ArchivedLogs:The Things We Aren't Proud Of

The Things We Aren't Proud Of
Dramatis Personae Mai, Marinov, Paige
In Absentia	2017-01-17 "Why murder?"
Location <NYC> NYPD Station - Garment District
Despite the fashionable clothing of those outside, almost everyone inside the NYPD station is wearing the same dark blue uniform, gold badges flashing on their chest. A few, however, are in business clothing, and a rare one or two are in crisp white uniforms. The police station is several floors high, each dedicated to a different department, and a rare parking lot in the back where the cruisers and trucks sit. It's later in the afternoon, at least late enough so that Marinov's school day is over, and the teen has made good on their promise to meet up with Paige to go and visit Mai at the police station. The visitor room is rather bare, and an officer stands near the door silently observing. Before having come, both Paige and Marinov had to give most of their personal belongings over temporarily so that they had empty pockets for the meet-up. In order to try and avoid too much hassle at the station, Marinov has put on a rather business looking black suit with pinstripes and a navy blue necktie. They make sure that their companion is doing alright before sitting down at the provided table. Paige is not nearly as well-dressed as her friend, wearing a long-sleeve black shirt beneath a similarly-colored cardigan along with her pair of blue jeans. She looks incredibly anxious, ears flicking upwards in alarm at each sound - whether it be the shutting of the door, the noise her hooves make on the floor, or the gentle scraping of the chairs as they are pulled out. Her hands are fidgeting at her sides and it seems she is doing her best to stay composed despite the slight redness of her skin beneath the short layer of fur. Nodding to Marinov's check-in with her, she takes a seat herself, fingers clenching and unclenching on top of the table. Mai gets escorted into the room a few minutes later by a police officer, who then leaves, closing the door behind him. She is still wearing pretty much the same clothes as she was when she was arrested, just probably with less stuff in the pockets. She offers a slight smile when she sees who are in the room, probably not having been told that before. "Oh, hey there." she offers, like what should one say in situation like this? Marinov waits patiently for Mai's arrival, and they offer her a wave and say, maybe a bit awkwardly, "Hey. How you holding up?" They cross one leg over the other and then glance over towards Paige, expecting that she might have a little more to ask and say. Paige practically explodes out of her seat, standing up quickly when Mai enters the room. Her chair clatters onto the floor and she places an extended hand on the table to stabilize herself on her hooves. She's silent for several seconds, fingers again clenching and unclenching at her sides, as her eyes inspect her imprisoned friend. "Mai," she says, her voice sounding rather hoarse. She wanders a few steps towards the other girl and holds out her arms to offer a hug. "Mai," she repeats. "How--how are you?" Mai looks between the two of them for a few moments, offering a nod to Marinov. "It is good to see you, nice variety for the creeps they keep down in those holding cells." she notes with a weak laugh.Then turns her attention to Paige when the girl comes closer, she hasn't sat down herself yet at least, but is still standing there, though does take a few steps closer to her friend. "Hey... I am doing okay all things considering, I suppose. I am just sorry for you losing a roof over your head again." she offers as she accepts the hug. Marinov watches the interaction between Mai and Paige curiously, sniffing lightly at the air in the visiting area. They stay seated, claws tapping lightly against the surface of the table, and they add, "{Sorry} that we didn't come earlier, we were planning on it, but... I guess we couldn't come 'til now." Instead of moving in for a gentle embrace, Paige grabs Mai and pulls her in tightly. "They wouldn't let us see you any earlier," she says, supporting Marinov's statement. "I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. And don't you dare worry about me. I'll be okay. I've gone to the shelter Steve told me about." She backs out of the hug for a moment to offer a weak smile to the other girl. "Steve Rogers - you know, Captain America. Maybe--maybe I'll get him to visit you or something. He's a really nice guy and I know how much you want to meet him. And you shouldn't be in here -that- long, right? Maybe just a few weeks, a few months, 'til they figure out what happened?" Then she's in full-on hugging mode again. "I don't care what happened, okay? I don't care what you did. I--I really hope it was self-defense. But even if it wasn't...I guess--I guess we shouldn't talk about that. We didn't come here to talk about that. We came here to see you." Mai blinks in surprise when she is pulled in the hug that tightly, taking a bit more care in wrapping her hands around the other girl too, patting her back some calmingly. "Uhh... well if you could get him to come I certainly would not object, though I would imagine he has more important things to do? And... I don't know... I have no idea how long this thing is going to go on... though I think at least that they can't keep me here forever. I don't really know that much about how all these procedures go... but they do seem to love filling all kinds of forms and papers at least." She replies, not commenting on the whole what she did or why since well Paige told her not to. "I met Steve Rogers once! At a protest... Um, where," they glance towards the officer who is presently observing, and back towards the other before hastily finishing that story, "Well, I didn't have the greatest time of it." They rub their hands together and then say, "Yeah, I'm guessing...you've probably got a lot of forms to fill out. Do you have a lawyer of your own, or... a public defender?" Paige does not seem to be in any hurry to let go of Mai, but the other girl's patting of her back does cause some tension to ease out of the embrace. "What's important is you," the blonde mutant informs her friend. "Like I said, I don't care what happened. We're friends until the end, alright?" With a sigh, she finally releases Mai and heads back over to the table where she carefully bends down and picks up her chair. She doesn't yet sit down again, however. Instead she glances back to Mai, ears drooping. "I wish I could help you on the lawyer front, but I don't--you know I don't have any resources. I hope they give you a good one." Mai gives a curious look towards Marinov at their words, which give her an idea that she hadn't thought about. "Uhh, I don't have money for a lawyer... their prices are crazy. So I guess a public defender. That actually.... doesn't make me overly hopeful. You seem to know many people... I don't suppose you would happen to know any lawyers... mutant lawyers? I am not sure how much I could trust a public defender to be neutral... since you know... I am a mutant... and they are specifically accusing me of the murder of a known mutant hater." Her voice sounding quite a bit more worried... more vulnerable than normally, even if her expression does not change much still, having that well-practiced mask on to not show weakness. "Me, know many people?" repeats Marinov, blinking a few times, "Umm... Well, one of the old teachers at the school, before my time, was a lawyer. I expect that she does plenty of mutant law, given where she worked. But I dunno how to contact her... I can look into it. There might be others through the school, I imagine they have need of mutant friendly lawyers sometimes." The teen scratches the back of their neck lightly and glances over towards Paige. "I mean, I can't really afford a lawyer either though, you know? Anyone taking the case would have to be all pro bono." Paige lets out a strained sigh before essentially collapsing into her chair. She puts her elbows on the table and buries her head in her hands, fingers pressing into and rubbing the spots where her horns push out. The goat girl remains silent while the other two talk and for an additional minute afterwards. Her ears are pressed downwards as she squeezes her head. "Public defenders have to be neutral, right?" she squeaks out, glancing towards Marinov and then to Mai. "I mean, otherwise they'd be breaking the law, I'm pretty sure. I'm sure they have ones who are mutants too." Now she allows her hands to fall down and she lifts her head, offering a weak smile to Mai. "I mean, I know you didn't do anything malicious so the public defender you get will have to see it too, right?" Mai chews on her lower lip some nervously as she listens to Marinov's reply, nodding at a few points. "Well... at least compared to me... like your in that mutant school and all... I can count the number of mutants I could consider knowing with my fingers. I would really appreciate it if you could... though I have no idea how I could ever repay you... like... you don't really have any reason to help me... I just... I just don't know who else to ask." Sighing as she sits down on the edge of the table, hugging her arms against her chest as she listens to what Paige is saying, with somewhat questioning expression, as if she isn't sure if the goat-girl is serious. "Nothing is neutral when it comes to mutants... they all hate, fear, or at the very least, distrust us. In a case like this, it doesn't even matter what someone actually did, or why, as long as they can blame a mutant for it, they will. How can you not see that?" "Yeah, there's all kinds of biases in the law system. It's really... stacked against mutants in general," says Marinov, shifting uncomfortably at that, "I mean, they're supposed to be neutral, sure, but... I dunno. It's not neutral. The system's sorta fucked." They stand up from their chair for a few moments, pacing on the spot. "And yeah, I know a lot of mutants, but they're mostly my age to be honest, and kids my age tend to be, uh... sorta useless, I guess. But like I said, I'll see what I can see." Paige's ears droop and her smile quickly fades at Mai's response. Her eyes lower and she buries her reddening face in her hands again. "I was just--I was just trying--" Her ears flick back before pressing back down and her jaw works a bit; in the end, she seems to decide that it would be best if she stayed quiet while the other two converse. Mai nods in agreement with what Marinov says regarding the legal system. "Yeah... they are trying to push us down at every turn, but you know, eventually it WILL reach the point where we decide that we wont be pushed any further, I have been trying to live by their rules, acting like I would be just one of them, and look how well that worked out. It will only get worse, more people will decide that they wont be pushed back anymore, and they will rise, and there will be war. Maybe not tomorrow, or next year, or next ten years, but at the current way things are going, it -will- happen." her voice lowered to just enough for her two friends to hear, just in case there is some listening devices somewhere in the room, she would not be surprised if there are. Then taking a deep breath as she reaches her hands up to brush them over her face and then back through her hair, before continuing in more normal voice. "I just hope that this mess would be over and done. This waiting is the worst part, when you don't even know what is going to happen, you know? It is nice to see you at least so have like someone to talk to." "Umm, yeah, I can imagine that the waiting would be pretty hard..." says Marinov, nodding a couple of times as they sit back down, ears tilting towards Mai as she starts talking about war starting. They glance over towards Paige for a moment and then say to Mai, "I don't think a war is inevitable... but I think that we're gonna have to do a lot of fucking work in order to avoid that sort of tension exploding. We can make progress without resorting to... well, outright violence? It'll just be a fuckton of work. I'll do what I can to help, though, it's just... I dunno. I've got my allowance and my connections, and neither is really great." "I don't know what to do," Paige mumbles, ears twitching, head still buried in her hands. When she lifts her head up, her face is red beneath the fur and it looks like she may have been silently crying a bit. "I don't know what to do. There's nothing I can do. Murder, Mai. -Murder-. Why murder? Why couldn't it be shoplifting? Why couldn't you have just stolen something? Why MURDER?" The older mutant's voice is rising in volume. "Do you not think of the consequences? Did you not think they--" Here she straightens her posture and points to the guards outside the door. "--would find out? Why the -fuck- would you kill someone?" Her outstretched hand returns to the table and forms a fist. "What the -fuck-?! Why the -fuck- did you do this?! You want a fucking war?! Well, now we're going to get one, thanks to people like you. People who just fucking murder other people. What the FUCK, Mai?!" Though her words are clearly and vehemently angry, Paige's body is trembling, but not in rage. "Waiting is the worst part? What about having your trusted friend lie to you? What about having them arrested for -murder-? What about having your family torn and ripped apart over and over and over again?! WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU KILL SOMEONE?!" Mai is about to reply to Marinov, when Paige starts her rant, that is quite unlike the Paige that she has known before. She doesn't say anything until the other girl is finished, probably would not be able to even if she tried with how determined Paige is about that. She does seem rather hurt by it, but her voice stays fairly neutral. "I did not start it. You speak of family... that man killed -my- family. Blood... calls out for blood." she states in response, then, after a pause, adds. "I never lied to you." which is true, she might not have told Paige everything, but she never outright lied to her. Marinov puts up their hands after hearing what would amount to a confession in their books, and say in a bit of a higher voice than usual, "Umm, maybe best to... well, not talk about that right now, yeah?" They look over to Paige and say, "Yeah?" They put their hands on the back of their head, not sure how to process this information, though. They stand back up and continue to pace. Paige is fuming even while her body shakes. A glare is given to Marinov as she clenches her jaw, ears pressed up and back, and squeezes her fist more tightly. Her teeth grind silently before she says, in a hissing whisper, "So you -did- kill him." Her eyes narrows as both hands forming fists and she continues more loudly, "Blood calls out for blood, Mai. You murder someone, they come after us. Mutants. They come after me. They come after Marinov. They come after Taylor. They come after Fiona. Shane. Anette. Dusk. Flicker. Isra. They come after -us-. Not mutants like -you-. You get to fly under the radar with your human looks and your hidden abilities. -You- don't get targeted. -We- do. I can't believe you would do this. I think of you as family. 'That man' might have killed your parents, but you might be killing the rest of your family with your unthinking foolishness. Did he come after you again?" Now her voice drops again. "Did he attack you again? Try to kill you? -That- I might understand, Mai. -That- would be...okay. So, tell me, is -that- what happened?" The expression on the goat girl's face softens somewhat. "Tell me - was it self-defense?" Mai gives a nod in agreement to what Marinov says, as she looks to Paige. "I don't think this is the right place for talking about this... for all we know, they might have planted some microphones here and be listening on to us." she points out, somewhat paranoid maybe, but possibly not. Even though she very much would want to tell Paige in detail about what she has gone through. But as it is, she only replies with. "Sometimes, we all must do things that we are not proud of." Marinov nods a few times as Mai points out that there might be folks listening in and they look towards Paige, "You're right, of course... of course you're right. Whenever something high profile happens, like something that gets into the news, shit gets stirred up. Like that thing in the papers,that's a reason there's been attacks, the firebombs, there was an excuse. It's a chain of cause and effect that's a real fucking mess. If there were a war, folks who wear their mutation openly are the ones on the front lines." They shake their head lightly and say, "But now is not the time to be debating on it, yeah? If... if you're upset, Paige, maybe we should get going. We can come back another time..." Although she tries to maintain an angry glare on her face, Paige's countenance begins to soften into one of sadness again. Her face is still very red beneath her cream and beige-colored fur as she sniffles, tears starting to well out of her eyes. "Go, yeah," is her simple response as she stands unsteadily, body trembling. "I don't--I'm not--I don't hate you, Mai." The older girl admits, ducking her head and wiping at her nose and eyes with a sleeve. "I'm just--I just don't think you understand. I just need to go. I'm really glad we got to see you. I'll try to--to keep in touch, o-okay?" Mai gives a slight shrug at the mention of the attacks. "People who do that kind of things... they would have found some other excuse to doing it sooner or later anyway. Because they do not understand us, and people fear what they don't understand. Stay safe, both of you. At least I can take care of myself if there are some mutant haters in the cells too. Though, I still hope that I wont be stuck in here for too long. I hope you get your life in order Paige, then maybe later I can stay in your place for change." she offers with a light laugh, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Marinov nods towards Mai and says, "Yeah, we'll stay safe. You take care, too, yeah? I'll look into the lawyer thing, but... I can't make any promises, yeah? But I'll look about and keep an ear open." They glance towards Paige and put an arm around the older girl in order to comfort her but also to lead her out of the visitation room. Paige opens her mouth as if to respond to Mai, but catches herself. Closing her mouth for a second, she opens it again to remark, "I'll always care about you, Mai." She turns around and allows Marinov to guide her out of the room, bowing her head to mutter in such a way that only they can hear. "I really don't think she understands."