ArchivedLogs:Special Freaks

Special Freaks
Dramatis Personae Arturo, Dusk, Keira, Melinda, Selene
In Absentia	2014-03-06 '
Location <NYC> Montagues - SoHo
Montagues harkens back to the day when SoHo was filled to the brim with artists, with its mismatched furniture, all plush and decorated heavily with carved wood, but remains trendy enough to keep its newer patrons by making sure that furniture is clean, in good repair and inviting. The antique tables all have been reinforced to seem less creaky. The real draw of the cafe is the smell: fresh roasted coffee mingles with perfectly steeped teas. Spices from crisp pastries mingle with the tang of clotted cream but don't overwhelm too much the scent of chalk on the menu boards. The morning rush at Montagues ends in a whimper, people trickling to a slower speed rater than stopping entirely, allowing the staff to breath in between requests for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Most of the staff is still spry and energetic, aside from the manager. The poor woman is carting around an extra body internally and is starting to slow down as the customers start to lull. She is near the back counter, overseeing a trainee on the espresso machine while spooning loose leaf teas into diffuser pots and setting them brewing, curls of darker liquids sifting into the clear water, swirling and dissipating at different individual speeds, depending on the leaf type. When Mel looks up and sees no more orders stacked up to be completed, she straightens and exhales, one hand rubbing her face while the other presses into a sore spot on her back. She's wearing assortment of blues today, with a royal blue sweater dress over cornflower blue leggings, with blue ballet flats. She grabs a large glass of water and exits the behind the counter area, heading to the first empty table and settling awkwardly in a seat to rest. With large floor-length trenchcoat on to protect from the bitter winter cold and dark Oakley sunglasses on his eyes, Dusk doesn't make a particularly noteworthy figure, save for the fact he looks strangely /hunchbacked/, his coat oddly humped around his shoulders. He's tugging off his mittens as he enters the store, absently running his hands together, though as they've been tucked warmly into his pockets all they while they're not actually all that cold. He doesn't actually head for the counter once he's inside, though, stopping instead behind Melinda's table and dropping his hands to her back to rub there absently. It's /like/ a greeting, right? "Hive tell you we're good to break ground now? Pretty awesome, huh?" What. 'Hi' is overrated. Entering the coffee shop not long after Dusk is everyone's favorite 100 year old psionic vampire, Selene Gallio. The telepath begins her cursory surface scans as she enters, the thoughts of the people around her bouncing to her. This used to be a secret, but that'll be changing rather soon. She's heading toward the counter, ordering a coffee, black as her soul or something. Selene's dressed in her black peacoat, trousers, and boots, black gloves over her hands. She's just..really motifed in black. Stephanie, the brunette at the register, looks at Selene when she orders as politely as possible, but something inside her cringes. << What the fuck, emo much? You go with your bad self, girl. >> She then turns away to pour her a cup and returns to take her money. "Best news I've heard all day." Melinda's eyes roll back up into her head and close, momentarily overwhelmed by how wonderful the massage feels, a small whimper escaping her throat as she tilts her head back to stretch the muscles under Dusk's fingers. When she opens her eyes, she smile up at him. "And no, Hive didn't say, but I may have distracted him talk of birthing gore. Speaking of which - placenta breakfast is off the table now. I've promised it to other people. Hope you're not devastated." The doors open and the young woman shows up. Flaxen hair frames a face of flawless, creamy skin and cascades over this young woman's shoulders like a refreshing waterfall in summer. Her pale cheeks bear the slight tint of rosy blush beneath her high cheekbones. Beneath light thin lines of eyebrows and rich coloured black lashes, soft, light blue eyes, curious and full of vivaciousness, gaze at the surrounding. She hesitates for the moment to step inside, but with a slight push of the breeze from outside, she finally closes the door and starts pacing deeper into the room. Keira is wearing a long blue dress and covers herself with the coat made of brownish furs. Also, long dark blue cashmere gloves are covering her hands. She elegantly slips to stand near the counter behind Selene and sighs. Now she just waits. "You /promised away/ your placenta?" There is an exaggerated tone of hurt in Dusk's voice, but his fanged smile and expression are amused. His fingers continue working, firm and slow in kneading in at Melinda's muscles. "I don't know how I can go on after this betrayal. Mel have you been cheating on me with another vampire?" Mentally, his thoughts are remarkably quiet -- as sick as Hive has been lately he's gotten back into the habit of a default psionic fuzzing so as not to overload his telepathic roommate with too much headache. His eyes shift towards the newcomers as they enter, a small smile twitching at his lips; despite the quiet of his thoughts there's a faint curious perk of interest in his mind as he glances over Keira, contrasting her appearance with Selene. "Kinda like night and day, isn't it." Once Selene actually has her coffee, she does something..unique for her, as once she pays, she speaks to Stephanie, albeit a slight bit hushed. "That was quite a rude thing to say. I just like the color black.". Selene doesn't expand on this at all, taking her coffee and sitting at a nearby table, still listening in to thoughts around her. Though, the vampire comment slightly irks her. Selene's also expanding her feed into Keira, as she does idly respond to Dusk. "I like the color black, I think it looks good on myself.". "I'm sorry, what?" Stephanie looks incredibly confused. She has no idea what she said. She was going to say 'here's your change' but she hadn't even finished pulling it out of the drawer. She literally does not remember speaking otherwise. As Selene walks away, she looks to Melinda, her jaw dropped and her brow furrowed. Her hands hover over the register for a breath or two before she inhales deeply, makes a conscious effort to look professional and perky again, and turns to Keira. "Welcome to Montagues. How can I help you today?" "Well, they /are/ rather striking next to each oth..." Melinda blinks rapidly as she watches the scene unfold between Selene and Stephanie, her chin tucking backward before turning a little to one side. << What on earth? >> She is familiar with Stephanie's commentary and cute comments in casual settings, but she is an exemplary employee and is almost always cheerful and professional. She raises a hand to squeeze Dusk's hand. "I would never cheat on you with another vampire, Dusk. Wait. Maybe I would." She doesn't joke around as freely anymore, feeling a little tense, but trying to shake it off. "but, no, I am not currently cheating on you." Keira's fingers are dancing on the counter a bit nervously, waiting, when she will be able to make an order. Sometimes, she glances back at the exit and sighs, shaking her head, and letting these tress flaxen curls sway in the air playfully. She raises her other hand to start whirling the pendant on her neck. The pendant has silver chain, but ends up with the huge oval expensive stone. The stone could remind the huge ice-cube or something like that. When her time comes, her soft voice whispers, "Good day. I need the strongest, but as less bitter as possible coffee. And one pastry, please." She offers a smile to Stephanie, before lowering her gaze at the watch on her gloved wrist. "Striking is definitely a good word for it." Dusk is still looking at Keira a moment longer, watching the sway of her hair with a small smile touching his mouth; it does nothing to hide the long sharp fangs glinting behind his lips. He rubs at Melinda's shoulders a moment longer, then drops his hands so that he can shed his coat, draping it over an empty seat at Melinda's table. With the coat /off/, the young man earns a good deal more stares from around the room -- beneath the large trenchcoat an enormous pair of /wings/ sprouts from his back, huge and near-black and batlike, shifting now in slow relieved /stretch/ that is clearly glad to be freed of the restrictive trenchcoat. He squeezes at Melinda's shoulder. "Wait, so no, seriously, someone wants your placenta? Is that normal? I thought I was a freak, how many vampires do you /know/?" He doesn't sound like he's joking anymore, just genuinely curious. He turns aside from the table, leaning one hand against the back of an empty chair as he looks over the menu. Selene gets an easy smile, quick and amused. One of his fuzzy dark wings flexes. "Black's a pretty excellent colour." The long upper thumb-claw atop it twitches in Keira's direction. "It just made a nice contrast. Pretty aesthetics." Selene takes a glance at the wings, but she's mostly admiring them. "Heh. Not all of us vampires drink blood.". This is also rather hushed, she's trying to direct it just towards the two. Selene's decided not to hide what she is and instead embrace it, afterall, goddesses don't hide themselves, do they? Well, okay, she's hiding it a bit but atleast more than..four people purposely know now. "I contrast quite a bit. I know a lady who is almost my polar opposite in color schemes.". Selene's then sipping her coffee, eying her new contraster in interest. "Okay!" Stephanie replies immediately, tapping a few keys before looking up, "Did you want an apple turnover? They're pretty fresh. But we have croissants and danishes too, if one of those is more your speed." "Well, /want/ is a strong word. I offered the stem cells to Hive and his doctor, to see if they could glue his head back together. Get him back on his feet. It'll take time, but the kid isn't done cooking yet either." Her hands reflexively reach up to rub her extended belly when she starts talking about 'the kid' not exactly looking forward to the rest of the incubation process. She turns her head when Dusk takes his hands away, a little pout on her lips, but lets her gaze return to the front of the restaurant and the counter there. "And as far as I know, it's only you, hun." She looks over at Selene and considers her aesthetics before looking over at Keira again. She keeps her opinions to herself (or so she thinks), finding them both lovely, but probably favors the aloof blonde. Then Selene starts speaking to them. Melinda is taken back, slight, lips pursing, gaze serious. "Oh. Um. Two, now." She is nervous. It's one thing to know Dusk, to have formed a friendship with him first before inviting him to bite -- and other rather unclothed activities -- but another thing to know that a stranger views her as food. Keira, of course, noticed these wings! Who could /not/ notice it. However, all this comes as surprise to her. The young woman's eyes widen and she just stares at these wings as the kid is staring at Santa Claus. She soo forgets to answer for Stephanie. However, her phone beeps a few times. She shakes her head and immerses her hand to the purse, withdrawing smart phone and typping something back. Then she peeks at the man one more time. However, it is not polite to stare, so she just turns her back to all that performance. "What? Did you say something?" She asks for Stephanie. "No? I suppose there must be other kinds of vampires. I've known a few emotional ones in my time," Dusk answers with a hint of amusement. "You don't, uh, have a taste for placenta, do you?" His brows lift to Selene. /Probably/ he's joking. "-- Woah. Can placenta really fix brains? Because that'd be rad. He needs all the help he can /get/." His hand moves to his opposite wrist, pressing there with an absent twinge of pain -- somewhere beneath the sleeve of his shirt it's clear enough to psionic senses that there's a healing cut; his mind skirts briefly back to earlier memories of /bleeding/ into a glass that morning. His smile brightens as he notices Keira noticing /him/, and he pushes away from the table, meandering over to join her in line. "I think she was asking about what pastry you wanted." His wings are flexing, slightly, but then pull in to fold neatly against his back. "My roommate swears by the danishes here." Behind the sunglasses his eyes are still lingering on Keira's hair with a rather healthy dose of appreciation in his thoughts before he finally tears his gaze away to look back at the menu. "No, the thought disgusts me. A lot do. I'm not going to feed on you, you can stop worrying.". Selene smiles, it's actually..for once not a false smile. Probably the last time that'll ever happen. "I don't drain on emotions, either.". As Dusk heads over to Keira, Selene probably has a gist of what he's doing, just from experience with people. "He has quite beautiful wings. Though, it's rude to ditch a friend, I'd say.". Selene's saying this in jest, though, taking another sip of her coffee. "Yes. What kind of pastry? We have a few different ones." Stephanie smiles pleasantly. It is not her first time seeing Dusk, so she's not as taken back by his stretching. She does understand that they /are/ distracting, so doesn't rush Keira for an answer. When her customer looks unhappily at Dusk, something goes a little cold inside her and she resolves to just be polite. Melinda eyes Selene for a moment longer, her thoughts quieted for the time being. "Right. Well." << Awkward. I suppose vampires have to reassure people all the time, but it doesn't feel very natural to be told. Sure... toss away any sort of evolutionary instinct to avoid predators just because they told you so. Like it's easy. >> When Dusk walks over to the line, she reaches up to rub her own neck. "Dusk, can you ask for an oatmeal for me, all the toppings. I appreciate it." Keira's cheeks blushes slightly, when the man comes closer and reminds the question she missed. "Aaa... Well... I mean... Whatever. Give me today's special or something..." Drawls the girl. The accent is very clear, when she is speaking. Russian accent. She stops whirling the pendant and hides it behind all the furs. Then she just taps with her gloved fingers on the counter. She peeks at the man beside or more at his wings and blushes even more. Keira brushes her hair, tossing some curls back, elegantly, "I am sorry... Danishes? I am not sure, what do you mean..." She rubs her arm then, "Of course, if you were speaking with me. If not, I am sorry for interrupting." Oh, she tries to be so polite, that her manners would suite for her stance of the lady. "It's a coffee shop," Dusk answers Selene's jest with amusement of his own, "I don't think it's rude to go get coffee. -- Uhh. Danishes are just this kind of really buttery pastry? Often with some sort of jam or fruit or nut baked in? -- She should try a Danish," he tells Stephanie /for/ Keira, when Keira orders 'whatever'. "And can I get a large latte -- uh, do you have almond milk today? Soy if not. And an oatmeal with everything. Thank you so much." He tugs his wallet out of his back pocket, wing shifting aside to make room for his hand while he does so. "It's alright." He says this to Keira, when she blushes. "They're kind of enormous, it's hard /not/ to stare." He slips a twenty out of his wallet, his smile to Stephanie a little apologetic. He turns his head to glance back at Selene, adding -- "/Everyone/ drains emotions, I think. It's kind of what people do with each other. But on the plus side, we /give/ them, too." << I'm also a telepath. And I meant what I said. >>. Selene has an amused grin, her telepathic message to Melinda actually rather soft and brief, signs of intrusion leaving as quickly as they come, not that she's stopped her probing. "You have a point there. That is almost the definition of love.". "I can't believe I was so rude. I'm Selene.". "Wassup, Gurl," Stephanie announces to Dusk when he starts speaking to her, her smile brightening instantly, as does her mood and energy. She likes Dusk. She's not attracted to him, but she does like him. "Yeah, we got almond milk - and if the oatmeal's for the boss, I'll have to punch it in separately. However, one cherry danish coming up!" Stephanie plunks the information into the register, gives Keira a price, then turns away to pour her a cup of her requested coffee. She picks a Guatemalan Sumatra coffee for Keira's drinking pleasure. She then walks to the pastry cabinet and uses a spatula to side a danish onto a plate for her customer. When she returns, she waits on payment before handing anything over. Dusk's food waits until she's done with Keira. Melinda draws in a deep breath, leaning uncomfortably into her chair, trying to make one of the corners press against that spot under her shoulderblades and alleviate some of the tension there. That is until Selene sends her thoughts on over. Then Mel straightens up stiffly, her head stacked carefully on her neck and shoulders. << Oh, well. Good to know. >> Her mind is less open after that, song lyrics starting to filter to the top of her thoughts, mingling with the memory of melody as it repeats enough phrases to keep her thoughts busy. "Hi, Selene. I'm Mel." "Reallu buttery? No no... Thank you," shakes her head Keira. "I do not eat too much butter. Give me something with more fruits and less butter. I need to... Well..." She blushes even more and bites her own lip nervously, glancing at the man again, "They are really... beautiful," Keira whispers aboug wings. "I have never seen such an amazing... you know, all this..." The young belle takes one of her flaxen curls and starts whirling it around her finger. The girl shifts from one foot to another, letting her long elegant gown sweep the dusts from the ground. However, when coffee is ready, she takes off her purse and gives twenty to Stephanie. "Or I don't need food at all. Just coffee. and keep the change." This time when Arturo enters the cafe, he's wearing an overcoat like a sane person would at this time of year. He's actually got the collar pulled up around his ears and the double breasted buttons are done all the way up. A brown patterned scarf is coiled tightly around his neck. He also doesn't look as tired as he did yesterday. The menu is eyed, but he doesn't approach the counter right away. "That is a lot of change." Dusk forks over the cash for his own order after Keira's had a chance to pay; he takes /his/ change, though he does slip a dollar into the tip jar. Just one! -- /he's/ poor. One huge black wing shifts aside so that he can put his wallet back into his pocket as he thanks Stephanie again. He steps to one side as Arturo enters, making room at the counter while waits for the coffee and oatmeal; behind him, his wings shift in tiny restless motions. "Love? Maybe it's love. Maybe it's just co-dependence. I don't know, people /need/ each other. Maybe," he says this with a wide grin, long sharp fangs baring bright, "we should just get used to the fact we're /all/ vampires. On the /inside/." Or the outside, as his case may be. The grin softens at Keira's whispered compliment; a faint hint of pink dusts his cheeks. "Thank you." He sounds a little surprised, but genuinely pleased. "I mean, /I/ love having them, but half the time they just freak people the hell out, you know? Not everyone's so keen on -- well, /freaks/." Selene chuckles a bit again, simply tuning Mel down to near silence in her sensing, keeping it a slight bit watched incase she /stops singing/. "A pair of wings would be quite nice. But I don't agree with freaks. I believe..we're more special than that. A new era? Possibly.". Another slight grin. When the new arrival enters the cafe, Selene's automatically tuning into him, like she has a built in mental sensor around Montagues or something. Or, she's nosy. Stephanie hands over the coffee but stand there looking a little confused as she holds the plate of pastry. When she is left holding the change too, she looks doubly confused, her hands full now. She gives a little shrug then turns her attention to Dusk, handing him the danish so she can take the twenty. "Here. Got you a present? Is it your birthday?" She then puts the change Keira gave her in the tip jar, Dusk's twenty in the drawer, and his change in his hand. "The rest is coming up," she offers with a light singsongy tone. She turns away to prep the rest of his order. Melinda isn't about to stop the musical noise, her vocal chords starting to reverberate with the song stuck in her head. She glances up when she sees Arturo, giving him a little smile and a tiny wave, should he look in her direction. She is reticent to approach him though. Her mind doesn't say why. "Freaks?!" The girl's eyebrows jumps up. "No no no. I agree with the other woman there," The girl nods at Selene. "You are... Well... Handsome?" Keira blushes as strawberry, "I mean... All these wings. They make you special, handsome, more... You know, you can do more things than simple people. You were lucky to be like that. I mean... I would be so proud of my wings, if I would have them!" The girl grabs the cup of her coffee, "I am really sorry for bothering you with such... well, sir," she curtsies and hurries near the free table. She slips to take a seat, smoothes her skirts and almost hugs her cup of coffee with her gloved hands, sipping the drink and drowning in her own minds. Being a mutant with odd physicality himself, you'd think he'd learn not to stare. But it's not every day you encounter /wings/. Arturo backs away from the Dusk, partially to make room, partially to take it all in. He does remember himself after a moment though, and returns his attention to the menu. He is aware enough to catch the end of Selene's comment. He glances to her for a brief moment, then back to the menu. He has odd eyes. Not so odd as to be immediately inhuman, but enough to raise suspicion. When it's his turn at the counter, he orders coffee and whatever sandwich happens to look good. He catches the fluttered motion of Melinda's wave. He looks up nods politely and smiles with a closed-lip smile. "I um, sorry about yesterday. I was very tired and rather...grumpy. To belatedly answer your question, yes, I'm a doctor." Dusk does not look like he is about to argue with being called handsome, a pleased smile on his face as he takes his change and his -- surprise Danish! "/Is/ it my birthday?" he wonders cheerfully? "I'm getting compliments from pretty women /and/ free pastries. Though, uh, anaphylaxis would be a terrible birthday present, I'm /wicked/ allergic to dairy," he tells Stephanie with amiably amused apology. He holds the plate of fresh pastry up to Arturo when the man arrives at the counter. "-- You want a Danish? It's cherry." His other arm leans against the display case as he waits on his own order; his large flexible wing curls in against his shoulder, draping there like a fuzzy-soft cape. "-- Hey, you don't need to apologize," he adds as Keira hurries off. In contrast to Arturo's smile his own sharp-fanged on is broadly unselfconscious, elongated teeth prominent in his mouth. "You can be a /handsome/ freak. Or," he adds with a nod to Selene, "a special one. I'm pretty cool with being All Of The Above." "He is handsome, yes indeed. He's a handsome, special freak.". Selene grins, another sip of her coffee. She's then setting her coffee down for a minute as she heads into the restroom, though she's holding the mental probes while in there. Stephanie returns after a few minutes and presents Dusk with his latte and the oatmeal for Melinda. "Sorry about that, Dusk. I forgot. I can swap it out for something dairy free, if your friend doesn't want it." She then move over to take Arturo's order and process it. "Oh? I wouldn't worry about it. My friend has a tendency to inspire that from time to time - and be grumpy all on his own." She gives an apologetic nod of her head, sitting a little uncomfortably tall in her chair, a jacket across the chair beside you. "Nice to meet you, Doctor. I'm Mel." She sticks out a hand in friendly greeting. "And please, accept my apologies on behalf of my friend." She is trying not to snicker at the amount of people calling Dusk handsome. Arturo blinks at Dusk and his plate of pastry. "Oh, no thanks. I've just ordered a sandwich. In a bit of a savory mood right now." He speaks a bit oddly, like a teenager covering a mouth full of braces. Now that he's gotten over the shock of wings, his expression softens and turns kind. "Have you ever injured those? I'd imagine it's rather difficult to find proper care." He takes his coffee and sets it on a free table. He reaches out and takes hold of Melinda's hand. "Arturo." His nails look like they're painted black, but closer inspection reveals they're short, ebony claws. Dusk swaps the pastry back out for his coffee and oatmeal, smiling bright at Stephanie. "Really? /Thanks/, that'd rock, I haven't had breakfast yet. Surprise me." There's an extra bit of perk to his posture as he carries the oatmeal over to Melinda, depositing it on her table and depositing a small peck to the top of her head. He sets his latte down, pulling out the spare chair that he'd draped his trenchcoat on and turning it around backwards so that he can kneel in it rather than sit properly -- the enormous wings don't really make for comfortable sitting in regular seats. His head tips slightly downwards towards Arturo's hand as he shakes Melinda's, but behind his large sunglasses his expression doesn't seem to change much. "Oh, man, these things?" He shakes his head, wings rustling behind him briefly. "Preeeetty much on a weekly basis. I mean, not /seriously/ but they're fucking enormous and the skin's pretty thin, they're /constantly/ full of tears. Thankfully I heal pretty quick. They've been /broken/ crazy-many times though. And the /serious/ rips get annoying as hell too. And no, I don't really find many people who know what to do with human-sized bat-wings, splinting them is a pain." Selene returns from the bathroom, heading back to her table. Her mental scans encompass the room again, as she intercepts the talk about the injury of the wings. "Are they completely useless other than mesmerization? Many people have dreamed of wings, even if most people find the fact of people actually having them...freakish.". Melinda squeezes Arturo's hand firmly enough, but remains on the polite side of the interaction. "Thanks for coming back, Arturo. It would have been a shame if Hive scared you off completely." She lets her eyes flutter closed when Dusk come back, kissing the top of her head. She smiles a little brighter and pulls her oatmeal in closer, picking up the spoon to start digging at it. "He's just lucky he's healed up nicely every time he gets injured. It'd be sad to have such lovely wings and not be able to fly with them. They do make excellent blankets though." She slants her gaze over to the fuzzy warm webbing, refocusing on Arturo a moment later. She stiffens again when Selene returns, glancing quickly at Dusk's eyes before digging into her oatmeal in earnest. At length, Stephanie brings over an egg sandwich, no a scrap of dairy on the plate. There are little tubs of salsa and jalapenos, should Dusk wish to spice it up a bit. She walks away without saying a word, lots of work to do -- like bringing Arturo his food. Keira was sitting hugged her cup of coffee and dreaming about something, when suddenly her phone starts ringing. It catches her by surprise and she flinches, filling a few drops of coffee of her dress. Though, she does not answer and lets the phone to ring. "Well," says Arturo to Dusk, "As I just mentioned to Mel here, I'm a doctor. A doctor who's been working on researching various techniques specifically to treat mutants. It involves...adapting some veterinary techniques - no offense." His lip curls up a little at that, revealing a flash of pointed canines. He looks to Melinda. "Ah, as I said, I was overtired and uncharacteristically grumpy. I'm harder to scare off than that." "Useless, hell no." Dusk says this as he stretches a wing outward, brushing in a friendly light touch against Stephanie's shoulders in thanks for the sandwich. "I /fly/ with them, that's not useless. They're also pretty great for smacking people upside the head when they get smart-assed about them. And they give /excellent/ hugs. Make really warm blankets in winter. But, uh." His smile quirks up crookedly. "Mostly it's the flying. And attracting a lot of stares." He leans over to pluck a few napkins out of the holder on his table, stretching out to offer them to Keira when she spills her coffee. "I /have/ been kind of lucky so far. I heal faster than most people -- which is okay for cuts and shit but when it comes to broken bones that's actually terrible? Because healing before they have a chance to be set right just means I could cripple myself for life and there aren't a /lot/ of people around who /know/ how to set giant-ass wings right. But I've had good folks looking after me. I uh," he glances over Arturo with a curious lift of brows, "-- can't say I'm actually a huge fan of mutant doctors though. Historically speaking. Where do you work?" "I tend to avoid injuries. I don't heal. "I'm just..older than average.". Selene's taking another sip of her coffee. Physically, she looks from a range to 20-25. Except the fact she's older than everyone in the conversation, a few of them combined (maybe all, math sucks). "What sort of veterinary techniques? I don't see how many of them could be used for mutants, many of us are unique in our ways. Unless the mutant was an actual animal, that is.". Melinda finishes her oatmeal and gets to her feet, slowly, hips first in an attempt to move her center of gravity first. "Well, it has been wonderful, but my break is over. I should get back to it." She moves over to give Dusk a hug before nodding to Arturo, Selene, and Keira. "I'll be around, so if you need anything, please let me know." She picks up her bowl and heads over to the dish reclaim basin. Instead of simply putting her used dish inside, she picks up the whole bucket and heads for the kitchen. Keira tosses a quick glance at Dusk and offers a brief smile, gently taking the napkins and starting to clean her dress. She doesn't look too much worried. Likely, she has or easily gets all these expensive posh gowns. "Thank you," she softly whispers. Her phone stops ringing, making the girl to sigh in relieve. Even the blush becomes less vivid on ber cheeks. The spilled coffee ruined her gloves, though. When she sees the dark liquid on her fingers, Keiro looks slightly more paniced. Pure cashmiere gloves are really expensive, after all. She starts nervously brushing fingers with napkins. Though, the spots do not disappear. Keira just jumos on her feet, gathering her things and runs out. "I understand," says Arturo in an even, sympathetic voice. He folds his hands together. The black nails stand out when he does that. "I've turned down several grants and backed out of deals with clinics if I even sniffed at them using my research to harm or hunt down mutants rather than heal them. It's why I...work as a floater among free clinics. I work on my research in my spare time." He sips his coffee, then looks over to Selene. "Veterinary medicine requires treating creatures with diverse biology. What works for humans doesn't necessarily work for mutants - even the ones that look ordinary on the outside. Medicines might cause a reaction, treatments might not work. Treating a mutant means you need to be agile. That and...well.." he nods towards Dusk. "If his wings are actually like a bat's, the transferrable techniques are evident." When Melinda stands and heads out, he offers her a closed lip smile and a nod. And when Keira darts out, he blinks a bit in surprise. "There's a lot of overlap, actually. My wings are a /lot/ like a bat, from the bone structure to the receptors on them. And I echolocate, too. And I mean, I have friends with hollow bird-bones, or fish-gills and shark-teeth --" Dusk shrugs, more through one wing than through his shoulder. His head tils slightly to one side; he considers Arturo thoughtfully, lips pressing slowly together. He reaches down to pick up his sandwich, doctoring it liberally with the sals and jalapenos. He pauses with it halfway to his mouth as Keira dashes off, opening his mouth like he's about to say something but then stopping. Just -- giving another shrug, and taking a bite of sandwich. He washes it down with a small swallow of coffee before continuing. "-- You checked out the Mendel Clinic at all? They're one of the only places I've seen that's not fucked up as hell. They actually keep a vet or two on as consultants. For people like me," he says, wryly. "Though actually Common Ground in Clinton's been pretty welcoming, too. But Mendel's the only one that /focuses/ on us and, well, aren't full of sick-ass fucks looking to slice us open just to see what's inside." His mind flares brighter, here, fierce and angry with brief memories of operating rooms, blood, the background sound of screaming. "I don't know many mutants who are physically inclined. Though, I could qualify, in a broad, end of spectrum sense, I suppose. But I tend to not think of it like that. I don't see mutants differently for being physically inclined or not.". No, Selene just sees this as the most powerful weapons she could use. Willingly, of course! "The Mendel Clinic's quite nice, especially architecturally. I plan on working with the man who designed it in the future.". Selene says, finishing her coffee. And then the gruesome images. "Oh dear..that must have been absolutely awful. What you went through looked horrible.". "I'm wary of anywhere with a profile. For reasons you likely understand," says Arturo. "And I don't even know if they'd take me on. I've burnt a lot of bridges lately." His own sandwich arrives and he pulls the toothpick out that's holding it together. "I want to help. I became a doctor so I could help people who are different." Which he hasn't explicitly said is /him/ yet, but it's fairly obvious. "My roommate designed it." Dusk says this with a sharp grin and a quite note of pride. "He's kind of a fucking genius." He takes another hungry bite of his sandwich, eyes closing with a note of relish. "-- Soooo, you want to help doctor mutants, you just don't want to do it at pretty much the only place on earth that's actually trying to help doctor mutants?" He raises his brows, amusement lightening his tone. "Whatever suits you, I guess. You could go sign on at Prometheus, they like to lay low." His wings ripple behind him with this name, eyes lowering to his plate. "But with most other hospitals and places actively /turning/ us the hell /away/ I feel like your options are probably kinda limited." He takes another bite of food, chewing slowly and swallowing. His wing shrugs again, and he shoots Selene a crooked smile. "Wasn't a party." Selene laughs upon learning Dusk's connection to Hive. "So Hive's your roommate? Me and him share the same ability; albeit mine's a bit more finetuned, I'd have to say. It's how we met.". Okay, Selene apparently has a lot of abilities or something. "Didn't seem like one either.". "I...have trust issues," says Arturo with a small smile. He doesn't hide his teeth so much this time. Those are clearly not human-looking teeth. He finishes his sandwich off relatively quickly, then balls up a napkin. "I must be off. Good to meet you both. Arturo, by the way." "Same ability as Hive?" Dusk's tone is a little skeptical, smile still kind of crooked. << -- somehow doubt /that/, >> echoes in his mind. If he notices Arturo's teeth he doesn't have much reaction to them -- but then again, the large fangs he's made absolutely no effort to hide in his /own/ mouth probably suggest he wouldn't be overly bothered. One upper portion of a flexible-thin wing dips downward in a wave. "I'm Dusk," he introduces himself. "And good luck with --" He hesitates. "Well, whatever it is you're aiming for." He picks up his coffee, lifting it to Arturo in salute. << I assure you, it's true. >>. Selene doesn't react to the teeth either, but that's mostly because she doesn't care. "Selene. Pleasure.". She's then lifting herself out of her seat with her empty cup, this time choosing to talk with her mind again to ease the doubt. << It was a pleasure to meet you, Dusk. Have a nice day. >> After Selene's assertion that she and Hive share an ability, Dusk seems entirely unsurprised at the mental voice in his head; even so, the lingering /skepticism/ in his mind remains, a quiet note of amusement in it as the same doubt -- nope, /still/ don't believe they share a power -- continues. He doesn't elucidate, though, just tipping his cup to Selene as well. "You, too," he answers her out loud, mind falling back into a cloudy-quiet fuzz of well-practiced mental static as he turns his attention hungrily to his sandwich.