Joel Nicolosi

Joel left Sio to her cooking and proceeded to haul in a few bags from the Jeep before strolling across the street to borrow the forklift from his neighbors at the machine shop as he’d done countless times before. They were long gone for the day, but Joel had a key to their small garage. Since he moved in they’d never minded him using it since the first time he asked and likewise whenever anyone that worked for the small business had any automotive troubles, Joel took care of them. It was typical Southside. As he putted back across the street and past the Jeep, raising the forks slightly to clear the curb, he figured he could just buy his own from his race winnings, but with his own lift, he would miss out on his regular excuse for shooting the shit with the employees.

As he had asked before leaving for Japan, one of the owners of the small shop deposited the various parts and accessories that he ordered for Sio’s car in one of the two old shipping containers behind Apex Designs. Pulling the lock, the big metal door opened with a metallic groan revealing a sizable assortment of crates and cardboard boxes. He loaded the forks with the lighter items first and carried them back to the shop stopping briefly as he placed them in front of her car to smell the food cooking and steal a glance at her busily working the appliances in ways they’d never been used before. Next came a large wooden crate containing the new engine, then another with the transmission and another with the coilovers and new suspension. He was still missing several pieces that had not arrived, but the beauty of working on domestics usually meant the wait could be measured in days.

He was figuring that he could likely have the whole car stripped down to the body by the end of the week as he walked back across the street glancing up at the red-orange evening sky. The scent of baked salmon floated by his nostrils again and nothing else suddenly mattered other than eating. More than two weeks of Japanese was enough for any red-blooded American. As he strolled into the kitchen, he oddly found the table set and ready, but no sign of Sio. He glanced around at the shop floor where the two cars sat quietly then looked up the stairs. God, she was nosey. He thought. She couldn’t just sit patiently and wait. Remembering that a certain set of stairs had led to their first encounter back on the roof of City Hall, he crept up the stairs finding her wandering between his living room and bedroom.

The upstairs remodel had left for some storage space between the rooms where the old offices, parts area and conference room had been from the previous welding business. He crept around the outside silently, again channeling his younger days of playing Metal Gear Solid on Playstation and retrieved an old black driving helmet from the storage area. Carefully looking back around a corner he caught her examining one of the oil paintings that hung on the wall of his “living room” and slowly, deliberately balancing the weight of each step, began silently slinking down the wall towards her. Knowing that if she just happened to turn or get bored, she would catch him and he’d look like a fool, but such rare opportunities required boldness of character and pressed on.

When he was only a few, short steps behind her he quietly flipped down the solid black tinted visor and waited.

@Almalthia

Marcus Ainsworth

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Marcus sat at a table outside the cafe, sipping slowly at his coffee and eating his bacon and egg roll, while watching and listening to the talented street performer. Despite how nervous he obviously was, he was good. The calm, relaxing vibe of the music helped Marcus to think, to process the shitshow that had been the last few weeks of his life. He hadn't been able to think critically about it until that point. It was too raw, the wounds too fresh. The only feelings it produced were hopelessness and anger. But the music helped him to steady his thoughts and really think.

Marcus had lived in Sol for about a year and a half. He moved there from a small town in the middle of nowhere with his childhood sweetheart Hannah. They were madly in love, and although things were rough, they made it work. While Marcus focused on his music, Hannah worked. Money was tight, but it was doable. At least, that’s what he thought.

The memory was still clear as day. Marcus had come home one afternoon after doing some busking to find Hannah standing there with bags packed. “Hey babe. Are we going somewhere?” He asked optimistically, before he saw the look on Hannah’s face.
“No… I am… I’m sorry Marcus, I can’t do it anymore. I’m sick of providing for you, while you do nothing… It’s time for you to grow up. Without me.”

That sentence played over and over in Marcus’ head. Ironically, because of it, Marcus had literally done nothing for the past two weeks. He couldn’t bring himself to leave his room, let alone the apartment. Until today. It actually felt good to be out doing something, and to think clearly for once without the stench of alcohol, fast-food and body odour.

When he finished eating, he got up and walked into the music store, giving the street performer a slight smile as he walked past. He didn’t let himself go to the guitar section, because he knew that he’d just make himself sad looking at all the guitars he couldn’t afford. Instead, he just went straight to the counter to get a set of new strings for his acoustic guitar. He scrounge around his pockets for the loose change to pay for them, which attracted a few looks, and left. He noticed the guitarist was no longer there, and was instead sitting by a table, fiddling with a prosthetic leg. Marcus approached him with shy smile.

“Hey, uh, sorry to bother you…” He mumbled softly, his voice croaky from barely using it for two weeks. “I saw you playing earlier… You, uh… You’re really good. Are you in a band, or somethin’?”

@Pilatus@LetMeDoStuff

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Siobhan studied the oil. She hadn’t gotten very far up the stairs when she saw the oil. Intrigued she moved closer to study it. Someone’s art said a lot about them. Sometimes it’s the only representation of themselves that is present.

She grinned at the subject of the painting. Racing cars. It was actually a very good rendition. The brush strokes evoked the motion of the race and the slight blur effect was reminiscent of a photo. The artist had probably copied off a photo. It leaned slightly toward impressionism but in a good way. It was all very Joel. The cars, the motion in the picture, the color palette and the style that wasn't quite real but had that whimsical feel to it. It just evoked the rush you got behind the wheel. She'd have to ask him if that was why he bought it.

Speaking of Joel where was he? And why did she feel like someone was watching her? Shaking off the creepy feelings that she had fought so hard to get past in therapy for years; Siobhan turned back toward the bedroom and saw something out the corner of her eye. She froze like a deer in headlights or a rabbit that senses a predator.

Gone were the recent weeks of training that she and Paige had been busy with. Back was that old familiar fear that had manifested itself after Genny’s attack. All the memories of the case came rushing back. The group of students who blamed her because it got out that the guy had mistaken Genny for her at the party. That it was supposed to be her that this tragedy happened to. That she should feel guilty about not being there for Genny and how she should have seen this coming.

All those memories that kept her frozen to the spot devoid of the little color she had. Whiter than a sheet, eyes wide and shaking like a leaf in a strong breeze slowly Siobhan turned and letting out a small yelp at the sight of a motorcycle helmet. Her fight or flight response fully kicked into gear in that instant.

Not thinking clearly at this point too overwhelmed by fear she took off like a shot for the bedroom. It was a beautiful leap over the couch and dead sprint to the bedroom to put something between her and whoever that was. Slamming the door she looked for a lock.

No lock. And pitch dark. She knew she was in trouble then.

Dustynn turned her head quickly to spot Steve, the bar's one and only Steve. Not seeing him, she turned back just to see the end of his 'prank' of sorts. Her eyebrows raised, and she craned her neck over her straw taking a sip. It was stomach churning overly sweet, but she wouldn't let Leo get the best of her. "Well, I wouldn't be opposed if this was a date. I haven't had the opportunity to be with a gentleman in well.. ever." she laughed, using her finger tips to push her glass over to the side of the table. She would finish it, but not until her food arrived; maybe it would mute the sugar out a bit.

"Wednesdays aren't very popular, but hopefully can have a good time regardless." she nodded, looking around at the diner. It was fairly busy for the middle of the day, but not overwhelming enough to wait long for their food. Dustynn met eyes with another woman at the table for a moment as she looked over that way. She delivered a friendly smile. There was no reason to be rude to anyone that you came across during the day.

With her legs on her thighs she gave herself a little squeeze out of comfort. "I'm excited for karaoke on Friday night. My repertoire is slowly growing. Soon I'll have a whole two songs." she laughed, taking a sip of her apple juice- forgetting it had been sabotaged. "Fuck, Leo-." she growled out, as the waitress placed their plates down in front of them.

@Cairo@Conscripts@Alex_The_Great

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"That bear… is looking real tasty right now."

As Professor Xavier and the rest of the Xmen talked about… well, he couldn't really hear them at this point, Joseph Moore stood by the side of the bear enclosure, staring into it with a fire in his eyes. As seemed to be tradition these days, he wasn't doing to great in terms of survival, going on about eight days with no food. On the one hand, it was a new personal record. On the other, he was still starving to death.

He hadn't even noticed he was drooling while he considered his options. He could either depend on the kindness of strangers and ask for food or money for food like he was homeless, which he totally wasn-… Ah, what the hell, he'd had his timeskip, he was more confident in himself now. He was totally homeless. He'd even lived under a bridge for a month, damn it! So, he could either beg for food or money, or he could climb into the enclosure and try to eat the bear.

So really, there was only one option that was actually somewhat viable.

And he moved to try and climb into the enclosure.

Unfortunately, as he began to lift his leg over, a particularly bad pang of hunger pain shot through his stomach, and he fell back to the ground.

"Uggghhhhhh…" He groaned as he fell flat on his back. "Daaaamn it… So huuungryyy…"

Well, you do still have the other option. A voice in his head said. Fighting a bear was probably a dumb idea anyway… Go ask that zoo lady if she can tranquillise it first, and then throw you in. Then you can eat it at your leisure.

"God inner me, you're so wise…" He mumbled to himself, before rolling over and dragging himself to the small group.

"Please, Xmen, food…" He groaned when he reached them. "Need food… Help me eat that beeeaaarrr…"

In his defence, he probably wouldn't have been dumb enough to call Thomas Professor X in most normal situations, but at this point he legitimately was seeing the Xmen thanks to hunger related hallucinations. It was probably also what convinced him he'd be able to fight a bear in hand to hand combat.

Beep!! Beep!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

With an irritated groan, Rei sat up from her bed and punched the snooze button on her alarm clock. Looking around her room, she had almost forgotten that she was stuck living in her brother's house instead of back home in Salem. Sighing, she forced herself out of bed, and changed into her everyday attire.

In the kitchen, said brother was making himself a cup of coffee when he noticed Rei walk in, brushing her hair. "Mornin' sunshine." He chuckled, receiving an annoyed and tired look from his twin. "Have you seen my keys anywhere, Ryan? I need to grab some breakfast at The Tea Pot." She asked him, looking around the counter.

"Last I checked, they were on the couch. Ya sure you don't want me to make you some breakfast too?" Ryan asked. "And it's called The Coffee Pot, not The Tea Pot."

"Potato, po-tah-to." Rei grumbled tiredly, walking over to the living room, and searching the couch.

"Alright, Grumpypants." Her brother shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Anyways, I told you before, I don't want you to worry about me. Why'd you think I got a job as a nurse?" She continued, emitting a small "Aha!" when she found her car keys in the couch cussions. "Right, I'll be back later, Rai!" She yelled back to Ryan before he could respond, running out the door.

A 30 minute drive later, and Rei had finally arrived at the cafe. Walking inside, she took a seat by one of the windows, and faceplanted into the table. Turns out, Rei had forgoten she was tired.

"I came to explore the city a bit. Just moved here a few weeks ago and haven't been out much. Thought I'd get some photos of the animals." he spoke with a slight frown. He tried to keep his voice monotoned, but the excitement of being out in public and actually talking to people has brought out more cracks than he'd like.

Out of no where a rather scruffy black haired man drug himself to the trio. Alex could tell that he hadn't eaten in at least a few days judging by the fact he referred to them as The Xmen. He cringed a bit and really really hoped that Thomas wouldn't get offended by that statement. "Help me eat that beeeaaarrr…" If you thought Alex cringed at the Xmen comment you can bet he did at that. He took a small step between the zookeeper and the man. He tried to help him up, but the he had a bit on Alex as well as being limp from hunger. With an aggravated groan he managed to get him to a sitting position. Slipping his camera bag from his back he removed the bottle of water and handed it to Sarah before standing. "Here, have him drink this. I'll go get him some food."

He kicked off into a full on run towards the nearest food stand. There was a woman taking her good time looking at the menu aggravating the sandy haired boy. Somewhat rudely, he cut in front of her and walked to the counter. "I'll take four hotdogs plain, three waters, and two chicken sandwiches, please." The worker gave him an odd look, but regardless took his money. Just a few moments later he was given a small box of food and drink. He carefully took off running back to the group. Immediately dropping to his knees next to the man he set the box in front of him. "I know you're hungry, but don't eat too fast. You'll make yourself sick."

Paige Kennedy

Paige watched as the wayward musician made a few adjustments to a prosthetic leg before taking up his things and trundling off without so much as a thank you to her and completely ignoring the gracious compliments of a fan he’d managed to attract. She rolled her eyes and wished she’d taken the opportunity to jam a few of the buttons on the drumbox when she had the chance. Sol City never disappointed when it came to being disappointing, she thought; even the hobos in Florida had more manners or maybe that was just the North in general. She shrugged a little at the scruffy looking younger guy still standing there. “Talent doesn’t imply courtesy.” She said dryly. He looked like he hadn’t seen daylight in weeks.

Seeing Milo approach with his usual gruff demeanor gave her a smirk. She could tell someone got on his nerves just by the way he walked and likewise could smell the subtle metallic scent of molten metal still on his clothes when he came near- a scent that she couldn’t bring herself to admit, but enjoyed immensely. “You’re gonna have to eat something, or I’m gonna feel like a fatass.” She said first as he ordered a drink. “It was a… enlightening meeting for him.” She said, turning her attention to his question. “I almost made him cry, but he told me what he knew.” She brushed some of her hair away and leaned back in the chair noting that it was the first meal they’d shared since the Sunday night after they took down Jackie Costa. She wanted to enjoy it, even briefly, but her mind was still impatiently contemplating their next move.

Telling him about the case or her investigation wouldn’t be something that her superiors would look kindly on, even though she told herself he had a right to know. The Syndicate would only send more people and she’d found out through the grapevine about the bonus offered to the assassin for her demise: $100k dead, $200k strangled-to-death. Should’ve settled for the 100. She boasted, but Milo didn’t seem to find the humor in the dark sentiment. In the time following the attack, the Marshal Service and State Police increased security around Milo’s shop and Paige’s new home: a small cottage on the east-side near the University that regularly served as a safe-house for witness protection. It was for her own good: defensible, secluded and away from the crowded city center. She did like it better than the apartment and it felt more like a home despite its purpose.

Still, she knew something big was brewing and could feel it in her gut. Unlike most women, her intuition seemed to mostly detect the less savory aspects of society and with the soon-arrival of Syndicate’s heir to the throne, she knew she couldn’t be far off.

@Zaxter996@RoccanIronclad

_{Victoria @PrinceAlexus. Slight smile and wave in turn to Dustynn@MissCapnCrunch and Leo@CaptainSully}

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Ashton smiled goofily at the comment about her sweet tooth compared with Victoria's sister. The blonde did quite have a sweet tooth. Listening to Victoria who seemed quite glad to get a little more clear, the tall blonde gave a silent chuckle, curling her index finger and thumb and pressing the tips together to form the OK symbol for the fact that assistance with moving was not needed and gave a bright smile. Taking another sip of her drink, she listened to Victoria explain how she was having a nice time at her job, which the raven haired girl gave little to no detail about. But the firefighter didn't mind too much, even though she was quite a bit curious what Victoria could be doing. Something that required to be quiet with information apparently.

Blinking at the questions Ashton gave a thumbs up before gingerly tapping in her phone. Occasionally having to delete back because her big thumbs ruined the word she was trying to type. 'I'm good! Coworkers won't let me get back to work for awhile so I've just been taking walks instead. And sure! Lets ask each other questions to get to know each other better then ^-^ What is your first question? Don't worry, I'll eventually find my way back to the station, no need to trouble yourself.' Ashton texted with a big bright cheerful smile.

It was always nice to make friends! Blinking as she saw Victoria seeming to look at something, she followed her gaze towards couple seated not too far away. They looked like they were having fun. They had seemed to notice Victoria's gaze since the girl smiled and the man saluted. Ashton just gave a bright smile when they did and gave a cheerful friendly wave of greeting before looking toward Victoria once more.

Joel Nicolosi

At first it was easy. As Sio yelped and did an Olympic-level leap over his couch, he was right behind her giving a predatory howl from behind the mask of the helmet with his arms outstretched after her. He made a show of flipping over the loveseat as he bounded behind, but as she slammed his bedroom door in his face and struggled for the lock that wasn’t there he found himself laughing so hard that he couldn’t go any further. Removing the helmet and clutching his side in a pitiful attempt to assuage the pain inflicted by his guttural hysterics, he slid down the door laughing uncontrollably. He’d used the helmet to scare the hell out of women before, but Sio’s reaction had been one of the best. It didn’t take long before there were tears in his eyes from the laughter.

The room was so quiet behind him he wondered if she’d tried hiding under the bed or took off further for the bathroom in hopes of finding a window that wouldn’t be there. Joel’s upstairs renovation wasn’t exactly a legal one and did not meet city code requirements for a living space with only the door as an escape route. Since he lived alone, keeping the lock off had been a practical move and he laughed even harder thinking about her fumbling around in the darkness with no idea that he could bust in there at any time and scare her some more. He hoped she didn’t break anything, but then again thought it might be worth it as he laughed even harder.

The thought crossed his mind to leave her in the dark and go down and eat, but with what could only loosely be described as sympathy he rapped on the door, still laughing. "Bring your ass outta there," He cackled. He had to fight against the urge to cough from laughing so much that his mouth was dry. "Or I'm gonna leave you in there. I'm hungry."

@Almalthia

Kurt Nichols - Wednesday Afternoon - Old Sol Museum

Kurt couldn't help but have a spring in his step as he headed towards DinoSol. When he was little, Kurt had an almost obsessive love of the giant lizards. Bed sheets, toys, books, clothes, movies: if it even tangentially related to dinosaurs Kurt had to do everything in his power to get his grubby child hands on it. Until late high school Kurt fully intended to be a paleontologist, but the cost of college and dire job prospects caused that dream to come crashing down. However none of that mattered now. Now he felt that childlike wonder welling up inside him as he approached the entrance to the exhibit. "DINOSOL - WHERE PAST MEETS PRESENT" decorated a large archway leading into a large domed room. Children and adults alike crowded around skeletons of theropod dinosaurs, with a large Allosaurus dominating the middle of the space. Kurt hypothesized that the room must have been a planetarium at some point in the past, with the large dome that once allowed room for model planets now housing the bones of long-dead giant lizards. Kurt couldn't help but walk around in slack-jawed awe at the exhibit. The museum boasted several nearly complete skeletons of small dinosaurs: a velociraptor with a lengthy description of how the raptors from Jurassic Park looked nothing like their real-world counterparts, a protoceratops guarding it's nest of fossilized eggs against an oviraptor, and even more exhibits ranging from Tyrannosaurus teeth you could hold to plesiosaurs hanging from the ceiling in a facsimile of swimming. All of this was only the entry room, the exhibit snaked through a majority of the rear half of the East Wing. Kurt was in heaven and set off to get his fill of big ol' lizards.

Kurt spent nearly an hour and a half milling around DinoSol. For a fleeting moment he was a child again, running around full of awe and excitement. For a fleeting moment he forgot about work, about rent, about still not finding a solid friend group in Sol, about the dull ache in his heart that has been consistent since his mother passed. However as he walked away from the remains of towering beasts he felt these thoughts and feelings beginning to creep back in. Kurt, however, found another way to keep these feelings away. The Old Sol Museum Gift Shop. After checking the time he began to mill around the postcards, snow globes, model planes, and other museum accoutrement. That's when Kurt spotted him. He was sitting near the back, in the "buy it before it's gone" section. Kurt thought he was perfect in every way, dumbfounded that anyone had let such a specimen stay unclaimed for so long. Kurt simply had to had him.

It was a plush of Kurt's favorite dinosaur: the therizinosaurus. These large theropod dinosaurs where herbivorous, and used their large sickle shaped claws for both protection and maneuvering plant matter closer to what Kurt affectionately referred to as "their big dumb face". Kurt slowly made his way towards his prize, pretending to look at various other wares along the way. It was all a ruse though, as his one goal was the stuffed dinosaur. After what seemed like an eternity Kurt had the plush in his hands and made a bee-line for the check outs. He quickly paid the casheer, placed the stuffed dinosaur into a bag, and headed out of the museum.

After exiting Kurt realized that he still had a majority of the evening to enjoy for himself. Getting off work early was powerful magic indeed. Once again the feeling of having no clue what to do set in as Kurt felt the near infinite possibilities stretch before him. "I could grab a cup of coffee...", Kurt mused to himself, "Nah, coffee doesn't sound good. And besides, I get paid to sit around and drink coffee at work, why would I wanna do it in my free time?" Kurt felt the weight of his yet-to-be-named plush dinosaur in the bag that hung loosely from his hand. That's when it hit him: why should his nostalgia trip stop here? Kurt had heard of an arcade near by. An honest to God arcade. He hadn't been to one since the one near his hometown closed in elementary school. With the rest of his evening planned and a smile spreading across his face, Kurt set off towards the Nova Wave Arcade.

Marcus Ainsworth

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Marcus was left standing there, feeling kind of stupid as the musician he tried to talk to just got up and walked off, without so much as a thank you. Exactly what his already fragile mental state needed. The awkward young man just stood there for a few moments, not sure how to react to being ignored like that. Normally it wouldn’t have been an issue, but with how fragile Marcus had been, it felt like a much bigger issue than it was. It took him a few moments to realise that he was being spoken to, due to all his attention going towards trying to hold back the tears that threatened to start flowing.

“Oh, uh, yeah… Guess so…”

When someone else sat down at the woman’s table, and they started talking about something that definitely wasn’t his business, Marcus walked off, visibly trying hard to keep himself together. He took deep breaths as he walked, idly fiddling with the packet of guitar strings in his hands. ‘C’mon Marcus… Hold it together… I just have to make it home, then I can stay there forever and never leave again…’

@Pilatus@RoccanIronclad

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Siobhan’s heart fluttered and she heard laughter on the other side of the door. She took a shaky step backwards then another she bumped into a dresser and knocked something over. A thud and a bit of a clatter on the floor accompanied the object or objects. It didn't sound like it broke but she turned too quickly and caught her arm on the corner. The dresser won the battle leaving a small scratch that she pulled back from, only too quickly. Stumbling she knocked her shin on what could only be the bed and wincing she fell on to it. Heart still hammering she tried to breathe past the pain of her tight chest and calm down as she lay on the bed.

She could hear the laughter on the other side of the door. A familiar voice told her to bring her ass out then laughter again. That's Joel. Now I want the floor to open up and just swallow me whole. Then Joel told her he'd leave her in there and that he was hungry. Mortified that he witnessed that she gasped for air the panic attack trying to reassert itself for a much different reason this time. Not wanting him to have a reason to link her and Marlin together she propped herself up on her elbows in the bed and looking at the direction of the door in a strained voice she said. “Go ahead. I'll there in a minute.” Siobhan flopped back down on the bed. That was all she really had breath for. She put her arms over her head and tried to focus on breathing in through her nose out through her mouth. Deep even breaths.

Easier said than done. Coming down out of the panic attack was going to throw her into a short crying session and she wasn't going to be able to make it down the stairs till she fully came out of it. Her legs would be jelly and stairs at that point would be suicide. She lifted her shaking hands to fumble through her hair. She'd left it down so it was a thick, curly, wavy mass and as soon as it tangled her fingers she gently pulled them out. Smoothing her hands down her face she blew out a shaky breath that she could tell was a prequel to the end of the attack. Also because even though she couldn't tell she was crying the dampness of her cheeks clearly pointed it out. Good God that's embarrassing!!! Why didn't I run for the stairs and just spare myself the embarrassment?!?! But no I have to run for the bedroom. Hopefully it will pass and he'll never know. I'll just let him think he scared me, which he did. He also doesn't know the other stuff that went on. Calm down. You're safe. Calm down. You're safe. Calm down. You're safe... Arms back over head breathing shakily repeating in her head calm down and that she was safe while trying not to curl into the fetal position.

@Silver Fox

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Victoria was relaxed and just enjoying her afternoon cafe visit, it defenitely was a good choice to pick for a stop off on her way back from work. Despite its high ceelings, large windows and light and airy style back home, thr large rooms and more did make her feel a a little lonely at times, but the peace and quiet the sense of security was definitely helping there mental wellbeing. The long main room was one her favourites and had large range of tall windows to the garden and large glass doors facing the entrench and views of the park from the balcony that wrapped round the 3 story and glass roofed entrench Hall. It was all very impressive as the double aspects lit the large home very well for a city home. It was there little oasis of peace.

Thanking her for offering help, she had moved in and to be honest traveled extremely light thanks to just flying in for a short time in planning. Now she was staying abit longer she had some things sent over from England she had in storage, thanks to things going on Victoria had not quite unpacked everything yet, though the extra clothes would mostly be useless, the odd dress still suited, shoes and so where handy to have a few more options.

pop by if your ever about. It faces the park so easy to find.

Its no bother before you even ask, Marlins Grandmother used to host a entire formal events there, she loved it. One person is easy.

The house was more than suited to entertain, it could entertain a decent sized fuction probbly, one person and a nice coffee and lunch in the garden was hardly a challenge to find room for. Even thr conservatory if it was cold, and the more homely second and third floors.

Her job she was unsure how much she could reveal, she did cyber security for them and given how thr company was not always popular, and her work was sometimes a a little grey. She kept it quiet and decided that of she felt like opening up more she could later on. The less people knew we a tly what she did, the less bother she would have.

When she texted back, what to ask about Ashton? She barely knew anything about her, Ashton probbly had her at a major advantage. A a little summery of things, it was random but she did not what to say, family abit about her life and so, she had traveled abit too. She did not admit but she had lost her mother when she was younger and that still got to her abit, quietly seeing how her half sister waswirh Maria, though he, and later her family had become a close family even if things where abit strange on a family tree. They did not have too much as Darya was not most shopping person and family was not wealthy. The few items they did have including her wedding ring, jewarly, letters and so where locked safely in a vault deep under London and safe, Vesarian hoped at least one of those items would be removed and worn one day if she met the right person. The note book she found written to Victoria , and expressing her hopes and love for her daughter had been a extremely difficult thing to read.

Maybe a a little summery? You must have a intresting life.

I grew up in England, my mum, Darya was Russian, I grew up in one the outer areas of London, my dad's english though, Im a duel citizen. I became "Elsa" when I was 14 and used to be a track athlete, and well fell into computers after. American football whatever it is, is confusing.

I traveled a fair bit, though Russia was always fun, even got invited to a few nice events in St Peterburg and more.

Nothing round as Ashton was typing it out, a old memory passing by and she his her eyes a second from Ashton, pretending she was tidying her her hair and that she had somthing in her eye. She gave the two at the far table a wave back, they where definitely intresting pairing, and one seemed a a little embarrassed by somthing going on.

Maybe a couple waiting to happen, she always was abit of a "Shipper" acording to Marlin, but picked up on things quite well around her. Turning her head back she noticed somthing thr floor causing her vertical highlights and blues and purples to merge and layer in a pretty pattern. It was only friendly to wave back, never know she might bump into them here another time and say hello.
@CaptainSully@MissCapnCrunch

Spotting a rather tired looking woman drop her purse as she went by, she definitely was sleepy as going by and sitting down. She was fairly pretty and had a striking blue hair style too. Someone else who was a little more varried in there style.

il be back in a second, she dropped somthing. I know how problematic losing a purse can be.

Telling Ashton, she walked over to her table and tapped her shoulder gently, flattening her dress slightly where it creased as she walked to by. Victoria stood 4'9 and was wearing red and black dress, corset topped and slim fitted to her slightly underweight frame. With a English accent tinged with a little Russian, she could change that but that was her natural accent, able to go anything from off the boat English to native Russian. She was not the same pale ghost of a person she was before, but she still would always be a far smaller size than most people, and struggled to put on a healthy weight. @Majoras End

The woman looked like she was half asleep, but better she find the purse and return it than someone take it for walkies. Looking down with cool grey eyes, and a attempt to seem open about it. It was just returning a purse, nothing major.

Miss? You dropped your purse by my table. Thought you'd probbly want that back of you wanted to buy a coffee.

Don, t worry, its all there.

Giving Ashton a gaonce back, she did not want her to think she was leaving her, just dropping off a purse someone dropped. Much as she was considered a ice queen, she was not entirely cold to the core. Just selectively cold which some people thought was worse or better. The answer did not bother her too much.

_{Victoria @PrinceAlexus. Mentions Reya @Majoras End}

---

Ashton blinked a little at the offer, giving a nod with a slight nervous smile. Mostly for the fact that despite Victoria saying it was easy to find, Ashton had a natural talent.... of being lost. So it may take a bit if she was purposefully trying to find the place. Still it made her a bit giddy in the heart at the thought of going over to someone else's house like good friends would! It be fun she was sure! Though she was sure Marine would be baffled at the fact a classy woman such as Victoria would invite Ashton over so casually. Marine often liked describing Ashton as a street dog. A golden retriever, but a dog on the streets none the less. Not a bit of her was classy or elegant.

Tilting her head as her amethyst eyes looked at the raven haired girl, Ashton raised her left hand, rubbing her index finger in a thoughtful manner against her chin. A summary? It wasn't what she thought Victoria would ask for, more like 'Where are you from?' or direct questions like that. How much should she say? Unlike most folks, Ashton didn't really have much to hide or anything. She would of answered honestly to any of Victoria's questions. Sure, there were sadder memories, but she accepted those along with the happier ones. Well, her therapist probably would disagree, since the firefighter remained mute after all these years. Plus there were some points that seemed to make some people uncomfortable so she was unsure how much she should say.

Perking up as she attentively listened to Victoria's little summary, Ashton gave a smile before looking to her phone and started to type with a smile, oblivious of Victoria's body language as the blonde took her eyes off of the elegant woman.

'Wow! That all sounds great! London is a beautiful place to grow up in ^-^ I also played a little of American Football in high school! Fun, a bit rough though and not my favorite of the sports I've tried. As for me, well let's see~ I've grown up here in Sol City at the Old Harbor Orphanage. My adoptive mom, Claire Griffone, took me in when I was maybe 12? We lived up in Park View. I did a bunch of sports when I was in school, then went off as a marine afterwards. It wasn't for me so I retired and have been a firefighter for about four years now. Still, I do miss visiting many countries and exploring the different culture and architecture :)'

Ashton finished her text, and as her amethyst gaze looked up to the elegant shorter woman, she blinked as Victoria stood and notified the tall androgynous firefighter of the fact she was going to return a purse. Nodding a little in return, Ashton curiously washed Victoria walk in the direction of another cute beautiful girl. Who had pretty blue hair and looked quite exhausted. Looking to a waitress passing by, Ashton waved her bare tan well muscled but burned arms to her. Pointing towards the blue haired girl before taking the boogie board around her own neck and scribbled some words down. Writing out that put whatever the blue haired girl gets on Ashton's tab. The waitress gave a giggle and nod at the firefighter before returning to work.

Catching Victoria's gaze, Ashton slightly turned her upper body for her right arm to rest against the back of the seat, while the left arm raised to wave as she gave another goofy smile. Obviously, was not offended or worried in any way.

Exchanging laughs back and forth, Dustynn was happy she had decided to take Leo up on his last minute offer. It was clear too that she wasn't being fired, unless this was a long con in the running. "I CAN blame you, and I will!" she giggled, as the two began to dig into their hearty breakfast meal. Leo made a comment about the vibes of The Coffee Pot, and Dusty couldn't agree more. Her mother had moved her to Sol when she was just a baby, so it was all she really ever knew, Southside born and raised. "Can't complain. Cheap, fast, and delicious!" she smiled, taking a large bite of her breakfast sandwich. Some of the grease dripping down her slender fingers.

Reaching to the center of the table, she pulled a few napkins from the center console that also contained condiments and extra silverware. She wiped her hands as she crumbled the napkin into a ball and placed it on the table next to her plate. Looking up to Leo after he asked his question, her eyebrows raised, expressive and joyful. "I think I'd fancy that for sure." she teased playfully, using his vocabulary against him. She didn't notice his nerves, oblivious to the difficulty for him on asking the question. She rolled her eyes as he mentioned the sugar cubes, her tongue sticking out slightly at him before she picked up her sandwich and took another large bite.

Delicious.

As the waitress came over again, she asked if the two were enjoying her meal. With a mouthful of sandwich Dustynn just gave the worker a thumbs up. She quickly swallowed down her meal, before speaking; "Can I get one of these sandwiches to go?" the waitress nodded, heading back to the kitchen to put in the order. Dustynn spoke to Leo afterwards, "I'm going to bring this home to my mom before heading to work." she mentioned, referring to the extra sandwich order.

Dustynn never mentioned her home life to her coworkers and friends. Ever since her father had dropped off the face of the earth her mother had gone into a spiral of emotional and physical abuse against herself. Kimberly (Dustynn's mother) turned to drugs and alcohol using the quick highs and lows as coping crutches. All money that Dusty earned at Club Aether went to keeping their trailer roof over their heads as well as keeping the shady people that Kimberly dealt with constantly at bay. Dusty desperately wanted to find her own place, even if it wasn't nice- to not have to sleep on the couch anymore would be an upgrade. In all reality she probably could afford the move, but she would never hear from her mother again, and she wasn't sure if she could do something like that quite yet.

The waitress came back and placed the extra sandwich on the table in a bright white styrofoam box. "Thanks for stopping in you two! Come in again real soon." she said, placing a single bill down in the center of the table. "Shit, we can have them split it real quick. Let me get her back here." Dusty mentioned as she tried to wave down the waitress to come back and take care of the bill.

THOMAS LANCASTER

---

"Oh, you're from Solaris too?" His eyebrows were raised. "Then this might not be the first time we met. I've been there for over half the decade now. I realized I like academia a lot more than I imagined. A lot more than the food there, of course." As he made a sarcastic remark over the cafeteria menu. Ok, he might have been quite harsh on the menu. He actually enjoyed some of the servings there. But only if it was occasional. Because a lot of them were fast food, having them three meals a day everyday would likely drive one into insanity. The term 'Freshman 15' is there for a reason. But that wasn't a problem for Thomas. He had a nurse at home always bugging him with nutritional input, and both of them usually take each other's place in cooking. For lunch, the man would simply roll out into the small community nearby and had the meal at a local restaurant. Your lifestyle is of your own choosing after all

"Life of research can be a little isolating, so I want to balance that. But I needlessly, and quite regretfully, rejected my friend's offer to see the new movie in the cinema today, so I thought of going somewhere else." And it was Sol City Zoo. As bland it may seem, seeing animal life is actually not too bad. At least to a person who didn't have too much wildness in his social life because of the wheelchair binding him down. He had grown complacent with peaceful life. And he was definitely ok with it. The excitement of social experience could not be compared with the excitement of unlocking the chains of boundary in science.

But he was definitely not ok with this...

From the corner of his eyes, he could see this fellow with scruffy black hair, with a quite ragged attire, walking to him erratically. He must have been on an empty stomach for long. The first line to come out of his mouth was to address the three of them to be Xmen, to which Thomas was unsure to take that as a compliment, or an insult. He knew Xmen, and was pretty sure he was referring him as Professor X. While being referred to as a scientific genius is not so bad, but it was far from being a good joke. To Thomas right now, he was either insane, or hallucinating, or both. Nevertheless, the hunger looked genuine.

Before anyone reacted, Alex handed Sarah a bottle of water before speeding off to get some food. Thomas wasn't sure what to do here, so he just sat back, took off the glasses and was just standing by for any help necessary. Hearing the growling out of his stomach was a little staggering, and, even though it wouldn't happen anytime soon, Thomas was quite relieved when Alex returned with the food bag.

"How long have you not eaten anything?"

@Cairo@Alex_The_Great@Rabidporcupine

Sarah Cooper

---

"Oh, god," Sarah gasped as the ragged stranger crawled into her view, muttering some comments about eating bears and the X-men that doubtless would have been horribly concerning and offensive had they not come from someone in such clear disarray. She rushed over to him, accepting Alex's water bottle without thinking, crouching down beside him and running her hand through his greasy hair. He looked like shit and smelled worse, but those things she noticed distantly - right now, he was an injured animal.

"Here, can you drink this?" She said, offering him the water bottle - he looked strong enough to accept it, but if that wasn't the case, she was fully prepared to bottle-feed him (or bottle-hydrate, as the case may be.) With her other hand, she pulled her walkie talkie out. "Angela? Call security, ask them to get an ambulance on the way. Yeah, we got another one. By Bear Mountain. Thanks." She holstered the device, and set about nudging the man, trying to get his attention. Thomas had just inquired as to when the last time he'd eaten was, which was a good start - the best thing they could do until help arrived was try to keep him lucid and present. "Hey, hey, it's okay, help is coming. I'm Sarah. Can you tell me your name?"

Alex arrived a moment later, setting down a small mountain of food in front of the man. Immediately, Sarah flopped over and pushed the food away from him. "Hey, hey, easy! Not too much! He needs to see a doctor. If you give him too much food, he could develop a refeeding illness which could shut down his liver." A bit of an oversimplification of the medical issues at hand, but she hoped the hasty explanation she blurted out would carry enough urgency to be followed. Also, she was basing this off her knowledge of caring for malnourished dogs, but, well. She was a zoologist.

Sarah selected one of the chicken salads Alex had brought, opened the lid, and carefully selected a cut of chicken. "Chew, then swallow," she said slowly, then offered it down to the starving man. She glanced back up at Alex, already feeling a little bad for being so short with him when he was just trying to help. "Good instinct," she said. "I'll make sure you get a refund for the food."

Joel Nicolosi

Joel continued to snicker and chuckle as he sat there waiting for a response. His side hurt fiercely from laughing and he held one arm across his midsection still trying to control the after-effects of his twisted sense of humor. He felt immensely satisfied when she squeaked out a response and was happy that he had found a way to embarrass her enough that she had no smartass retort, however he wasn’t going to let her off that easily. Giggling stupidly to himself he reached behind him and twisted the door knob enough to let the weight from his back swing the door open allowing him to lazily fall backwards with it as it opened behind him and he was on his back. Finding her on the bed in his dimly lit room trying to control her breathing made him laugh some more.

Since he hadn't yet closed the bay door, it crossed his mind that this would all look very peculiar if someone else were to walk in on the moment: Him flat on the floor laughing near uncontrollably and her, on his bed, trying to fight off a panic attack. It also occurred to him that it had been quite a while since any woman had been on that bed- a thought that he also found extremely funny and continued to laugh at while considering his current course of action may have prolonged that particular time frame exponentially, but it was worth it. “You gonna make it?” He snickered glancing ‘up’ from his position on the cold, laminate hardwood. All he could see were her legs hanging over the side. As hungry as he was, it did feel in poor taste to leave the cook behind and go eat and just leaving her up there felt a little... odd despite his threat to leave her there.

@Almalthia