easier, on everybody involved, really. "Yeah, I figured it would. That's cool. I'm patient." See, he even waits patiently while his debit card is swiped and then he has to sign the receipt and all that. He tacks on a tip, even though it isn't exactly a waitered service. Plastic teepee #5 in tow, he wanders after Vi. A short, but loud, laugh escapes him with that theft threat. "I kinda figured you might want some. Otherwise I'da only gotten half of one." Violet has already nudged one of the chairs out, pushing toes against its edge so he has a place to settle with the bill handled. Her own little plastic number marker is sitting neatly at table's edge, facing the counter. Not that the server should have any trouble finding these two. "Suuuure y'would've," she drawls, full of the sort of amused skepticism--and butchered English--that only the truly Southern can achieve. "S'okay, I don't judge. Much. That much extra though, I hope you got yourself a decent doctor. Can't be good for your heart, can it? Packin' it on, droppin' it off. S'like...a seasonal fad diet or somethin'." There is less concern behind this question than simple curiosity--mutant biology, always fascinating. The chair protests just a little when Teddy settles in, the #5 set down by the #4 so they can hang out and be all visible. His grin at the question is lop-sided, really only the right corner of his mouth involved. He scratches absently at a shoulder before answering. "You know, I dunno if it is good for my heart or not, for the long run. But yeah, it is pretty seasonal, actually. This is like the fifth meal I'll have today?" He looks thoughtful a moment, brows drawn down heavy and low and together. "Well I did have that ice cream, but that was kind of a snack... Anyway. Yeah. I'm, like, hungry all the damned time in summer? And feel /great/ and can run around for hours and stuff. Which makes me hungrier, but." Scratchscratch. "Come winter, though? I'm not really interested in food. Or doing much of anything but sleeping, really." Teddy takes another moment to think on all of that, like he has a lot before, but then he just chuckles and shakes his head. "It's kinda dumb, I guess. I'm sure some people'd argue that I should take more control of my life, mind over matter, all that bullshit. But man. I try not to think about it all. And it comes up anyway. Foodfoodfood in summer. Sleepsleepsleep in winter. Like a bad cartoon or something." "How's that work, then?" Teddy has his binge-sleep cycle. Violet has her curiosity. Everyone gets crosses to bear! She scrunches forward and drops chin on joined hands, head tilted ever so slightly. It gives her a different angle from which to study the big guy. "I mean, sure, it works for real bears 'n all, bein' out there snoozin' through th'cold months. But folks gotta do stuff like...pay rent. Go t'work." She pauses for a beat, then launches into a huge laughing grin. "Okay most folks do. Y'can't really count me as folks though, I guess. Been off th'grid for awhile. But you look like you're maybe still plugged in, yeah?" It's at that moment that the lady comes over with a tray. One Coke, two root beers, slid neat as can be before them. That kinda wary, kinda skeptical look? It's still there. It's a wonder she doesn't back slowly away after the drinks are delivered. Violet rumples her nose at that behavior, laughing more with her eyes than with voice. She reaches for the Coke. "People're weird," she opines. "Oh, I mean I'm not completely out. I just need a lot more sleep. Like... I dunno, when it's really bad I can sleep like 16 hours straight. And then I'll get up and do stuff. Or I'll sleep and then get up and power through the morning and take a nap at lunchtime and get up again for the afternoon, that kind of thing. It was a little easier to pull off in Alaska, but it's not so bad, here." He shushes about it when the lady comes by with their drinks, offering her a big smile to counter the wariness to go along with his, "Thanks." Teddy almost immediately gets into one of the root beers, and takes a long sip with a satisfied 'ahhh' after. Then he rubs at his nose. "What do you mean, off the grid? Like, you don't do a regular nine to five job or something?" It's a question of pure curiosity, nothing more. No judgment in it. "I'm a teacher, actually. Kind of. Well. Not kind of. I am. I teach history." "/History/." This delights Violet. It delights her /so much/. "I figured you were like...a forest ranger or somethin'. Runnin'round th'woods, scarin' th'pants off've poachers. Or makin' sure people aren't litterin' in th'parks. That sorta thing. But /history/. That makes so much /more/ sense." She's made herself laugh, a sound that dances somewhere between human voice and feline rumble. As for herself, well...that answer will have to wait until after she's had a daintier sip of her coke. The straw is danced up and down in the glass after, while her eyes cut off sideways. There's something about confessing what she's about to confess to a /teacher/ that makes for a hint of awkward, in spite of the lack of judgment. "I'm what y'could call between homes? I'm not like /stinky/ homeless or anythin'. I keep m'self pretty well settled." He throws his head back as he laughs about the whole forest ranger thing. Teddy's heard it before, along with the whole lumberjack thing. "Man, I'd be /good/ at it, too, right? Scaring the shit out of assholes? But nah. Originally? I wanted to play football. I wound up on the East Coast because of that, actually. Full scholarship in college and everything." He takes another, long sip of root beer. Honestly he will probably kill the first one off before his food even shows up, at the rate he's going. Maybe that's why he wanted two. "But, like. You have to be really /active/ in fall and winter to make football work at that level. College was pretty rough. I figured trying to go pro would be too much, and it wouldn't be fair to a team or anything. So I got into history." Sitting back a bit, slowly so as to let the chair adjust without fear of breaking anything, he considers Vi there a brief moment. "Nothing wrong with that. A lot of people make that work. And you seem like you're doing okay, anyway." Half of a grin follows that last bit. "Huh, yeah, makes sense it'd trip you up that way," Violet says, with the slow and thoughtful tone of someone who hadn't really considered it before. "Should've got into like...wrestlin', yeah? They got th'best outfits anyway. But I guess if teachin' works for you...school's a fall 'n winter thing too though, isn't it? Y'plan ahead 'n get naked pictures of th'principal or somethin'?" Now there's a hilarious mental image. She grins it out, eyes sliding back in a more conversational direction. "I make it work," she confirms. "Got m'own place, got a shower, even got me some /renters/ this week. Kinda nice, havin' money comin' in. Not gonna lie." Though how that works when she has declared herself homeless, she doesn't explain. Mostly because here comes Round One of their orders: Violet's salmon burger and Teddy's /three/ salmon burgers, with the assorted sides. "Rest of it will be a little longer, honey," explains their server--at least she's lost some of the goggle-eyed look. Maybe it's the routine of food delivery, taking some of the weird edge off. "Eh, I've never been a big fan of wrestling. I guess I could use that as a fallback," Teddy says, with a mild, thoughtful grin. Teddy as a luchador? That is what he is picturing in his head. He could go by ~EL OSO~ or something. Before he gets carried away and starts chuckling, though, he turns his attention fully back to Violet and the conversation. ...and, you know, gets immediately derailed by the idea of getting naked pictures of the particular headmaster he has to deal with. Teddy laughs hard enough to go red in the face. "Ohman I gotta make sure I don't share that thought with the guy... haha, no, nah, I explained things when I was interviewing and stuff. So for winter I don't have a full-full load. Gives me the morning period open, so I can sleep later. And we do summer school classes and stuff, too, so I balance it out that way." He grins a big grin for the lady when she brings the food around. "Thank you so much," he says to her. Then his attention is equally split between food and Vi. "Renters, huh? That's not a bad deal at all. Share space, get money," he says, before taking a massive bite of salmon burger the first. There's something about unrestrained laughter--there's just no resisting joining in. Violet has no real idea of what she's laughing /at/, but hey. The more the merrier, right? Literally, in this case. "Yeah, yeah, thanks," she tacks on belatedly for their waitress, eyes still dancing. "If y'do tell him, no tellin' him who it came from, yeah? Don't feel like bein' hunted down 'n skinned if he's not th'sense of humor type," is added, with a threatening tilt of her fork. If he needs a demonstration of the consequences, that comes a second later when she starts stabbing at the sweet potato fries. "Nice of him though, makin' it easier on you. Most folks really aren't into th'easier thing. An' yeah...best part is, isn't even my /space/. S'more kinda hush money so I don't tell folks they're there." Teddy must not count. Teddy grins like he might start busting a gut laughing again, but he keeps it held in. Somehow. Barely. "I promise," he swears, over-the-top solemnly, and then starts chuckling away immediately after. "Yeah, he's a good guy. Super understanding. I'll be really honest with you, before I landed this gig? I was just subbing in places wherever I could. Never thought I'd get a spot in a private boarding school of all places." For this moment there, this really brief moment, the big guy looks like he wants to tack something on. Share something with her. But then he clamps down on it, and stuffs his face with more salmon burger to keep it that way. He sucks up the dregs of the first root beer with a noisy rattle, and then moves on to the second one. "Huh," he sounds, about the idea of hush money. "Well, there are a lot of folks who could use some privacy in the world." Don't think that moment of hesitation was missed--Violet might play it cool, barely affording Teddy a glance between chowing down on perfect crispy fried fries, but her ears twitch forward. Certain signs, she cannot help. She noticed. But she doesn't /push/ either--rolling boulders is just a part-time gig for the catgirl. "Heard it can be rough," she sympathizes, "teachin's not th'job it used t'be. But if you're gonna do it, private's th'way to go, yeah? Rich kids probably don't bring as many guns t'school as they did down in my ol' neighborhood. Swear t'God, hand t'heaven, we had th'cops there every week. Crazy." A rueful headshake follows. And then it's on to gathering up the salmon burger in both hands. Talking is put on hold for a moment as she mmmmm's her appreciation for the main course. Well...her main course. His is still being cooked up. "A lot of the kids aren't really rich, from what I know," says Teddy. And then he immediately pauses, like he's been caught with a paw in the honey jar. He's back to that wanting to share a thing look right after. He doesn't know Violet very well. But he likes her. She's easy to talk to. Doesn't tell him to piss off. Also kind of like him. And this is kind of a dumb internal conversation to have with yourself, Teddy. He lowers his voice in volume, which just makes it come across as all the bassier, and says, "Look, keep it on the real down-low, okay? But it's more a place for kids like us, instead of for rich kids." And where she's just starting on her salmon burger, he then proceeds to wolf down the remains of his first one, so he can then move on to the second one. Oh, and some fruit salad. He does like fruit salad. Fruit is great. Burger, /interrupted/. Do you see what you did, Teddy? See?! Violet's eyes close in a shutter-quick blink while the tasty, tasty salmon-and-carbs is lowered slowly to her plate. Forgotten. Another blink follows, and a side-eye glance towards the counter on the off-chance they're being eavesdropped on. Nozzink. The lady behind the counter is chatting with a Sikh gentleman, while the cooks load up the second tray of consumables for their table in the background. When she looks back to the big guy, it's with more in the way of speculation than surprise. "Huh." Yep, just that at first. Then, quieter, "For real? Like...huh." "Right??" Teddy says, nodding and grinning. While trying to not grin so much he's obvious as hell to everybody in all of Busboys, and he's somewhat successful at that. The grin is still there, just not... huge and toothy. "They found me, actually. Asked me if I'd like a job. I didn't believe it at first. But it's kind of great. It's a safe place, for the kids. You know? Where they can figure stuff out. And we can help them." He has not been on the job very long and hasn't exactly experienced the real school year just yet, but. He is excited about it. The mountainous man is practically crackling with energy there for a moment. And a crackling bear is a sight to see. Worthy of another blink, and then a slow grin that's kept within socially acceptable boundaries to match his own. No teeth. But Violet's doing that laughing with her eyes thing again, his enthusiasm catching. "That's a thing, for sure. Heck, might've made high school a nicer place t'be, if they'd had somethin' like that down South. An' it works? Like...it really works, havin' all us weirdos in one place? That can't be...oh. Oh geez. That's a whole lotta food." Lo, the fabled second tray has arrived and it's allllll Teddy's. The lady is back, this time armed with tray /and/ a stand so she can begin off-loading plates two handed. By now--seeing as how they aren't causing trouble--she's a little more willing to play along. "You weren't kidding when you said he'd clear us out," she confirms cheerfully. He takes a couple of large bites out of that second salmon burger, and chews on it while nodding again. Yes, it is a thing. He has to take a sip of root beer to be able to swallow, but after he does so successfully, Teddy says, "I mean, it's not perfect, right? Schools are schools. They always have challenges and stuff. But I think it mostly works? Summer's been okay, anyway." But then, there is more food. When he follows Vi's look to the woman and the tray, he just starts grinning again, bright and beaming and ridiculously happy. Really, he's pretty easy to please. "Ohman, my hero," he says to the woman, even his eyes lit up as he considers each dish. Does he do this every time he eats? He had been pretty enthusiastic about those pretzels, the last time he and Vi had encountered each other. Maybe he's got a winning way about him. Or maybe it's because they both tipped! But the lady's finally loosened up enough that she actually laughs at being named a hero. "You just let me know if you two want anything else," she tells them once the tray's unloaded. Then she's off again, to handle less easy-going customers. That leaves Violet free to pick up the dropped threads of the conversation. Aaaand to start pulling chunks off of the burger to pop into her mouth, now that the shock has worn off. These she tongues into her cheek, splitting chewing and talking duties evenly. "Guess th'real test for you's gonna be fall, yeah? Or you been through one already? S'pretty neat though. I dunno. Makes me /happy/, knowin' something like that's out there. I mean, sure, it's not /Alaska/, but..." Ha, she's made herself laugh again, though at least she has grace enough to cover her mouth to avoid horrifying anyone. As a peace offering, her plate is nudged towards him once she's sectioned off the last of the burger. "You want m'fries?" In the summertime, anyway, Teddy's about as easy-going a dude as you can find, really, despite being such a brutish-looking guy. Well, he'd probably look a lot more brutish if he didn't laugh and grin so much, that kind of ruins the image, but. He knows his stupid huge food orders aren't easy to deal with! Causing trouble is the last thing on his mind when people aren't being outright jerks. "Yeah, gonna be interesting. I just started a couple of months ago." And he looks pleased, and not about the food, when Violet says it makes her happy, this smile settled on his features. Somebody might kill him later for /sharing/ too much about the school, but oh well. As the second of his salmon burgers disappears and he doesn't miss a beat in picking up the third, he gives the fries a long, considering look. Then the rest of his ridiculous spread a considering look. Swallowing, he says, "We'll see," his cheeks rounding up in amusement. It's possible Vi has a sixth sense about certain things. Like, say, nondisclosure agreements. She waves a hand to say he's welcome to the fries--provided there's room after--then reaches for her Coke. A sip is taken before she proves that sixth sense by saying, "I hope it works out for you. Don't have t'worry none about me blabbin' it around, neither. Somethin' like that..." Here good humor and an urge to grin are both lost as certain Darker Thoughts occur to her. "Somethin' like that, you'd wanna keep quiet about. Just one big target, a place like that. For some folks." Teddy munches away. Really, he must be able to unhinge his jaw or something, with the size of some of the bites he takes... although, honestly, he is a very big dude with a big mouth and teeth that are maybe a little more adept at destroying things than the average joe running around. After another sip of root beer to help wash things down, he says, "Yeah," his tone sober, now. "That's one of those things that, like... I think we don't try to think about much, but wind up thinking about a lot, anyway. You know?" He squints his eyes a bit in thought about it, and then shakes his head. Maybe it doesn't make sense. He's quiet for a moment or so after that, attacking some fruit salad in earnest. But when he looks back up, he does so to regard Violet with some curiosity. "Hey. Can I, like. Ask you a personal question that you might, I dunno, hit me for or something, but that's okay, you can totally hit me if you think I'm a jackass, I'd probably deserve it." "Kinda have to, these days." Yeah, Vi gets it. Her smile skews crooked though when she adds, "Though I guess anyone who'd come lookin' for trouble at a place packed full've kids like that, with teachers like you, maybe they'd deserve what they get." She's been content to simply watch this conspicious consumption but after that remark, she reaches out to quicksteal a fallen crumble of bacon. Yoink. This she pops into her mouth and chews while hiking her eyebrows up at her tablemate. "...nnf. Normally I'd say hittin' you'd just leave me with a broke hand but that kinda lead in, maybe I'll wanna give it a try. Go for it. Won't promise t'answer though." But she curls her fingers at him--there's crumbs caught in the fuzz there, she's overlooked that--as if to say, bring it on. His eyes narrow at that bacon theft. Naaarrow. But a slight grin follows. Teddy doesn't mind at all about sharing his bounty. I mean, it is a stupid amount of food. He does not ask his question right away. Actually, he finishes off that third salmon burger, first. And one of the sides of fruit salad. And then he stacks empty plates on each other to give the table some breathing room. But after that, and as he picks up the double bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon, ohmanit'sgoingtobesogreat, he glances around them, and kind of leans a bit across the table to ask, in this low voice, "Do you, uh. Are you, like, uh. I mean..." Okay, so that's not asking a damned thing. Internally, Teddy scowls and gives himself a swift kick in the pants and finally gets out, "Do you change at all? Like do you get more... uh. Cat? Or do you just chill?" He's a very big man. If a taxi cab ran into him when he was trying to cross the street, he honestly looks like he would win. And yet there's this shy quality about his asking the question, like he's some little kid half-afraid of asking Santa Claus how his reindeer fly or something. Narrow eyes are no deterrant. In fact, since he's all dawdling and stuff, Vi reaches out to snare a chunk of pear from the fruit salad bowl too. So /there/. You snooze, you lose. And that's some good pear, as can be inferred by the buzz of a purr--or maybe that's just close-lipped snickering--as she chews on it. But then it's to business, and in /such/ a way. The shy is maybe not expected but it finds a receptive audience. Or at least, an audience that's happy to try to swap shy for goofy by casting a stage-worthy startled glance down at herself. "Cat? What're you talkin' about, cat--oh my /gosh/, will y'look at /that/." Fur! There's a flash of teeth--she's grinning again--as she looks up at him. "I was born this way, truth be told. Just popped right out, all fuzzy 'n tailed 'n cute. Be kinda nice sometimes if I /could/ change. Be a li'l more cat, or a li'l more person but..." She spreads her hands...and finally notices those crumbs, which she proceeds to brush loose onto the table. And then, curiosity for curiosity, she asks, "How much can you switch? You sure don't smell like just a fella." His expression is probably priceless. When she does /not/ get mad, upset, or otherwise in a negative-type way, Teddy looks almost ridiculously relieved. Later, he'll probably look back on it and laugh at himself, but for whatever reason, he had been worried of offending her. Or something. With her kidding around, though, he winds up laughing and relaxes right away. Relaxes enough, even, to take a huge bite of the double bacon cheeseburger. He nods while still chewing, to at least partially confirm her curiosity. After swallowing, he says, "All the way. Like, full on bear. And anywhere in between. This is really about as human-looking as I get." Ridiculously big, hairy, and with extra-large canine teeth. /Mostly/ human-looking. One orange eye is closed in a mostly solemn wink, at havign won a laugh from him. Relaxing is approved of and she means to show it. After, Violet--with freshly brushed off hands--goes for her soda. The last of it rattles in the straw, leaving ice and a little melt water at the bottom. She rolls this around to encourage /more/ melting and in the meantime, indulges in a hint of wistful when his answer is heard. All the way bear? Someone looks to be thinking of the fun she could have as an all the way cat. "Met a fella...I think it was a fella, anyway, but I guess they rode around inside a cat. Like. In its brain. But that's th'closest I've been t'anyone changin' like that. 'Til now. Must be somethin' else, bein' able t'switch like that." And then a thought occurs, strong enough that she sits bolt upright. "So you really /could/ stick yourself off in a cave all winter!" Okay, now she laughs outright. He continues to munch away, making the overlarge burger disappear in large, hungry bites. As if he hadn't previously destroyed the three salmon burgers. He wasn't kidding about being hungry. With what Vi says, though, about a dude riding around in a cat, his chewing slows down while he looks at her, brows slightly up. "Huh," he finally sounds out, and swallows. "Wonder what that was like." After a sip of root beer, though, Teddy gives a shrug. "I've gotten so used to it now, you know? I couldn't do it as a kid, but when I think back to then, it doesn't really feel different." He chuckles about that after, shaking his head slightly. But the hibernation thing makes him laugh again, deep in his chest and booming. "Yeah, I could if I really wanted to. Been tempted a couple of times. Like... getting out of high school." "Oh man. Believe it or not, I used t'be like...Olympic level /clumsy/ when I was a kid. You'd think no, I'm a cat, I /can't/ be clumsy but th'extra stuff didn't kick in as much 'til just before high school, yeah. An' th'smellin' 'n seein'...that too. Before that though, th'tail kept gettin' in th'way, and m'claws kept snaggin' on stuff 'n...ugh." Violet demonstrates the annoyance level with a cringy little shudder. No more of /that/, thank you. "S'funny what y'get used to though, yeah. Bet it'd feel weird, walkin' round without all this." All this must be the fur, because she reaches up and idly scratches at one exposed collarbone, leaving the fuzz there ruffled and poorly smoothed. "Hey..." Not that she's the shy type, but seeing as he went that route, she does a good approximation of the same. "Y'think maybe I could see y'go full furry sometime? That'd be a sight, I bet. Can y'talk when you're all grizzly?" "Oh man. See, I just got into stupid shit as a kid because, you know, I'm a dude and we do dumb things, but. When I first, uh... well controlling when I would or wouldn't change was kind of hard, at first. But my dad, he'd take me on 'hunting trips,' so I could figure shit out away from everybody." As he's relaxed and settled back into the rhythm that is eating large quantities of food while having a good conversation, Teddy's kind of shed the whole suspicious-of-surroundings quality he had before. If people eavesdrop, let 'em. He doesn't care by this point. He's not worried about himself, anyway. With her request, he chews and swallows his latest bite before nodding with a half-grin. "Yeah. Uh, not here, of course. But yeah, sure." A shake of his head follows, while he gets a sip of root beer. "Nah. I don't, uh, have the right equipment or whatever for it. I'll try, like really think about saying words, and it comes out as, like, growls and shit. But there's this point, where I'm like... halfway between? And I get stupid big and strong and stuff, and get the claws and the teeth and stuff, but I can still kind of talk and still have thumbs I can use." After he swipes up a wad of fries, he adds, with a big ol' shit-eating grin, "It's good for scaring the piss out of people." "Yeah? That's a good dad, there." And that's all Violet has to say about /that/. Possibly because she's retrieved her fork and teased the pie plate on closer to herself. It came pre-sliced, so she works on wiggling a single piece free to slide onto the edge of her original plate. "Dunno what I'd have done, if I had t'figure out how t'move all over again /and/ how t'handle changin'. Movin' in different shapes too. That's all sort've messed up." She is keeping an ear out for other folks but at this point, most of the surrounding tables are neck-deep in their own conversations so beyond a few ear twitches, no alarms go up. And no whispers are offered because hey, sometimes it's nice to talk about this stuff. Especially with someone who gets it! Vi forks up a bite of pie, enjoys it and then wags the fork in his direction. "If y'thought I really meant /here/, you're not smart enough t'be a teacher," she cautions. "But sometime out where no one'd have t'worry bout needin' clean pants...man, a werebear. I think if I'd run into you that way first, that'd be /me/ freakin' out." The double bacon cheeseburger is gone. So is Teddy's second root beer. He eyes the glass a moment, as if it did something to offend him, and then shrugs, and swaps back to the first one, since the ice has melted there. He munches on more fries after that, grinning around them when she filches that piece of pie. No complaints, here. He'll be moving onto the pie himself here pretty soon. "Yeah, my dad's a pretty good guy. I know I'm lucky," Teddy says. And he's back to chuckling again, nodding. "Man, figuring out, like. Running. Without tripping over myself? Stupid hard. And then remembering how to do it right after swapping back?" He chuckles some more. So dumb. The remaining fruit salad disappears. It was pretty good fruit salad, too. He's going to have to come around Busbuys more often, he has decided. He laughs again at the fork wagging. "Nah, didn't think you did. But yeah. I'd be happy to. Show you, I mean. Uh. When you want." There, he's got her laughing again too, though she tries to keep her lips pinched together while she does it. Berry mush mouth is gross mouth. "Guess I got lucky there. I can switch back and forth with th'runnin' pretty easy but it's always th'same hands 'n feet, y'know? Sometimes..." Okay, here Violet will drop her voice and lean forward a little to make the pass between mouth and ears a little shorter. "Sometimes I /do/ kinda go full cat. Not like you do but just...drop everythin's not /me/ 'n go jumpin' through th'city. Climbin', runnin', all that Parkour stuff, right?" She shares this in the spirit of fairness--he's willing to show her his, it'd be unneighborly to not return the favor. And on that note, she settles back, pops more pie in her mouth and gives him a pursed lip smile. "Oh man. That sounds so... awesome," Teddy rumbles out. "I'll go out to the woods by the school sometimes to let loose, but I could never pull that off in the city. I'm too damned big and not, like, agile or anything enough. Everybody and their mom would see me." He shifts in his chair and demolishes the last of the fries before turning his sights on the pie. Hello, pie. More plates are stacked to make room, and then he gets out a piece of the pie to work on. "Do you go across the roofs and stuff? What's that like? What do you get to see?" "It /is/ awesome." Like Teddy, speaking of the school--or food--Violet lights up. "There's like this whole other world up there. Lots've gardens 'n junkies. Some folks have rabbits or pigeons or /bees/ up there. An' open windows...oh gosh, all th'windows, folks lives just happenin' right there if y'wanted t'peek." She pauses at that, head cocked. Oops. "I mean, not like I'm some mad peeper. Just sometimes I gotta look." Honest. Really. For logistical purposes. Okay, now that she's set off her own creepy meter, she just ducks her head in and /really/ concentrates on finishing off that lone slice of pie. Teddy nods along as he listens to her explanation, slice of pie disappearing in rapid fashion, although with each bite, he gets this brief, pleased expression. He is very fond of pie. Especially berry pie. Having a bearish side has nothing to do with it, nope. Not at all. He shakes his head, though, when she tries to explain away the window looking. "Nah, like... I'd look, too, sometimes. It's not often you get to see into other peoples' lives without being involved in it, you know? Just catching a glimpse. Seeing how other people live." The slice of pie is already gone. And so he moves on to the next. It will take him a little whole to move through the whole thing. But that's all right. They aren't getting kicked out, and they can continue their conversation in relative peace. And air conditioning. All in all, not a bad evening.