ArchivedLogs:Scritches

Scritches
Dramatis Personae Ash, Dorian Siccavil
In Absentia	2013-10-17 Getting to know you...
Location <NYC> Village Lofts - Rooftop - East Village
It tends to be windy, up here, but the presence of plastic table and folding chairs suggests that nevertheless building residents occasionally make their way out to this rooftop. With a good view of Tompkins Square Park less than a block away it's a good spot for city-watching. There's a railing around the edge, though it might be possible (if /unwise/) to climb over it to the narrow concrete ledges beyond and from there to the fire escape. Centrally, someone has broken down crates and constructed a small raised-bed garden up here, barren in winter but filled in three other seasons with a small assortment of herbs and vegetables. The concrete wall that rings the roof has been decorated, painted in vivid bright shades by some artistic hand to add colourful cheer to the rooftop. The mural shifts in terrain One wall sports a beach, flecked with grass and seashells and driftwood and shore birds. Beach transitions into meadow, colourful with wildflowers and butterflies and dragonflies; meadow shifts into snow-capped mountains, subsides into piedmont and sprouts into a verdant forest on the fourth, alive with animals. After the long trek in from the labs, everyone healthy enough to not need immediate medical care is assigned an apartment to settle into for the time being. Ash is asked to watch over Lighthaus and its new residents as the actual occupants are rather preoccupied with Jackson's condition and all of the other demands that come up with an influx of thirty some new people. In the Village Lofts, he makes sure everyone has an opportunity for a shower and a change of clothing, the finest second hand selection available from Clothescycle's dollar a pound department. Before, after, and during the various shower times, food is available in the kitchen, a fine selection of food Micah left premade in the fridge. Once everyone is clean, fed, and taken care of, the new temporary residents are left to their own devices. Some choose to sleep or stay in reading, while a few are raring to go and ready to do /something/, within reason. The young earthbender decides to take those people on a tour of the safe locations in the building, including the laundry room, the other apartments owned by raiders... "Aannd this is the roof." Ash pushes the door open for the small group of somewhat lively Prometheus survivors and holds it open as he lets them trickle out into the cloud-dappled noon time sun. The weather is warm and the humidity mediumish. The noises of the city filtering through the air cause Ash to need to raise his voice a little. "For the most part, the roof is safe. There have been a number of physical mutants living here for the past few years that have claimed the roof as a lounge and a garden. Those who are uncomfortable with mutants simply do not come up here. I wouldn't really worry about running into unfriendlies, but you can ask one of us long term New Yorkers to come up with you if you're nervous." He has showered and changed as well, wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a brown t-shirt over his heavily bruised body. His feet are bare and absolutely loving the feel of the concrete underfoot. "If you want to eat something from the garden and are unsure if it's ripe, I can tell ya." Dorian is among the group that has desperately wanted to not do something indoors - he's spent the last two weeks solid cooped up in his little cell, and prior to that the sight of the outdoors was such a rarity he had started to question the existance of sky and sunlight. The young man is one of the last to emerge onto the rooftop, cautiously looking around as though expecting this to all be some sort of trick. He took advantage of the shower and fresh clothing, opting for a slightly baggy tanktop in a pale, faded peach color, with an abstract sunset on it in a rainbow of colors, paired with vaguely black cargo pants that had been hastily modified to allow his tail freedom of movement. The possibly seasonably inappropriate clothing highlights the extent of his physical mutation, bearing the thick pelt of black-brown fur on his back, and the lighter tawny fuzz that covers his front, as well as showing off the smattering of bruises acquired in the escape. His feet are bare, and when he wiggles his toes curiously against the concrete of the roof, the thin membrane webbing between each digit is visible. Cautiously, Dorian approaches Ash, his small rounded ears perked up in curiosity as he offers a nervous wave. Glancing around again before speaking, he asks, "So, we're really free? I mean... they aren't gonna come after us and round us up and take us back there again?" As he talks, he fidgets anxiously with his hands, occasionally glancing off towards the city in the distance, eyes wide. "Ah well, they'd love to," Ash admits as an uncomfortable hitch between his shoulder blade shifts his posture. "But we do out best to work with each other so that doesn't happen." He moves over to claim a seat, watch everyone spread out over the roof top and take in their new lives. "For instance, we've got paper work that will allow everyone to get government issued IDs and legal paperwork to help us get jobs. Then, we help people get jobs that need them and school - for those that want it." He scrubs a hand against the back of his neck. "I'm Ash, by the way. Not sure if we've been introduced. I've been out of the labs for seven months." "Oh," Dorian says, posture slumping slightly as he follows Ash, dragging over a nearby chair and curling up cross legged in it. "Do we have to take on, like, assumed names and stuff to keep them from finding us?" asks the obvious mutant innocently, "I mean... what if we had... have... had family? Is it safe to... to try and find them or talk to them?" He rubs a hand along the fur on his upper arm, rumpling it, then smoothing it out with each motion. "Jobs? I... oh. Right," he looks down at himself, "I guess I would kinda need to get one, or something." The introduction gets a head tilt, and a friendly smile, perking up a bit, "Oh! Right. I'm Dorian. Nice to meet you, Ash, without the yelling and the bullets and killer robots and all that." "Hey, hey, no... no." Ash perks up a little when Dorian starts to seem down. "I... no, it's good to meet you. I'm not trying to say you're going to have to go right out and get a job. It's just... stuff we help with, you know, because eventually, you're going to want money and a place of your own, right?" He smiles and leans back in his chair. "As for names, you can do whatever you want. I go by my birth name, but I know others who have changed theirs for various reasons. And if you have family, we'll help you get in touch with them whenever you want. I know it seems like the best way to keep away for the Prometheus group is to hide, but it's actually the opposite. It's better to be seen and to be known so that the public will notice if someone tries to take one of us away." Dorian tilts his head in confusion a bit, "I... no. It's not that I don't want to get a job, it's just, well, never had one before. Never really... thought about the fact that I guess I'm a grown-up now." There is something about the way he says 'grown-up' that is so childlike, and perhaps a little dissapointed. He ruffles a hand through his short mop of hair, scratching at his notched ear absently, "I think I'll go by Dorian still. Sorta just works. Not like I had ID before, so it wouldn't really mess anything up." He shrugs slightly, and fidgets with his tail again, smoothing the fur out as he speaks, "Dunno if I should contact my family. Been so long, they probably gave up. Or don't care. Doctors said they just gave me up. So they probably don't wanna see me." He perks up slightly, "But, people actually notice if people like us go missing and stuff? Like, even in a huge huge city like this? I mean... little town, yeah, but in New York?" "Honestly? If those hijos de puntas said that your family gave up on you, I would most definitely not believe them. Find out for yourself. Those... jerks would say anything to keep us compliant in that place." Ash scowls as he tries to curb both his Spanish and swearing, ending up looking a bit frustrated by the whole process. "Sorry. I also don't call them doctors. Doctors try to help and heal people. Thos..." again, he stops and takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Being older is dumb. But, you know, if you want to go back and do high school even though you didn't get the chance, you actually can." Dorian slumps slightly at the talk of compliance, "Yeah. They do that. A lot. S'what I got used for a lot, I guess. I think. Distracting. Cause otherwise I'd be alone a lot." He flexes his webbed toes again, "I might try and find my family. I... I dunno if the knew what they were doing. I can't believe they knew what would happen. They loved me." His ears flatten against his skull at the reprimand about calling them doctors, for a moment looking like he might run, "Oh... ok. Sorry. It's, um, kinda a force of habit, I think. Calling them that. Kinda don't have any other frame of reference for doctors than that." Her ruffles his hair again, somewhat forcing his ears back up from a their flattened position, "I can? It's been a long time since I was in school - I... think I'd need more than just high school, which is kinda awkward. Being older-ish." He glances down at his hands, frowning slightly, "Um. How long did they have you? Before you got out?" "They has me a little over two years. I went from teenager to suddenly adult and it was unfortunate. I mean, it's cool and all and I get not wanting to be around a bunch of kids, but at the same time, it all depends on what you want to do. See, me? I work construction and right now, that's the best thing for me because I get to work with my hands and be outside a lot, but eventually, I may need to do something else. Maybe I'll talk to Hive about architecture. I don't know." Ash frowns as he looks Dorian over. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just... it's me. I have to make a distinction, otherwise I have a hard time going to doctors at all." Dorian nods slowly, listening to Ash. "I wouldn't mind school, I guess, maybe I can get my, um, wassit called. GED? Do you have to have done all the school before high school to get those? I mean... I don't think I can go back to elementary school at this point, but they let me have books occasionally, if I was good - so I don't think I'm entirely /that/ far behind? Maybe?" the young man says, uncertainly, a guilty look creeping over his face. "Granted, dunno who'd hire me. But I'd like to work outside - I'd forgotten how much I like being outside," he says with a broad smile, looking around at the rooftop and surrounding city, "Dunno what I'm good at. Other than swimming, but that's not really a useful skill most of the time, I don't think." He bobs his head at the apology, an apology tumbling out amidst a babble of other panicked information, "Issok, I just didn't know. I don't like making people upset, 'cause when I do that, they come and put me alone away from friends and don't talk to me or let me talk, or..." Dorian trails off, glancing up and blinking, as though realizing something, glancing around at the open air, "Oh. Right." "I think the point of the GED is to be able to say you're smart enough to have finished all that schooling without doing it. If you want to study for a while, I'm sure we can help. Jax - well, when he's better - he's a teacher. He'll be able to help you figure it out. They'll have curriculum for you at the school he works at, even if you're learning at home. You should see the school though - it's pretty amazing, filled floor to ceiling with mutants like us - and ones that look even more spectacular than us." Ash gives Dorian a smile and reaches out to ruffle his hair... but stop. "Oh. Sorry. I... well, I'm not myself right now, kind of all shook up after being in that place yesterday. I got out and swore I'd never go back, but then, well, I went back to get others out." He looks sheepish as he pulls his hand back to his lap. "I'm kind of a cuddly guy, but I don't want to anything you'd be uncomfortable with." Dorian looks sheepish, fidgetting with his tail as he looks down, "Ok, yeah, nowhere near smart enough to get a GED. Haven't had, um, organized schooling of any sort since... second grade, I think." He visibly perks up at the mention of a school, "There's a school? For... for mutants? If... oh wow. If I could do distance learning, that would be so cool. Means I won't distract the other students anymore, if I can learn from far away and stuff." At this point he is all but bouncing in his seat, grinning like a fool, "Oh - I can believe it. I ended up with a lot of... a lot of the other people in the labs over my time. I got moved a lot." The aborted attempt at hair ruffling gets a wide eyed look from Dorian before he bows his head towards Ash, ears pricked forward slightly, "Issok. I don't mind hair ruffling, or people petting me. I'm kinda used to it, so if you wanted to, issok." "Really?" Ash blinks at him for a moment, wide eyed, hands fidgeting in place. "I mean, I don't want to do it just because you're used to it. It should be something nice for both parties, right?" He leans forward a little and then reaches out and performs a gentle hair ruffling, watching Dorian's reaction to make sure it's okay. Dorian looks up curiously at Ash's hesitation, blinking in confusion, "I... don't think anyone's actually really /asked/ in... forever. But," he sits up a bit, leaning his forarms on his knees and looking at Ash. "But, um, really really. Occasionally getting petted or cuddled because I got put in with someone who needed a hug was kinda the only good thing while I was there," as though to demonstrate, he drops his head back forward, tagged ear twitching slightly as his hair shifts against it. "I like being in contact with people. It's... nice," he says quietly when Ash ruffles his hair - and sure enough, his posture melts slightly, relaxing as his eyes close slightly. Ash gives him a slightly longer scritch and smiles as well, his tension starting to evaporate with contact. "Aww. That's good. I... well, I don't really know if you want to rehash experiences, so I won't. It's a lot and yeah, I probably need to talk about it more, but at the same time, you just got out, so there's this huge well of emotion and memory and probably hurt that just needs to come out in your own time and I'm not going to throw more on your proverbial shoulders. Instead, just... petting. I'm totally available for that kind of stuff if you need it. Just grab me, okay?" He pulls away a little, petting him and smoothing down the hair he messed up before just melting into his seat. "That said... I'm not sure I've relaxed at all in the past few days and I am trying really hard not to just go to sleep yet. Gotta wait until someone else comes to be a question answerer and a helper. And some of the others, they have a lot to deal with too, as their more of the organizing type. So. Yeah." He draws in a deep breath and looks out at the others across the reaches of the roof. "You miss anything, you know, maybe food wise, or well, thing wise, that you remember but couldn't get? I bet we could get it. I totally binged out on ice cream for the first month or so. That was heaven. The first taste of that glorious rocky road will stay with me forever." Falling silent for a long moment, Dorian just relishes the hair ruffles, letting out a contented sigh, "Thank you." He doesn't seem embarassed or abashed at the scritches and offers of more, "Issok. I know I probably should talk to someone about everything I saw, and know, and what went on and stuff like that. But I don't mind getting petted or ruffled, or hugged, not at all. It makes people happy most of the time, and I like being able to do that, 'specially if they've had stuff like what I have. Cause it sucks." As the skritchings come to an end, Dorian sits upright, wrapping his arms around his knees to pull his legs to his chest, "My family back home was kinda dirt poor. Like... I actually was happy the first few days I was in the labs, because I actually had a whole meal on the regular. Dun remember the food, just that I had it, and it was warm, and actually enough to make me full. Fuzzy memories from then. Not good fuzzy" He frowns, as though trying to concentrate, his ears pressing back slightly, before hugging his knees closer to his chest, one hand ruffling the fur of his upper arm as he talks. He glances up and tilts his head slightly, looking at Ash, "Oh. You haven't slept yet? That's... probly not good. Unless you can do the whole not sleeping thing," he says with a finger wave, as though indicating powers, "Thank you. For... well, answering questions, and talking, and getting us out." "Eh. I slept on the bus ride back. I barely remember it. I'm not completely without sleep, but you know. I could probably use a few more hours of actual still sleep - instead of the kind that bounces you around while you're on springs that are older than you and crappy vinyl seats." Ash smiles and shrugs a little, stifling a yawn with all this talk of sleep. "Anyway. I'll be fine. You guys are all in a brand new place and probably aren't one hundred percent convinced this isn't some sort of weird day trip. It's going to take a while for everything to sink in and people should be around for when that happens. If you're feeling up for it, later we can go for a walk on the streets, as exciting as that is." He scoots forward in his seat so he can get a good stretch and then pulls himself up to his feet. "I'm going to check on the others. You going to be okay?" Dorian nods, thinking for a moment, "I think I slept on the bus ride. I know I was keeping still, since Lia was beside me, and then we were here. So I guess I must've dozed off." He rumples a hand through his hair again, making it stick out at odd angles as he tries hard not to yawn, ultimately failing to hide it. "Still can't believe I'm out. S'been so long - I figured... well, I honestly don't know what I thought would happen," Dorian looks off towards the city, quiet for a long moment, "Walk? In... in the city? I... um. New York is big. I never been to a big city and actually, y'know, walked. Driven through, yes, I think, vaguely, but never been out in the city." He curls in on himself a bit more, seeming just a touch terrified at the idea, but he nods slowly. "Yeah. I'll be ok. Thanks, Ash," he says and starts to yawn again, blinking repeatedly, looking out towards the city around them with a somewhat dazed, apprehensive look. "Don't worry. You won't have to face the city alone until you are ready." Ash gives Dorian a reassuring pat on the back, then starts to move off. "You're going to be okay, Dorian. I know it."