Logs:Here to Help

Here to Help
Dramatis Personae Jax, Rasa
In Absentia	2024-05-15 "I can't sit around..."
Location <NYC> Evolve Nightclub - Lower East Side
Accessible up a flight of stairs from the coffeeshop below, Evolve's nightclub is only open Thursday-Sunday nights. The bar stretches wide along the back wall, polished dark wood with an abundance of drinks available behind, their selection none too high-end. A balcony overlooks the dancefloor, filled with plush black and green couches and armchairs and small black-wood and glass tables between them. The stark white and black walls encourage graffiti, paint markers of all shades hung around the walls by chains. Downstairs, the cafe is operational and bustling, mostly a regular afternoon crowd of Real Customers rather than a bedraggled horde of protesters just in from getting tear gassed. Up here, though -- it's actually relatively quiet. Probably the Bedraggled Protesters will be in later; at the moment it's mostly tiny skeleton crew of diehard behind-the-scenes organizers. Rachel's daughter Inès is off in a corner of the balcony above engaged in an intense-sounding video chat; pair of young women sitting at the bar are going over a complicated-looking spreadsheet. There's an absolute mess of supplies all mingled together in piles along the side of the room, medical supplies hobnobbing with donated clothing, art supplies mingled in with, for some unknown reason, a huge box of condoms and an even huger bag of dog food. Somewhere in the middle of the Piles is Jax, bright-colored in purple and black marbled jeans, clunky purple boots, faintly iridescent mesh top over black tank, metallic duochrome makeup and most frequent purple-blue-green ombre hair. Maybe at some point he doing something with all the Stuff but he's gotten distracted by multiple different conversations at once -- he's got an earpiece in his ear and is swiping out the end of a very long Signal message while a dark-skinned Black man in vibrant sundress under his Mongrels cut, equally vibrant yarn twists in his hair, has been waiting on some response from him as well. "-- no no no, they already got transportation, but they gonna get in town tomorrow an' gonna need a place that's --" Is Jax saying this to his phone or to Kouto, it's hard to say; kind of midstream he's switched to "-- sorry yes that'd be a lifesaver for Saturday's rally." Rasa waves to a few people as ze moves through the coffee shop and heads for the stairs to the second floor. Clunky boots tromp louder than zir slender frame begets as dark gray fabric whips around zir legs. Ze is already untying and shedding zir birqa when ze reaches the top, gently folding it over one arm. Beneath hides zir mottled skin of amber fleshtones dotted with light blue and gray clouds, covered by black cargo pants, sunset gradient bandeau, and a sheer blue smock to protect zir skin. Black curls are primarily (messily) pinned back from zir face, but escaped wisps still manage to frame zir face. Copper colored eyes search the vicinty as zir steps slow down, lips pursed in concentration, but when they finally land their gaze on Jax, the color shifts to a brighter gold. Ze strides over to get into his line of sight and waits a few minutes to gauge exactly how swamped he is. Ze doesn't speak up, but words scrawl across zir belly after some waiting. They aren't really intelligible until they are surrounded by a red box with the words, 'Hello, I'm...' over a white rectangle that reads, 'Rasa Djalili, Here to Help - and How!' Oh, and ze gives a little wave when noticed. "-- can ask 'em about the housing situation an' get back to you, we'll definitely have at the least a couch to crash on," Jax is finishing up saying as Rasa approaches. "-- oh an' just find me later before the march I will have that ready for you." It's still not entirely clear which part of the conversation was to who, but the light in his bluetooth headset is switching off and he's giving the Mongrel a quick-tight hug before the man heads off. "Rasa!" sounds excited, even though he's turned his attention back to the text he has not quite finished sending. He's brightened -- literally, a small flush of sunshine-warm glow around him; he's extending hir an offer of hug with one arm as he finishes up his text. "Or Doctor Rasa I should say now, ain't it? Hear you're back for real for real now? Pups gonna be psyched." "For real, for real... even if nothing feels like that right now. I'm still riding pretty high on the sleep deprevation that comes with finalizing... and moving... and... well, everything." Rasa's skin pinkens up too, but not in the same glowing fashion as zir friend. Ze slides under Jax's arm, tucking zir shoulder in close to his flank. Ze unconsciously keeps zir unclothed fingers on the clothed part of his back before ze releases him to get a better look at his expression. "I .. it still sounds weird to be 'doctor.' How are you? How've you been?" "Me? I mean, you know." Jax is pulling back from the hug -- the heat that he carries with him is considerably fiercer than it was a couple years ago, far more noticeable though still nowhere near Dangerous -- and turns his attention back to the piles. "Been a bit of a -- time. I do not understand," he's hefting the 40-lbs of dog food over a shoulder to truck it far off to one side, "-- what is in people's head that they think we need --" His head is shaking, though, as he sets the bag back down among a different set of miscellany ranging from an old knockoff tiffany lamp to a deflated inflatable pool. "-- well. Probably some folks displaced from Freaktown got dogs, I'll make sure the housing team gets some'a this. What's brung you down here?" "You," Rasa replies, before glancing around at the variety pile with a tilt of zir head. "This," ze adds, sweeping zir hand to gesture to the rest of it as well. "I came to help. I would have been here sooner, but moving long distance has made a mess of my personal logistics. Never mind I'm still crashing at Xavier's for the moment with all of my stuff in storage while I find a place to live... But it is in the correct city, so it's a step in the right direction." The newly minted psychiatrist takes a deep breath before smiling at zir former teacher. "Anyway, I know you've always got your fingers on the pulse around here, so I came to see how best I can do that. Help, that is." "If you looking for a place in the city, you sure ain't in the correct city, school's in the boonies." Jax is returning to the donations, scrubbing one hand through his hair as he looks down at his buzzing phone. "Uh -- sorry, you mean -- help with all this mess?" He's gesturing to the piles with his phone still held in one hand before he replies to the message he's just gotten. "Or just, like, in general." "Sure, fine, it's out in the middle of nowhere, but my storage rental is near Mendel." Rasa clarifies quietly as ze watches Jax, her skin tone shifts darker, bronzer. "I feel like... Both is the best answer as it seems like the over all, general organizing might improve if I could take at least one item off your plate. I am here for all of it though. My residency doesn't start for a couple weeks... And I can't sit around..." Zir skin is near black when ze pauses to take a deep breath. "I got here early so I could protest. Organize. Help. So." "Well, if you want to stick around I'mm'a need more specific than alla it," Jax says with a small laugh. "You got a lane you wanna be in, we probably got needs. We got folks daily helping with outreach, digital communications, with food, with medic needs, with housin' folks come in from outta town, with checkin' up on them that got displaced from Freaktown, with marshallin' at the actions, with making sure all the equipment gets where it needs to be, with --" He's considering Rasa just a second before he pivots apologetically, "probably police liaison ain't gonna be your thing, uh, transport -- gosh if you tell me you got yourself a car while you was gone you gonna have a lotta new best friends 'round here." His cheeks puff out, breath coming out in a sharp puff. "But right this second I need to sort stuff they need here at the safe space from stuff we really oughta trash from stuff for the rehousing committee, folks gonna need a lot of move-in help even if we find people places." "My lane... Would likely be checking up on people and helping them get settled. I can physically move them, but also help anyone traumatized by ..." Not quite ready to talk about zir friend passing, shifts zir gaze around taking things in as Jax finishes up. "Now that, I can definitely help with. Trash stuff goes here?" Ze nods zir head toward the faux Tiffany lamp.