ArchivedLogs:An Ounce Of Welcome, A Twist Of New Introductions, Served On The Rocks

An Ounce Of Welcome, A Twist Of New Introductions, Served On The Rocks
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Dusk, Natalie	2016-07-03 "Apparently while I was trying not to freeze to death I missed all the excitement."
Location <BOM> Beachfront - Ascension Island
Largely rocky and desolate, the majority of the waterfront on this small island is an unwelcoming place. Craggy and forbidding, lined with jagged black rocks, the coast here can take a fair bit of scrambling to navigate. Here and there, though, the coastline levels out to narrow sweeps of pebbly beaches littered with shells and seaweed carried in on the frigid tide. Occasional old trunks of fallen trees dot the narrow beach, victims of the storms that frequently plague the island. One small stretch of the western shore holds a small dock, a few boats usually moored there. Tucked off the mainland coast in Jamaica Bay, the buildings and lights of the city can be seen far across the water. It's not quite the holiday yet but there are still pops and bangs -- throughout the city and on the island as well, firecrackers going off intermittently and breaking up the ceaseless rhythmic crash of the surf breaking against the rocks. Somewhere further down the beach there are brighter sparks and flashes of colour, but here on this stretch of rock right now it's quieter. Just the lap of the tide and the scratch of talons against rock where Dusk is perched, in black denim shorts, no shoes, no shirt, a bottle of porter in one hand and his phone in the other. His enormous wings (currently painted deep red shot through with silvery veins, the fuzz over top of them a slightly iridescent black) are mantled beind him, shifting occasionally to keep his balance. Akihiro wanders down the beach, bottle in hand. He doesn't appear to be celebrating anything, in fact he seems to be more bothered by the pops and bangs than anything. He takes a swig of the brandy, stopping when he catches sight of Dusk perched there. "Yo," he calls over, free hand waving, "how's it going?" Dusk's head tilts slightly, though he doesn't quite look up from his phone. The tip of one wing does twitch, waving towards Akihiro. "Lazy -- ish. Hear there's a holiday happening." Now his head lifts, sunglasses-shaded eyes turning in the other man's direction. "{... Woah. You. Welcome back.}" A brief lapse into Spanish, before: "What happened to you?" "Thanks brother, good to be back." Good thing Akihiro speaks Spanish. "Had to go clear my head, apparently while I was trying not to freeze to death I missed all the excitement. Sorry I wasn't around to be any help." "Freeze to death?" Dusk's brows lift -- then pull back in in quick concern. "Can you do that? That doesn't sound fun at all. /We/ managed, anyway. Not sure I'd take freezing over the excitement here. Did, uh, it clear your head, at least?" Natalie is wandering down the beach from the direction of the fireworks, though her hands are unencumbered by anything except a beer of her own. She's in olive-drab cargo pants and a deep red halter bikini top, barefoot as well as she picks her way across the rocky beach. "No doubt there'll be plenty more excitement yet to come. We don't seem to run /dry/." "Well, no. But I can starve." Akihiro lifts his shoulders in a shrug, attention turning to Natalie. "And when more comes knocking, I'll be sure to answer the door for you." he replies, flashing a bright grin. "But," his gaze shifts back to Dusk, "I did, thankfully. Been keeping my hands busy here, doing what needs to be done where I can. Definitely kept me out of trouble." "Eesh. That sounds like about the least pleasant way to go. Glad you're back safe, man." Dusk's grimace fades as he takes his next swig of beer. Lifts the bottle in salute to Natalie. "Y'all met?" He tips the neck of the bottle to Akihiro in indication. "Good, good. Good to have an extra pair of hands. I'd say 'especially these days' but fuck, shit's just been crazy for ever now." Natalie shakes her head. "Nat," she introduces herself, chin tipping upward. "Thought you were new but now I'm guessing you're old?" "Seventy now." Akihiro informs Natalie, "Though feels like I was just turning fifty." It doesn't take him long to grin, "Yeah, I haven't been a member of the brotherhood as long as some of the people here, but I'm not a fresh face." He offers a hand, "Akihiro, good to meet you. Oh," he directs the next bit to Dusk, "And thank you. Glad to be back, was getting tired of all the dark and snow." 'Totally old,' Dusk mouths to Natalie. Aloud: "Huh, it's Akihiro now?" He nods to himself, as if commtting this to memory. "So how you planning to celebrate your return to civilized life?" Natalie's eyes widen at this first bit of information -- sweeping over Akihiro once and then again a little incredulously. 'Seventy?' she mouths back to Dusk. "We're civilized, now?" There's amusement in her tone. "News to /me/. -- Hey, you heard about the X-Games in town? That's -- halfway to civilized, right?" "Well, when I got back Anette tried to claw my eyes out. So I've been keeping quiet, taking care of my birds and training with Pedro." Akihiro informs Dusk, before chuckling at Natalie. "Yeah, seventy. Having a healing factor is better than cosmetic surgery." He gives his head a slight shake regarding the X-Games. "Stayed on the island. Haven't had a reason to show my face in the city again yet." "Suppose I can't blame her. And we're pretending at it from time to time," Dusk replies with a fangy grin, "to give Regan's blood pressure a rest. -- Mutant Olympics. Or something like. Sporting. Games. Friendly competition. Fundraising to reopen Evolve. Should be a good time." "Better time than getting your eyes clawed out." Natalie winces one eye half-shut. "Does the city have it out for your face, too?" "Probably just the criminals. Maybe a few cops. Having your eyes clawed out only hurts for a few seconds, though. Well, maybe more. But I can usually see again by then." Akihiro reaches up to rub at the back of his neck, "Maybe I should stop doing things to get my face clawed." He sighs quietly, "But mutant olympics? Sounds interesting. Might have to show up for that." Dusk tips his bottle toward Akihiro again. "S'a /sound/ plan. Life's a lot smoother without face-clawing. Or at least only consensual face-clawing. I put up a flyer in the Lodge if you want to sign up." He gets to his feet, wings stretching out behind him. One claw twitches toward Natalie. "You planning on swimming?" "Do you make a /habit/ of it?" Natalie looks amused, more than concerned. She lifts a hand, fingertips tracing along the inside of Dusk's outstretched wing. "I am now." "If we're being honest, I'm surprised Dusk hasn't ripped my head off yet. I was probably the biggest cocksucker on the island." Akihiro doesn't sound proud of that fact. "I'll consider signing up. Got the capability, just not the experience. So might just make an ass out of myself." "Me?" Dusk's brows hike up in time with a quiet chuff of amusement. "Well. Got the capability," he echoes a little dryly. "Just not the --" He lets this trail off with a brief shake of head. Gets to his feet, wing brushing down against Natalie's hand before folding in at his back. "You probably won't be the only one making an ass of yourself. Anyway, s'for a good cause." "... don't really seem like the head-ripping-off /type/." Natalie sounds skeptical again, eyes skipping between Dusk and Akihiro. "/I'm/ signed up, anyway. Seems like a good time." Her smile brightens at the brush of wing. She pulls another swig of her beer, setting it down on a flat stretch of rock. Bumps her shoulder up against Dusks, curls her fingers in a wave to Akihiro before taking off at a run for the water, stripping off her cargo pants as she goes. "Glad I got skinny dipping out of my system the other night." Akihiro says quietly to himself, before raising his bottle to the pair. "I'm gonna go get away from all these fireworks. Reminds me of that time I spent in the Middle East." "Earplugs," Dusk suggests with some sympathy. "Or just go tell everyone to cut it out." He waves, too -- with a wing, rather than a hand -- setting his phone down beside Natalie's beer and spreading his wings to glide after her towards the water.