ArchivedLogs:Not Like Them

Not Like Them
Dramatis Personae Anette and Paige
In Absentia	2017-02-4 "Find something you believe it, find others that believe in it and...just work for it."
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. It's early evening and only a little above freezing outside as Paige sits at a table, watching as musicians begin heading up the stairs to the nightclub. She has a coffee on the surface in front of her, but it seems that she is still recovering from the cold as the goat girl continues to wear her ushanka hat. Otherwise, she's wearing her sweatshirt and a pair of leggings; nothing, unfortunately, to cover her hooves. The horned mutant seems a tad anxious as she sits, eyes occasionally glancing up from her phone where she thumbs through social media postings. Anette steps into the coffee shop a few minutes later than she promised to arrive. Her hair is pulled up in a high ponytail and she wears one of her many coats over her wings though her talons remain in view. As the door closes behind her, she glances around, smiling faintly when she catches sight of Paige and makes her way over. She sits across from her without so much a greeting, her eyes drifting down to the girl's hooves. "Do you ever have any issues anywhere with the 'no shoes, no shirt' thing?" Seems like that might just be her hello today. Despite her intermittent glances, Anette manages to catch Paige by surprise as her ears flick up and she fumbles with her phone for a moment before shoving it into her sweatshirt pocket. When she processes the question, the furred mutant's gaze drops and she rubs at an arm. "Sometimes. And sometimes they tell me to take them off. My, uh, hooves, that is. How are you?" With this, a meek smile is offered to the other woman. "Oh, I've been alright. Morning sickness is beginning to pass," Anette mumbles. She glances over Paige again, pressing her lips together firmly before speaking again. "How's your friend? Mai wasn't it?" "Morning--Morning sickness?" The goat girl stammers, widened eyes searching Anette's face. "Do you mean--Congratulations? Uh..." Paige looks a little bewildered as she tries to sort out the proper reaction to the woman's answer. "That's, uh, great news?" she ventures with a confused expression and smile before addressing the other topic. "Mai, yeah. She's still in jail. Well, in holding? I'm not really sure how it works. She says it's wearing on her, but I...I think she actually did it." Her ears droop as she hardens her countenance. "No, I -know- she did it. Killed that man. But she still deserves a fair trial, right? I just--I just can't help her with that. But we--we were going to talk about other things, right?" Anette looks up, blinking slightly as the girl begins to congratulate her. "You...didn't know. Fuck." Anette sighs softly and leans back against her chair. "Might as well get used to telling people. Not like I can hide it. Not for much longer anyway." She falls silent as Paige goes on about her friend listening patiently until she finishes. "Damn. I met her once or twice. Never would have thought. She was so...quiet." Anette rocks her head side to side. "Yeah, she deserves a fair trial as much as anyone else. Whether she'll get one...I dunno." Paige nods at Anette's response and drops her voice to a whisper, leaning forwards. "It's like she's a completely different person when she talks about it. The news articles, the stories about what happened. It's just...I don't understand. I told her I would help her find a lawyer, but I don't think I can do it anymore. It's so draining, you know?" She drops her head slightly. "And you say there's nothing you can--the people you know can do?" Anette shakes her head. "My friends tend to...focus on the bigger picture. They don't exactly lend lawyers to every mutant in a bit of legal trouble. Besides...at the risk of being an asshole...if she really did kill someone then maybe prison is where she belongs? But there's gotta be something out there. I'm sure there are people willing to legally help mutants." "I'm not saying she doesn't belong there," Paige replies, leaning back in her chair. It seems then that she realizes she is still wearing her hat and removes it carefully. "I don't--I don't really want to talk about it. I'm...tired of it." Her ears wilt as she admits this but she shakes her head and looks at Anette. "What -is- the bigger picture then?" "The bigger picture? The bigger picture is a world where mutants aren't labelled in some registry so they can just look us up. Somewhere where growing wings or sprouting horns doesn't get you kicked out of a loving home and onto the streets. Where mutants can live peacefully, find jobs, and just go about their lives without being attacked or murdered. Where extremely physical mutants aren't forced to make their homes in the sewers because there's literally no where else on the entire fucking planet they can fit in." A cold silence as Anette lets the words settle. "That's the big picture. Instead of focusing on smaller problems like Mai's situation, some people are working on not letting her situation happen in the first place." Paige watches Anette silently as she speaks, staring directly at her, ears flicking back and then down. She lets out a breath she was holding as the older woman lets her words linger in the air before explaining further. Paige blinks and turns her head to the side when her companion finishes. "Oh," she says, swallowing and rubbing her arm again. "Mai's parents were killed by humans and my parents wish I were dead," the goat girl informs the other mutant. "They're--they're part of the Friends of Humanity. My family. I was supposed to be too. I guess they're not--they're not my family anymore." Anette falls silent again as Paige speaks though this pause is filled more with melancholy than anything else. "I'm sorry. Being a mutant is rough. Visible is even worse." She takes a deep breath. "I...honestly, I don't know what it's like. I've had it pretty lucky. But you are far from the only one whose had to deal with shit like that." She tries to offer Paige a faint smile as she changes the subject. "But how are you? Still at the Safehouse?" Paige takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "I know I'm not the only one. My friend Fiona had to leave home, too, but for different reasons. My friend Marinov was horribly left by their boyfriend after their manifestation. And Mai treated one of the baristas here like shit just because he has tentacles. And even I'm only just getting better with it." The girl takes a sip of her coffee before speaking further. "I'm not at the safehouse, the shelter, anymore. My friend Heather managed to get us a place at the Commons. So I guess I'm ... okay." The passing expression on her face might say otherwise, but the goat girl simply bites her lip. "I've been very lucky. I've been given a lot of stuff for free. Places to stay, beds or couches to sleep in, food...friendship... I'm trying to get a job, maybe like a waitstaff position at a restaurant or something, but I..." Here she trails off, averting her gaze and taking another sip of coffee. Annete offers a faint smile when Paige reveals she's living elsewhere. "Good. Glad to hear you're doing alright. Her smile falls slightly when Paige suddenly diverts her gaze. "Buuuut most places don't like hiring goat people? I wish I could help you there but I'm terrible at finding honest work. For the wings and other reasons." Whether or not Anette voices what Paige may have planned to say, the girl nods at her words. "Yeah. And I'm--I'm a level four. You know, Gamma mutant. They don't...really believe me when I tell them I don't have powers or anything. And some places have said that my fur is unsanitary." Her ears twitch at this. "For like, you know, waiting on tables and serving food and stuff. It's probably not a good idea anyways - I have trouble with my hooves. Goats are supposed to have tails or something. It's hard. Finding a job. But I--" Another deep sigh. "I feel so useless, you know? Heather asked me to get the place with her because she can't really interact with other people all that well and I can cook for her and stuff so she doesn't have to eat like junk foor or something all the time. But it's...-yeah-, it's a thing that helps my friend and I really want to help my friends, but it's just so...-tiny-." Once more, her ears droop. "I feel tiny. And useless." Anette appears genuinely concerned for Paige as she droops and grows upset. "Now that I know. I've felt...useless and tiny and like I was hurting everyone I cared about more than I was helping them." Anette leans forward, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. "I guess...you just need to look into ways to feel less useless. Find something you believe it, find others that believe in it and...just work for it." "I believe--I believe in helping people. Making their lives better. And my parents -- maybe at one point I was fooled into thinking that lives could be made better by getting rid of us, getting rid of mutants, you know? But I --" Paige cuts herself off, bowing her head and reaching up a hand to scratch harshly at the fur on the back of her neck. "There's nothing I can do. I don't have -- You said this group...this group you talked about that they -- that they do a lot of things. What are they?" Anette pauses a moment, trying to figure out how to word this. "They...are trying to make a better world for mutants. They tend to keep to themselves. People get the wrong idea. Especially Friends of Humanity types. They're just...very determined." She glances over Paige again, tilting her head slightly. "Why the questions? Were you interested?" A momentary look of confusion plays on Paige's face as she furrows her brows at Anette's words. However, it soon fades as she realizes there was a miscommunication. "Oh! No, I -- uh, I met the things that they do - what are they -- what are the things that they do?" She looks a bit taken aback and surprise by the woman's questions. "You said--I thought you said that I could talk to you if I had questions. I'm not...I don't -know- if I'm interesting in joining -anything-. I'm just trying to keep my options open. I wanted to find out more information. I'm not--I'm just...curious. What things do they do? I get that they do things to help mutants, but, like, -what- things? You also said something about family." Anette pauses a moment. "I don't...know if that's something I should really talk about. The things they do...not everyone agrees with them." She offers Paige an apologetic smile. "I know I said you could ask me questions but...there's a lot of stuff I can't really answer. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't...doesn't really help you." Now the look of confusion on Paige's face is mixed with one of hurt. "I don't...I don't understand...?" she ventures, cocking her head at Anette as her ears twitch. "I don't -- what am I -supposed- to ask? Is there anything you can answer? And why can't you answer? I don't understand. You said it wasn't about fighting -- or that it wasn't all about fighting. If it's not--if it's not hurting people or something, what is there to disagree with? Do you think -I'll- disagree?" "I mean...everything I said was right. I just...don't want to say something I shouldn't." Anette takes a deep breath with Paige's final question, thinking over her answer. "I...I don't know." She leans back again, resting her hands on the table. "Let's say, imaginary scenario. Like those morality quizzes you see all the time online. There was someone hurting mutants. I mean /really/ hurting them. Maybe even killing them. How would you feel about hurting them or killing them? Not necessarily directly. Maybe just...making it possible for someone else." Paige's brows knit in concern and she seems to take Anette's question very seriously. Silence falls between them for a few moments while the goat girl ponders her answer. "I..um...Is killing or hurting them the only option?" she asks meekly before shaking her head at her own inquiry. She bites at her lip as she rubs an arm again. "I would...I mean, if it was to keep others safe...and it was the only option and I was the only one who could, you know, help do that or something..." A slight pause. Her voice returns quieter, though sincere. "I think I'd be pretty upset about it, but I...yeah." It's not a direct answer to the question, but the message is fairly clear. "The only option that will actually accomplish anything," Anette adds to Paige's qualifiers. She listens to Paige, pressing her lips together as she considers the goat girl's words. Her eyes fall and she slowly shakes her head. "You wouldn't fit in. The people I know, they're very...distinct. You're just...not like them. Believe me, that's probably a good thing. I believe you want to make a difference. I just think there's a better way for you." Still with a look of pain and bemusement evident on her countenance, Paige's eyes search Anette's face. "I...I still don't understand. These people...What do you mean? You said it wasn't...I just want to make a difference." This last part is said with a drawn sigh as her posture deflates. "I would do it," she adds quietly, looking away for a moment. "I don't understand, I will -- I will stop asking you questions about it. But, uh..." Her hands fidget nervously and her voice now comes out as meek and uncertain. "We can...still be friends, right?" The furred mutant offers a weak smile with this, though it is most likely forced. Anette can't help but chuckle at Paige's last question. "Of course we can. And I'm still here for you. I'm just saying...if you want to be happy, you'll find it somewhere else. Or maybe you already have. You said you're at the Commons? I've never lived there but I know a lot of the people who do. They're mostly good people. Maybe that's where you belong." Paige's posture seems to relax somewhat at Anette's response and she even lets out a small sigh of relief. "Thank you," she says in a whisper, her tone completely genuine. "I want...I want to want to be a part of it, you know? I want -- I just want a family that wants -me-. And maybe--" Here she directs her gaze at Anette. "Maybe you should check it out sometime. The Commons. It's a nice place, really nice. It's safe, you know?" She offers a gentle shrug of the shoulders. "It's just a thought. I..um..." Her face seems to go through a number of emotions rapidly. "Thank you. For...making the decision. For me." "Yeah, maybe I will. I've got my own place but...maybe I could visit. And I wouldn't worry about it. You're...you've just got this personality that seems to draw people in. I'm sorry your biological family is...who they are. But you'll find new family. One that cares about you." Anette slowly leans forward, rising to her feet. "Take care. And stay out of trouble." "You -should- visit," Paige insists lightly as she offers Anette a soft smile. "I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, but like I said before, I can't make any promises. Just...let me know if you ever want to get together, you know? Or if, like," here the goat girl gestures idly with her hands, "You ever need a babysitter down the line some time. I'm sure Heather and I could figure it out. Be good, Anette." Finishing off the dregs of her coffee, the horned mutant stands up as well, affixing her hat back upon her head. "I should head out, too. It was nice--I mean thank you for talking to me."