freshcir

[freshcir]

Her smile grew, realizing this would be her first ever sleepover she was excited to have him be the one who gave her that honor. "Do whatever you need to do - but where do you work?" she asked, sitting next to him and crossing her legs. "I'd love that!" she gasped excitedly, "I'm so glad I got to see you again, it's hard to feel comfortable with no familiar faces here"

rolling onto his side, ed faces her directly, yellow eyes blinking slowly. "okay, sure. i'll sneak out tonight. i'll just have to go back to finish my rounds, that's all." he doesn't know what would happen if he didn't come back... but he doesn't like to think about it. odds are, nothing good. "maybe i can show you where i work tomorrow. that way you can come visit me, too."

[freshcir]

"Don't remind me," he scoffed with a roll of his eyes, knowing that there was no better day of reminding single people how blissful a life with someone else seemed to be than on Valentine's day. "Honestly? They've probably called me worse while my cochlear was off so I'm not going to really be surprised by much," he joked

❝also known as single awareness day,❞ chuckled coryn, eyes hidden behind a pair of shades; obviously hung over from the night before. the graphic novelist now wishing he had stopped after the fifth shot of homespun moonshine. he should have known better. predicted this. ❝the kids are going to call you poor. do you want to be known as that by children? if you need money, I'll give you some.❞

[freshcir]

She looked down at where the other was gesturing, realizing her shoe was about to crush the poor pencil. "Right," she said as she bent down and grabbed it before handing it to the other, brow raised as she wondered what they were so awkward for. "You're talking to me like I'm going to rip your head off, kid," she half-joked

He can tell by the overall demeanour of the woman that she's having a bad day, however the pencil that had been so securely tucked behind his ear had dislodged when a rogue sneeze had contorted his face in such a way so as to send it flying away only to roll under the table where she was seated. Hi hands wring together awkwardly and he clears his throat "um, sorry it's just... my pencil" he gestures to the ground benesth her shoe, where it's precariously resting- on the verge of being crushed underfoot.

[freshcir]

"Really?" she quietly asks, wondering if that was even a possibility. If someone like her deserved normalcy after everything she had gone through. "I was told I didn't deserve anything," she finally said, "that I was better off being quiet and living as if I wasn't existing.... Is it possible for me to actually fit in and enjoy life?" she questioned, knowing it wasn't an easy question to answer - hell, she didn't even expect an answer, but she yearned to fit in - to even be viewed as an equal to another. "I know it's not my place to bother you with this but... Can we be friends?" she quietly asked, voice breaking

"nonsense. complaining is one of our great joys in life." as she speaks, kali continues to carefully outline the young dryad's figure. for her line work, she's found the best method is to dip the tip of one of her claws into the pain. as long as she keeps them sharp, they're more precise than even a very thin brush. "i promise you that i've been where you are now. confused, different, out of touch with the rest of the world. it's never easy, but you learn to grow around the challenges."

[freshcir]

"Of course!" she smiled, happy to help the other to the best of her abilities. She rarely ran the shop but the owner had taken her under their wing and she didn't mind helping out every now and then. "I think we have some over here," she smiled as she stretched up to grab a few planters and placed them in front of her. "Any specific colors?"

The cane clicks gently against the pavement in front of her as it's swiped from left to right, as Valentine navigates the perpetually dark streets of the city on her daily stroll. The sweet aroma of florals fill her nostrils and she smiles fondly, directing herself towards the smell. There's a voice she assumes is directed at her as it's in close proximity and she stops in place, turning to face them. "Hi" she smiles, inclining her head "I was wondering if you have any freesias to hand? I'd love to purchase some if you do."

[freshcir]

"You know this gives off a 'I'm a villain' vibe, right?" she said as she took the coin from him and held it up in the air for a moment before placing it in her pocket. "'Cause only the bad guys have lairs in freaking mazes"

santiago takes her hand with a six-fingered grasp of his own, careful to keep his taloned thumbs out of the mix. once it retreats, he reaches into his jacket to pull out a small gold coin, adorned with a dragon. "do you know where to find the entrance to the tunnels?" passing it over, he explains, "it's a maze down there. this will point you in the right direction. the closer you get, the brighter it glows."

[freshcir]

"Right, uh," her face turned slightly red, realizing that she had been caught talking to supposedly thin air. It was something Mavi did a lot when younger, forgetting that others couldn't see what she could, and it rarely happened now but still, there were moments she reverted to her old ways without remembering. "Honestly bring me anything, I'm not picky, and I can totally explain that," she smiled awkwardly

There's a puzzled look on her face as she tilts her head from left to right trying to pinpoint who exactly the woman across the bar from her is speaking to. She can't hear any breathing or heartbeats nearby, no other voices, but the woman hasn't spoken to her since entering The Saints, seemingly preoccupied with her conversation. "Um, you walked into my bar? I'm waiting for you to order." She doesn't mention the odd conversation, she hasn't had enough coffee to handle whatever explanation the woman has to offer.

[freshcir]

@uncny - utp

She was having an off day, nightmares from her time as a research subject having kept her up at night - something that happened every now and then. She knew she probably should have gone to a professional to help her with these but she didn't want to burden anyone with her problems - even if that's what they were trained for. So, blanking out, she jumped as she heard a noise and quickly turned to look at them. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

[freshcir]

@all-cf-me - utp

"He doesn't understand," he said as he got in between the fight, recognizing one of his students as he turned to him and signed for him to apologize and leave. The student did that and slowly began to walk away, turning their head every now and then to make sure they weren't being followed. "Jesus Christ," he huffed as he looked at the other, "couldn't you tell they didn't understand what you were saying?"

[freshcir]

@oftheunbroken - tyche

"Yeah, no, I totally meant to do that," she said as she opened a window to blow the smoke out, the device she had been tinkering with beginning to smoke. "I'll make sure to make it smoke more next time," she joked as she looked up. "Sorry, didn't mean to stink up the place"

[freshcir]

"It's fine, man," he said, not going to tell the other used his power to help calm them, letting them believe they were more than capable on their own to calm themselves. "No, no, I mean I'm sure you scared them but hurting? Nah," he said with a shake of his head before feeling something drip on his top lip and, touching it, was surprised to see blood. Ah, he must've overused his ability. "Dammit," he whispered, pressing his sleeve to his nose, "sorry, man,"

It's not hard for Dodge's mood to escalate nowadays, not when the mutant population is slowly swelling to new highs, dangerous individuals are roaming free, and they've suffered some losses on the Council. Usually when he's off-duty he has at least some grace to offer in the hustle and bustle, but when a sleazy reptilian commoner body-checks him and dares to hiss a threat in his ear, Dodge had her pinned against the nearest wall with a cocked fist in seconds.

That is, until he feels a gentle touch at his arm and hears an even gentler voice, and suddenly all of his white-water ire drains, replaced by a peaceful and placid pool. Dodge drops the mutant and lets Sam guide him away, giving him an apologetic glance. "Geez... I'm sorry, I... I don't know what came over me. Do you think I hurt that person...?"

[freshcir]

"I get that," he nodded, "just try to stay out of trouble, have to be the best out of my siblings," he winked playfully before walking next to him, feeling a tad bit safer just in case anyone saw the mess and suspected he did it on purpose. "Oh, awesome, what made you stop?"

adrian shakes his head. "there's a lot worse you could do than this, believe me. most people who make a scene aren't so concerned about it." hands on his hips, he continues, "no, i don't work here. i just used to be part of security, is all. hard to get out of the mindset."

[freshcir]

'Morse, huh? Don't think I know that one,' he admitted, impressed someone could pick up something so seemingly difficult - though sign language gave off the same impression at first to many people. 'Well if I ever sign too fast or you don't understand what I'm saying just have me repeat myself. I'm more than patient enough - it's my job actually'

oh, i know all about that, he types, smirking. about speaking without people knowing, that is. i usually talk by morse. it's what that friend i mentioned taught me. people don't usually know it. but i would love to have something more widely known. a lot of the time, it feels like i can't talk to hardly anyone at all.

[freshcir]

"I know, and that's why I'm only having him visit her until further notice," she said, knowing it was a big risk to introduce him into Ruby's life but she couldn't keep her away from her father forever - especially in a settlement that wasn't that large. "Radiation, probably, something that could easily be managed if I had the fucking money"

Scarlett brushes off his pet name and he just grins into his drink before taking a deep pull: honestly, it's rare Seth even realizes he's using them at all and by now it's second nature (or even more like third or fourth), but he can make an attempt for her sake. "Scarlett," he corrects, emphasizing with a little wink. "A game plan makes sense... you can't very well take a kid around a place like his without cleaning up all the criminal paraphernalia first."

Seth frowns a bit, then, and the concern that flickers across his face is relatively genuine. "Sick, huh? With what?"

[freshcir]

'Really?' she asked, genuinely happy for the other - knowing it was rare to have people who knew how to sign around here, her having been lucky to learn it while in Juvi growing up. 'You already were, don't sell yourself short'

scarlett is right—he hardly feels her elbow against his tough hide. barely a poke. no less humorous, though he doesn't employ the same move himself. she's quite a bit smaller and more delicate than he is. "very good. i met someone who's going to teach me to sign. and now i've got this device to speak, too. i think i'll finally be able to make something of myself here."

[freshcir]

She genuinely wondered why he was so nervous, not taking into account his external appearance could scare others. And maybe it was her being naive but she just never thought to judge others on looks - except the people that ran the test subjects, they all looked as scary as they were. "I don't know, maybe there's an agriculture section?" she thought aloud. "You want to go ask?"

"okay," he says, trying for a smile. maybe it would be silly to anyone else, but it's comforting to have someone hold his hand. even so, he makes sure to hold the door open for her before he steps in himself. he doesn't want to be impolite, after all... and he has to squeeze through anyway. once inside, he holds his breath for a long moment, but shouting and panic never comes. with a whoosh of breath, he says, quietly, "where do you think they keep the plant books?"

[freshcir]

"Well it isn't mine, I kind of rent it all in a way but yeah," she said with a growing smile - her excitement beginning to match his. She knew how much of a luxury this was compared to the sector they were in so it was probably a lot for him to take in. "I wouldn't let you either way," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "If you want you can stay tonight? We can have what people call a sleepover"

"slipping through the door, ed looks around the modest room. it's everything he could ever want—a door and a lock and a nice bed and a television? it's impossible to keep himself from lighting up at the sight, stub of his tail wagging in his baggy pants. "wow, all of this is yours? you've got it made," he says, flopping onto the springy bed. durable enough! "and this bed fits two people, so if i come over, i don't have to sleep on the floor."