ArchivedLogs:Curiosity

Curiosity
Dramatis Personae Violet, Micah, B	22 June 2014 Cats and scientists and all...
Location <NYC> Harbor Commons - Courtyard - Lower East Side
This courtyard is the lush central hub of the surrounding Harbor Commons, bound in on three sides by rows of duplexes and triplexes, cutting upward at the sky with the sharp thrift of a minimalist's style, neat lines and bountiful windows, boldened with accents in wood towards the upper stories, stone towards the base, the whole of the compound sealed in by a low stoneworked wall that opens entrance gates to the streets beyond at its two far corners, smaller gates at building back doors. The fourth side of the courtyard is open to the East River, the ground forming a slight decline, controlled on one side by micro-retaining walls to form wide steps where picnic tables sit beneath the nominative shelter of a trio of dogwood trees, accessible by ramp. The other side is allowed to slope at its natural angle, a wide open yard space, until its cut off at the river's edge, where a massive pair of oak trees stand, a staircase leading away up one of their thick trunks. The yard itself is carpeted in an organic flow of emerald grass swirled through with wending channels of smooth-paved cement walkways, flowing naturally away from the building's front entrances, where some are arced by trellis, some flanked by hosta plants, fern and lilies, a few laid in gentle switch-backing ramps for wheelchair access, before forking off at matching angles to sites of small garden installments. Bird feeders and baths suspended from the necks of small lamp posts, a rock-lined koi pond, a sleek gazebo tucked to one side in simplistic varnished wood, its southern side overgrown with a mass of thriving grapevine and a caged-in barbecue pit under its sheltering roof. A play area and proper garden are within sight off another branch, until finally all paths spiral in like wheel spokes to a shared common house at the center of all traffic flow. The best part about being mostly cat is that perfecting the art of napping comes easily. Last night was spent with 'nip and dancing, music and laughing. Maybe Violet let Micah and Jax leave for home by themselves, maybe she tagged along--either way, she still ended up in their yard, come daybreak. As the sun rose, the catgirl completed a slow circuit of the premises. She slept /here/ and she slept /here/ and she stretched out /there/ and draped herself over /there/; beds are for amateurs. Now the day is creeping towards evening again, full of balmy sweetness, the sky a swath of robin's egg blue and cotton candy clouds--and she is napping /again/. It looks as if Violet might have dozed off while terrorizing the koi because she is stretched on her belly beside the pond. One arm is curled beneath her head, one drifting down into the water--brave fish are nibbling on the ends of her fingertips but dozing takes precedence. Micah is dressed for a day outdoors! Faded bluejeans pre-stained with soil and grass cover his legs, a pale blue T-shirt with a few grease stains on it that /might/ have been worn during some form of auto repair clothes his torso, a pair of sneakers are tied on his feet, and a wide-brimmed green canvas hat perched on his head promises to keep the worst of the sun off of his face and neck. Redheads can never be too cautious of the sun. He is toting a large bucket with him by the handle over a forearm, its contents clearly intended for use in the gardens. A pair of gardening gloves, small trowel, hand rake, and shears rattle a bit inside. He has a few plants and bulbs intended for planting, as well, even if it is a bit late in the season for such things. They had to wait for the construction to finish before even /starting/ planting, after all. Violet's bright colours bring him over to the pond, settling his gear down nearby. "Just in case, thought I should mention those /particular/ fish is kinda like pets. Plenty of good places t'fish for /food/ 'round, though." There's a lazy-summer droning in the air, the hum of bees and the buzz of mosquitos and the buzz of -- dragonflies? Well. /This/ dragonfly is a good deal bigger than most, a /bright/ cobalt blue metal-bodied drone that is making its way through the courtyard and towards the pond. It hovers over the water, glowing eyes turned out towards Violet in something that could be very much mistaken for curiosity before slowly dropping to light on the side of the pond. There is one tiny blue shark, dressed summery-light in red-and-white flowery sundress and strappy white sundress, following the dragonfly out from hir house shortly after. B is snacking on a tray of sashimi -- yellowtail -- actually utilizing chopsticks rather than claws for eating today. Probably to spare the tablet that ze's controlling the dragonfly with fishhands. "-- Oh. Oh, she's got the right idea." Ze's stifling a yawn just /looking/ at Violet. Violet knew Micah was there but she doesn't deign to open her eyes. A flick of the ear and a sniff tells her all she needs to know about his identity. But her lips are tugged by the tiniest of cat in the cream smiles at what he has to say. "Wasn't gonna /eat/ 'em," she assures him. "Was just playin' with 'em." That could explain why most of the fish--those not bold enough to nibble at her fingers--are clustered on the other side of the pond. But then there is dragonfly, a sound and smell most definitely not experienced before, and the nibblers lose their lures when Violet pushes herself up on her hands to squint at the...thing. B is studied, sure, rather skeptically at that, but mostly she is looking at the...thing? "...what." The lazy-cat response sparks a bit of a chuckle from Micah, loose-lopsided grin betraying amusement, as well. "S'long as they're comin' out all right on the other end of the playin'. Y'wouldn't be the first person s'gotten a reminder on the fish. By far. Along with a small wave of greeting, his grin widens when he notes B and hir plate of...well, fish. It'll be interesting to see the girl's reaction there. Though, apparently, robotic dragonflies are even more of an attention grabber. "Oh, B builds robots. The dragonfly's one of 'em. S'controllin' it with that tablet ze's holdin'." Micah gestures to each of the items mentioned in turn. "We got the 'nip seeds. They're still startin' up inside, though. Gotta find a good place t'put it that won't be too much of a loss if it decides t'take over a bit. S'one of /those/ plants." "I ate two of the fish at school once," B admits with a sheepish duck of head. "I guess some of those koi were, um. Really old or something. S'like eating someone's /grandpa/." Hir gills flutter, cheeks darkening near purple. Ze rests the tray of sashimi on the tablet, fishing out another bite but stopping short of actually eating it. Ze grins bright at the look given to the dragonfly. "Oh. Oh, that's -- s'my. Um. I guess he's my um. Blackberry, that's Violet. Remember Violet." Ze points to Violet before eating the piece of fish. "S'kinda like my pet -- robot. Is catnip like mint?" "Robot." Color Violet dubious. She looks from B to Micah to dragonfly, as if expecting /someone/ to finally start laughing and telling her this is a joke. "I'm still dreamin', yeah? Read a comic book couple've days back, I'm dreamin' 'bout comics." To test the theory, she curls a hand around her bicep and flexes fingers down, pushing claws past fur and into meat. When that doesn't result with an awakening, she blinks orange eyes slowly at the oversized gadget. "...'kay. Yeah...fish. Fish is good, hey? If they weren't for eatin', they wouldn't wiggle like they do goin' down." Oh, Violet. The catgirl eases herself back, from belly to feet with a smooch hunch of spine. "Nip's more like ecstasy, you ever had it before," says the non-gardener. "Catnip's a /lot/ like mint. S'why it tries t'take over the world where y'plant it." Micah settles by the pond with the others. Clearly the /actual/ work can wait a bit before he starts in on it. "An', no. Told y'about all the mad science goin' on here just the other day, didn't I? We got more'n our fair share of robots about." /Just/ because it happens to be on him at the time for illustration, Micah tugs up on his left pantsleg just enough to get it over the coppery-coloured control unit below the hinge of his prosthetic knee joint. The rest is essentially a metal shaft disappearing into the cartoon frog covered sock and sneaker that hide the foot unit. "So much robot." He giggles a little. "Okay, /maybe/ a little bit comic book-y hereabouts, too." B's smile only brightens when Micah tugs up his pants leg. "Yeah, my Ba's a robot, too." Ze looks absolutely /delighted/ about this, really; ze only /just/ refrains from actually clapping hir hands together with glee over it and really that's only because hir hands are quite full already. Hir eyes do widen just a /little/ at the mention of ecstasy, a small blush creeping into hir expression and hir head shaking just a touch /too/ fast. "No I --" Hir eyes dart to Micah, and ze shoves another slice of yellowtail into hir mouth before offering the tray to Violet. "Y'want? Bite?" Hir tongue swipes over hir lips. "... I meant it grows like. Mint. I don't know how ecstasy --" Ze pauses a beat. "-- Um. Grows." Ze blinks over at Micah; the dragonfly is slowly gravitating to hover nearer the older man the longer B's attention settles on him. "... How does ecstasy grow?" "Science." Violet must have confused herself with a parrot, all of this repeating she's doing. "Sss...should've paid more attention in class, I guess." And that is /that/ for the feline, who opts to ally present visual reality with a feline's ability to ignoooore. She averts her eyes from the dragonfly and looks no more, opting instead to puzzle over Micah's artificial leg for a moment. "Grows in labs," is her absent-minded explanation for how ecstasy is made, "or kitchens if you're not afraid of a li'l blowin' up. Hey, thanks." Quick as quick can be, fingers dart out to snare a morsel of fish from the tray. It's disappeared fast enough to /also/ count as comic book antics. One minute there, the next gone and she too is licking her lips. "Yeah, science an' labs is most of the answer on ecstasy. It ain't just a plant like catnip or pot, even. Starts /out/ as sassafras 'fore all the chemical wizardry, if you'll believe /that/." Micah lets the pantsleg drop back to its proper place before using the hand to pat at B's arm. "Don't worry, sugar. Ain't nobody accusin' you of doin' nothin' y'shouldn't be. An' y'all know the rules for if you're ever gonna /try/ substances an' such, right?" Oh, then the giggles are back as Violet quick-snares herself some fish and moves on to licking her chops in such a feline fashion. Maybe the novelty of this will /eventually/ wear off. Or half of what the girl does is just going to be adorable forever. One of those. "Sassafras. Right. I did know that in -- I took a class on drugs last term it was interesting." B settles down on the ground, absently leaning in to chomp teeth against Micah's artificial leg once the pants have dropped back into place. "I'm not very good at chemistry though. And I don't --" A very /abrupt/ shudder passes through B, "-- like blowing up." Ze smoothes hir skirt down around hir knees, reaching up to adjust the halter-top tie of the sundress. "So I guess no ecstasy for /me/. -- Have you tried it?" This question is tipped up towards Micah curiously. "I don't think catnip works on sharks. Whoa. I wonder if catnip-blood affects Dusk." Now ze's eying Violet curiously. Violet's legs fold beneath her to leave her in a half-lotus, facing her hosts. Her tail tucks neatly beneath one thigh, it's tip turned up before crossed ankles. "Really, sassafras. Didn't know /that/." Now, see, this science she appears more intrigued by--at least until fish caught in teeth causes a moment's diversion, as her mouth opens and she probes at the spot with her tongue. It leaves her nose wrinkled, eyes reduced to slits though they remain trained on the two before her. Could be she's maaaaybe turning on the cute a little strong on purpose. "Nip's better anyway. None've the side effects, just the happy and touchin' 'n stuff." Here she grins her toothy grin at Micah...before realizing what B just pondered. "...uh uh, I bite back." Micah watches the leg-chomping with a bemused sort of expression, clearly not /concerned/ that this is going on. "Blowin' up...no. If we could avoid /that/ happenin' again /forever/, I would not complain." His head shakes at B's question. "Nah, I ain't been big on much of that stuff at all, but /definitely/ not the crazy chemical stuff that can make your heart explode. Had enough health problems in m'life without doin' things on purpose. Only ever really played with caffeine, little alcohol. Pot once or twice but it's not m'thing. 'Specially not smokin'." His shoulders roll in a little shrug. "S'just better ways t'feel...whatever you're goin' for from drugs, usually. Less dangerous ways." His grin tugs sharper into a smirk at Violet. "Bitin' back don't mean y'don't like the gettin' bit part, too." "It's just, Shane says Dusk's bite /feels/ like ecstasy but. I never took that so I don't really. Know what to -- compare it to. I think his bite mostly just feels like teeth. Happy teeth? Can ecstasy make your heart explode? Could his teeth make your heart explode?" B's nose wrinkles, and ze pokes hir chopsticks at hir fish again, but instead of taking another piece offers last two pieces to Violet. "Shane bites him back. /And/ gets bit. But then lots of people don't even let him bite they just use the phlebotomy kit on account of he needs blood to live and people aren't into being bit. But I was just curious because, like, if he drinks blood from people who are high then he gets high. But catnip doesn't affect most people but it affects /you/ so if you donated blood while catnippy would he get catnippy can we do science some time /please/?" Hir black eyes are getting Very Big. "Best thing about 'nip, s'all natural. Can't overdose, y'just get weird dreams if you eat too much and then wake up ready for the world." So sayeth the cat. "Science is all well 'n good too but c'mon...what's in it for me except gettin' chewed on by your friend? I've got, like.../reflexes/ here." A demonstration is in order, requiring her lift her hands and hook her fingers. Claws sprout from her fingertips, diamond white against those black fur tufts. "No one wants t'be clawed on at dinner," she says as if this were something she knew from experience. Ever so delicately she leans forward to accept the placement of fish within her mouth. That is right--the hand feedings, please. Tongue curls out helpfully. "It...definitely don't seem t'have the kinda side effects y'get from 'real' drugs, no. An' ecstasy won't make it explode /literally/, but can wreak havoc on heart rate an' rhythm. S'serious stuff." One of Micah's brows ticks up and up further yet as B goes on. "Sugar, you're borderin' on creepysauce here. You're askin' somebody you've only known a few days t'give y'blood-slash-feed one of your friends in the name of science. Just for summary's sake, there." Reaching down, he ruffles at B's hair. Not that the hard spikes are /going/ anywhere from the motion. "I wouldn't be so sure on the clawin' thing, either. Takes all kinds." More giggles come at the catgirl's antics requesting food, cute-factor still working at full strength. B sets hir tray of sashimi, still rested atop hir tablet, down on hir lap. Hir hands spread in front of hir. "Whaaat. We're always feeding her, how's it different. Just 'cuz Dusk's diet's -- special." Hir smile is quick and a little bit crooked. Ze pincers a slice of fish between two claws, leaning forward with a small dusting of purpling blush along hir cheeks to lay the fish against Violet's curled-out tongue. Hir gills flutter open slowly, flapping closed again a moment later. "-- M'pretty sure Dusk wouldn't mind," ze adds afterwards, thoughtfully, and tacks on hastily a moment later, "... anyway some of us heal quick." The flush spreads, darker, and ze sets hir tablet carefully aside, reaching down once it's out of the way to scoop water out of the pond, splashing it up onto hir gills. "Shane and I hunt together. Dinner can sometimes be kinda a -- I don't know. Bloody sort of sport." "This ain't a sex thing," Violet says--because that /was/ innuendo, right?--mere seconds before she finds herself with fish inna mouth. Withdrawing, she gives a pinch lipped smile at B in thanks. Chewing proceeds apace. "Or a charity thing," she goes on when her mouth is empty again. “Ya'll wanna come at me with a needle, you can come at me with a needle. You wanna come with teeth, come with teeth. But not gonna be a whole lotta experimentin' goin' on. Just sayin'." Though she does have the grace to offer up a mannerly tip of her head, which could be construed as apology. Maybe. "If your friend's hard up for blood, I'd maybe think about it...ya'll have kept me full up for a bit, fair's fair. But just t'see if he gets to buzzin'?" Micah blushes faintly, the comment not so much innuendo as just /honest/ in the case of people he associates with daily, after all. Though that line is a little blurry in a number of those cases... He does nod understanding at Violet's objections. "No, ain't nobody /actually/ askin' it. B's just bein' curious. An', yes, that's a lotta what I meant when I said there was borderin' on bein' creepy happenin'." His hand resumes petting over B's hair once ze returns to sititng upright. "'Sides the fact that I think it's more 'bout brain chemistry an' appropriate receptors to respond t'the chemicals. So /prob'ly/ y'wouldn't see much reaction, would be my guess, B. If Dusk does /need/ another donor, he's perfectly able t'ask for 'imself." "Waitwh --" B's eyes shoot open wide at the question, hir cheeks darkening deeply and the last piece of fish that ze'd been spearing fumbled down to splash into the pond. It's kind of lightning-quick, the reflexes with with ze snatches a clawed hand down to splash in /after/ it and fish it back out. "-- No, it's. Not. Experiment -- I mean, /yes/ it is -- well -- uh. I didn't mean /that/ kind of experimenting? I mean, I'm just a nerd. I just get curious about how mutations work. Not. Um. The sex thing. /He/ doesn't really actually like to have new donors unless he knows people's medical histories anyway so that's complicated. /I'm/ just -- um -- apologies." Hir nose wrinkles, head ducking now with a sudden embarrassed-awkward cringe; ze holds out the last dripping-wet piece of fish sheepishly. "I'll stick to robots." "Y'know what they say about curiosity." It's painful. To /her/. Violet's smile returns though, quick and easy--no fur ruffled, on her end. And in a plain bid to place everyone at ease again...she launches into a stretch that ends with her toppling over onto her side. Flop. A lazy twist ends with her tilting her head against the grass to peer at them; she does so enjoy studying people upside down. "Gotta admit, ain't never been 'round so many odd folk before. It is kinda interestin', isn't it? All the weirdness. Doesn't seem like there's no rhyme or reason to any of it. Why'm I a house cat and not, like...a tiger. That'd be pretty sweet. Or a snow leopard. I saw one once on TV, I'd be th'best leopard." Micah adds a hand to pet at B's back with hir growing fluster. "Well /caught/. Even if the fish was already dead." This is half-teasing, half honestly impressed as B retrieves hir lost sashimi. "Robots is a /little/ less worrisome on the creepy front, true." Violet's half-saying gets a snort to finish it instead of the...intended ending. "Oh! Oh. With odd folks, y'been meanin' folks with abilities? Not just people as is a little strange. Think I might've been misleadin' y'before on account of I didn't...catch what y'meant. Just...in the name of bein' fully honest here, I ain't got any special abilities. Of that variety. But it /is/ interestin'. How blinkin' random things seem t'be." "Oh wow. That'd be neat. I've never met any big-cat people. I do know a wolf-girl that's like a big-/dog/ person, right? But --" B's nose wrinkles up slightly and he confides a little guiltily to the others, voice lowering, "she's a little bit, um, scary. I think I like cat-people better. Though I admit I don't have a statistically significant sample size to draw meaningful conclusions from." Ze slices hir claw through the center of the strip of yellowtail, stripping it in half and slurping half down. The other half ze dangles over Violet's upside-down head. Hir gills flutter slow and content at the petting to hir back. "Well. We're freaks /and/ we're freaks so it's true either way? You're /pretty/ weird even if you're not a mutant. /And/ you're a robot. And you do give good snuggles, that's like a superpower." Violet's ears end smushed against the ground as she turns her head enough to bring Micah fully into focus. For the duration of that gaze, she makes with the piercing eyes as if to say 'seriously? No?'. But if there is disappointment, it is mild at best and well hidden behind Halloween eyes. "S'what we called it back home, yeah? Bein' odd. Bein' on the outside. Guess you're odd by proxy," she decides--and then FISH! Not for her the graceless lunge and snap of /canines/. No, she lapses into playfulness by reaching up to make dainty little grabs for the fish. The first miss might well be on purpose, because how often can she relax enough to play a proper game of dangle'n'grab with anyone? "Not," grab, "that ya'll," bat, "made an inside out've outside," and there it is, a proper slash of fingers to snare the strip. For B, she upside down grins and confides, "S' the right conclusion." “Well, I'd imagine wouldn't /seem/ too much dif'rent, bein' big-cat. 'less the person also came out /quite/ large. The rest is kinda /personality/, ain't it?” Micah shrugs, curling his fingers in to scritch at B's back once ze seems to settle into it. “Roundabout up this way they mostly say...” He holds a hand out as B supplies the word. “Yeah. The freaks thing. If they're feelin' kinda /nice/ that day. I'm used t'folks callin' me strange. Also queer. Both right.” This last comes with laughter laced through it. “So I didn't question the 'odd' thing. Don't think it's good or bad either way. Just didn't wanna be misleadin', even if it weren't intentional, once I figured I was doin' so.” Then the words stop, watching the batting chase game going on. /Maybe/ missing having a cat around the house kind of hard just then. B toys with the fish, dangling it up-down, wiggling it just above Violet's claws until her fingers nab at it. For a moment, hir teeth flash in a smile, bright and un-selfconscious when the catgirl finally snags the fish. Hir lips close again almost immediately after, though, smile smaller but still warm as ze leans back into the scritching. "Outside, inside, kind just depends on where the people you want to be /with/ are, doesn't it?" Hir gills flutter slow again, then finally close. Ze curls fingers at hir dragonfly, summoning the metal creature to buzz its way up to perch on hir bare shoulder as ze slowly unfurls hirself to get to hir feet. "I was doing something. What was I -- /oh/. The workshop. It's all workshoppy. I'm working." Ze picks hir tablet back up, tucking it beneath an arm. "Enjoy your nip. Nap." "Sure, they used that word too. But I kinda like odd, has a better ring to it, y'think?" Violet thinks and that's what matters, because she doesn't wait for agreement or dis-. "Can't be too misleading, anyway, you shacked up with a bunch've us," she adds, rolling over onto her stomach with her prize stretched like a string between her hands. "And shellin' out free stuff." Her tail flicks up and then settles, feather-light, draped across the back of one thigh. She nibbles on the fish as if it were sweet corn and lets her eyes shift to B as leaving preparations are made. "Workin' hard, meet hardly workin'...see ya. Thanks for th'tasties." "Mmn. It /is/ gonna be nice havin' a full workshop right on the premises. Handy." Micah gives B a little one armed squeezy-hug before letting hir wander off to hir work. "Have fun, honey." Another light peal of laughter comes, watching Violet play with the food and listening to her explanations. "No 'nip just yet, I'm afraid. Seeds should sprout for us soon enough, though. An'...yeah, enough folks've lumped me in with y'all by proximity, I s'pose. For both good an' ill opinions, dependin' who's holdin' 'em. Did y'wanna get back t'nappin', sugar? I can wander back t'the gardenin' I'd set out for in the first place." "With Jim around I think we kind of cheat on sprouting times. I mean --" B waves a hand towards the -- pair of full-grown oak trees that hold the treehaus. "Cheat." Ze leans back into the hug with a small nuzzle, eyes closing happily. "Mmhmm," ze answers Violet's thanks. "Shane and I kind of eat a ridiculous lot so we sort of always have. Something. Around." That is evidently hir farewell, because with that ze drags hirself away from hir nuzzling to drift off towards the workshop, dragonfly detaching itself from hir shoulder to drone on after hir. Violet lets her tail flick once in a wave for B seeing as how her hands are occupied. Her nibbling is /dedicated/. The fish doesn't stand a chance, soon gone, leaving her shamelessly licking her fingers clean of the leftover flavor. When she does speak again, it's to grin brightly up at Micah. "Figured I'd head out, actually, 'fore ya'll get too attached and wanna put a bell on me or somethin'." That might be a tease--the part about the bell, anyway--but her intentions aren't. She push-ups from the ground, tucking her knees up and her feet beneath her. The full body stretch that follows is languid, befitting someone with a full belly and a day full of sleeps behind them. "You keep an eye on that one, huh? They make movies about that sort've thing. Fiddlin' around with robots too much." "/Hir/ robots I'm not too worried about. Some /other/ folks, maybe." Micah stands as Violet does, a little slower in getting to his feet. He moves to collect his gear and get to work. "Wouldn't mind keepin' you 'round a bit. But ain't no puttin' collars on folks as don't want 'em. Right out." A little wave and smile follow the girl as she exits, the gardens calling him away, as well.