ArchivedLogs:Fun Flowers

Fun Flowers
Dramatis Personae Liv, Paige
In Absentia	2017-06-30 "What kind of mutant did you say you were again?"
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. Just outside the courtyard but close enough to the gate to look in, Liv stands with her hands in her pockets, mindlessly staring into the green courtyard before her. Her matching hair is braided into two pig-tails and draped over her shoulders. She wears a powderblue babydoll dress, pulled in with a wide, white leather belt and white strappy sandals. As she watches, her focus is not on any of the people coming or going specifically (in fact, she seems to ignore them), but the property and building itself. "Yeah, it's ... pretty amazing," comes a sighed voice from behind Liv as a horned individual stops next to the green-haired young woman. "They keep telling me it's not, but I'll be damned if I don't consider the place a paradise." Paige sports a red short sleeved button-down blouse and a plaid skirt of varying grays as she holds two paper bags of groceries in her arms. A few moments pass while she herself admires the property of Harbor Commons. She bites her lip before adding, "I'm Paige, by the way." Liv jumps with a squeal as Paige "sneaks" up behind her. "Oh! Sorry. I was just...looking. Thinking about..." Her words get tangled with her thoughts and she's forced to pause a moment before she attempts speaking again. "I'm Liv," she says, holding out her hand an awkward few seconds before she realizes Paige's hands are full and slowly lowers it. "I just graduated high school. I've been looking for a place and a few people suggested here." Paige takes a small step back at Liv's outburst, inclining her head in a gesture of apology. She shifts the grocery bags awkwardly at the proffered hand, apparently forgetting for a moment that she needs hold on to them as well. "High school?" inquires the goat girl, eyes lifting from Liv's lowered hand to the youth's face. "This isn't -- Pardon." The furred mutant chews on her lower lip before trying again. "This is a nice place to live. It's ... well, you know, it's New York. -New York-, New York. So, not exactly the best housing market, right? But not too, too pricey. I mean, I don't even pay - my roommate's been handling that for now - so who am I to even talk, you know? But, I mean, if you have any questions," this part is said with a shrug of one shoulder, "Feel free to ask? I might be able to answer some of them." "Yeah, I know. But people do it, right? Even if we have to fit six people in a studio." Liv looks over her new friend, trying not to be obvious as she takes in her goat-like features. "So uh...I've heard they're accepting of...mutants?" she asks the visible mutant who has already stated she lives here and enjoys it. "Really, I'm just looking for someplace that has more people than rats. And...considering New York, this is almost affordable." An amused grin quickly creeps onto Paige's face, her ears give a twitch, and she closes her eyes for a few seconds before responding. "Yes. They are ... accepting of mutants. Quite accepting. It's not all mutants, but everyone is friendly." She scrunches up her face and relaxes it. "They have a way of knowing. You know - if people -- if they have ... if they're not, you know, friendly. It's safe. Or as safe as it can be given the circumstances. And there are families, too. Humans also. It's nice. Really nice. Being around all sorts of people." Again, the horned mutant seems rather distracted by her thoughts, but she soon blinks and shakes her head slightly. "Not many rats. Or at least, I think there's a protocol for that. I don't know about six people in a studio, but that would make it ..." Paige pauses as she runs the numbers in her head. "That would make ... pretty cheap." "Knowing? How would the-" Liv stops mid-word to ah softly. "Telepaths. They give me the creeps but...I guess it makes sense. Keeps things safe." She listens as Paige describes the place, her smile growing. "Wow, it does sound nice. I just got a job at a bookstore. Not a ton of money but I think I can get by. Maybe not six roommates but, you know, some." One ear flicks up while the other simply twitches and the shorter woman chews on her bottom lip. Paige again appears lost in thought, staring vacantly towards one of the buildings. Her ear twitch again and the raised one falls back down. "We could roll a futon," she states simply, her tone one of offering, concession. "I mean, how expensive can those things be, right? A hundred bucks?" More lip chewing, a raised eyebrow towards her new friend. "I could ask my roommate. We should have space -- I mean, fuck, if you're interested. I mean, I should ask that first. We have space. We --" Cutting herself off, she directs her gaze towards the ground and sighs. "Bookstores are good. They are delicious. I mean, books. Books are great. I like books." She gives an affirmative, decisive nod with this statement as if to reassure Liv of its accuracy. Liv raises an eyebrow slightly as Paige's ears twitch with her thoughts. She doesn't seem to mind, she just looks interested in the workings of these very physical mutant. "Oh, well, that's...that's very nice. I'm already staying with another friend though. Not that I wouldn't mind rooming with you, just that there wouldn't be much of a point. Unless you're looking for a permanent roommate? Or whatever." She pauses again when Paige discusses the deliciousness of books, tilting her head slightly. "Do you...eat books? Because I've heard goats sometimes do. Not that I'm calling you a goat. You just...share some...similarities. Oh god, I should stop talking, shouldn't?" She takes a deep breath in a last ditch effort to save the conversation. "Did I mention I'm a mutant too? Because I am." "No? I mean once. I mean sometimes? But not books! Just -- I -- paper," she ends up admitting, scuffing a hoof on the ground and looking quite embarrassed. "Sometimes." Furrowing her brows, the horned woman shakes her head. "I was just -- it was a phrase, a saying. I enjoy reading. Books are good. I like stories. I just said 'delicious' instead of good -- I wasn't saying ... B-but, that's a also common misconception! Goats don't 'eat everything', they don't eat tin cans. They don't have hands, right? They like to explore their environment through taste, you know? Sometimes I get ... urges. It's not -- I'm not a goat." Even though Liv already said that last part, it seems like Paige needs to hear it from herself. "You're a mutant? I didn't know. Like I said, humans, mutants -- people live here. But I don't eat books." With a sigh, she bows her head slightly. "Apologies. I was not trying to imply you had no place to live. A permanent roommate would make things a little cozy - it's a single b -- " The goat girl cuts herself off again, likely realizing that her words would confuse things once more. "But, I mean, we could talk to someone about setting up a partition. A futon would be easy, too, I guess. It is good that you are staying with a friend. You were just talking about six people and I thought that, if you had six people, you would all be here together, so you were, like, you know, just hypothesizing. I don't know. I was just thinking aloud, you know? I apologize. I didn't mean to be condescending." Perhaps Paige is attempting to bury her awkward confession earlier with all her speaking. “What kind of mutant did you say you were again?” “Yeah, I’m not really visible. Other than the hair but lots of weirdos intentionally dye their hair funny colors so that doesn’t really count.” Liv glances towards the ground before discovering a dandelion growing through a crack in the sidewalk. She kneels down carefully and holds her hand out. Slowly, the stem seems to develop a growth, one that keeps evolving into another flower, the bud growing larger and larger, much like those video clips that show flowers growing in real life but sped up, until it blooms, another yellow flower appearing besides it’s twin. A double-headed dandelion. Liv stands up. “It’s more fun to show. Basically I can play with plants.” Her chin pushing down the tops of the paper bags, Paige watches the other mutant with apparent interest. The young woman's ears flick up as she observes the atypical growth of the dandelion flower and she leans forwards to get a closer look. She continues staring at the plant a few moments after Liv stands up before she straightens her postures. "That -- playing? I wouldn't call that playing. That’s amazing. Really useful, too." There's a brief hesitation before she asks, "How do you do it?" “How do I do it? I dunno, it just...happens I guess. Like...an energy. That I can just direct at plants and will them to do what I want.” Liv says, giving a slight shrug as she glances down at her creation. “I suppose it can be. I mean, if I wanted to be a florist it would be. I’m not quite strong enough to end world hunger but I can make some fun flowers. I made a banana infused with strawberry flavors once, that was fun.” "Oh." Paige's response is simple and comes with a twitch of the ears. "I've just never ... I don't have any powers. I can't do anything like that. I don't have any ... energy. I just have horns and stuff," she remarks with a small shrug of her own. "I think it's really cool." Her eyes flick from the flower to Liv and she smiles softly. "Nothing wrong with fun flowers." “Horns are cool. And your...fur? Hair? That looks really soft. It looks really comfy,” Liv says, vaguely motioning towards the various features of Paige. “But thanks. I’ve been practicing since I discovered it. There’s a couple other quirks too, like my mood affecting stuff but you’ve pretty much seen it all.” Paige's eyes look upwards, apparently trying to catch a glimpse of her hair. "Oh, um, yeah. My hair is, well, hair. You know, real hair. Not like something else. And yeah," she says with a bit of a sigh. "The fur is pretty soft." Although her smile doesn't falter, the furred mutant looks a bit tired when she remarks, "To be honest, all they're really good for is standing out in a crowd and that's usually something I -don't- want to be doing." She glances down again to the two-flowered dandelion and falls silent for a minute before looking up again. "But thanks."