ArchivedLogs:Home for the Weekend

Home for the Weekend
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Jane, Rasa, Shelby
In Absentia	2013-05-04 '
Location <NYC> Iolaus's Apartment - East Harlem
Down a hallway and overlooking a open air market in El Barrio, Iolaus' apartment is not particularly a large one. It is three rooms - the main room shaped like an L with kitchen at one end, a small bedroom large enough for a full bed and a dresser, and a bathroom barely large enough to fit the bath inside it. The walls are a light yellow in the main room, with a large bookcase sitting against one wall and occupying much of the space, stuffed with books as it is. Two couches sit across from it, pressed up against the corner of the L shaped room. The kitchen is separated only by the transition from wood floor to grey tile and is sparsely filled with food and cookware both, and the bathroom is equally sparse of accouterments. In fact, were it not for the full bookcase and the clothing hanging in the closet, it would look almost as if the occupant had moved out and left some few things behind in a hurry. Friday, late afternoon, and Shelby has been on a /mission/. This is an important occasion--the event of her bringing a school friend home for the very first time /ever/. Iolaus was of course texted and warned that Rasa would be spending the night and she already invited hir and would that be okay and thx! She did /not/ warn him of their plans. But...surely that will be okay too. He's a doctor. He can handle it. After meeting Rasa at the train station, they pair caught a cab back to the apartment building. Up they come and here they are at the front door. Shelby's practically /glowing/ in a subtle fashion, all quick smiles and dimples and sparkle in the eye, in spite of the scabbed over scratch on her chin and a slight stiffness of movement--she's explained both away as a tumble from her skateboard, ha, yes, it happens sometimes and omg wait 'til you try the beer she got. "I picked Corona 'cause it tastes better when the weather's nice, dunno why," she explains, shifting the heavy plastic shopping bag from right hand to left so she can knock at the door. Yes, she has a key, but... "Corona, Okay." Rasa agrees quietly, carrying a small bag with clothes for the next day and possibly a tablet for surfing the web later, and all of hir hygiene products. Ze is likely overpacked, but it's such a small case. "I brought cigars. Are we going to be able to smoke inside, or do we need to go to the roof, or -- oh! Oh! Is there a fire escape? I always wanted to sit out doors on a metal fire escape and watch the sky turn into darkness." Shelby's excitement is a little contagious. The metamorph is decked out in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved tee shirt with gloves. Hir head? Well, that is covered in a hijab. It's a pretty blue hijab though, covered with embroidered butterflies. Waaaiting time. Rasa falls silent. But. A moment after there is a knock, there is a sound of grinding metal inside the door and it swings open, and unless Shelby has entirely amiss in her description of what the doctor looked like, it is probably not him. Jane is at the door, eyeing the pair of Xavier's students as one might eye a suspicious bag left alone on the subway: as something that quite possibly might explode, messily, at any second. Rasa gets an even closer examination, a hard, severe look. Her eyes scan the hallway, glancing back and forth. "Shelby." She says, curtly, swinging the door open wider. "He is the kitchen, cooking dinner." So he is! Standing in front of two cast iron pans and a pot, all of which are steaming - or, smoking - merrily, Iolaus' swift crumbling movements causes the smell of spices rise into the air. "Is that Shelby? Come in! I'm making something new tonight. Hopefully it will turn out well. Wine-poached salmon with black truffles on a bed of angel hair." "Yeah, but I dunno if--" Shelby is saying when the door swings open. Oh. It is Jane. Jane is treated to the /largest/ of grins. "Hey! This is Rasa, she's cool. One of us, y'know? Rasa, this is Jane, she keeps an eye on Doc 'cause he's hopeless." This is probably a joke but she doesn't wait for the laughs, just reaches for her roommate's arm to reel hir into the apartment past the bodyguard. Once inside, she lets go and pauses to slip out of her sneakers. "I dunno if they'll let us sit out there but we can totally ask. Maybe we can bribe them with cigars, huh? Hey DOC! Oh man, that smells /amazing/. Do you like Corona? Rasa's here! We brought stuff!" As Jane stares hir down, the small panel of visible skin goes from being a flesh color to being completely paper white. It's lucking that Jane looks away when she does because hir eyes were rapidly losing color as well. All of that starts to come back when Shelby pulls hir inside and to safety. Ze watches and begins to imitate Shelby's shoe removal before opening up a pouch on her bag and pulling out a cigar. "Do you smoke, Jane?" Pfft. Mister fancy pants cook can wait. Ze is trying to make good with the body guard. Jane turns some kind of small wheel on the door after she closes it, and the sound of grinding metal briefly sounds. Then she turns to press a code into the security panel next to the door, turning to glance at Rasa. "Not since I left Iraq." she says, tone level and lips curled into a tight line. She turns and strides quickly back into the main room, sinking down on the edge of one of the couches and picking up a sheaf of papers that had been left behind. They are covered with maps and charts and lots of tiny print - security assessments, profiles on extremist groups, all sorts of thick, jargon-laden material. Iolaus is much more friendly, grinning at Shelby and extending a hand towards Rasa. Considering for a moment, he withdraws it to wipe it down on the black apron hanging around his neck, then extend it once more. "I had hoped to finish cooking before you arrived, but it will be a little bit, yet. Hello. Welcome. I'm Iolaus." His smile is wide as he glances at Shelby. "Corona is shit beer, Shelby. If you're going to illicitly get beer, get Sam Adams." "Hey, /you're/ the one with a job, dude," Shelby reminds the doctor with a not so prim sniff. "If you're gonna be a dick about our beer, you can't have any." But there are still cigars, which she indicates with a wave at Rasa before venturing into the kitchen. The six pack is pulled from the bag and pushed into the fridge before she goes to illicitly sniff at the pots and pans on the stove. Maybe sneak a taste while Iolaus is occupied in being civilized. "He's a fucking amazing cook," she calls past him to the other teenager, "you don't even know. S'why I'm getting fat." "And I am Rasa," who is a little put off by the withdrawn hand, but is reassured when it comes back. Ze gives him a firm hand shake and then looks around the kitchen. The unclaimed cigar rests on a counter top while ze deposits hir bag some place near the kitchen that doesn't seem to be a tripping hazard. Then, ze begins to unwrap hir head, letting bright pink hair fall about hir shoulders. Hir skin, underneath, has a faintly pearlescent color to it, a fair pink under that, matching hir hair. Ze begins to sniff the kitchen as well, when there is no more fabric between hir nose and the cooking scents. "Oh... That does smell good." Ze then turns on Shelby. "You're not... you're healthy and that's good." Hir lips press into a fine line before ze pulls off the long sleeved shirt, revealing something short sleeved and cute, mostly blue in color. "Perhaps I will find out about these... cooking skills for myself." "It's good to meet you, Rasa. Please, make yourself comfortable." Iolaus says, gesturing towards the couches. Turning back to his cooking, he lifts his spatula and shakes it, threateningly, at Shelby. "I didn't say I wasn't going to drink it. Just that it's shit beer. And I got fired, remember?" Iolaus points out, not looking at his adoptive pain-in-the-ass. From one of his jobs, anyway. "Make yourself useful and get the collander ready - the pasta is almost done." he says, picking up a spoon and stirring the pasta carefully. To Rasa, he continues, "I'm not really a great cook, but I've a lot of practice, and after you do it for long enough...." he trails off with a warm smile. "/Mostly/ healthy. Fat's cool though 'cause I finally got tits." Shelby sounds proud of this act--and mildly amused. Maybe she is tweaking their noses? Probably, especially seeing as how she turns to shake her bum at the threatening spatula. This is what high spirits look like in her world--/annoying/. "You still got a job! Kinda. Hey, next week you think you can hook me up with that stuff we talked about before? I kinda need it," she says next, going up on tiptoes to fetch down the collander. It's set in the sink, ready for noodles. "He's being modest," she then informs Rasa, settling back against the counter with her arms folded across her chest, "he could totally teach you how to cook some stuff. Fancy stuff too. Like, who cooks with /truffles/? Doc does." "I've not had truffles before," Rasa considers and moves back away from the kitchen, choosing to stand in the doorway rather than join Jane on the couch. Ze may be a little joined at the hip with Shelby, given that it's hir first time here. "I am very sorry to hear about your job, Iolaus..." Ze trails off, leaning against the entryway. Eyes follow Shelby around the kitchen, but when ze looks at Iolaus, ze barely lifts hir gaze above his shoulders. "I do, indeed." Iolaus says, smile wide. When Shelby mentions 'the stuff', it fades slightly, and he pales a little bit. He looks down at the kitchen stove, nodding once. "Yes. Quite so. Do you need a piece of paper now, or are you just anticipating?" he asks, eyes flicking over Shelby carefully. "If you're not sure, better safe than sorry, and I can give it to you now." He says, quickly. He glances back to Rasa, flashing her a smile and an apologetic look. "It is what it is. I would have had to quit in the not too distant future, anyway." "Now he's like the CEO of a clinic that's being built for people like us," Shelby tells Rasa. "It's pretty cool except people are probably gonna try to kill him. That's why Jane's here, she's like a badass with security stuff, y'know? But when it's done, if Doc isn't dead, we'll have somewhere to go if we get cramps or need to be stitched up or whatever. Now would be good, Doc." Ohhh, look at that grin she's wearing. It is the very image of smug. She reaches up to idly rub at the scab on her chin then limps for the fridge again, to pull out two barely chilled beers. One is offered to Rasa. "And do you have any of that stuff that makes cuts heal up faster? What's it called. Neosporin?" "Shelby, what stuff are you getting?" Rasa asks quietly, taking the beer that is offered to hir. Ze inspects the cap for twist off markings. "You mean, besides the Med bay? I kind of like Dr. McCoy, but I guess not everyone can go there." Ze frowns at the beer once more and then asks, "Do we have an opener?" Across hir skin, the word 'stuff' is reprinted over and over again in thin black lines. "I'll bandage you up after dinner, and I'll write you something you can take to the pharmacy." Iolaus says. "And then we can work on the rest of it later." He glances at Rasa, and does a bit of a double-take as his eyes scan over the words all over her skin. "Han-- Doctor McCoy is great, but he just works for the school, and just in ne narrow focus. I'm planning something a little bit... broader." he says, pulling open a drawer and tugging out a can opener. He gestures towards Rasa with it, before he gently lofts it into the air towards her. Shelby leans back against the counter again to patiently await her turn with the opener. "Yeah, anyone's gonna be able to go there. And he's gonna be doing research, y'know? So like, we can figure out how to treat that kid with diabetes who's made out of silver." That's right. 'We'. It's her project too, apparently. She lifts the beer to hold it against her cheek, grin reappearing. "Doc's gonna hook me up with some birth control is all." "Oh. Birth control?" Rasa eyes the can opener then catches it, hir reflexes actually being pretty good. Ze pops open the top on hir beer and turns to hand the opener to Shelby. Hir skin is deeeefinitely showing hir thoughts right now. 'Birth control' slides over to hir right cheek, then 'no babies' appears on hir forehead, 'which means possible babies' down the side of hir nose and finally, 'which means sex. Regular sex.' on hir left cheek. Eyes narrow and then hir head tilts and hir mouth opens. Instead of saying some of these things out loud, ze turns and takes a sip of hir beer. Allll the words erase as hir mouth pulls into a contorted sour expression and hir face turns a frothy shade of yellow. "Is /that/ why you're limping?" ze asks eventually. "Things I don't want to think about," Iolaus chants, loudly, lifting his head and rubbing an ear with a finger rapidly. He reaches down with his spatula to turn the fish, and then carries the pot of pasta over towards the sink. He pours the pasta into the collander with a loud splash of water, shaking it out to get the last strands of the thin pasta out. He sets the empty pot back on the stove - albeit, on the one off burner - and turns the fish. "Should only be another minute or so," he says, stirring the sauce carefully with a wooden spoon. He opens up cabinets and begins removing plates and silverware, stacking them neatly on the counter next to the stove. "Oh, come on, Doc, I'm not a /kid/." Shelby is hard pressed not to snicker at Iolaus' reaction. She sidles closer to Rasa to take the opener, popping her beer open and setting cap and tool on the counter. "Shark skin," she confides to her friend, "is /really/ scratchy. We're still figuring it out but...yeah. B's not a virgin anymore. So I'm gonna get something that stops my period 'cause fucking sharks is tricky if you're like, bleeding every month." And the baby thing too, probably, but that doesn't appear to be her foremost concern. She raises the beer for a sip. "You want us to set the table, Doc?" "Yeah... it can be." Aaaannnddd suddenly, there's a Shane in the apartment. He's standing there, holding Rasa's beer, wearing Rasa's clothes and all of hir idea lines, but he's also examining the skin on his forearm with a finger, feeling it's scratchyness. He looks over at Shelby and shrugs. "So, does that mean you're back together, or are you just shacking up for sexy times?" Iolaus is given a little smirk before he downs more beer and heads into the living room, quickly fading back into a less sharky person. "Yeah, you don't want to trigger a feeding frenzy, it's bad enough when you get scuffed up." Iolaus blinks several times and tilts his head, looking curiously at Rasa. "Huh." he murmurs, scratching at his nose thoughtfully. He shakes his head and refocuses on Shelby, with only a glance down to how his sauce is reducing. "It /might/ reduce your period. It might not eliminate it altogether, and if your boyfriend is anything as sensitive to the smell of blood as sharks normally are, I think it won't help terribly. A drop is more than enough to perk up his senses." This topic of conversation does not put a happy face on Iolaus' cheeks. "Still, it's important. God help us all if you have a child." "He's not my boyfriend," Shelby says firmly, "we're just fucking around and having fun. And this way maybe he won't run off again." Oh but she is wicked in her wiles. Rasa!Shane gets a grin and a brief poke to the (sleeved) portion of his arm before she settles back to drink more beer. "And yeah, no kids. Jesus, could you imagine? Me, with a baby. And Doc a grandpa!" She's probably still in teasing mode. A moment later though, she slides easily enough into more serious conversation. "That's what Rasa does," she notes with a nod at her roommate. "If she touches you she can be you. She kissed Shane, so." "ZE." Rasa corrects from the other room, drinking down the beer and pulling faces. Ze peeks at the paperwork that is around Jane, considering it quietly. "I hope he doesn't run off again, but you shouldn't have to cave in if you don't want to. I mean... being in a relationship just for the other person... well, it's kind of a pain in the ass." It's entirely possibly that Rasa is a lightweight. "Kissed Shane?" Iolaus raises an eyebrow, eyes flitting back and forth between the two students. He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "High school." This is said as if it explains everything. "Food's ready," he says, as he picks up the first plate. It seems this is not a self-service affair - he slices a section of the fish off with the edge of his spatula, drizzles a still-steaming sauce over it, scoops a heap of pasta onto the side, and sprinkles a small, neatly chopped greens over the surface of the plate and the food. He moves on to the next plate, placing the first one down on the counter. "Come and get it while it's hot." Jane certainly notices Rasa's approach, and she gets a cautious look. The paperwork is thick and detailed, and several of the pages are marked with things like 'FOUO / NOFORN' or 'OFFICIAL USE ONLY'. One even says 'SECRET' across the top, and has the logo of the Defense Intelligence Agency in one corner. "Ze," Shelby amends apologetically. "And I'm not caving in. I'm having great sex with someone who likes me, and I like him when he's not being all..." Words fail, so she demonstrates by mugging a woebegone face. "I gotta have /some/ fun while I wait for Hive to figure out how to not turn me into a zombie," she adds. The first plate is secured and borne over to the dining room table, but she waves Rasa towards that seat before going to fetch the second. "/Ze/ is also dating Ivan," she says in a stage whisper once she's close enough to Iolaus, "kinda, 'cause he's like super jealous and hit a guy for hir." 'Dude, you know nothing about me and you think it's weird I kissed Shane?' Those words are written in thick dark black hir arms, hir eyes rolling as ze reappears in the kitchen, hir beer mostly gone. Ze moves back to the dining room table when Shelby delivers hir plate and pulls out hir chair and settles into it. "Technically, I kissed Shane before I started dating Ivan. He was jealous before we started dating. I don't know why I thought he'd get better." Iolaus rubs his forehead for a moment, as if this line of conversation is giving him a headache. He makes up the second plate, then starts on the third. "I find people don't change that much. At least, not in big ways. In small ways, little by little. If you give them long enough and keep prompting and prodding, they can change a lot, but it takes years and a lot of effort." he says, the voice of wisdom. "But, if the sex is good, go for it." Iolaus is, perhaps, less qualified to have this conversation than even Shelby. "Well, he was jealous before he had you, makes sense maybe he'd be better when he gets you finally. Except it didn't work. Guys are weird." Sorry Iolaus. This is Shelby's opinion. She takes up the second plate and goes to have a seat beside Rasa, plate and beer both set before her. "You ever have a guy go all miiiine! on you, Doc?" she inquires, draping the napkin across her lap and reaching for the cutlery. "So, basically, Doc, what I'm saying is when a scrawny Russian kid comes here and accuses you of having sex with me, I'm sorry. The bugs? Not my fault." Rasa finishes off hir bear and sets it aside, still waiting on everyone else to sit down so ze can eat. Oh. Napkin. Rasa pulls one across hir lap as well and grabs up hir fork, ready to dig in, eyeing Iolaus and waiting for him to come sit down. "It's especially ridiculous because I can't exactly have sex." Iolaus gives Rasa a bemused look, and glances once at Jane. She has suddenly become interested in the conversation, teeth bearing slightly in a hard line. She stands up and comes over to the table, as Iolaus carries his and her plate over to it. "I would say that you're not really my type, but I have a feeling you could /become/ someone who I liked." he says, flashing a wide smile. "Still. Somehow, I am not particularly worried. I have very... protective security." Jane's smile is tight, and not altogether kind. He does not answer Shelby's question. Shelby also gives Rasa a bemused glance. Perhaps it is something zie has said. "I almost wet myself when he asked Jim if he'd kissed you," she puts in, twirling her fork through the pasta. "I don't think he bugged him though. I mean, he gave him some spiders but..." Om nom nom, huge mouthful is taken. At least here, she tries to maintain some sense of proper table manners. More talking is put on hold until she's swallowed. "How come you can't have sex?" Oh wait, maybe no one's told her about proper topics of conversation. "Despite what most of the planet seems to /say/ about it, I'm pretty sure there is only a small percentage of the humanoid population that wants to have sex with thembselves." Rasa begins to slur hir speech a little, using hir fork to start digging in to the fish, carving out a flake or two of the meat. "So, if I can't even kiss someone withough turning into them. what'it going to be like to try and sitkc more body parts together for an eztended period of time? And I'm not just talking physically, but fuckin' telepathically connected sex shit. Me, in your brains stealing your thoughts, nonetoo gently." Iolaus considers this for a moment, tilting his head up and staring at the ceiling. "A problem, certainly. Perhaps you could have some mental exercises to try and limit your powers effect." He says, then he frowns. "Then again, I'm not sure how enjoyable of an experience extreme amounts of concentration would be." A pause, and he slices a piece of fish off with his fork and swirls it through the pasta. He glances to Shelby. "I think she's had enough," he says, bemusedly, as he lifts the food to his lips. "I'd do it," Shelby remarks as she attacks the fish. "I mean, I'm pretty sexy. And it can't be any worse than what it'd be like doing Hive, right? You'd have to wanna be /me/ though and that'd kinda suck." She chews, lips curling in a suppressed grin and eyes sparkling at Iolaus. Oh yes, she agrees. "First beers," she mumbles through the mouthful, "we wanted t'make sure we were somewher' safe y'know?" 'I'll tell you when I've had enough' appears on Rasa's forehead, eyes focusing on the fish. "yeah, well, Shelby, we're roommates and it'd be complicated and I wouldn't mind being with ya and stuff, but really? It probably wouldn't be fun." 'and my jealous boyfriend's head would pop and dammit.' writes across hir right arm. Ze eats mechanically. "Anyway, I don't think about sex all that often and it doesn't really come up, unless I'm touching someone who is really into me... or it, which is why it was really nice touching Shane. He's alllll sex in there a lot of the time and it was a really nice feeling." "Couldn't have guessed." Iolaus says, mildly, a smile tugging at his lips. He takes another bite of his food and looks across the table at Jane. Her table manners are surprisingly perfect, back perfectly straight, elbows off of the table; she looks almost prim, except for the expression on her face. Even Iolaus' posture is not so straight. "I think I have something for hangovers in the bathroom. I'll check, make sure." he says, then digs into his food in ernest. "You know there's a /reason/ me and Shane get along so well?" Shelby doesn't push beyond that though, and even that is framed as teasing. She sets her fork down and reaches for the beer. "Rasa's learning how to be an asskicker with Professor Logan too. Didja know, Jane? She's like...seriously hardcore about figuring out how to take someone down. It's pretty cool. Maybe you could spar with her sometime. Me and Doc can watch and make bets." "Half the point of learning how to fight is not actually to fight, Shelby," Rasa points out, flailing a fork with some noodles wrapped up in it at her. "I do not know if Ms Jane would enjoy the experience as she is not paid to take care of teenagers." Still, Jane is not given much of a glance. Rasa is somewhat preoccupied with food. "I got a telepath in my head once and it messed up everything, but I think it's actually helped a bit, with some stuff, maybe." Ze takes another deep breath. "but I am trying to learn how to control it, it's just... I don't get the onslaught like regular telepaths do. Just touch, so I'd actually have to train having a bunch of people touch me at once and see if I could not ... um, explode." "Perhaps, yes. Your professors at school, I'm sure, are good people to guide you in this. I'm afraid I only know so much about how certain powers work. The science tells us things, but there's no substitute for someone who has been there." Iolaus says, and there is an almost apologetic tone in his voice. His smile is wicked and he suppresses something, turning and hiding his smile with a bite of food. "Professor Logan, I'm sure, has much to teach. Jane puts our guards through a rather intensive class that I have been witness too, and I am glad to say that is not a career for me." he says, laughing. Jane ignores this. Jane ignores all of them, actually. There is food to be had. For whatever reason, Shelby slides an apologetic look of her own at Rasa. Oops. "Me either. I'm a big fan of running the hell away. And making friends with people who /can/ kick ass." She pokes her own fork back at the roomie. This person right there, see? "I did figure something cool out though. I can blind people with my pictures," she chirps after another sip of beer. "That helps with the running away." "I'm glad you're getting laid," Rasa announces after a moment of thought. "You're so much more yourself when you've had some sex." Ze reaches over with a gloved hand and gives Shelby's hand a little squeeze. "You don't have to worry, too much, Doc," ze shrugs, "Having sex is not actually one of the life skills that I desperately need to get by. I'm okay with the stuff they are teaching me now. It'll help me survive. I can worry about sex later. Now, all I worry about is sparring with Logan and not getting eaten by one of the danger room scenarios." Iolaus chuckles and grins at Rasa. "That's how you do it. Let the important stuff be important, and everything else can wait." He picks up a glass of water and takes a sip of it, turning to smirk at Shelby. "That's good. Better than just terrifying the waiters with moving placemats." he teases, lightly. "I think you'll find more and more that you can do, the longer you train with people at Xavier's." "Awwwww," Shelby vocalizes, grinning and returning that hand-squeeze. She is touched. Truly. "I know, right? No more dry spells for me, /fuck/ that shit. I'll have all the sex until you're ready, then I'll share." Then she's pushing her chair back, rising to go fetch more of the beers. "Man, I'd forgotten about the placemats. You gotta admit, that was a pretty sweet trick, huh? Anyone want another one?" "We got anything that tastes good?" Rasa calls after Shelby, half scowling. "I mean, not the food. Drink. The food is tasty, I swear. Really good stuff." This is of course for Iolaus' benefit, a small smile provided with the culinary compliments. "Yeah, I'm good with waiting. IT's not a huge deal. Maybe Ivan'll shape up too. Though, he's flat out told me he doesn't really fancy the idea of kissing himself. Says he'd know it was /me/ underneath it all, but I don't know if he's had a lot of experience with telepaths." Iolaus bows his head once in acknowledgement, a warm smile on his face. "Thank you, Rasa." he says, brightly. He finishes off the last of his food with a few more bites, then picks up his plate to carry it over to the sink. "I'm all set, Shelby, thanks. I've got to go take some measurements for my new shirts. When you're done eating, Shelby, come knock on the door to my room and we'll get you cleaned up." he says, brightly. "It was good to meet you, Rasa. I'll be out in a bit." he says, before he slips into his bedroom to give the younger people some privacy. After all, who wants to hang out with your friend's parents -- parental figures? "Sure, Doc! Hey, we're gonna have cigars on the fire escape too, okay? After." See? Always phrase requests as if they're already certain. Shelby is wise to the way of parental figures. She makes her way back to the table with a beer for herself, and a carton of juice, plus glass, for Rasa. "Man, Ivan's got even more issues than B does. Maybe it's the quiet ones, huh?" "Thank you, Doc," Rasa replies and continues to tuck into hir food, finishing hir portion quickly. Ze is grateful to see the juice and makes grabby hands before taking the carton and pouring hirself a glass. "Probably the quiet ones. I don't know. We could make up shit. Maybe it's the fact that they're mutant boys. Maybe mutant boys have all the problems and I am just narrowly avoiding being one myself." "Yeah, sure, no problem, Shelby. Just let Jane know first - she has to disable the alarm system before you open the window." Iolaus says, waving his hand once. He says, before vanishing fully into the bedroom and closing the door behind him. "Huh...y'know, I think I only know like one human guy. And he /is/ pretty cool. He's fucking Jax. Also he has freckles." Both of these things seem to make him a-okay in Shelby's book. She settles down at the table again. There's a last little bit of fish to scoop up and then she can concentrate on enjoying her second beer. "I dunno though, you're pretty cool. You maybe started as a boy but I don't think you're just /narrowly/ avoiding being one," she goes on with a grin. "How you feeling?" "Yeah, I don't know. Head's all fuzzy and I'm tired. It's kind of fun though." Rasa gives a big shrug and puts both of hir elbows on the table. Ze gives a bit of a yawn and considers. "I don't know. Not really a girl. Not really a boy. Sometimes one or the other, sometimes nothing at all. How do you feel? Do you feel like girl? What does feeling like a girl mean? You should think really girly thoughts and let me see." Yes, because experimenting with telepathy while drunk is a great idea. "Yyyeah, you're buzzed!" Congratulations! Shelby grins and clinks her beer against Rasa's juice glass. "I think if I was a guy I'd probably never come out of my room, if y'know what I mean." And if zie /doesn't/, she clarifies by making a jerking off gesture with her free hand. Bow chicka wow wow. "But being a girl...I dunno? I mean, it's usually pretty cool except when you're like, all gooshy and crampy and stuff. That sucks pretty bad," she goes on more seriously, considering. After a moment, she slides her hand towards Rasa to share. Rasa slips off a glove and extends hir hand toward Shelby. Hir hand may be a funny shade to start, but the longer ze holds Shelby's the more hir coloration takes on the other girl's Rasa shifts quietly into Shelby, looking down at the other girl's hand and then up to her face, lips pursing as she takes it all in, more lines starting to form across her exposed skin, Shelby's thoughts brought to text. Shelby has enough experience with telepaths--or she's just impulsive enough--that she doesn't hesitate to accept that handclasp. She's actually looking pretty curious, herself, and when the connection kicks in, proves to be /slightly/ buzzed. She is also not the girliest of girls. If Rasa was looking for a strong sense of femininity, so far as clothes or makeup go, it is lacking! But the identification /as/ female is there, bedrock-strong. And, as request, she is thinking of those things that make her feel most female--brushing her hair, male eyes on her eyes, male hands on her body, a /strong/ streak of heterosexuality and an equally strong sexual drive, the lyrics of certain songs, dancing under bright lights and feeling her body move at her whim. These are all on the surface, presented up for the metamorph's inspection. RasaShelby closes her eyes and leans her head to one side, as if she can almost feel those hands, one against her cheek. She is quiet for a while, flashes of the images, looking like Shelby's powers, without actually being them, slide across her skin: dancing in the lights of a club, different men she's slept with, different ways she's been touched. The images run the line of being pornographic, but never really pan low enough to get a real feel for the sex. Rasa just breathes it all in and stays there. << I do like you... you feel wonderful. Your thoughts are beautiful. And you're strongly you. >> << I dunno who else to be, >> Shelby admits, privately rueful. And certainly, underneath that surface layer, there are flaws aplenty, pain, hard times. The allergy to commitment, the focus on surviving, impulsivity, insecurity, mistrust, impatience, temper, willingness to lie and manipulate, weak mother, absent father, bullying stepfather, cruel men, pissed off girls, dirt, hunger, pain, fear, cravings for things that aren't hers...but hey, sexy images! Last night is particularly strong, the sense of several males close, sleepiness, soreness, /security/. Safe. And, of course, a wealth of physical pleasure leaving a sated afterglow. Shelby gives RasaShelby's hand a squeeze and grins. "I dunno if other girls are like that but. There y'go." << I am not so strongly me. >> RasaShelby starts to give back some of the things that reside in her mind, her physical form starting to shift back into hir own body as ze does. Sure, there were happy times as a kid in which self identity was strong, running, playing with other kids, climbing things, being loved by hir parents, but as things started to change, the fact that ze liked playing with the girls more than the boring sports with the boy - the fact that ze liked hir mother's clothing and the way hir father treated hir mother, it all began to blur when ze started to get sick early on in puberty. Everything changed then, the loneliness set in, the distance from self the longer the doctors proded and came up with no answers, the fewer hugs ze got from hir parents. Then there were brushes of thoughts from doctors and nurses that examined hir, from hir parents when they felt they could touch hir again - the feeling of distance from those people, it all settled heavily on the young metamorph. Soon it was easier just to accept the distance and be angry than to long for people. Ze tapers off the feelings and goes back into Shelby's mind, searching for that solid sense of self again, to marvel at it. "Thanks," Shelby's voice speaks up again, the metamorph's face half of each of them. After all of that is absorbed, Shelby is silent for a time. It's a lot to take in, even for someone who spent so long as part of the borgmind. When it withdraws and she is left studying the blend of herself and Rasa...well, there's no hiding the fact that she's not really certain of what to say--but also clear is that she never lets /that/ stop her. What she /does/ say, while looking Rasa over, is, "Man, I really gotta get my hair cut. I didn't know I was looking /that/ raggedy." How she loves these snappy surface remarks. They're /excellent/ real world shrubbery, concealing her from just about everything. "Hey, you wanna smoke up?" "We can totally get your hair cut while we're here." Rasa pulls hir hand away, letting the blending slow dissipate away until there is only Rasa left. Ze reaches for hir glove and starts to tug it back on. "Sorry. I'm not good with any of that stuff yet. Stuff just comes in and goes out like floods." Ze gets to hir feet carefully then grabs hir juice and drains it down. "Smoking up sounds good." "Nah, it was cool. Kinda...I dunno. I like knowing more about you, y'know? I think you're a better girl than I am though. I mean, seriously. Your side of the room even looks a thousand times more girly than mine." On that note, Shelby slides her chair back and grabs her beer. Beer and cigars, ohhh yeah. Feminine! "I'ma duck into Doc first then I'll meet you out there, 'kay?" "Sweet." Rasa finally looks to Jane. "Um, Hi. Can you open the window for us? Thanks."