Logs:Redirect

Redirect
Dramatis Personae Daiki, Kitty, Lucien
In Absentia	2021-10-27 "Maybe, the rest of us should be less afraid to piss Scott off."
Location <NYC> Washington Square Park - Greenwich Village
Behind a majestic white marble arch, a smaller cousin of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this beautiful green space is a popular destination for the young, the hip, and the artistic. A huge circular wading fountain is the centerpiece, ringed by benches, playgrounds, dog runs, gaming tables, and lush green lawns. In fair weather, the park is almost always crowded with tourists, students, chess enthusiasts, and local families come to tire out their children and dogs. The past year has been a tumultuous one for this storied park. It played host to weeks of Palestinian solidarity protests, during which the City declared a curfew on the park, ostensibly to curb the trade in sex and drugs which has been going strong for decades. After a lot of to-do and a few half-hearted attempts to limit access, the NYPD has finally surrendered the park to whatever iniquity the night might bring. Despite the Post's dire warnings -- probably if you set foot here after 10pm you will spontaneously become a gay prostitute addicted to heroin -- little has changed for those who live and work here, save the signage that everyone ignores. Tonight, plenty of locals are out walking their dogs, playing chess, selling drugs or sex, and generally carrying on. Strolling at a leisurely pace, Daiki does not look particularly concerned about his sexual orientation, occupation, or substance use habits, but then he does play his cards close to the vest. He's sharply dressed, but not in an eye-catching way, his sleek black suit complementing his slender build without drawing attention to his height. The only color on him is the blue satin vest and a tie in black-blue-black ombre, the latter calling to mind a shaft of sunlight cutting into deep, dark waters. Kitty does not seem too concerned with her or the parks’ reputation tonight either. Dressed in a long-sleeve navy a-line dress covered in silver and gold stars paired with black platform ankle boots, Kitty is certainly dressed to impress, relative to her usual regalia. A carefully rolled up Playbill sticks out the top of her black crossbody purse, and her hair is only just starting to fall out of the playful twin buns atop her head. For the first time in a while — the beginning of the month, maybe — she is smiling, occasionally even laughing, in conversation with her companion this evening. “… All I’m saying is, when they make the inevitable Netflix film of this show, you gotta tell me so I can sign up to be an extra.” She catches a glimpse of Daiki out of the corner of her eye, gives him a little wave. Luci may or may not be concerned about his reputation, but he is several decades too late to spontaneously become a heroin-addicted prostitute. Perhaps that is why he is comfortable tonight on his stroll through the park (or perhaps it is just his company), his outfit a far cry from the glitz of stage in a lightweight camel chore jacket over a soft green henly shirt, blue jeans worn enough to be comfortable but not enough to look threadbare, and brown hazel loafers. "Oh, when I hear about it I'll let you know." He's not smiling, but there's an easy warmth in his eyes and his words as well. "I am glad you enjoyed it. I have been in some truly awful shows and it's always awkward when -- oh! Daiki." He comes up short as they near, head tipping in a nod. "Always a pleasure. We were en route to walking my dog and falafel, though it needn't be in that order." Even from some small distance, even with his powers meticulously lulled for safety in public, the sudden shift of Daiki's attention is almost palpable -- if pleasantly so, for those already well-disposed toward him. He veers towards the others, offering just a hint of a smile. "Good evening to you both." Is his voice even softer and more compelling than usual? Is there just a little more of a pull in that shy but lovely smile? Hard to say for sure. "I've already eaten, but I would be glad to tag along for the delight of Flèche's company, and yours." "Hey, Daiki!" There is an energetic bounce in Kitty's tone, perhaps a little buoyed up by Daiki's power. "You can say you just want to see Flèche, I won't be offended," she teases. "Have you see the show yet? I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that it's just as good as the reviews promise." "Flèche is, also, still just as good as her reviews promise," Lucien assures Daiki warmly. "She still be delighted to see you, I'm certain. And she is," he adds, casual, "always a good pick me up during a rough week. Month. Year. What-have-you." "Oh! Did you see it tonight?" Daiki's smile widens at Kitty, just a touch. "I did not read any reviews, but I found it is as timely, action-packed, and full of heart as any decent reviewer should have noted. Alas, that is not my beat." He falls into step with Lucien and Kitty. "I'd give Flèche as many stars as the formatting allowed, if I were." His head dips slightly. "My week-month-year might challenge even her formidable picking-up skills, but I am sure she will meet it gamely." “Not your best, but that’s a great blurb for it. Put it on the Playbill!” A little bit of Kitty’s bubbly energy fades. “It sure has been one of those…” she trails off, eventually landing on “…months. Did it —“ There’s a question on the tip of Kitty’s tongue, but she bites it back, changes tack. “Don’t suppose you’ve heard from Joshua, yet?” Lucien's path has begun to drift vaguely in the direction of his house, his hand folded behind his back. His lips compress at the mention of Joshua, his eyes turning up to search the sky overheard. "It must be difficult," he murmurs, quiet, "to be down a teammate like that. I cannot imagine the worry. -- I don't suppose," his eyes are a little wider with this ever-so-hopeful inquiry, "there's a chance of some extra assistance in recovering him? Matthieu has barely been sleeping and I'm sure he cannot be the only one." "We haven't, yet. I keep forgetting that more than one team is missing him." Daiki's reply is soft and even. While the speeding of his breath is a subtle thing, the steep rise in the attention he commands is not. A couple out on a stroll turn as one to study him as they pass in the other direction. A dreadloc'd white punk nodding off on a nearby bench stirs and tries to track him with bleary eyes. A jogger crossing their path slows long enough to shoot him a suspicious glare. He draws a long breath and exhales slow. "We did solicit extra help," he says, very quietly. "It did not work out particularly well for them, but I cannot fathom how we will get them back without even more help." Despite his grim report, he seems to have collected himself in speaking it, because there is once more a wry note in his voice when he tells Lucien, "More sleep, as well -- you should remind Matt that resting is now mandatory." Kitty's "oh" is soft too, almost just a breath into the cool night air. "Oh," she says again, pulling her purse just a touch closer to her body. "All of them?" Her gaze lifts to Daiki too, biting her lip. "I mean, maybe, now that Joshua is -- maybe Scott will let us -- the rest of us -- help?" She sounds extremely unsure on this front. "Surely," Lucien's voice is still soft, "he must be just as concerned for your missing teammate. To say nothing of the other --" His hand turns palm upward, fingers spreading and his eyes just slightly wider. "Has he heard the stories? Perhaps," there's just a touch of anxiousness in his tone as he looks to Daiki, "if some of you sat down with him and -- no. That would be quite a lot to expect you to relive." Behind his back, his hands have tightened, his eyes dropping and brows just slightly pinched. "But it does seem -- something of an oversight, no?" "Several of our team got recaptured. Or just captured -- one of them wasn't even a Promethean." Daiki seems calm about all this now, although there is more deliberation in his steady breath, more care in his long strides. "He must be awfully concerned, and the Professor, too." His voice goes ever so slightly brittle, here. "I can't imagine he hasn't heard after all these years, but I would be willing to recount my experiences if it might move him to help us get Joshua and the others back." He glances at Kitty, wide eyes behind his glasses betraying a glimmer of hope through his studied neutrality. "I'm sure you know, but it was the X-Men who rescued Jax and Ryan from their lab." "Yeah," Kitty says, trying with some effort to look away from Daiki and not quite succeeding. There is a tinge of flush in her cheeks. "I was a freshman that year. I remember. I was so -- it was one of the reasons I started hounding Scott about joining up." She bites the inside of her cheek. "I hope it's an oversight. But I think there's a reason Charles keeps Prometheus at arms length." Does she think it's a good reason? The furrow in her brow suggests maybe not. "Maybe, though, after the last year, after losing Dawson, they — Charles and Scott, I mean — could be convinced?" "I understand the, ah, optics of choosing to forcibly liberate mutant prisons, but --" The small frown has not left Lucien's face. His hands unclasp, spreading in front of him. "Surely there is some nuance with which to look at the matter. Some -- middle ground between hands-off and joining up with the Brotherhood." It's Kitty his thoughtful gaze levels on, now. "I have occasionally found that when leadership is persistently set in their ways, the better expenditure of energy can be changing the leadership, rather than changing their minds. I've no idea, of course," now he's falling back into casual step en route out of the park, "if that is ever in the cards for a group like yours." Daiki's jaw tightens at Dawson's name. He's suddenly a lot more compelling, again, though there are now fewer passers-by to stare at him as they exit the park proper. "I imagine," he says carefully, his voice even more level than before, "wished he hadn't got mixed up with the whole raid business, and hoped it might help persuade the rest of us to let well enough alone." He re-settles his glasses where they had slid down almost imperceptibly. "I don't think that torch has ever been passed before, but..." One hand raises to indicates Kitty with a graceful sweep of fingers. "The team has grown, to some extent because Jax keeps saving people and bringing them to the school. I doubt they would like losing even more of us." Kitty grimaces. "You're probably right. But it's worth a try, right? Maybe you can borrow the Blackbird, if not the team." She sounds more like she's trying to convince herself than her companions. "I don't think we're going to have an X-election any time soon, but if we did -- I bet Jax would have the votes. And then we could. Help." Her grimace is turning into a frown, deeper and deeper. Quieter: "Maybe, the rest of us should be less afraid to piss Scott off." "I would think the past year has been a compelling argument things are far from well enough." Lucien's eyes follow the sweep of Daiki's hand toward Kitty, and he exhales a soft breath that does not quite manage to be a laugh. "I am hardly going to be a voting member any time soon, but for what my opinion is worth as merely X-adjacent, if you decided it was time to ruffle Scott Summers' feathers I know where my vote would be."