ArchivedLogs:Extraordinary Talent

Extraordinary Talent
Dramatis Personae Tag, Tian-shin	2014-12-23 Give me my chance, and give me my wings.
Location <NYC> {Funhaus} - Harbor Commons - Lower East Side
The house might have started out looking capacious and respectable, but it has since moved through various incarnations, always colorful, but never colorful the same way for longer than a few days. There is little in the way of what most people would call furniture: a sectional couch buried in fluffy cushions, three bean bags of varying sizes, a scattering of bookshelves, what looks like a human-scale cat tree in one corner, and a low, square table surrounded by zafus. The floor plan is largely open, criss-crossed by rope bridges linking small elevated platforms to the landing of the second storey, beyond which lie the bedrooms. The kitchen is separated from the living room only by a long counter, lined with stools. Even the appliances are decked out in unexpected hues, edged with designs that change on a daily basis. A row of tins and jars runs the length of the breakfast counter, none of which match and all of which bear brightly colored text describing their contents: teas, coffees, mates, and various herbal blends. Outside, winter is coming on sharp, but Funhaus is dominated by bright, summery greens and blues. Tropical rain forests adorn the walls, animals peering out from the sylvan shadows here and there. Irregular overlapping geometric figures in only slightly less distracting colors cover the floor, and one bean bag is incongruously bright purple, swirled with blue and pink. Tag is in the kitchen, busying himself happily with a glossy iridescent black teapot. He dumps out the warm water already in it and scoops in some fine, velvety yellow tea leaves. His hair runs a gradient from dark purple at the roots to bright fuchsia at the tips. He wears a button-up shirt of cotton-candy pink with intricate dark purple scrollwork edging, and purple corduroy trousers whose outseams sport the same scrollwork in pink. The outfit looks startlingly formal on him, an impression he thoroughly spoils by hopping up to sit on the counter after setting his tea to steep. "Is that a /thing/ in your house?" Tian-shin is sitting at the counter--on a stool, black nylon-clad knees pressed together, hands clasping each other in her lap. Her Mandarin jacket is light pink with subtle black piping, as is the longish pencil skirt. The flats on her feet are black, each embroidered with five small stylized Chinese bats in slightly glossier thread of the same color. "Sitting on the counter, I mean." "It's a thing that people do, yeah, but it's not /required./ Yet." Tag flashes her an impish grin and kicks his legs. "So you met Joshua. Good timing! Too bad you couldn't make it to the solstice party, it was /awesome./" He braces his palms against the counter and makes as to launch himself off, but only bounces in place a few times. "What do you think of the place, anyway?" Tian-shin turns in her seat and takes in the busy living room, quite different now than when she saw it only a few days ago. "It's...colorful and dynamic," she says equably, "and a lot more spacious than I would have expected, though maybe that's a trick of my confused, reeling eyes." Her gaze drifts along the row of jars on the counter. "Also, you have a nice tea collection. I should give you some more greens, though. A friend brought some back from Japan recently." "Thanks!" Tag brightens, literally, as though he were not bright enough already. "Yeah, I don't drink a lotta green tea, but it's nice to have it for folks what like to. Which reminds me, I need to get some mad sweet matcha." He looks away from her and stares at the teapot. Vibrant green bamboo segments appear on its surface, followed by tufts of leaves. "Guessing you didn't just come here just for tea. I mean, you've never visited in all the time I been living here, and suddenly twice in a week? What's up?" A faint smile creeps across Tian-shin's face as she watches her brother sketch the bamboo on the teapot, but it fades at his questioning of her motive. "We see each other every week," she protests mildly, cheeks flushing. "You talk so much about the Commons, and your..." One of her hands gestures grandly in the direction of the living room. "...decor. I was curious. Also, I /did/ just want to see you, you know." "I know." Tag twists around and offers her a wry grin. "I wasn't complaining, just wondering. We see each other plenty, but it's like you're always shy of coming /here/ specifically. Heck, /I'm/ shy of going to ma's place--" Pointedly /not/ ‘home.’ "--but you know my reason. I wanna know if you're uncomfortable coming here, and if there's any way I can help." He slides off the counter and fetches two glossy ceramic cups shaped like bamboo segments, one a dazzling swirl of colors and the other iridescent black like the teapot. Into these he pours the tea, fragrant and steaming, and offers the black one to Tian-shin. "Thank you." Tian-shin accepts the teacup with both hands and a small bow. She does not immediately drink--the rising wisps of steam give fair warning against that--but holds it beneath her nose and inhales. This brings a beatific smile to her face. "Jin-ya dian-hong. The best tea for a chilly winter afternoon." She stares into the tea, and at last sighs. "Yes, I do feel uncomfortable coming here, because...because..." Spotting a penny on the counter, she slides it over between herself and Tag and fixes her dark brown eyes on it. The shiny copper surface of the penny begins to dull, and then develops a thin film of verdigris, all within the space of thirty seconds. Tag does not wait for his tea to cool, but takes sip right out and echoes Tian-shin's smile even while wincing. "You bet." His purple eyes follow the coin with great interest, and when the pale green patina appears his mouth drops open with obvious delight. "Oh! Mei-mei, you too?! That's /brilliant!/" He is bouncing in place, rolling onto the balls of his feet and dropping back down again. "Why would you be afraid of the Commons? We have soooo many freaks and freak-allies here." "It's not the same as your...power." Tian-shin subsides a little. "I think it just affects chemical reactions--causing them, speeding them up, I don't really know for sure. It seems I can only manage what I learned in Chem 101." This last with a shrug, mildly. "But I've been terrified to let it slip. You know Boss Chung's interest in 'persons of extraordinary talent,' and he already has my student loans to hold over my head." She finally sips at her tea, and her face becomes serene again. "So you see, a place with a high mutant population might not have been at the top of my list of hangouts. Someone here was bound to find out." "Joshua." Tag says with a knowing, but not unsympathetic, smile. "Who would be a good person to ask if you're confused about what exactly you're doing. Better than muddling through by trial and error like I did, especially if your trial and error involves caustic chemicals or explosions." He sets down his tea cup, as if to remove the temptation of drinking it too quickly. "Anyway, you're right, folks here would realize, but I don't think anyone's gonna out you, especially not to Boss Chung. And really...wouldn't it be better to befriend people who will accept you as you are, and not just for the use of your abilities? Which, by the way, are /awesome./" "It's not that I think anyone is specifically going to 'out' me," Tian-shin wraps slender fingers around her teacup, "but the more people know, the more likely it is that information will make it to Chung. Granted, he knows about /you,/ and haven't pursued you, but he /knows/ me, and I owe him already." She shakes her head. "I don't like going about looking over my shoulder all the time, but I don't know if this is a thing that having a supportive community can necessary help. Though..." This with a thin, hopeful smile. "...I suppose it probably won't hurt, either." "Hey." Tag envelopes his sister in a hug, nearly upsetting her tea. "I'll look out for you, Mei-mei." He lets go, but stays beside her, one arm draped over her shoulders. "So, you gonna show me what you can do?"