ArchivedLogs:Fuck

Fuck
Killing people is just a phrase New Yorkers must use, right?
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Anette, Paige
In Absentia	2016-11-16 '
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. A pair of single-user bathrooms flanks the stairway in back of the cafe; at night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits up the stairs above the coffeehouse. Ah, the morning after. The birds are chirping, people are making noise, and the smell of coffee fills the air. Akihiro thankfully isn't affected by alcohol, but the same cannot be said for his feathered friend. So in line he waits. A few moments pass before he can make it back over to the table they picked out, carefully setting her drink down before taking a seat himself. "Manage to keep your head from busting while I was gone?" he asks quietly, taking a sip from his tea. "You act like it's my first hangover," Anette mumbles as she takes a sip of the drink. Coffee. Black. Perfect. She smiles faintly and sets it down. "I'm more worried about my insides," she adds. She noticably wearing all black, a plain long sleeve shirt, leggings, and ankle-high boots, both laces untied and loose. She still wears her coat, hiding her wings from sight and she also wears huge sunglasses, despite being indoors. "Why do I keep trying to keep up with you?" Evolve. It's a place. A place for Paige to get coffee, because she's trying to get her sleep schedule back on track. Which is -not- easy. Sleeping whenever you can find a moment's rest kind of screws it up, but then sleeping for more than twelve hours...well, it just doesn't help all that much. Still, that's what coffee's for, isn't it? Paige is pretty noticeable as she idles at the counter, waiting for her coffee. Her horns are on display as the hood of her sweatshirt hangs down. At least she looks clean for once since arriving in the city. As she receives the liquid of awakening which she ordered, she looks around the shop. It's one of the first times she has been here so early and the place looks different with different clientele and different lighting. Her eyes wander over to a particular pair of people as she takes a sip, one dressed in all black (a color scheme at which she furrows her brow) and the other muscular and slightly attractive. "Probably because I'm pretty when you're that drunk." Akihiro decides, giving Anette's thigh a gentle squeeze. "Good to know you aren't dying." Then the very obvious mutant catches his attention. Being the nice guy that he is (really great guy, nothing sketchy at all), he flashes a warm smile and offers a small wave. "Please. Not enough booze in the world to make you pretty," Anette says, grinning as she teases him and takes another gulp of her coffee. "Not dying, just wishing I was." She catches sight of Paige though with her glasses hiding the direction of her eyes, this isn't very obvious. She does lean forward slightly and drops her voice to just above a whisper. "She might think you're pretty though. " She does tick her head slightly in the horned one's direction as she speaks. Paige nearly spouts coffee out of her nose as she catches the smile and the wave. She was not expecting to be noticed so easily; apparently she lacks in subtlety. "Fuck," she whispers to herself in regards to the fact that she was spotted. The barely audible curse draws the confused attention of some near her, though the young woman does not notice it. "Fuck." This one because she realizes her hood is down which means it has -been- down for a long time. A wave's a wave, however, and it would be SUPER weird if she didn't respond to it. Taking a deep breath, she carefully walks over to the table and decides to introduce herself in order to not appear creapy. "Uh, hi. I'm Paige. Just... new around here, I guess." "Not what you said last night." Akihiro retorts, pretending to be offended. "Maybe, I am a pretty man. Modest too." And then they're being approached by Paige. "Hey there, I'm Akihiro. If that's the case, feel free to take a seat. I don't mind the company." Then over to Anette, "How about you?" "Sure you weren't drunk?" Anette says, leaning back against her chair and clutching the coffee in her hands like it's the most precious thing she owns. As Paige approaches, she looks up, watching the girl with a rather expressionless gaze (likely due to her glasses covering most of her face). "Can't promise I'll be very chatty but you can join us if you like." Welp. This isn't what Paige was expecting. Maybe a 'get lost' or a 'that's nice, my name is...', but an invitation to sit down? "Uh, sure. Pleasure to meet you both?" she ventures, an inflection sneaking its way into her statement, as she seats herself. The horned woman takes a drag of her coffee as her eyes bounce between the others, perhaps waiting for conversation to crop up. She's not really sure what she's gotten herself into. Strangers who are oddly friendly are not always the best kind of strangers. "Drunk on you doll." Akihiro waggles his eyebrows slightly, before turning his attention back over to Paige. "It's nice to meet you too. How's the city working out for you?" He settles into a pleasant expression that looks slightly out of place on his face, as it contrasts with his frown lines. "Can either be nice, or shitty depending on who you spend your time with." "You're going to make the poor girl sick," Anette says, grinning weakly as Akihiro attempts to flirt with her. She decides to distract herself with the new girl sitting with them, turning and holding out an un-gloved, very taloned hand. "Anette. Pleasure meeting you," she says, attempting to offer the girl a semi-friendly smile despite her insides doing somersaults. Paige breathes a mental sigh of relief as the over-the-top flirtation was addressed; she was beginning to get the feeling she was interrupting something. "It's been...difficult. It's been mostly downs, but some ups recently. Finally have a place to stay which is...nice," she answers before taking another sip of coffee. Her hand hestitates, clenching and unclenching once, before shaking Anette's. "I've been trying to spend my time with good people. How are, uh, the two of you?" "That line worked better in the sixties." Akihiro says quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm pretty good, myself. Haven't had to kill anybody in a week." He flashes a grin, showing off his unnatural canines. But the show doesn't last long, and he goes back to sipping his tea. "Almost ready to get out of the city, too much noise for me. Figured I'd live out my retirement years in peace and quiet." "Now you're really going to scare her..." Anette says, removing her glasses to glare at Akihiro with bright yellow eyes, at least the bits that aren't bloodshot. She glances back towards Paige. "Ignore him, he's 108 and senile. Forgets how to behave himself in front of strangers. We're alright. Went a little nuts drinking last night and paying for it today. One of us is anyway. So what good people have you spending time with? I assume other mutants..." Killing people is just a phrase New Yorkers must use, right? Paige does, however, shiver slightly at the sight of Akihiro's teeth. Directing her attention to Anette, she opens her mouth to respond before doing a double take. "One-hundred and eight?" comes the incredulous question. "You're - kidding-, right?" That, with a shake of her head, to Akihiro. "Yeah...right. I...well, I'm not saying all mutants know each other, but so far it seems to be true. I mean, I've met some mutants. Dusk, Hive, Isra - to name most of them. Did you know that Capt--Steve Rogers roams around the city? Because apparently he does and he just goes around saving people." "Of course she's kidding. I'm only seventy. And I was just kidding about killing people." Mostly. Akihiro lets his free hand lowers to give Anette's knee a reassuring squeeze. At least until Captain America is mentioned. "I grew up in Japan after World War Two. I personally couldn't care less if America's war hero broke his neck while playing hero." And it's obvious he's not joking there. Actually with the look on his face, he may have not been kidding about killing people. Anette nods along as Akihiro speaks, taking the time to chug half her coffee. At least until he goes off about Captain. "He's helped me out of one or two sticky spots. Hell of a zombie killer. Cute, too. And did I mention I technically bought Vader from him?" She glances back towards Paige. "Dusk and Isra are good people. Don't think I know Hive. And mutants are...well, we're still a rare breed so we tend to find each other, even in a city this large. Safety in numbers, you know?" "But, seventy?!" the horned woman asks in exasperation. "You don't even look forty!" With mutations being what they are, Paige figures it's better to over-estimate a bit. "And it...wasn't his fault, was it? What happened, I mean, with the bombs...I guess I wasn't really around for it," she admits with a sigh. Nodding to Anette, she says, "He really helped me a few nights ago - probably saved my life for what it's even worth. And...I don't think you -want- to know Hive. He kind of really creeps me out; I don't think I like people in my mind." Akihiro growls low in his throat, pushing up to his feet. There's the sickly sound of tearing flesh as two claws erupt from between his knuckles. He obviously never learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. "Excuse me." he growls through clenched teeth, pushing past people and towards the exit. "Akihiro, stop!" Anette calls, sitting up straighter as she hears the 'snikt'. She presses her hands to the arms of her chair like she's about to chase after him but leans back with a sight. "Seventy years old and he still acts like a goddamn toddler," she grumbles. "Like I said before...ignore him. " Paige has had her mind invaded and overwhelmed, but the sound of the flesh draws her attention immediately to its source - just in time for her to see BONE just EXTRUDE itself from Akihiro's hand. "HOLY FUCK!" the woman shouts with very wide eyes as she jumps right out of her seat. Of course, of - course-, she trips herself and lands hard on her ass as her chair pushes to the side. "What the fuck?!" she pants, terror-struck, to Anette. "A -TODDLER-?! I have never seen a -toddler- act like that!" Breathing heavily, she adds an additional "Fuck" more quietly. Akihiro, of course, can hear both Paige and Anette clearly. And all this does is enrage him further. The claws retract back into his arm, and he keeps right on a moving. Turning a corner into an alley and vanishing from view. Anette reacts just a touch more to Paige stumbling over herself, eventually rising to her feet and removing her coat to gently stretch out her wings. "Sorry about that. He gets...well, he's not normally like that. Usually. He has his good moments." She stretches out a hand, offering it to Paige to help her to her feet if she'll take it. "And then he wonders why we broke up." "Wings," the horned woman helpfully comments as Anette reaches out to her. Apparently she's in a little bit of shock still after what just transpired. "You have...nice wings," Paige continues, allowing herself to be pulled up. "They're...not...knives..." Maybe she was expecting or fearing something else? "You were -dating-?" A sigh. "I mean the, uh, affection was clear, but...ow?" "Thank you," Anette says, though it's rather distracted like she has more important things on her mind right now. Once Paige appears to be standing safely on her own two feet, she glances towards the door. "Well, wish we could have made a better impression but it is what it is. Yeah, dating. For almost a year. It kinda...imploded. For a lot of reasons. Look, it was nice meeting you but I should probably chase after him. See you around I guess." Anette offers a brief, faint smile, trying not to appear to unfriendly as she gathers up her things in her arms and makes her way towards the door. "You're, uh - no, thank you?" Paige asks, bewildered. She watches Anette, her eyes moving rapidly from feature to feature as the other woman collects her items. "Nice meeting you, too." She rubs the back of her neck with a hand. "I...think...that might have been my fault? The two of you seemed to be doing fine until I came over. You just be, uh, safe, alright? I, you know, live in the Harbor Commons if you're ever..." As the winged one starts leaving, it dawns on Paige that she probably just made a -really- big scene in the coffee shop. "Fuck."