ArchivedLogs:Beaten

Beaten
Dramatis Personae Mai and Paige
In Absentia	2017-01-03 "Who -else- would give up living in a house or in an apartment where they can see the sunlight and the stars at night?"
Location <NYC> Mai's Apartment - Chinatown
This apartment is not overly large, a short foyer leads from the entrance to a large room which combines living room and kitchen into one. On the left at the end of the foyer there is the door to the bathroom, otherwise that wall continues straight all the way to the sliding door near the back. A large portion of that wall is covered in black and red cloth, and on display on the wall is a collection of martial arts related weapons, a pair of butterfly knives, a tai-chi saber, a pair of tonfas, and a short spear. Below them, there are two framed photographs on the wall as well, pictures of a Chinese man and woman. The room expands to the right side instead, where there is first a small kitchenette, including a fridge, a stove, a microwave and a sink, and then after the corner, at the right side wall there is a long bookshelf, which has couple rows of books, most of them in Chinese, but some English ones as well, and a row of DVD movies, a larger portion of them martial arts related, especially Jackie Chan movies, but there is bit of everything in the mix. Also near the back of the room there is a tv. For furniture there is a small dining table, with couple stools around it, near the kitchen part, and at the back placed strategically around the tv is a comfy looking couch, and a few chairs. At the back of the room there are windows which give a view down to the street, although the blinders hanging front of them are often closed. At the left near the back there is a sliding door, which is usually open, leading to the bedroom, which consists of a bed that can either very comfortably hold one person, or two if they get along reasonably well. Judging from that there is a nightstand only on the left side, there is usually only one person sleeping there. There is another window to the street but the blinders on that one are pretty much always shut. On the windowboard there is a collection of geeky action figures, and there is also couple posters on the walls, of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to be exact. Mai opens the door when her friend rings the buzzer, giving a smile and motioning for her to come in as she steps out of the doorway to make room. "Oh, hi! Great to see you again, please, do come on in." Closing the door again after Paige has done so, she walks further in to the apartment. "Its not much, but better than nothing I suppose." she notes with a slight laugh, heading to the couch and sitting down, apparently she was just watching a movie, which is paused currently, to image of a very young Jackie Chan. "I was just watching one of my favorite movies ever, A Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, whats new with you?" she inquires. "Mmm," is Paige's quiet, polite response to all that Mai says at first. The hooved girl has her hood up and drawn tight against her head, horns poking through holes in the back of the fabric and ears confined in a most likely uncomfortable fashion. "Much better," she agrees as she follows her friend into the apartment, a slight limp noticeable in her left leg. "Very much better than nothing." Carefully, the hooded girl lowers herself into a seated position on the couch. "Don't think I've seen that one. Haven't seen many Jackie Chan movies, really. I'm...moving." Mai takes a moment to actually notice that something might not be as good as her friend is saying, needing to rummage around the couch for a bit before she finds where the remote snuck to, before pulling it out and hitting the play button to get the movie rolling again. "Oh, Jackie Chan is great, especially his old movies from like before he became Hollywood star, did you know that he originally started as a stuntman in Bruce Lee movies?" she offers as a random bit of trivia, then noticing that limp she arches a brow. "Uh... you sure your alright? Huh, moving? What, when, where?" That comes as quite a surprise to her. Paige watches as Mai retrieves the remote and her eyes flick to the screen as the movie resumes playing. A twitch of her ears, squished as they are, causes her to cringe a bit in pain. "I did -not- know that. That is very...interesting." Her eyes close for a moment before she lets out a sigh. "Now. Soon. I'm leaving the Commons. My stay is up and I don't have any way to pay or contribute to the community there. I was told there was a shelter. I'm not going there." She turns to Mai, forcing herself to lean back against the couch. It may be apparent that her left eye has some rather nasty bruising, although not quite to the point of it being swollen shut. "No," the blonde girl admits hesitantly. "I'm not. But I'll be fine. You don't need to worry, you know?" Mai gives a smile and a nod to the first part. "Yeah, the guy is -so- talented, and a great actor on top of that, he practically designed the whole kung-fu comedy genre. Before that they were all so serious, which isn't neseccarily always a bad thing, mind you, but its certainly refreshing change." she explains, then sort of trails off and grows more serious when Paige's injuries are revealed. "What the hell? Who did that? I am going to break their nose." obviously not at all pleased. Biting her lower lip some then as she takes a breath. "You know, you can always stay here until you can get your life in order, I know very well what your situation is like, I was in the same few months ago. I don't think I would have made it if not for the awesome people living here, family friends, you have friends too, and I would be happy to help you, if you insist, you can pay me something back once you get a proper job." She offers. "He -can- be pretty funny. There's one where he has a twin that's like an orchestra conductor or some shit, right? Think I've seen that one." Paige seems intent on replying to things the order in which they are brought up. Her gaze, having been focused on the television for a few moments, return to Mai. Reaching up, she lowers her hood, gently extracting it from her horns. Her ears practically spring free of their prison as further bruising is revealed. There are blue marks starkly contrasting her white skin along the side of her face, jaw, neck, and across her forehead. "No. You're not." There's a tightness to Paige's jaw as she makes this remark. "You aren't going to break anyone's nose. I have no idea who they are. And, no, you don't," the blonde girl says as she gives Mai a pained look, the rest of her face now turning red though not with anger. "You don't know what it's like. Evolve is closed. It was set on fire. Marinov was shot at. Taylor was shot at. Taylor lost a...limb. My friends are only alive because another mutant saved them. They almost died." At least, that's how the goat girl sees it. "I was attacked because of how I look. Thankfully, they lost interest after a while. And I'm -not- dragging you down with me." Another moment's hesitation and Paige glances away from Mai and towards the floor. "I'm going to the sewers. I don't think a shelter will be safe enough." Mai frowns more and more the further Paige goes on with her news, that is definetily not good news, any of it. "I hadn't heard of that. Though I suppose it has been closed for me already before that...but still, that is pretty bad. Is Marinov okay? He seemed quite nice the one time I met him. I wish I would have been there, I am pretty good in protecting people from bullets... maybe I could have helped." Letting that thought trail off as she focuses more directly on Paige with the next topic. "You really don't need to do anything that extreme, Paige, really, it doesn't cost me anything extra to have you staying here too." Well apart from the extra food, but she cooks it herself so it doesn't cost -that- much. "In fact... I would kind of like to have some company." "It's not...extreme. People live down there. I've heard it from a few people. Steve, you know, Captain America, verified this. Though he thinks I should go to a shelter. He gave me the address and phone number for it. And, granted, he -did- give me the information for the Commons before, but... Look, the Commons---the Commons are safe. But I can't stay there anymore. And this shelter sounds like it could be a -really- easy target for...you know..." Paige seems pretty set in justifying her plan of action. "They're alive. Marinov is alive. And -I- wouldn't want you to have been there. You could have -- even with your powers -- you could have been killed. And I'm a bit invested in keeping you alive. Which is why I can't stay with you." The blonde girl's eyes are still staring at the floor and her face is still red. Mai gets momentarily distracted from the serious topic at the first part of what Paige says. "You know, I still can't believe that you actually are friends with THE Captain America, thats like -so- cool, think you could sometime like... you know... introduce me to him too? He is like the personification of standing up to bullies." She explains excitedly, then when the conversation moves back to Marinov and Taylor and th Evolve incident, she gets more serious again, blushing a bit at geeking out like that about Steve. "Yes, you are probably right about the shelter, however, you should be safe here, as long as you are my guest the neighbours wont harass you, people look after each other in Chinatown. I would be more worried about you being in the sewers, like who knows what kind of people you might run into there, and nobody would be able to come to help there." Though her ears twitch as Mai gushes about Steve Rogers, Paige has not yet given up on making eye contact with the floor. "He's...he's a friend. A good friend. A very good friend. He saved me." She swallows as she tries to maintain her composure, but it doesn't help that droplets are falling onto the floor where she's staring. "Mutants," she responds, this time skipping topics. "Mutants like me, I'm betting. Who -else- would be living in the sewers, Mai? Who -else- would give up living in a house or in an apartment where they can see the sunlight and the stars at night? I can't...if I stay with you, I'll be living in fear. The neighbors don't matter, Mai! They're not the problem!" Suddenly raising, the hooved girl's voice is wrought with anguish as she looks up again, tears streaking down her flush, bruised face. "They'll target you because of me! Do you understand what happened to Evolve? It was attacked because people LIKE ME GO THERE!" Mai bites her lower lip some and kicks herself mentally (figuratively speaking!), for getting sidetracked about the Cap, that was so not the right moment for that. Reaching her hand to hold it on Paiges shoulder when she sees those tears, and then, if she allows it, moving closer to actually hug her... because she looks like she needs a hug! "Well, I am more worried about -what- than -who,- like there could be some leftover zombies there, or like alligators or who knows what other scary things... and what would you eat?" she asks, worried for her friend. "I am a mutant also, don't forget that. So if they would target me, it probably would happen regardless of if you are here or not. But there is safety in numbers." Paige does not move away from Mai's hug, nor does she even tense as she would normally do. Instead she actually leans into it, letting the other girl hold her as she cries. It's perhaps a good minute of sobbing before the horned girl is even able to respond. She sniffs, though the tears don't seem to want to stop. "They're not---they don't---" Her ears flick as she apparently decides to forgo the current line of discussion. "I'm -scared-," the older girl admits in a small, choked voice. "I'm -so- scared. And I'm not scared for just me anymore, either. I'm scared for you. I'm scared for Fiona. I'm scared for my friends. I don't--I don't know what to do." Mai is in no hurry either, giving Paige all the time she needs as she just holds the other girl, even stroking the blonde's hair soothingly. "I am too, anyone who claims they never are is either lying, or insane." She offers in reply. "Not nearly everyone is brave enough to admit it, though. Fear is one of the most powerful impulses of the mind, it can give great strength, lead people to doing great, or terrible things. Those people who attacked you, they were scared too, but they let their fear to control them, you can do better than them and turn your fear to a strength, to something positive. Do not let it control you, it may look cloudy now, but it cannot rain all the time." "I've tried," Paige says quietly. It seems she's relaxing further with being touched. "I've tired really hard. It...hurts." Though it is unlikely that Mai can see it, the horned girl furrows her brow as she says this and an expression reminiscent of confused realization passes onto her face. "I've tried. My brain, though, it's...it's changed. I've been able to deal with it, but I...It's hard. It's fighting. It hurts." She lets out another sob, despite having done her best to stifle it. "It...also hurts to cry. I think--I think they broke a rib." A pause. "But all of you, all of my friends -- you all deserve better than what I got. You're all going to go to college and you're going to do your best and you're going to be awesome." As she says this, tears begin flowing down her cheeks again. Mai smiles warmly, not that Paige can probably see it at the moment, as she listens. Then blinking as she finally realizes what Paige is getting at. "What? You should go see a doctor if thats the case, untreated something like that could get pretty bad." She offers with a concerned voice. "Oh and shush about that, you -are- one of the best things that has ever happened to me, you have been helping me so much without asking anything in return. You are so nice always. If anything, it is you who would deserve better. And... I don't know about that... I mean... I would -want- to go to college, but I am not sure if I will ever be able to afford it. And its not too late for you to go to college either." Sniffing, Paige takes a deep breath to regain some composure, but cringes at the pain it results in. "I -- ah! --I have a feeling that I'm not on my parent's insurance anymore." The blonde girl's brows furrow again. "And...I think breathing -- ah -- hurts too." Half a minute passes as she seems to draw only shallow breaths before she closes her eyes, tears welling up again, as she leans against Mai. "I'm only nice so I don't have to face my problems. If I can worry about you and Fiona and Marinov and all of your problems, I don't have to--I don't have to face how much my li---" Paige's ears flick, realizing that that's not what she meant to say. "How far I've fallen. And college. I don't think they're going to take me. My parents helped me pay for SNHU and I, ah, don't think they're going to look kindly on a student who just abandoned their studies mid-semester." Mai bites her lower lip worriedly as she listens to what Paige is saying. "I think there is like this hospital specifically meant for mutants, Mendel clinic or something? I am pretty sure they could treat you there, and I don't think that they would charge from treating that kind of injuries? Or there would be some kind of system for it at least, since many mutants are in pretty bad financial situations. Thats the most critical concern, to make sure you don't get like some nasty internal bleeding or anything, I am not really expert on medical terms, but I still know that you definetily should go see a doctor! We can worry about college and stuff later." "Mendel Clinic, yeah." Paige's response is broken by shallow breaths, but she appears to be fine. Fine, that is, aside from the bruising, her emotional distress, the physical pain she's in, and what is likely at least one broken rib. "I...forgot about it. I've been there. It's...not bad." Still, for whatever reason, the blonde girl hasn't let go of her friend yet. "Lower east side. I think they, ah, close at, ah, seven." Another few breaths. "They, uh, they're not a hospital. Clinic. I don't think they, ah, have urgent care." Mai gives a slight nod at Paige's information about the clinic. "Well, I think we still have time to get you there today then. I would say its by far better choice than a regular hospital. You really can't go without care until tomorrow." She responds. "Lower east? Well its not even too far away then." "Don't know if they do urgent care," the older girl repeats, pulling slowly away from Mai to lean against the arm of the couch. She seems to have stopped crying, dry tears staining her face. "Don't know if they see walk-ins. Might need an appointment or --ah--" Paige's right arm clutches gently at her left side. "A hospital. But, we can try it if you think it's worth a shot." Mai isn't fully sure either, as she hasn't actually been there before. "Either way, I am sure they aren't going to just turn you away, as you are obviously injured. we will figure something. Wouldn't be surprised if they have extra personnel working even with the increase of incidents since new year." She reasons as she carefully helps Paige in getting up. Although she frowns at Mai's assistance, the goat girl accepts it nonetheless as she's brought to her hooves, somewhat unsteadily. "I'm -fine-," Paige insists, cringing. "I'll be just -fine-. I bet they're not even broken, just...fine." Her lies are poor attempts since her face betrays that she's truly concerned. "See? Maybe if I'm standing, they'll -- ahh..." This, as she tries to straighten herself up and disengage from her friend. "Well, -fuck-. Okay. We should, yeah, go to that clinic. I, uh, I'm sorry." Ears pressing down and back, the blonde girl gives Mai an apologetic look. "I just wanted to come over and see your place. I didn't think...I thought the pain was only from the bruises. They're, uh, all along my side." Brows furrowing and shoulders slumping even as she leans against Mai again, Paige returns to an earlier topic. "And if--if anyone is going to stay here with you, it's got to be Fiona. She's out of a place, too, you know? And I don't--don't want her sleeping outside. It's dangerous and she only -just- turned sixteen." Mai gives a nod to Paige and a smile when the blonde finally admits that she should indeed go to the clinic. "Well, we can figure something out about the housing arrangements later, lets get you fixed up first. And I don't want you to sleep outside either, regardless of age." She replies as she then moves to support Paige again as they head out of the door and onwards to the clinic!