ArchivedLogs:Strangers in the Park

Strangers in the Park
Dramatis Personae Melinda, Kurt Wagner 1.0, Howl
In Absentia	2013-07-02 In which Kurt clears up some misconceptions.
Location <NYC> Central Park North
Central Park North is slightly quieter than its southern counterpart, being further uptown and slightly out of the bustle of the City - insofar as one can escape the bustle of the City even here, in the acres of green and blue that make up Central Park. The reservoir is in the northern half, providing miles of jogging and biking trails along the clear water, as well as benches for people to sit and rest. As Monday starts to draw to a close, Melinda appears, moving though the park, over the path, looking over the stretches of green grass, until she finds one she likes. Then she climbs the hill and actually starts to spread out a blanket. The sun may be lowering, but there's still plenty light, though, most of it is grayed out by the gathering clouds. It's promising to rain soon, but Mel is still spreading out a blanket and setting up a picnic. She has a reuseable grocery bag which she is emptying into a small pile in the center of the blanket. She looks out across the park, considering quietly, then cracking open a soda. She's dressed in a soft gray cotton skirt, layered blue tank tops, with a light sweater sitting beside her thigh, in case it actually cools down. She takes a sip from her drink and then begins really people watching. Half of the elements of the man moving through the park, slowly, as if he isn't quite sure if he wants to /be/ where he is, would be downright dapper in another setting. The fedora he wears on his head is crisp and stylish, the pants that are visible beneath his frock coat neatly pressed. His shoes seem to fit a bit weirdly, but beggars can't be choosers. He has a camera in one hand...and that, as much as the glimpses of his face, looking a little miserably warm in the summer weather, the flickering of something just under the tails of his jacket, betrays there's something a little weird about him. First off, his hand only seems to have two huge fingers and an oversized thumb--but more pertinently, he seems to be /blue/. Howl has found over the past few days that the evening-time tends to be a /bit/ on the safer side for him to come wandering out. He's been hiding in the more bushy areas of the park, keeping to himself, and other than one or two encounters has managed to evade most detection. He's trying to get a better idea of the the lay of the park, surveying his /territory/ as it were, such as it is. He also seems entirely unaware of the fact that he sticks out like a sore thumb; from afar, his disguise may hold up, but... he's a 6'5" tall man dressed in a dirty blue blouse and a long brown skirt, which seems to have a bustle in addition to an odd, fluffy black-and-white trim around the bottom, in the back. And a dark blue kerchief is tied around his head. It's pretty out-of-place for the reasonably warm weather, and up close it's pretty obvious he's a man, but. Weirder things have been seen in New York City? He's carrying a backpack as he strolls through the park, cautious for the moment to avoid other people. Melinda seems to have the pick of the evenings people watching festivities. One blue man and one period cross dresser have stumbled into her field of vision, causing her eyebrows to climb her forehead. She takes another, longer sip before offering a small smile to Kurt first, nodding a little and looking him over. "You finding everything okay?" She asks, lips remaining parted, curious. It is then that Howl starts to draw her attention, but she doesn't address him at first, mostly curious about the trim on his skirt. Kurt seems a little startled that anyone is speaking to him; there's some kind of motion that disturbs his jacket before he turns to fix his eyes on Melinda. At least he probably does, his eyes turn out to be featureless and hard to determine the direction on. He blinks, looks down at his camera, and then smiles at Melinda, a muted expression. "Ja, Fraulein." His accent is distinct. "I have only come to take some pictures, it is a very lovely place, this park. I hope I have not disturbed you." Howl gets a glance, a little bit of a quirk of Kurt's dark eyebrows...but he's far from any place to judge from. The sound of conversation is what draws Howl's attention, and for a moment he shows /zero/ interest in actually getting anywhere near it... but something about /Kurt/ seems to catch his eye, because he's rather abruptly looking at the younger man with a very mixed expression; some strange blend of irritation and confusion. He's clearly conflicted, in any case, and apparently incapable of actually hiding his emotions; after a moment of hemming, his skirt rustling a bit, he hesitantly approaches the pair, addressing Kurt in particular. "Excuse me," he begins, in thick Welsh accent, "but I wonder if I could ask you a personal question." Melinda is given a bit of a half-curtsey, but he otherwise seems unconcerned with her for the moment. "Oh no. I am not disturbed at all. I really just wanted to be helpful and you looked like you might not be from a round here," Mel remains seated, legs resting one on top of each other, settled on the side of one hip. "Are you a photographer?" She continues to watch Kurt quietly, until Howl appears to ask a question. She sits quietly and curious, brows high, lips pursed, head tilting in obvious attentiveness. A bright smile blossoms on her face when Howl curtsies, but she stays quiet. "Nein, not really, only in the immediate sense that I have taken some photos and I suppose that makes me a photographer." Kurt smiles at Melinda, his voice almost sad as he admits that. "I am a teacher at a nearby school--" That's about as far as he gets before Howl is inserting himself into the discussion. Surprise rolls over his face, and then that's exchanged for an obvious sort of guardedness. "Questions are free, mein Herr, the worst I can say is that I do not wish to ask, I suppose..." Howl continues to hem and haw for a bit; he'll open his mouth a bit to speak, close it again, and just altogether seem entirely uncertain exactly /what/ he wants to ask. "It's just," he finally begins, but his brow furrows. There's a glance to Melinda, and finally he just settles on /gently/ grasping Kurt's elbow and guiding him a few feet away - though honestly, at this distance, Mel can probably still hear him speaking. "I don't mean to be rude, but why do you look like that?" He's got fangs and Kurt could probably feel the faint touch of /claws/ when Howl gripped his arm, but apparently he's still baffled by Kurt's appearance. "/How/ do you look like that?" he clarifies, his tone a bit.. oddly plaintive. Melinda gives the pair a small smile, but lets her attention drift back to her bag when Howl leads Kurt away. She starts digging around and pulls out a container of vegetables and a bucket of hummus, dipping one of the snap peas in the dense dip and then crunching on it quietly. Kurt is silent for a long time, squinting at Howl's face. He's very clearly studying its details, examining the evidence of fangs or further strangeness. When he speaks, it's quiet, but he isn't /really/ trying to hide his answer from nearby passers-by. "I was born like this, mein Herr." He says, head tipped to the side. "The blue color, the fur, the strange hands--my feet, also--the pointed ears, the fangs. I have a tail." Almost as if he's feeling brave, said tail uncurls from where it's been wrapped around his waist, extending suddenly from the slit in the frock coat to swish around his feet. Poor Melinda. "And other, less obvious talents. It is not a matter of /how/, it is just what I am. As for /why/, you must ask the Almighty, as this was His design, not mine. I am a mutant, ja?" Throughout the entire explanation, Howl just looks progressively more and more confused and just unable to /process/ the information he's being given. As Kurt finishes, he really just looks completely dismayed, and ultimately he just sort of.. falls to the ground. Landing in a seated position, at least, he holds a hand to his head, rubbing it over the headscarf, he shakes his head a few times and whispers, "No, no, no.." Hands go up, then, to cover his head and he raises his voice again to mumble, "I'm not supposed to tell strangers. How can you--" And suddenly he perks up. "Are you from TV? Is that what it is? You're-- you two're making a TV show and I ruined it, that's it." Relieved, he stands right back up, forcing a little laugh. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood. Where should I go to get out of your way?" Melinda stays where she is, munching quietly. She has been removed from the conversation by Howl's choice, but is still around. When Kurt reveals his tail, she smiles and gives him two thumbs up. Nice Tail! Kurt sighs, and glances back to Melinda. The smile and thumbs up encourages him, so he turns back to Howl, and raises his eyebrows briefly. "Nein, nein, no, look, I will show you." And thus, with all the sense of self-consciousness in the world, Kurt takes off his fedora, letting his natural blue-black hair and delicately pointed ears show. He has sort-of tamed those curls with some kind of product. After that, he takes off the frock coat, folding it over one arm. He's wearing a short-sleeved, collared shirt beneath, his paints old-fashioned, high-waisted and held up with suspenders. There's no real denying that he's covered in fur, nor that the tail that lifts a little in altitude to make nervous serpantine patterns behind him is anything but /very much/ a part of him, a live and real thing. "You may touch me, if you do not believe me, but this is just what I am. I think God made me more handsome than average, don't you?" The charmer's smile he tries on Howl very much has its own fangs, top and bottom jaw. "Iesu Grist!" Howl comes /this/ close to /diving/ on Kurt, but settles for instead pulling at the jacket on the man's arm and sort of. Shoving it at him. "Is this how people do things in this country?!" Realizing a bit too late just how rude he's being, though, he steps back with a somewhat horrified expression, hands held up defensively. To Melinda he adds an awkward, "I apologize for the language, miss, but--" and back to Kurt! "--You're missing my /point/ which is--" He takes a deep breath, frowning, and pinches the bridge of his nose as he takes a step back. "How can you even.. why would you-- what is a /mutant/?" "Sir, don't you think you're over reacting a bit," Melinda calls out from her spot on the grass and blanket. "He's doing a very good job of being polite and kind when you've been nothing but pushy. Perhaps you ought to calm down a bit." She gets to her feet and wanders over, holding out tub of vegetable bits, carrots, cucumber, snow peas and broccoli, for both men to take some. "Is Mutant really a term you are not familiar with? It's on the news all the time." The elf seems downright incredulous. He reaches out to put both hands on Howl's shoulders as he's lurched towards, suddenly ignoring his hat and jacket. It's clear even in this second he's a trained fighter, and could defend himself if need be. Kurt's tail picks up the pace suddenly, sweeping wide and low over the grass in the park. "It means I /cannot choose/ to be anything else, mein Herr, it means this is /all/ I am, all I have /ever/ been. I think it is clear also that I am not /from/ this country, ja? I am German." He frowns, the expression turned almost to a glower by his eyebrows and glowing eyes. "Why? I have no choice in it. You are made up of genes, ja? Little building blocks of biology which link together to give you a particular hair color, your height, a predisposition to liking a certain gender or a certain flower or bad eyesight. Whatever it is. There is one of these genes called the X-Gene. When it is fully expressed, it does strange things to a man, he becomes a mutant, with gifts and abilities not like others. It can be any kind of thing, like great wings, the ability to walk through walls, or to control machines with one's mind. For me, it is this body, and also the ability to teleport. I would appreciate you not taking the Lord's name in vain when referring to how /He has made me/. I did not do this to myself." Shaking his head briskly, Howl just repeats, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He's all but tearing his hands through his hair, and ultimately instead hugs his arms against his chest, doing an angry sort of back-and-forth pace. "I am having trouble with words, I-- sometimes English is difficult." Melinda's offer is met with a gentle lift of his hand in rejection, and he rubs his face, trying to take a moment to compose himself. "They stopped making the news years ago and I don't speak /German/," is his response to her, thrown out casually, before he finally thinks of some way to try to express what he's been trying to say. "My rhieni..." He gestures with a hand. "Dam. Sire. --Parents? Parents. They told me-- I thought I was the only person who wasn't..." That gesture goes to indicate Melinda, helplessly. "...who didn't look like her. I did not mean to be rude, I've just... I've never seen anyone else. Like that." "Ah. Well. Welcome to New York," Melinda draws in a deep breath. She pulls a card out of a pocket in her skirt and presents it. "If you have problems and need a place to stay, I volunteer at a shelter at this address. Don't worry, we take everyone, so long as they don't actively cause trouble." She gives another smile and a slight nod to Kurt. "I would have loved to see your pictures. Perhaps another time." She turns back to her blanket and begins folding it up, stuffing her things into her bag and preparing to leave. "Do you speak Romani? Russian? French? I can manage also in any of these." Kurt says, almost encouraged by the idea. His tail slows a little. "Nein, no, no, you are not the only one by any means. We are all the rage how, as it goes. Many people are jealous of my fur, see, how fashionable it is." He looks up as Melinda starts to leave, and a little bit of regret passes over his face. "Ja, such a pity. Perhaps you could have given me some pointers. I suppose I shall have to go wandering in the park more often if it meets me lovely young women like yourself." Blinking a bit at Melinda, Howl takes the offered card and looks at it for a moment, then tucks it into the sleeve of his blouse. It's buttoned at the end, should keep well enough for now. "I-- thank you." He lifts his other hand as if to tip his hat, and gives her a little nod. "I apologize, again, for my rudeness. I will keep it in mind." His attention returns to Kurt, and he shakes his head quietly. "Welsh. I understand there aren't many of us left. -- Though I suppose that may also be inaccurate." Letting out a little sigh, he looks off in the distance a bit, eyes closed in thought. "I've always been told it would be very rude and... generally a bad idea to show people that I am different. I suppose that isn't true, either, since you seem to have no problems showing me.. yourself." Kurt smiles, and gives Melinda a little wave, before he goes to recollect his hat and jacket. "People around here can be very ... unforgiving... of variant appearances, you must still be careful. But if you grow up looking as I do, you start to look for the signs. Your teeth, for instance, much like my own...or the feel of claws on your fingers. You see I have my fedora and my long coat, and I tend to keep my tail tucked away--this is because I do not want to advertise what I am. But since you made it impossible for me to deny, why bother? I have had a long time to become comfortable in my fur." Howl frowns thoughtfully. "I apologize for that, that /was/ my fault. I have more than--" Cutting himself off, he shakes his head a bit, deciding against getting quite so /personal/ for the moment. "I wasn't expecting.. there are so many /people/ here. I didn't think... I thought there were not so many. It's difficult to get used to, and.. you don't need to hide? It's.. it's alright to walk around? Even with people being unforgiving?" He runs his hand over his headscarf again, closing his eyes with no small amount of frustration. "I have more than what you've mentioned, but I'm not... comfortable showing you. I know that isn't fair." A pause. "I also have tails, and my ears are... different. There are others than you and I, then?" "Not all mutants are as obvious as you and I." Kurt allows, settling the fedora on his head. He doesn't put the jacket on quite yet, eyes watching Howl's gesture over his head. "But some are. There are very many in the world. As it so happens, the school I teach at is explicitly for children with talents such as you and I have. You do not have to show me if you are uncomfortable. It takes a long time to grow accustomed to being so different, I think, and in my case I came to the conclusion long ago that I was not going to let others make me feel ashamed." Looking a bit surprised, Howl gives a quick shake of his head. "That wasn't my intent! I've just... I'm starting to get a clearer picture of things, I think." He turns to look at Kurt, making sure to make eye-contact as he speaks. "If things are... as sometimes problematic as you say they are, I think perhaps that I was being kept safe. That is the only explanation that makes sense, and it must be why these things were kept secret from me." Nodding, there, Howl is clearly satisfied that this reasoning makes sense. "Like in Sleeping Beauty. Maybe my parents were actually godparents." He actually looks like he may be seriously considering this notion. "Probably not fairies-- fairies aren't real, are they?" "It seems completely reasonable." Kurt agrees, folding his coat over his arm more neatly. "I do not know if fairies are real. I find it difficult to discount anything, but I have never met one to my knowledge. I do know a young lady--also Welsh, as it so happens--who might as well be a fairy, she has the wings and the dust as stories go. But she is just a mutant, as I am. I was adopted, if that is any consolation to you." Eyebrows shoot up a bit at the mention of the pixie-girl being /Welsh/, and Howl is just completely /hooked/ for a moment before managing to regain his composure. "That's.. hm! That is very interesting. Very interesting." Abruptly he looks off to one side, squinting a bit, as if searching for something. He takes a step in closer to Kurt - though not too intimately so - and lowers his voice. CONSPIRATORIALLY. "I understand if you can't tell me the truth, but I haven't watched so much TV that I can't see when things are too much of a coincidence. Could you maybe just.. tug your ear or something if you're making this up?" He gives the elf a more thorough look-over than he had before. "I suppose I could believe that you really do look like that, but... it all goes together a little /too/ well. Am I on the right track?" Sympathy passes over Kurt's face, and he shakes his head, hands far from either ear. "I'm afraid it's not a joke, nor a lie, mein Freund. As I said, if you wish to pinch me to see if I'm real, I suppose I can allow it. But see, look," Now, his tail is in motion, reaching up along the length of his back to grab his hat--spade bent around the brim--and tip it in Howl's direction. "What animatronics is so deft? I could show you my other gift, I suppose, but it is very noisy and very obvious and I /was/ trying not to draw too much attention to myself." Shaking his head dismissively, Howl holds a hand in the air - as if testing for something. "There's no need; it isn't really humid enough, and I know about it anyway." He nods, as conspiratorially as his tone, and gives one look off to the distance. Seeking /cameras/. "I do appreciate the assistance, however. Let's see..." He hoists his backpack, lifting a knee to support it - though almost throwing himself off-balance when it threatens to bring the skirt up - and opens it up, digging through it. Clothes, clothes... a-ha! He offers Kurt... a Cadbury Flake bar. "Do you care for chocolate?" "It isn't...really humid enough?" Kurt asks curiously, seemingly confused, watching Howl's hand move through the air. There's no cameras that he can find immediately, except for the obvious still-picture one in Kurt's right hand--but who knows, maybe they're very well-hidden. "I like chocolate, ja, are you sharing? I'm afraid I have nothing to give you in return but conversation." Seemingly without thinking about it, he passes his camera to his tail, wrapping its spade around the item and holding it securely that way. He stands a litle funny, as if he'd rather be rocked up forward on the balls of his feet. Howl looks just as confused as Kurt, for a moment. "I suppose unless you're better at it than I am; that's possible." He hmms, curiously, then shakes his head. "Regardless. Yes! I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm sort of... it's a thank you for helping me." He offers the bar again, eyebrows lifted, expression encouraging. "It may be a little melted and not-so-flaky, but it should still taste fine. It's just that it's starting to get late, and I shouldn't be out after dark." The German's confusion only grows, and his tail flicks back and forth with his camera in tow before he manages to calm it down. "Better at what? I am sorry, mein Herr, I am very confused." Still, Cadbury! Kurt smiles, reaching out to accept the bar with two huge fingers. It's a little clumsy, the actions he takes to try and get the goods out of the wrapper. "Have you somewhere to stay? Somewhere safe?" "I just mean that I can do it too, but it isn't humid enough for me and the lake is.." Howl gestures. "A bit too far, for me. In any case, you needn't demonstrate. Do you need a hand with that?" He tilts his head towards the candy bar, holding his hand out to take the bar again to assist with opening it, if need be. "I've been fine thus far, but thank you for your concern. I do believe I can take care of myself." At least someone does. "Hands I have a plenty, it is fingers I find myself lacking in." Kurt quips, his mouth quirking up around one fang in a half-grin. "But I believe--ah, here we go. Thank you for the offer anyway, it was most kind. You can teleport also? How interesting. One day, perhaps, we can share pointers. I am always fascinated by other 'porters. If you need anything, you can find me at the Xavier's School, outside of town. My name is Kurt Wagner, you can ask for me there if you ever need even just someone to talk to." "Wait, what?" Howl actually takes a step backward in surprise. "You ca-- that--" And there's that thoughtful frown again as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I think I made another false assumption. I had thought-- no, I forgot about the girl you mentioned with the wings. So we don't all have the same ability, then?" He is, again, rather secretive as to the nature of his own, besides the hints he'd already dropped. "I suppose I sort of thought.. it'd all be.." Hands are meshed together in an attempt to demonstrate grouping of some sort. "Sort of.. more the same, even if we don't look the same?" Kurt gives a brief little laugh, having to cover his mouth with one big hand since it's got chocolate in it. "Nein, no, no, the gifts we have been blessed with are as myriad as stars in the sky, my new friend. I can teleport. I also stick to walls, and am nearly invisible in shadows. I have a friend who heals at a remarkable rate and has claws which extend out of the backs of his hands. Another who shoots red energy from his eyes, another who turns himself into light and teleports thusly, one who can turn himself into ice or create it at will, one who becomes a dragon, two boys who are very shark-like in seeming...so many different options, we are none of us the same. Not even those of us related, I think, are guaranteed to be much the same. It is a whole new world we are creating." "When I was younger, I... there was a film I saw, once. It was very much.. I didn't like it," Howl explains, chewing on the inside of his lip. "But it explained how there was a war, and most of the world was... lost. Very many people died. And things were.. bad, because of it. It was supposed to have happened very long ago, after the second World War, and.. either things have come back very well or that is another thing I may have been misinformed about. It is one of the reasons I wasn't to go outside except when they decided it was okay." There's a pause, there. "I'm not sure how they decided it, but they had to have... Mr. Wagner." Abruptly, Howl shoulders his backpack, turning back to Kurt and extending a hand to shake, cordial-like. "I'm sorry if I've been a bother, but I seem to have some thinking I need to do. I thank you again for your time. My name is Jeffreys, by the way; I didn't mention before." "There have been many wars, but nothing that I would have said caused most of the world to be lost. Ja, I am afraid there are many things you may have to think about." Shifting the gifted chocolate to his left hand, Kurt reaches out his right and wraps his big fingers around Howl's hand to facilitate a handshake. It's a little tricky, with his grip, but clearly Kurt has done this a few thousand times before. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Herr Jeffreys, I hope to see you again, and hope also that the night doesn't give you any trouble. In a few days it will be America's Independence Day, the celebrations should be something else from this park." For a moment, Howl is tempted to ask for clarification on that last point, but he decides against it. Maybe next time, if there is one. "I thank you, once more. And again I apologize for taking up your time." With hand shook, his grip perhaps a bit on the light side, once his hand is returned he brushes at his headscarf thoughtfully. "If things go as they have been now, I will be here. I may explore the young lady's suggestion from earlier, the shelter she had mentioned. After my thinking." Turning aside, he tilts his head up and looks off into the distance, perhaps a bit dramatically, and takes in a deep breath. "But, it was good talking to you, sir. Have a good night."