15096/Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass
Date of Scene:	17 May 2023
Location:	Fred's Diner - Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Rogue goes to Fred's for a little breather, and meets up with a Sinister to end up talking out a few life points.
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Sinister

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Rogue has posed:
Rogue was out patrolling Mutant Town - as she does sometime - and decided to grab a bite to eat at Fred's. This means she's a regular face here, and she tends to grab a booth in a back corner so she could settle in for a little while. Check her phone, order some grub, and she's even allowed to smoke in this little section. Currently, there's a half eaten plate consisting of a burger and fries in front of her, a mostly consumed chocolate shake and half a glass of what is likely sweet tea. Her attention, however, is on her phone as she's texting a couple people and playing a game otherwise. Cigarette smolders in the ashtray which she finally picks up to take a drag off of - otherwise just minding her own for the time being.

Sinister has posed:
The chimes at the door do their electronic 'BINGbong' as they're prone to doing, admitting a total stranger. Well, maybe not a -total- stranger, if Rogue's been on patrol in the area a time before, she might have seen him once or twice doing spot-fill work at the Mutant clinic in town. Clinic scrub, seemingly -- and that might explain why he looks harrowed and a bit frazzled; mid twenties, messy gingery hair, the classic freckled expression that goes with that, probably over six foot but he hunches so comes across as about 5'10" and in perpetual need of coffee and/or illicit quantitise of dexamphetamine. Either or, y'know how it is.

He mumbles something as he steps in, in white sneakers and a light brown jacket over the scrubs and aims for the short order to get yes, you guessed it, the coffee on the go. Then? Seaching for a spot to park.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue peels herself away from her phone for a moment to eat a couple fries and finish off her cigarette. That gets mashed in the ashtray before she then takes a bite out of her burger. The door chime catches her attention and she looks over to spot a sort of familiar face from the times that she's gone to the local clinic on some of her patrols. Never as a patient (she has to have her medical work done at the mansion) but making sure things are fine and nothing is going to awry is a thing. When the young man seems to be searching for a seat she lifts her hand and gives him a wave. Mostly being friendly. If he joins her that's his own doing.

Sinister has posed:
There, no, there? No. There's a look of mild disgust at a dirty table, a face pulled in oooh-er kind of creeped out, so when the wave comes, his attention turns that way. What's his name again? James? Jeremy? He only really stands out for the fact he sometimes catches smoke breaks, too. And is a worker at the clinic. "Oh, hi," cheese toasty and a large black coffee in hand, he pauses by her table and tips his head to the side, blinking a couple of times as he takes the sight of her in. "Sorry, was that an ok to sit here?"

Rogue has posed:
"Hey. Yeah, it was. You seemed a little put out by what's on offer otherwise." Rogue says and then shrugs. "Aside from that, you're a familiar enough face to me. You work at the clinic in town yeah?" That thick country accent flows easily from her as she lifts her soda for a drink. Few more fries are consumed, though they're getting colder by the minute that she doesn't just scarf them down which causes her to make a face at the fry she's just bitten into. Then a shrug before she grabs the catsup bottle and squeezes a....fair amount...onto the plate. "Shift over or about to start?"

Sinister has posed:
"Uhh, over. For now. Unless they call me in again," The young scrub mouths a 'thank you' and hastily gets himself settled, to devour the grilled cheese, also with a dollop of ketchup for dipping. He gets half way through, when he looks from the meal up to her and his eyes, for an instant, flash red as a dying star. He grins sheepishly, reaching for his coffee. "Been having a night. A few nights really. Couple of hours at varying times. I'm keeping tabs on weird."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue blinks, then raises a brow when those eyes flash red. "A few nights eh? Keeping tabs on weird?" She dunks a fry to smother it in ketchup before consuming it. "And I suppose this weird has nothin' to do with things at the clinic and everything to do with stuff that happens elsewhere 'round New York." A pause before, "You really had me goin' for a bit there Sinister." Leaning back in her seat then, grabbing the chocolate shake and her phone, sipping on the shake while taking a selfie to send that off in response to another message. "So, how have you been since facin' off with Jean that one night?"

Sinister has posed:
"Good, that's the point of being incognito, I suspect..." dip, nibble "...but I respect you." He glances at the door, watching someone walk past the diner's windows and looks back. "But you'd be wrong. A bit of both, but you're mostly correct. Ear to the ground, kind of thing--" aaaaaaaaand sandwich is done. He flops back in the saggy manner that is perfect for the maintenance of over-stressed young doc image and manspreads a bit on the chair, slumping into it as he cradles his coffee in grip, then to take a sip as he looks over the rim at her. Schlurp! He even has noisy eating habits in this guise! "Busy. But also? Not getting into trouble, mostly. There've been good days. Some awkward days. And a lot of days of being told to stop overworking."

Rogue has posed:
"Well. No one should ever overwork themselves, even if they think they can handle it..." Rogue offers this before setting her shake back down and resumes taking a few bites of her burger. The fries will most likely be abandoned at this point because they are cold. "Jean hasn't really spoken to me since that night... I must've really upset her... and in some ways I didn't mean to but in others..." She shrugs. "So I've just been stayin' outta the way mostly. Keeps me outta trouble too..." A smile peeks at the corner of her lips. "So what has you so over worked? Anything ya need help with?"

Sinister has posed:
"Just a minor invasion, that's all. I'm keeping an ear on people that haven't been seen or heard from in a while, seeing if I can tie anything together." Sinister replies that, after a due pause for consideration across the table. A strong study, coffee in hand. "Remember, they've damn good reason to hate me. But everyone has an entitlement to an opinion, but I did hear a satirist once say: Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one and nobody else wants to fuss with it."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue sighs a little. "Okay. I get it. THEY have a reason to hate you, and maybe that hate is valid to some degree. It's not MY story. It's not MY reason. I shouldn't be punished for considering you - at the very least - an acquaintance just because of that." Saying that much more before finishing off her burger. "And it's not like I didn't take it into account. I...at least attempt...to keep you at an arms length. But I also stand by my point that they have worked with people they dislike or even hate as well...and I don't take a liking to hypocrites..."

Sinister has posed:
"There's a special place in contempt for hypocrites, isn't there? Practice what you preach and all that jazz," Slurping coffee again, Sin raises a hand. "Didn't mean to brush you up wrong -- and I did note that there's a helluvalot of sanctimony in a bundled up package under that roof." He shrugs his shoulders slightly. "What always astounds me, is the level of importance that -their- opinion has. And I'm not a proctologist."

Rogue has posed:
If Rogue had feathers they would surely look a bit ruffled in the moment but she takes a slow breath to soothe herself down a little. "Sorry. It's still a touchy subject for me. But that's also likely due to me being sure that the next time Jean and I talk, it won't be filled with kind words for a bit." Then she waves a hand, like brushing it all aside. "Anyway. Enough about that. How is it you're the one dealing with an invasion? Shouldn't someone like SHIELD or some other...sciencey corporation take care of shit like that?" At this point she lights up another cigarette, offering her pack to her guest should he want one.

Sinister has posed:
"Indeed," the short sharp and punchy reply says volumes. And the offered cigarette is taken, lifted in a coffin nail salute of gratitude and put to lips. A zippo lights it, pulled from his scrubs pocket and left on the table, just in case chain smoking occurs. A few drags in satisfaction and he blows the latest lungful hastily from the side of his mouth, leaning forth to tap ash. "Well, normally I'd say yes. But then see, I got the niggle. Ennnh," he shakes his head and shrugs, looking at her squarely. "Found a brood queen. Took care of her. But that lead to other things. And then there's the usual approach to government agencies uncovering such things which is about the same as vampire nests, namely to salt the earth. And I shouldn't care."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue blinks, then blinks again. Then she just nods. "Gotcha. Mums the word. Cause gods only know what Scott'd do if he learned there was something brewing close by..." Not that she was on any sort of speaking terms with the ruby-glasses twerp in the moment. "Lookit you doin' somethin' that'll help humanity... which, going by some of the things you've said, really has been your goal this entire time..." Taking a drag off her cigarette before flicking ashes, she shrugs her shoulders. "So, brood shit, over working, and keeping an ear to the ground. Sounds like you've got your hands full. How is Lucifer taking to all this?"

Sinister has posed:
"I know, right? I could do with the shameless publicity stunt and the aggregiou self-aggrandizing that would follow," Sin says this drolly, wrinkles his nose to the side, sniffs and shrugs his shoulders lightly. "Lucifer is on board with it, but as noted: told off for overworking. He's been doing his own assistances, including being very charming and tapping a friend of his at the Daily Planet. There are individuals in this world I never thought I would have the perhaps questionable honour of working with, I swear."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue raises a brow, holding up a finger. "Sarcasm?" Asking this much before the man continues to go on about how Lucifer is helping, chastizing, and giving connections never thought possible. "Daily Planet? Why does that sound... kind of familiar?" Then she shrugs her shoulders and gives a little smirk. "I caught up with Hawkeye a little bit ago. He was doing some stuff that he had to keep all hush hush. We're likely gonna meet up again on some patrols. Maybe get together and go after groups of baddies." She smiles, smokes, and then chases the smoke down with a drink. "Well when your hands are less busy, maybe I could grab you for another mental session. If you'd like a break from saving man kind..." A grin then.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister arches a brow at this, a very sinister look on the Non-Sinister self. He flicks ash again, shaves the cherry to a cone shape on the edge of the tray. "Super man seems to be ridiculously over connected with the place and one particular reporter there. It was her we went looking for," he notes. "Metropolis is altogether shiny, by comparison with New York, but it has a fraction of the character." He drags again, flicks once more. "Well, look at you, being an avengerette. And I'm listening...?" he encourages.

Rogue has posed:
"Ah. Superman. That's a name I'm...kinda familiar with..." Rogue offers this while pushing back her plate and flags down a waitress. "Can I get a slice of cherry pie a la mode? And a refill on the pepsi please?" Then she looks to the man across from her. "You want anything else aside from that grilled cheese you scarfed down?"

Once that's done and the waitress is gone to get orders, she blinks and glances to Sinister after a moment. "I mean. I ain't got nothin' specific to talk about... but we seemed to make a little more progress doin' that...whatever it was. Regression? Hypnosis?" A shrug given then as she flicks ashes and takes another drag.

Sinister has posed:
"Yes, you do seem to have had progress, this is true," A little psychic barrier bashing and letting her unlock the rest of it to erradicate the issues. The understanding is half the battle. "I think I can probably probe around, see what else needs to be looked at and examined under the light of a remembered day." He stubs his dog-end out and shakes his head. "I'm good with the coffee and the toastie," he assures. "But thank you for the offer."

"I did feel a lot like I was being weighed with a feather at the scales of Ma'at when he was giving me scrutiny. But, I had very specific aims, when I went out to find a surgical strike team. One of them was being almost invulnerable to damage. I know altogether too much and yet not enough about the Brood."

Rogue has posed:
"Which I wouldn't want to do here...just in case..." Rogue's public appearance is a rare thing for various reasons. In the moment she's more out and about because she doesn't want to be stuck at the mansion. If she's not there, there's less of a chance that she'll run into Scott or Jean right now. "As to me bein' Avengerin...heh...it's mostly cause Hawkeye and I went against Juggy that one time. I guess he appreciates what I can do. Unlike some people." That last bit is spoken with a hint of venom before she mashes out her cigarette and takes a final sip of her drink while waiting on the refill. "But that's the good thing about having Lucifer with you right? Someone to look out for you because often times we fail to look out for ourselves when we're deep in it, yeah?"

Sinister has posed:
"Yes. It is a surprising, astonishing but not unwelcome addition to my understanding of my place in the scheme of things. And a neverending source of utter astonishment and disbelief on top of all of that. And that's WITH me being a skeptic," Sinister chuckles at this, finishing his coffee and then being utterly surprised by a refill leaning over his shoulder by the waitress. The unsung heros, the medics and the nurses, after all. And this is Mutant town. He lifts it in gratitude and looks back. "I wouldn't do such things here anyway. They're best done in places where there are zero distractions to get in the way of focus."

Rogue has posed:
"Fair enough." The waitress also has her pie and ice cream, and a new soda. Rogue wiggles a bit with a smile on her face. This is likely something Sinister has never seen from her before. Pure happiness without any sort of fear even slightly on the back end. Cutting into the pie and grabbing a bit of ice cream, she takes a bite while seeming to contemplate thoughts. "Logan's been doing a good job keeping me grounded too. He knows when to give me space, or when I might need a little extra attention. He's...really made me happy, and I think I've done the same for him. So that's a plus..."

Sinister has posed:
"You two have a lot of similarities," Sinister observes, nodding and observing the cherry pie. There's little that's quite so very american as cherry pie, though there's no real reason for that to be the case except for cultural appropriation and popularity. He smiles to himself as it's set out and looks from it to her. "How did that happen, anyway?"

Rogue has posed:
Oh, buckle up Sinister because this might be an interesting story to say the least. "So... I had actually gone on a couple dates with Warren Worthington...and this one night I had come back and stopped at the tree in the backyard I usually smoke at." She begins. "Well Logan was there puffing on a cigar as he does, and we got to talking. He's always been an ear for me, and he can often tell when I'm in certain moods. Gave me a few tips on relationships in general and such.." Pause, drink, continue. "When I went out with Warren again, things just weren't clicking. I think a bit of it was just being two completely different sides of the coin but also, he didn't seem to take my feelings into account on certain things. And it ended pretty....abruptly and with a huge argument. Naturally, I was kinda beside myself, upset and a little confused. Cue Logan finding me again in that same smoking spot. We talked...and kept talking...and talking.." She laughs. "I think we talked for a good several hours that night, and then the next night, and the next... and it's safe to say I've always had a certain feeling for him, and he confessed feelings for me so...we're taking a shot at it..." She smiles again. "And I think, for the moment, it's going really really well."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister listens, sans buckling. He helps himself to another cigarette at this juncture, as coffee and cigarettes whilst a lady eats her cherry pie is a thing, at least in his mind perhaps. Who knows, with him? There's a goofy half-smile, because the same expression on THIS face just looks aaaaaaaall wrong and awkward, but maybe that's the point. Reassuring bedside manner, indicates that at least the villainous doctor /knows/ how to have it. Oft, he just choses not to. "The ability to talk, openly and about just about anything, is exceptionally important. It took me a good long time to work that one out, so you're ahead of the game there. Some people never figure it out -- and truthfulness, no matter how hurting it is at the time." He pauses, blinks and shakes his head a little. "I am -not- a marriage counsellor, for crying out loud... I do apologize." He sniffs, again shaves the cherry of his cigarette. "I wonder how much understanding of the origins of his wisdom Logan actually has. I do wonder that at times, whether he'd be done a disservice at remembering."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue nods. "That was one of the first things Logan and I set as a sort of expectation between the two of us. No secrets. We can talk about anything with each other. And we're even okay with the random flirting we tend to do with others...s'long as..." She pauses and then offers, "Dinner is taken in the bedroom I suppose is the best way to say it. Appetizers ain't worth much anyway." She shrugs, eats pie and ice cream, takes a sip of soda and lights another cigarette. When that apology comes, she gives a shake of her head. "Well it ain't like Logan and I are married. We're just two peas kinda out of the same pod....we get each other...in more ways than maybe people even anticipated we could. But there's gaps in Logan's memory and such for sure. He often remembers flashes of things rather than details. It sucks..."

Sinister has posed:
"He wasn't particularly nice, in his younger days." Sinister observes, taking a deep drag. "But that isn't who he is now, thanks to all that he's been through; a rinse and whitewash of life experience, leaving the core personality a new shot at a different life path." He sniffs, nods a couple of times. "There's a lot of solace to be had in shared experience or parallel experience, that's a fact. It doesn't hurt that neither of you got the short end of the stick, physically." He winks at that.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue smirks a little and shrugs. "It's not like I was nice in some of my recent younger years. Killed a kid, stole some powers, put the same mutant who's powers I perma-stole into a coma. At least she survived.." There's a shrug from Rogue as she takes another drag off her cigarette. "I know he's done a lot more, and a lot worse...but I also know he's lived a LOT longer. I think that's my only fear in all this... he's going to live on...and eventually I'll become an old hag and die." There's a chuckle then as she sips soda, smokes, and eats ice cream before it becomes too much like soup.

Sinister has posed:
"Yes, that's a genuine concern shared by a few of us. We all deal with that in different ways, some better than others, I admit..." Nathaniel doesn't elaborate on that, pressing his lips together and looking distant and thoughtful for a time. "If he ever asks, I might help him. I might not. I haven't decided yet." He informs, appropos to nothing. Eyes flick up. "Anything else happening in your existence at the moment, that's worthy of a word or two"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue raises a brow, but for some reason, she doesn't push for the answer to the question of helping Logan with what, precisely. Helping him to NOT live forever? That might be a blessing in disguise for the man. Who knows? They likely never will. At that last question posed by Nathaniel, Rogue shakes her head. "Not really. I just live day to day the best I can. Though it seems like each day is getting better than the last, so that's always a good thing, right? And I've been able to sort of tell when I might have a bad day and can't control my powers - but those are getting fewer and further between as well." There's a smile then. "I could pose the same question to you. If there's anything else happening that's note worthy, but I feel you'd be a bit more closeted in your answer."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister draws on his smoke a few more times, sucking in his cheeks with the last inhale to hold it in lungs. The long, slow exhale is punctuated by a half-shrug and a dip of the head, looking at her beneath brows a little coy. "You'd likely be right in that last. I suppose the only things really pertinent, don't seem like the sort of things one usually shares in polite society. And other aspects of my day to day affairs, a lot of people would rather not know, or would be far too eager to know. I have however, met a succubus. I am still, not altogether sure how I feel about that particular fact." He muses on that. "If I were actually religious, my life choices should probably be worrisome."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue shrugs. "If I ever start becoming religious, people have permission to shoot me in the head." Saying that much while finishing up her pie and ice cream as well as her soda and cigarette. In no particular order except the cigarette which gets crushed out. "Well. I ought head back to the mansion. Logan's probably beginning to wonder where I am. Not that he keeps any real tabs on me, but if I say I'm going patrolling that usually means I'll be back in a certain time frame. Which I am nearing." She pulls out her wallet and puts a benjamin on the table. "Ought cover everything. I suppose I'll...see you when I see you yeah?"

Sinister has posed:
Sinister nods, "Yes. You might not even know you saw me until I tell you." He again winks, standing up and finishing coffee and smoke in one coordinated effort. He likely knows exactly where the ashtray is, but misses it first try, probably deliberately. "Keep your head level, my dear. I am going to flee, before the pager goes off." He bows, drops a twenty down just as a tip and slopes out in her wake.