ArchivedLogs:Less Than Ideal

Less Than Ideal
Dramatis Personae Fiona, Marinov, Paige, Shane
In Absentia	2016-12-26 "Nobody's really tried to kill me there."
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. It's an overcast, somewhat chilly afternoon out when Paige and Fiona finally reach the park. They happened to call Marinov ahead of time to meet up with them, though they neglected to mention a specific meet-up spot. Though it's pretty easy to just look for the red girl with horns and the goat girl, also with horns. The two stand next to a food vendor, Fiona looking curiously at someone ordering lamb and rice and considering getting some herself. Thus far, no Marinov in sight! Though she also watches the food vendor's customer, Paige seems to have little interest in getting anything for herself. She's dressed as per usual which makes sense given that she wears the only clothing she has. Her hooves, however, are uncovered as she stands next to the dragon girl with her arms folded. "You're sure we're in the right place?" she asks, probably not for the first time. "I feel like we should call them again just to make sure, you know?" No Marinov, maybe, but there is one tiny and dapper sharkpup -- crisply tailored in pinstripe slacks, button-down, vest, bow-tie, his peacoat unbuttoned over top, chewing on a long strip of jerky. Shane is trailing after a small one-eyed beagle -- currently excitedly dashing after a squirrel until he is brought to an abrupt halt when he runs out of leash. Undaunted, the beagle continues to pull at his harness, whining with excitement. It takes an offering of a small piece of the jerky to coax him back from his tugging. Shane continues nibbling at the rest as he + pup keep meandering -- steps slowing as they near Paige and Fiona. "You got out after all." Marinov is responding to the call to meet up, surprised to have heard from both Paige and Fiona at the same location, but coincidences happen and the mutant community seems pretty small around here. At the moment, Marinov is wearing a white shirt, black jacket and tie, and plaid skirt and a pair of boots that go up to their thighs. They seem like they are in a rush to find the horned girls, moving at a jog, though for most people it would be somewhere between a jog and a run. They pause upon catching a scent, however, though not the scent that they quite expect, and change course slightly to join the others. "Sorry, I think I'm- *fff* late, I got distracted by a-" They stop themselves and say, "Something important." They look towards Shane and offer a wave, adding, "Didn't expect to see you here, too." Fiona looks between Shane and then Marinov - she had Marinov pegged for a boy, mostly, and then of course they show up in a skirt... so... She looks slightly perplexed, but maybe not in a bad way. "H-hey!" she looks down at the beagle, then back up at the Shark-boy. "Funny we should all run into each other here like this, eh?" she laughs, then looks to Marinov, "I don't think you're late, really... Ah... we haven't been here that long, anyway. Aaactually, I suppose we could have talked about this more over the phone..." hrm. Paige's ears flick once at the familiar voice and she turns to Shane, looking surprised. "Oh! Hi! Yeah, I, uh, just needed time really. And then somehow this one ran into me again when I was sitting in Central Park." A thumb is jerked to indicate Fiona. "You've probably heard and all, but she got to stay in the Commons for dinner and brunch and showering and all." The blonde girl seems to be in a significantly better mood today; at least, that's what she shows. When Marinov approaches, she offers them a concerned look. "Important? Is everything alright? And we've really only been here like, what...ten minutes? Not that bad, really!" "I live with Flicker." Shane is teeeetering back on his heels, arm stretched out to one side as his beagle has darted off yet-again -- after a flock of pigeons, this time -- once more heedless of the fact that no, his leash will not let this operation be a success. Shane's chin jerks up to Fiona. "Funny I guess in that way where you're both literally living in my home." There's a bit of laughter in his voice. Smallbit. "Obie has a playdate soon. We used to live just there." A jerk of his thumb to the edge of the park. "Hola, Marinov." "No, it's not imp- I mean, it's not relevant anymore," says Marinov to Paige in response to her concern, still working to catch their breath a bit. "If you've only been waiting ten minutes, I mad good hustle. Not bad!" They look back at Shane and remark, "I like your outfit, looks fuckin' slick. Also... sweet dog." They crouch down to peer at the dog with those big feline eyes. "His name is Obie? Like Obi Wan Kenobi or... something else?" They remain distracted by this dog for a bit before realizing, "Oh! Yeah, what could we have talked about more on the phone, Fiona?" Fiona smiles a little bit - just a little, as Shane makes her rather nervous. She's not *really* sure how to react to him... Does he not want them there? Well, she's working on that... "I didn't wanna... Eh..." she trails off, shrugging nervously at Shane before looking back to Marinov, "Er, we were just talking, and uh," she looks back to Shane again, then at Marinov, "We were talking about that place where you go to school. The one you mentioned. 'cause, you know, I probably can't stay the commons, and stuff." "I--Well I'm trying to get a job," Paige begins, letting her arms fall to her sides. "And then maybe I can like start paying you or the Commons or whoever back or something. Whatever it is I can do to help out, you know? I'm just, uh, waiting for my registration update to come through and all. I think it's still going to be a couple of weeks?" The inflection at the end was not intended and she gives a small cough and averts her attention to the enthusiastic beagle. "Obie, huh? Seems like he needs that playdate," the blonde girl comments with a grin. To Marinov and Fiona, she says, "Oh yeah. She, uh...I didn't know you two knew each other already, but yeah. I thought you would know all about that school you go to and stuff." "Yeah he's got /mad/ energy." It's only at this that Shane smiles, quick and sharptoothed, looking down at the beagle. Obie is darting back when Marinov crouches, tail wagging eagerly now that he has found someone here! on his level! CLEARLY there for the purpose of delivering petting! "Well -- technically his name is Possibly-Oberon but that's a mouthful. Obie for short." His brows pull together very slightly. With more caution in his voice: "... s'one of you thinking about Xavier's?" He nods at the mention of Knowing Each Other Already: "We went to school together." "Huh, you're staying at the Commons?" says Marinov, "I've heard that place is great... when I graduate I sorta want to see if there are any vacancies, but I bet it's on the not cheap side. I've got a couple more years to worry about it..." They give a lot of pettings to Obie and even say in a low voice, "Wow, you're such a good boy! Such a handsome woofer!" They look up and blink a few times and say, "Ahaa... yeah. Xavier's, I just thought it could be better than... uh... camping in the park, I guess. I know things about it, but so does Shane." Their eyes drift towards the sharky fellow. Fiona nods, "The commons are great, it's just that, I don't have a job, or any money, and I'm kinda only sixteen... but, I don't wanna go back home. There's some nasty people back there who... I dunno... probably want me dead, or something." Tucking a piece of hair behind one of her ears, "Aaand I don't really think Shane or... well, whoever owns the place, is into running a charity for idiot runaway kids who have no place else to go, 'cause, I looked it up on the internet and rent in Manhattan is actually /insane./ Buuut my parents might not make me go back to Missouri if I found a place to stay first." "Possible...Oberon?" Paige doesn't seem to understand, but shakes her head. "Oh, I meant Fiona and Marinov, but you two went to school together? Huh." She keeps quiet while the cat-person and dragon-girl converse. Her only contribution afterward is, "Well, they, uh, let -me- stay there. I mean, well, it's kind of Steve's deal or something. But, hi, idiot runaway kid where no where else to go -- right here." "It's not the worst," Shane tells Marinov, "but yeah it's not -- cheap either. I've got housemates so it's doable." Obie is Totally Delighted meanwhile, clambering up to rest i paws on Marinov's knee, head thrust toward their face for LICKING. Wriggle, snuffle, joy. "It's collectively owned. By everyone who lives here. -- Are your parents going to come looking for you? Make you go back? Who wants you dead? That sounds --- kind of dangerous." His frown has deepened. Kind of concerned. He nods at Paige's question. "I graduated, but yeah. I kind of work there now." "I think the Commons are..." Then they just nod when Shane explains that it's collectively owned, "But, I mean, I dunno if I'd be a good fit for their community and stuff if I did try to go there, so I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket for when I graduate. I share my room with two people right now, though, so it's not like I can't survive roommates. But yeah, the housing here is... well, it's obsene! Not like Seattle was cheap, but NYC is in a bracket of its own." They laugh as Obie gets up in their face, offering a nuzzle against the dog's cute doggie face, but they also become more concerned when Fiona describes her situation. "Ummm. Yeah, that sounds less than ideal." "Work there? But don't you...like own Evolve?" Paige tilts her head in curiosity at Shane. "That's...really impressive. I had no idea you taught. Er, do you teach or work there in some other, uh, capacity?" Her questions begin to seem rather irrelevant as the other three talk with each regarding Fiona's situation. She looks uneasy, shifting a bit on her hooves, and her eyes shift to Marinov as everything is described. "I kind of, uh, know what that's like - not being able to go back home. The other stuff..." The blonde girl bites her lip. "Not so much." Fiona wrings her hands nervously, "I mean, I don't really know. I know they're not after me, like, HERE, I don't think. My parents know I'm here. I think they probably want me to come home so... maybe they would come after me? I'm not sure," her tail swishes back and forth, "There's some guys that tried to kill me a couple of times. Nutjobs. Our house got burned down and they kind of bombed a store I was in. So, you know, I kinda don't wanna go back there. People'll just get hurt." "Evolve is mine." There's a small glimmer of pride in Shane's voice here. "And I don't teach. I --" Brief frown. "Mentor some other students. Help keep an eye on security. Aggravate the administration mostly, really." His gills flutter briefly as he looks bck at Fiona. "That's shitty. Could your parents come here instead? Not like people are less awful but there's. More of us." Still concerned, even if he doesn't sound particularly /surprised/. "Well." There's a /considerable/ hesitation before he offers the resounding endorsement: "Nobody'll try and kill you at Xavier's, probably." Marinov nods in agreement to Shane's final statement, "Yeah, that's been my experience. Nobody's really tried to kill me there. Well." They shudder a bit, "Nobody who was alive, anyways. And that was a sort of bad time for the whole city, I think." They stand up after giving Obie some final pets. "Oh yeah, Shane! I was going to talk to you about something! Well, if you had time, which you probaby don't now, really, but I want to bring it up anyways. You did organization for the evolympics thing, yeah?" Fiona just kind of blinks. Well that certainly doesn't sound as great as Paige made it out to be... maybe she should reconsider. "I mean, I dunno if they could come here... maybe... probably not," she murmurs as Marinov and Shane move onto the next topic. "I guess you mean the whole zombie thing?" Hrm. "I, uh, told you I didn't know much about it," Paige remarks, not snarkily in the slightest, but rather sheepishly. "You don't, you know, have to go. And...we could try to figure out some place to stay together. Even if I do get a job and can help pay for things, I doubt I'd get enough to actually -really- pay for my place at the Commons." A smile is offered towards Shane. "Mentoring. That's awesome." Her ears twitch as the conversation shifts towards zombies; she doesn't know much about it other than what she read. "With some other people, but yeah." Shane tips his head up curiously at Marinov as they stand. "It was supposed to be just a fundraiser to re-open Evolve we got kinda fucked by the plague but it grew into -- something bigger." His teeth press down lightly against his lower lip. He crouches, pre-empting Obie trying to dash off again by supplying petting where Marinov leaves off. "The zombies kinda fucked /everyone/ here really." With a small wince, in answer to Fiona. His nose wrinkles up on the subject of mentoring: "It's something. Kind of necessary. I didn't want to abandon people with nobody but the shitty administration looking after them." Marinov catches Fiona's concern and says, "Uh, yeah, that was during the whole zombie thing... but Xavier's, it's like anything, yeah? It's not perfect, you know, but it's better than where I was before. With me, you know, looking like how I look now... I get reminded of it a lot when I'm in the city here, but, ultimately I just want to get my shit done without people trying to make me feel like a freak." They shrug a shoulder lightly and then say to Shane, "Yeah, I know it sort of grew into something bigger. It's just... well, I was thinking of organizing something, and well, I've never organized much of anything before. And if you organized that, I figured, well, maybe you might have pointers or whatever." It doesn't seem like Shane really has a lot of awesome stuff to say about Xavier's - and Fiona is probably a little too inexperienced to know whether the place is truly awful or not. The dragon girl looks over at Paige, "I don't think that's a good idea... I'd just be a burden on you," she frowns, kicking at the dirt a little bit. Everyone sounds so enthusiastic about this whole thing - even Marinov, who mentioned it in the first place. Maybe she SHOULD go find something on her own... "Maybe I should just try looking for work. There has to be something I could do." Paige nods at Shane's explanation of the mentoring then amends her previous statement. "That's really important. And awesome. I bet they really appreciate that. I guess some students...well, it's like any other school, right? Some people need that kind of stuff." To Fiona, an expression comprised of bewilderment and amusement is offered. "Burden? On me? Well, that seems kind of...no? Not really? I mean, even if I want to, I can't stay at the Commons forever. And if you're not going to this school, what's your plan for living? You can't just go and camp in parks and stuff. I mean, -I- don't have a plan, but come on. You need a bed, not the ground or some sleeping bag." To be sure, it's a lot of talk for someone with no income. "It's like any other school," Shane agrees easily. "Some good, a lot of shitty, hella disrespect for the kids who go there, s'kinda how high school /rolls/ from what I hear. The only difference is for us it's the only one. Crappy or not crappy, kinda got to like it or lump it if you want a diploma because who else is going to take --" He waves a hand to -- all four of them. "S'worse places to sleep than the ground -- but way better, too. /I'd/ hit the sewers if I had no cash and nowhere safe to sleep." His smile returns -- quickbrighttoothy -- at Marinov. "{Hey cool!} What are you thinking of doing? I mean -- I'd be totally glad to talk some time. Probably -- some time when I don't gotta let this pup-face go have playtime." "I like some of the staff, though, like Ms. Ororo is real cool," chimes Marinov, "But yeah... I mean, yeah, ultimately it'll be good to have an education." They nod towards Fiona and say, "And I think it'd be good for you to have one. I mean... the employment field, it's got enough shit working against us without adding low education to the things..." Marinov says, "Anyways, I was thinking of... well, a sort of arts things, yeah? That sort of puts an emphasis on works and forms of people with, well, obvious mutations. I do... you know I make my own clothes, yeah? 'cause of my body shape, and I was wanting to do maybe a fashion show or whatever, but then I thought... if there were interest, something broader than that, like an arts festival. But... uh, yeah, that pup's got so much energy that I think he'll melt if I keep him from playtime too much longer, but I wanted to run it by you, and maybe get some tips or help. Because... I thought the evolympics thing was fucking cool." "Well, I don't know, then... maybe I should at least check it out... how do I um, do that? That's kinda what I wanted to ask you about, in the first place," Fiona looks at Marinov, "If you could put me in touch with someone, or, whatever. However that works. I looked at the website and it looks like a pretty exclusive place. I dunno," she shrugs slightly helplessly. "I'm not the anti-education type, at all, so, I agree with you." "The...sewers?" Now the confusion is directed to Shane. "Isn't that...that's not hygienic, is it? Why would you even suggest that?" Her tone isn't rude, simply puzzled. Her ears twitch and her expression brightens as Marinov elaborates on their question; it's something she is personally invested in, after all. Then a nod to Fiona. "That sounds like a good plan." "Yeah, there are some cool /staff/ there. My pa --" Shane breaks off there, though, with a small slump of shoulders. "Just the double-standard for human-passing mutants and us monsters there is fucking absurd." He doesn't sound particularly heated, just matter-of-fact. "There /are/ no obvious mutants on the /administration/ so the cool staff has a hard time standing up to their crap sometimes. But. They're not going to kill you. And that's more than you can say for a lot of schools, so -- Xavier's. The place to go." He stands up, now, tightening his grip on Obie's leash. "But the community living in the sewers is way more welcoming, even if the accommodations aren't nearly as nice." Littlewry. "Cool? You did?" There's a surprise in his tone -- warm and pleased. "And yeah I mean you always look /on/ fucking point so. That'd be -- rad. Not just the clothes, a whole -- art festival. I'd love to talk about it." His smile skews slightly lopsided as Obie starts darting off again. "-- I'll catch you at school some time, yeah? And good luck." To Fiona -- just before he jogs off after Obie toward the dog park. "Yeah, I also figured, 'cause the artwork in Evolve... But yeah, I'll seeya at the school, Shane. Have fun, Obie, and remember that you are the /best/ dog," says Marinov as the dog runs off. They glance to Fiona and nod, "Yeah, actually, I'll give your number to some of the staff there! I'm sure that Shane'll be able to help too. I'll see if I can get that meeting set up..." They say to Paige, "We'll catch up a bit later, yeah? But I should get on that right away." Back to Fiona: "'cause the new term... it's starting soon." They only wait until goodbyes are properly said to wave and start jogging the other way again, seeming to still be in a rush! "That sounds good... well, you know where to find me, and I'll let you know if anything changes," Fiona nods, meandering back from where they came - Paige hopefully in tow. "I -- uh, yeah. Be good, alright?" Paige's ears flick downwards for a moment as she replies to Marinov, perhaps in slight disappointment? "Take care, Shane, Obie!" she calls after the pair as they rush off. She turns towards to Fiona only to see her start off. With a small sigh, she follows.