ArchivedLogs:Pinecones

Pinecones
Dramatis Personae Eric, Heather, Nic, Paige
In Absentia	2017-06-05 "Sometimes, the only thing you can do when you’re trapped playing a game that’s stacked against ya is to throw out the board, the rules be damned."
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. A pair of single-user bathrooms flanks the stairway in back of the cafe; at night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits up the stairs above the coffeehouse. It's past the normal time that most people eat dinner, and as such, the cafe is not quite as full as it was even an hour ago, a few empty tables here and there. This suits Heather just fine, and she is standing next to one of the tables in the emptiest part of the cafe, miming out the things that her recorder is saying. "All of my students passed." Thumbs up. "And I got a couple of good tips. Normally tutors do not get tips. So everything is on me tonight." She juts her thumb back at herself. "It is a celebration." She's wearing a pair of nearly destroyed pink sneakers, her favourite pair of red and blue parachute pants and an orange t-shirt with an image of a sun on it and a couple of pieces of cheap looking multicoloured jewellery. She pauses a moment and looks off to the menu and gestures up, "You could get anything you want. You could also recommend to me something. Because I do not come here much. Not as much as you." Not nearly as colorful as her roommate, Paige wears a teal t-shirt with a graphic of the twelve Doctors taking a selfie and a pair of dark blue jeans. With her hands in her pockets, thumbs sticking out, she does seem genuinely impressed by Heather's status report. As the recording ends, the furred mutant agrees, "You've earned a celebration, I would think. Eve's told me that she is -very- grateful to you, you know." Inhaling, she offers a shrug and gestures to the menu board with a hand. "I mean, -I- really like the Farmer's Market Soup which is probably what I'm getting. Along with a chicken caesar salad wrap." There's a pause and then she glances up at Heather. "Do I really come here that much more often than you?" The front door opens and closes quietly, a brief gust of cold air drafting into the coffeeshop. Eric has looked better -- besides the fact that he appears to have gone for a swim in full uniform, hair drenched and flattened against his forehead and his cap steadily dripping water onto his face, he has large streaks of dirt along one side of his body. Tugging off his cap, Eric runs a hand through his hair and shakes the hat off onto the doormat. Gross. A pair of brown eyes quickly size up the room, a flick of attention that quickly focuses down on the barista behind the counter. The police officer strides up to the counter where he quickly orders a triple -- no, quadruple -- latte. Nic's not really sure how he wound up here alone, Dakota couldn't come of course with that curfew of hers, he couldn't get a hold of Marinov who pointed the place out in the first place... and he certainly wasn't going to invite his classmates they weren't all so... accepting. The boy is dressed in a Rye High school jacket with white t-shirt, some kind of logo on the left breast of the shirt was obscured by the jacket, and black jeans. Taking a quick look around he decided this placed looked pretty nice, and he had an idea why Marinov suggested it. With the glance around he spotted Paige, he didn't know her well, but it was a friendly face at least. With a smile he lifted a hand to wave to her, and started to make his way in that direction. "Hey there, we gotta stop meeting like this." As the door opens he looks over at Eric and blinks "Whoa... I'm pretty sure it wasn't raining when I came in." "Yes. Eve said that to me too. Soon I will need to find an alternate income source for the summer. But for now. We have tips. And it is good to have celebrations sometimes. Here is to positive things." She makes a toasting gesture, but her hand is empty. At Nic's arrival, she offers a bit of a wave as well, glancing towards Paige, "Is this a person who you know? Is this one of the cafe regulars? And yes. You come here more than me. Decidedly. I do not eat out much. There is too much waiting." She raises her eyebrows at the sight of Eric, just slightly, and remarks, "He looks like he could use goggles more than I can." It takes a slight moment for Paige to recognize the teenager, but her ears twitch when she does. "Oh, hey, Nic. How's it, uh, going?" Turning to look at Heather, she says, "Yeah, but not a cafe regular. I met him in Salem Center when I was visiting Marinov." Then, back to Nic, "What --" The goat girl cuts herself off as everyone's attention is drawn to Eric - a dripping, sopping, soaked Eric. Watching him approach the counter and order, she falls silent and her ears flick back, then up, then return to an idle position. Eric pulls out his wallet and extracts two (also wet) dollar bills and pays for his drink. While he waits, he leans against the counter and casts another glance around the room. When he rests his eyes on Paige, he blinks a couple of times -- before a wide smile spreads across his face. He raises his hand in greeting, turns briefly to murmur something to the barista, then heads towards the little crowd of people. "Hiya, Paige," Eric drawls, turning his smile on Nic and Heather as well. "How're ya doin'?" "Oh hey, I'm Nicodemus" He says to Heather, then turns and smiles at Paige when she asks how he's doing "Hey you remembered my name! Most folks call me Nic" He says back to Heather as if that needed clarification. "This is actually my first time here, but I met Paige in a very similar situation, wandering in to a cafe all on my own, she was nice enough to let me sit with her and Marinov." Seeing Eric heading over towards and greeting Paige "Hey man, I'd say come join us, but I wasn't exactly invited myself, just came to say Hi, I don't know anyone else here...." Looking over the dripping Eric the young gymnast says with a hesitation to ask what happened "Looks like you're having a... rough day, can I... I dunno treat ya to something maybe? I'm Nic by the way." Heather waves at Eric as well, and hits her pre-recorded introductory message: "I am Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip. She and her pronouns." She glances to Paige and starts another message, "You seem to know everyone. Is it because you come to the cafe enough to meet everyone? I do not mind anyone joining us. I am celebrating a successful batch of tutored students. With more people it is more like a party. But you all need to act happy about what I am celebrating." Paige regards Eric with a very confused expression on her face, giving him an obvious once-over. "I, uh, I'm -- " the horned mutant begins stammering, skin tinged slightly red. "I am ... good. How are you, Eric?" She draws a deep breath only for her ears to flick back. Turning again towards Heather, she counters, when her ears flick back and she turns again towards Heather. "What? No! He just said this is his first time here!" Her tone contains more than a hint of exasperation. "I only --" With a groan, she waves a dismissive hand to her roommate. "Right, why don't we just find a place to sit first?" Eric raises a slight eyebrow and grins slightly wider at Paige as she looks him over. Heather gets a bit of a perplexed look and a suspicious glance to her tape recorder, but Eric doesn't comment on it. "Eric Sutton." The police officer turns his attention to Nic, nodding at him once and smiling. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm all set. Or, I'll be as soon as I got some caffeine in me. Been a long, long shift." He glances around the room, leaning into the small group as if about to impart the most critical and sensitive of secrets. "You see... I'm rather wet." Nic grins "Oh a celebration huh? So you're a tutor I was thinking of looking into a tutor with exams right around the corner I've been working on my own, but needed to get out and away from the house tonight. Only so much math cramming you can do I guess. Thank you for the invitation to join your celebration." His eyes flick over at the interaction between Paige and Eric and stifles a chuckle at Heather's second implication since he joined them that Paige was some kind of regular here. "I guess she doesn't have to be a regular, maybe Paige just attracts people to her wherever she goes?" Listening carefully to Eric's secret info Nic nods "I see, there did seem to be something different about you. No worries your secret is safe with me. Though it sounds like there might be a story there." Heather starts her recorder, leaning in towards Eric as it plays, as if she is leaning in and disclosing something, even though her mouth does not move: "I had deduced as much. After seeing all the water on you." She uprights while the message continues to run, crossing her arms and then flipping out a hand rather reasonably, "I am qualified to make that deduction. Many of the stories I write are mystery stories." She glances up at the chalkboard, sits down at one of the empty table, and pulls out her notebook to make a few notes. "If you need a tutor," she plays to Nic, "I am reasonably priced. And I can do some last minute cram sessions." The goat mutant gives Nic an odd look, a mixture of confusion and skepticism. It does not last long, however. Eric, certainly, garners enough of Paige's attention to compel her to lean close with intrigue. And then frown as the information is not as exciting as she might have hoped. "We've, uh, noticed," Paige concurs with the teenager. Grabbing a seat next to Heather, she adds, "It looks like you got into a fight with an alligator." It would appear that she has noticed the dirt on the officer's clothes. Eric nods, sagely, then grimaces. "Jesus, I must be more tired than I thought if I'm sayin' crap like that. Excuse me a sec." Eric turns around and walks back to the counter, retrieving his mug of coffee. He takes a long, soothing sip and lets out a sigh of happiness, eyes fluttering closed for a moment as an almost post-coitally relaxed expression comes over his face. It's a few moments before he collects himself enough to return to the group, sitting down on the edge of a chair. "Well, ain't much'a story, really. I fell inta' the Lake while chasin' someone. They got away, n' I got... wet." “Really? That’d be awesome!” The teen says as he slips into the seat across from Heather. “Err is it cool if I just call you Heather? Heather Brown Codename: Timeslip is a bit of a mouthful.” Paige’s look earns her a smile, but no further explanation of what the boy meant, instead he winces at Eric’s story “Fell in the lake and the guy got away? That’s rough buddy.” Watching as the officer drinks the coffee “Now that’s a dude that likes his coffee.” Turning to the menu he asks whoever is willing to offer a suggestion “So what should a guy get his first time here?” "Yes. Most people call me Heather. Just Heather. Without any addition. That is fine," plays Heather, nodding a few times quickly at Nic. "I think I will get some coffee too. Coffee and a sandwich and a pastry or two. I will place your order as well Paige." She gestures to the streak of dirt on Eric's clothes and then adds, "Did you get dragged or something? Or did you go for a slide? I will be right back." She places the recorder on the table, the record button compressed, and zips off to the counter with her notebook. "-Really-?" The shorter girl asks of the officer with obvious interest. "I mean, it -sounds- like a story. You could tell it if you, uh, wanted to." There's still a hint of a blush on her face, though it is fairly well-concealed by the short layer of fur. When Heather's recording plays, her reply comes across as somewhat absentminded."Oh, yes, thank you." In regards to Nic's inquiry, she offers a small shrug as she looks towards him. "Anything that looks good to you. Everything here is pretty great." Eric adjusts himself on the chair, taking another sip of his coffee and glances between Nic and Paige. “Ain't much ta tell. Was in the area when we got a call ta backup an officer at the Bethesda Fountain for some guy tryin’ta break into one of the stands.” Another, longer sip of the latte. “Guy started runnin’, we started chasin’. He jumped over a wall, I jumped after him. ‘Cept, turns out, he could run on water. I… can't.” It's Eric's turn to blush, a tinge of redness tainting his cheeks. “I went for a little bit of a swim. He got away.” “Running on water? Dang, no wonder you lost him. Pretty tough to stop a guy in that situation…” Nic says with shake of his head. “Well it was more exciting than my day anyway, training and cramming is pretty much all I’m getting up to these days. As Heather leaves Nic moves to follow though she’s already to the counter before he’s even left his seat “I better order something too, I think I’ll just get a wrap.” he blinks in surprise a bit seeing Heather is already gone and heads for the counter leaving Eric and Paige alone at least until the speedster zips back. Heather points at the page in her notebook when she is at the counter, where she has both her and Paige's orders written, and then once it is acknowledged she zips back to the table (pausing partway to give a quick salute to Nic) and picks her recorder back up. It emits some quick squeaks and chirps, before the speedster replies through it: "One time I ran on water. Every time since I have just fallen in. Water is not a great substance to run on. I recommend against it. I am not surprised that you could not either." Paige opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it when Nic speaks up first. As Nic gets up, she first watches him go before turning her attention to Eric. "So, you jumped over a wall into the water? You ... didn't know there was water on the other side of it?" The expression on her face is curiosity, though a touch of amusement comes through in the curl of her lip. Giving Eric another glance-over, the goat girl comments, "I'd, uh, offer you a chance to dry off at our place in the Commons, but I ... get this vibe you're not really … uh, welcome there." “No, I didn't know he could walk on water. I didn't hear a splash, so I just…” Eric’s cheeks brighten, and he looks down and runs a hand through his hair. “It certainly wasn't easy ta run on. Sink, now, that I had covered.” Eric flashes a smile at Heather, then turns the sheepish look into Paige. “Well, thanks, I ‘ppreciate the offer. I ain't exactly got a whole lot a friends over there these days. Still got a couple’a them, though.” He looks at Paige and his smile widens just a little bit more. Nic returns to the table after placing his order, he’d missed part of the conversation, but catches the end at least “Always good to have friends, and gotta make sure to hold on to the ones you have. Not that I’m really one to talk” he says with a soft chuckle “Been thinking I need to branch out more, make some new friends the guys at school are mostly… not that great, I mainly just hang out with Marinov and Dakota.” He smiles and spreads out his hands “Don’t get me wrong they’re both awesome, but a few more awesome people wouldn’t hurt.” "Marinov is another person you meet at this cafe," Heather points out to Paige, helpfully. She glances towards the front counter to check on whether her order is up and then continues, speaking to Eric, "I am okay at sinking. But not great at that either. It seems like being able to run on water is only selectively useful. There is a narrow band of circumstances where it comes up. But when it comes up, watch out." Scratching at an eyebrow, Paige turns to look at Nic when he returns and distractedly comments to Eric, "Yeah, and you've got a heck of a lot of people warning folks away from you." Ears twitch as she listens to the teenager and she appears about to respond when Heather chips into the conversation. With an annoyed groan and eye-roll she directs her gaze pointedly at her roommate. "Yes. Yes, you're right. I essentially -live- at Evolve. Evolve is my life. Happy?" There's a slight hesitation before she adds, "That was a joke. I was being sarcastic." Sometimes tone doesn't always travel well when sped up or slowed down. Returning her attention to Nic, she nods. "Evolve is a good place to, uh, 'branch out'. A lot of mutants frequent here. Which is good. And also there is bullet-proof glass, which is even, you know, better." “Ya can’t collect enough awesome people,” Eric says, nodding at NIc sagely. “S’ a neat party trick, but, I ain’t sure how useful it is in general. Probably saved him from a couple’a weeks in jail this time, though, so…” The police officer waves slightly in the air, a half-shrug of a gesture. “Evolve’s a nice place. Safe too, considerin’ the clientele. But, I ain’t sure Shane’d be happy with ya actually /livin’/ here. Gotta be some kind’a health code problem with that.” Eric’s voice is light and teasing, a flash of a conspiratorial grin aimed at Heather. “Warned off’a me? I mean, I ain’t really understand that too much. Friend or not, stranger or not, if I’ve gotta put cuffs on ya, I’m gonna put cuffs on ya. Not knowing who I am ain’t make ‘em any tighter nor looser, ya know?” Eric takes another long sip of coffee; though a smile is still spread on his face, it fades slightly from his eyes, and the corners of his smile look slightly fixed. “S’ my job, even when I gotta do shitty things I don’t agree with.” A brief pause. “Still, Jax -- he’s an activist. Gotta see things how they should be, not how they is. N’ considering the number of times I’ve put cuffs on him, I can’t really blame him all that much for thinkin’ I should be doin’ somethin’ else with my time.” “Right, that’s pretty much what Marinov said when they suggested this place.” Nic says with a smile towards Paige, I guess it makes a good place to live too, as long as you don’t mind a little bit of health code grey area.” he shrugs his shoulders “If nothing else it makes a nice distraction from studying.” The teen is unsure what to say as Eric talks about putting cuffs on friends, when the man finishes he shakes his head slowly “That’s a tough job man… I don’t think I could slap cuffs on my friends.” Heather's lips twitch up slightly at the flash of Eric's grin. "I am glad you are being sarcastic. Because if you lived here. I am not sure who I have been living with," states Heather, eyebrows slightly furrowed. When she sees her order is up, she waves a hand at Paige and then gestures towards the front counter, "Can you pick that up? I do not want to cause disaster. Soup and coffee airborn. Sandwiches blown apart." She shakes her head quickly and disapprovingly. Then, curiously, tenatively, she adds, "Do you think you should always follow the law then? I do not do crimes. As far as I know. But. Sometimes rules are unfair." The corners of Paige's lips twitch downwards and her ears give a flick backwards at the 'health code' comment, and she self-consciously rubs at the fur on the back of her neck. "Yeah..." she mumbles before furrowing one brow and raising the other at Eric. When Nic and Heather finish speaking (the latter's words receiving a sigh), she says, "I don't ... I don't have a problem with you, you know, doing your job. I mean, I get that. But the people who ... it's not just people at the Commons." When her roommate waves to her, she nods and stands up before heading over to the counter. “It ain’t easy,” Eric says, looking over at Nic with a serious expression. “Despite what it may look like on Law n’ Order, bein’ a cop ain’t all fun. It’s three things, all mixed up: incredible boredom, feelin’ on top of the world, and feelin’ so crap you’d like ta’ go to sleep and never wake up.” Shifting on his chair, Eric picks a small leaf off of his shirt sleeve and crumples it up, looking down into his hand. “Nah, I don’t think that all laws should be followed. Some are a bunch’a crap. But I do think if you’re gonna break them, you’ve got ta’ be ready to pay the costs. An’ if one of my friends is gonna be arrested, I’d rather be the one ta’ do it than let someone else who might just shoot first n’ think about the justice of it all later.” Eric watches Paige go over to get the food, eyes following her for several moments before he flicks his attention back to Heather and Nic. “N’ I’m not sayin’ I’m not an asshole neither,” he says, a little bit of his ever-present smile flickering to life on his face. “I certainly got a lotta evidence that says that ain’t true.” “Oh sure, I didn’t figure bein a cop was just slappin cuffs on everyone, I guess some days you fall in a lake.” Nic says as Eric crumples up the leaf. The boy’s eyes follow Paige as she heads off to get the order “Well I suppose everyone has the capacity to be an asshole” The gymnast’s eyes make their way back to the man he’s speaking to “I ain’t about to judge though, figure I can spend some time and make my own opinions.” Switching his attention to Heather he grins “Anyway Heather, if it’s not too bold would you be willing to share your number with me? You know, for tutoring purposes and all.” The lad’s attention snaps towards the counter and he shrugs “Whoops looks like my order is up now, we probably could have coordinated that better. Be right back” Sliding out of his seat heads for the counter. Heather slides a slip of cardstock where she has written all of her contact information, as getting cards professionally printed is much too expensive. To Eric she plays, "If I were playing a game of chess. And my opponent's pawns could move and capture like kings. But mine could not. I would just opt of out playing. That sounds like an awful game. I would opt out of playing in society if I could figure out how." She shrugs a couple of times quickly and says, "I guess I could live in a forest. But then I would die of starvation." She makes a squeaky sigh and adds, "But I understand someone has to arbitrate the rules. I just wish I understood them." Paige is absent for the majority of the conversation that took place after her departure. Upon arriving at the counter, Nic receives a gentle smile and the furred mutant waits for the teenager to collect his items before heading back to the table with him. A glance is given towards his food and she nods approvingly. "Nice choice. Those are definitely good." As she returns, she raises a brow to Heather. "Why would you be dying of starvation?" she inquires, placing her roommate's items in front of her, before sitting back down. "Do we need to go shopping again?" Eric examines Heather’s face carefully, head tilted slightly to one side as he considers. His eyes are locked into hers, and the officer leans forward slightly in his chair. His voice is pitched low, quiet, yet what they lack in volume they make up for in fire. “Sometimes, the only thing you can do when you’re trapped playing a game that’s stacked against ya is to throw out the board, the rules be damned.” A brief pause. “Don’t ya think?” When Paige sits back down, Eric is suddenly all smiles again, sitting back in his chair and winking playfully at Paige. “No more for me. I gotta watch my figure.” Nic returns Paige’s smile “Hey thanks, it sounded like a good one, and thanks for waiting, I was just thinking we could have coordinated this better and just gone up together to begin with.” He looks curiously at the apparently secret conversation that Eric and Heather are having as he returns to the table with his furred companion and tasty meal. Easing back into his stick he smirks towards Eric’s comment about watching his figure “Oh? Watch it do what?” Heather meets Eric's eyes, focusing on him as he speaks for the small time they are alone at the table. The sides of her lips twitch up in a ghost of a smile, then parting to carefully mouth the word, 'Yes'. Upon Paige and Nic returning with the food, she leans back in her seat again and puts her goggles on over her eyes, playing, "I would be dying of starvation if I lived in a forest. I am not sure what to eat in a forest. Pinecones? How many pinecones? I would die. Gracias." She starts working on demolishing the food in front of her. The off-duty officer's comment and wink do not go unnoticed by Paige, managing to curl her lips upwards and flush her face as her eyes connect with his. Inhaling sharply, however, her gaze soon moves on. "Acorns," she suggests with a grin towards Heather. "Acorns -and- pinecones." She casts a cautious eye over her soup, steam indicating that it is currently too hot for her to eat. "It's a nice figure." The remark comes as nonchalantly as she can manage and she avoids making eye contact this time. Eric’s smile broadens, first at Heather’s response, then at Paige’s. “It can do all sorts a’ things,” the police officer says, a chuckle sounding from deep in his chest. “But I think you’re a bit young for me ta’ show you,” he says, winking at Nic. “Ya can try me in another couple’a years.” The police officer cracks out his neck, leaning from one side to the other, and reaches into his shirt pocket to withdraw a card and a pen. Scribbling on the back, Eric extends the slightly waterlogged card over to Heather. “In case ya need to get in touch.” Eric winks at Paige. “Ya already got mine.” Nibbling carefully at his wrap Nic ends up setting it back on his plate apparently it is still to hot he gives Eric a bit of a sideways smirk at being told he’s too young “Hmm, shame, I guess I’ll just have to use my imagination then. Izzat why I don’t get a card? Too young for the manly officer?” The teens brow furrows looking between Heather and Paige “I think I must have missed something, why are you eating pinecones in the woods?” Heather reaches out to take Eric's card, glancing momentarily at what he wrote before it is tucked away in her messenger bag. "Gracias," her recorder plays again, and she glances on over towards Nic, "Everyone seems very concerned about eating pinecones. Fair." She finishes off her pastries in pretty short order while the message plays, having already devoured the sandwich and leaving her coffee mostly untouched. "I do not know if they are edible." As she works on eating her wrap, Paige continues to blush and her eyes flick up to look towards Eric as he puts the teenager's question to rest. She watches silently, chewing, as the cop passes his card to her roommate and the wink causes her to blush harder. However, when Nic speaks, her eyes slide over towards the teenager, followed by her head slowly turning. The goat girl quickly swallows her food and her speech comes out in a whisper. "What." But then they are back to discussing pinecones. "I think it was a Family Guy thing," she offers helpfully to Heather. "But that show is absolute garbage." Her gaze flits to the officer again, but then back to Heather. “What's in your head is up ta’ you. Nothin’ illegal about /imaginin’/. Good thing too, or I'd be in prison six ways from Sunday.” Eric comments, dryly. He swallows the rest of his coffee in a large gulp and then stands up, looking around the little group. “Gotta head back’ta work. Crime don't wait for no one. I'll see ya all ‘round, I’m sure.” Eric grins and reaches over to scratch the top of Paige's head, right behind a horn. “Don't do anythin’ I wouldn't do.” With that, and a final twinkle in his eyes, Eric turns to go bus his mug and say goodbye to the barista.