1792/Cats & Dogs!

Cats & Dogs!
Date of Scene:	04 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Blink, Imbroglio

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Blink has posed:
They'd been going to be hero'ing that night. A brief text conversation had seen to the arrangements, with Blink being a bit early this time. To find... Rain. Heavy, thick sheets of Gotham's iconic downpour covers everything in a shroud thick enough to make it difficult to see ten feet ahead, let alone from a roof top to the ground. Muttering, Blink closed the portal to the roof top that was their intended meeting destination around thirty minutes from now.

Grabbing her phone where she left it, the mutant's already pulling her hero dress over her head. <Change of plan, have you /seen/ the rain!? How about tacos instead?> Purple thumbs flit over the electronic device, sending the text back to the other woman. Wherever she might be.

Imbroglio has posed:
Imbroglio probably would have attempted (and failed) to be a hero regardless of the rain. She's that kind of masochist, really. Upon receiving the text, however, there is a change of plans. It takes a few moments for her to word her response perfectly. Have to make a good second impression, right? So a few moments later comes the carefully crafted response:

<k>

Followed by:

<where?>

Blink has posed:
"Good question..." Blink's voice sounds muffled through the little black dress she's wriggling into, one hand still holding her phone up above her head until it's in place. Quickly she does up a side zip, adjusting the fabric into place.

Her thumb moves; <Good point. You said you have a shop? Got an address? I'll come get you.> It's a little awkward, hitting send when you're pulling on some heels, but the teen manages it through the benefit of practice.

Imbroglio has posed:
The next response is a little slower. Blink wouldn't know it, but Dana would be rushing around her apartment, getting ready to go. She wears her usual almost robe-like getup, but thankfully the hood is part of a jacket that can be removed to show arms and head and be considerably more fitting for the occasion. There's a brief few moments of considering makeup before she decides that might not be a good idea. Instead, she puts forth some effort to shift her face by memory to simulate the effect.

She texts back, finally, after a few moments, listing the address of her apartment, rather than the shop. If only because her shift would be over this late.

Then she goes back to preparing, including straightening up a bit to avoid her new friend spotting a whole load of mess when she opens the door.

Blink has posed:
"An apartment? That's a bit more tricky..." It seems Clarice is in the habit of talking to herself, but then, there really /isn't/ that much to do here on Genosha still. Especially this late into the night. Time difference is a bitch.

<On my way.> Is the reply, and so the first portal she opens shows her the street from above, giving her a better understanding of the layout. Only then (after closing the first) does she open another closer to the apartment door, jumping through and dashing the three steps through the rain. Even so, the mutant's metre long magenta hair is pressed against her head. "Crap..." Her finger finds the buzzer, pressing it for several long seconds before releasing. It's been about thirty seconds since her text.

Imbroglio has posed:
Dana, meanwhile, is entirely clueless about the added trouble she inadvertently caused. After some debate, while Blink works on arriving, perfume gets added to the ensemble.

At the buzzing, she moves to her apartment's intercom.

"Hello?" she asks, making sure it's who she thinks it is. That was awful fast, after all! Assuming she gets the answer she expects, she'll buzz Blink up.

Blink has posed:
"Hey Dana, it's Clarice." Was the answer given, earning her entry to the building. It's too enclosed to use her portals safely, so the girl actually takes the stairs. She /could/ use the lift sure, but stairs are better for you! Nothing about confined spaces or anything, not with Clarice (Honest!)!

Once she reaches the designated floor, and door even, there's a light rapping on Dana's chamber door. "I'm heereee!"

Imbroglio has posed:
There might have been comment on Blink's choice to not use her power (though not so rude as to comment on the choice of stairs), but poor Dana is far too distracted by her first social outing in quite some time. Not years, or anything; she'd only gone through her metamorphoses recently after all, but it felt like a lifetime.

There were a few more moments of last-minute fidgetin: smoothing out clothes, checking her shapeshifted makeup, making sure she doesn't stink or anything (despite just putting on perfume). Then, she opens the door, smiling brightly.

"Hey! It's, um. Nice to see you again," she offers, hood up. She doesn't seem to think to lower it, despite being indoors. Maybe habit, maybe clueless. Maybe considering the rain outside and she's not yet learned to be thinking with portals.

Blink has posed:
"Hey Dana! You look great!" Her own makeup had been quickly thrown on, lipstick that still looks black, no matter what colour it was meant to be. And eyeshadow that somehow remains that darkest of greens.

"So anyway, I thought we'd go somewhere we can sit and eat. Get to know each other, that sort of thing. Victor's always saying that you should know the people you're going to fight along side." And other than that, it's a night /out/! Maybe this one will be without the neo-nazi's that seem to be popping up wherever she goes...

Imbroglio has posed:
"So do you," Dana answers a little quietly, smiling in appreciation for the compliment. It's likely the first time Clarice has seen her with actual clothes on, rather than shapeshifted approximations.

"That sounds really nice. I'm starving," she answers. The second half seems to have slipped out unintentionally, and she looks embarrassed or ashamed to admit it. The mention of Victor gets a briefly curious look, but she doesn't pry.

Blink has posed:
"Good! Me too!" Clarice admits, her belly releasing a small gurgle to punctuate the statement. Causing her cheeks to stain plum; "I skipped lunch to get away early." She admits sheepishly, attempting to step into the apartment.

"Do you have a favourite food? I can get us to most places fairly quickly..." She pauses. "Just not McDonalds, a girl's got to have /some/ standards!"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I'm always hungry," confesses Dana with an awkward smile, speaking the words quietly. A hand rests over her own stomach.

The shapeshifter steps out of the way, letting Clarice into the apartment. The cleanup job was very rushed, meant to make things look presentable from the door but not so much inside.

It resembles a bachelor pad.

"S-sorry about the mess," she mumbles, scurrying around the place to try and do a little extra cleanup.

"You mentioned tacos? I'm fine with tacos. I'm really not picky, I promise," she reassures her company for the moment.

Blink has posed:
"Tacos it is then!" Clarice grins, sweeping the apartment with that gaze. "Don't worry about it! Mine isn't much better!" Well, it's a /bit/ better. Best not to look too closely into the apartment of a Dark Magic creature anyway. Who knows what sacrificed virgins might be under the sofa!?

Clearing a few discarded items out of the way, a soft -Blink!- heralds the creation of a portal to the back entrance of what seems a fairly upbeat Mexican restaurant. "First floor, tacos, entrees and puddings." She intones in her best 'Elevator Operator' voice.

Imbroglio has posed:
The embarrassment doesn't fade much from the reassuring. At least there are no sacrificial virgins or blood altars or anything in here. It's a one-room apartment, so not a whole lot of hiding spaces. Probably.

"Oooh, that place looks nice..." Dana observes, passing Blink a smile. She hesitates a moment, as if unsure whether she should let Blink go first or not. Eventually, she passes through.

Blink has posed:
The purple mutant follows behind once Dana's through, it doesn't seem to be raining here either, so they might have left Gotham too. Either way their clothing doesn't seem that out of place in the family restaurant, there's a few folks that have dressed up, some that aren't.

Whilst they wait to be seated, Clarice starts talking; "Yeah it's quite nice here, and mutant friendly owners so I know we won't get any hassle from staff." She couldn't exactly promise the same about the others there. Clarice at least is already getting some looks from other patrons. Looks she pretends not to notice.

Imbroglio has posed:
The lack of rain does seem to be noticed by Dana, at least. After a few moments of hesitation, she slips off the jacket, looking less like a robed cultist and more like a young woman out for dinner.

"Where are we?" she wonders curiously.

It's not the first time Clarice has mentioned how mutant friendly a place is. It's not a concern that had really touched her before, and she makes note of this for the future.

"That's good," she responds to the comment, sounding as genuine as she can manage. If she catches any dirty looks at either of them, she returns it. Though she doesn't attempt any confrontation beyond that.

Blink has posed:
"We're in Metropolis." Clarice advises, earning yet more odd looks from several close enough to overhear. How could someone /not/ know what city they were in? The girl, waits for the server, who greets her by name. "Back again Clarice? You're going to get in trouble..." But the young man picks up two menu's and starts to lead them as they talk.

"Nah, didn't I tell you? Spoke to Magneto and he said it's fine, so long as I'm careful." It's clear the two have the type of easy repartee of host and customer that comes from repeated visits. Regular even. "That's good... I can stop looking over my shoulder now." It's said easily, the guy offering a pleasant smile as he pulls out a chair first for Clarice, then Dana. "And who's this lovely lady?"

All attention turns to Dana, Clarice making introductions; "John, this is Dana. She's my new friend, and she's really nice. So treat her right 'kay?" The man offers a small bow towards the blonde girl...

Imbroglio has posed:
"Oh, wow!" is Dana's response to their location. She looks embarrassed for her volume immediately after. "I've never been," she explains a moment later. The comment from the server gets another curious look.

The name drop of Magneto causes a little visible discomfort. She may not be super up on mutant affairs, but that's one most people have heard of, surely. And not in a good way. She takes a seat when the chair is pulled, smiling politely to the man.

"It's nice to meet you," she answers back to him softly after Clarice's introduction.

Blink has posed:
John replys; "And to meet you Dana. Can I get you ladies some drinks?" And just like that, they're back to business. "I'll have a coke, I'm driving tonight." She grins, driving must be a code word for portalling perhaps? Besides, this is still the US, so alcohol wouldn't be offered to one so young anyway. The server writes down her order, and then Dana's when she speaks up. Before retreating to give them space to work out what they want to eat.

"It's really good stuff here, so order whatever takes your fancy." Seems like Blink's going to be paying then? Goodness knows where she's keeping a purse in that little black dress of hers. "You've never been to Metropolis? I suppose it's a bit further from you than New York huh?" Geography's an odd thing when you can reach pretty much anywhere in a few strides.

Imbroglio has posed:
The shapeshifter is also still in the no-booze-zone. She wouldn't even be sure if it would affect her, given her differing physiology.

"Do you have lemonade?" she wonders hopefully, "Just, um. Coke is fine if you don't."

"I'm not picky," she reiterates to Blink, likely entirely missing the implied offer to pay, "I'll probably just order whatever sounds really filling..." She pulls up the menu to look for just such a thing.

"Gotham is the first place I've lived other than Salem," she then explains, keeping the conversation going at least passably, "You're really lucky to get to travel so much."

Blink has posed:
"Lucky?" Clarice's quizzical expression is almost comical, and then she grins and nods. "Yeah I suppose it is pretty nifty. Makes getting about a lot easier to get from city to city. That's for sure." She flips her own menu open, as Dana's misunderstanding sinks in.

Reaching out, Blink gives the other woman's hand a quick squeeze, if it's not moved away at least. "I meant, it's my treat. I had a pretty crappy morning, so this is a really nice change. So thanks Dana." It's a genuine moment, a small smile instead of the blase grin graces her dark lips. "So grab as much as you like."

Imbroglio has posed:
"Definitely lucky," Dana confirms with a little nod over at Clarice, clearly oblivious to any downsides she may suffer due to her nature and appearance.

The hand, as with their last meeting, seems to mentally derail her. One can almost hear the screeching wheels. After a few moments, she squeezes back with a little smile.

"Are you sure?" she wonders, though looking a little relieved, "I really appreciate it... I don't have a lot of spare cash these days."

She does seem to latch on to the statement made by Clarice. "I'm sorry about your morning. Do you want to talk about it? What happened?" she wonders quietly.

Blink has posed:
Clarice flushes, but starts to recount the tale anyway. "I ran into that Harley Quinn when I was out going for a walk in Gotham. Thought I might see it during the day you know?" She flicks through the menu, eyes skimming over something she probably knows by heart.

"She was robbing some poor little guys jewelry shop." There's burgers as well as tacos, but the teen turns hers around, pointing at the 'sharing platter for four' which seems to have tacos and every filling imaginable to go in them.

"I got her out of there, but then she said something that really pi..." She stops, polite company Clarice. /Polite/. "She managed to press a button I thought I'd got over. And I let her go because of it." There it's out, failure, thy name is Blink.

Imbroglio has posed:
"Is that the totally insane but really hot one? With the makeup and works for that Joker guy?" wonders Dana curiously at the name. She's a new arrival to Gotham, but how long does one really have to live there before you hear about the Joker and his people?

She's distracted from her own menu by the tail, pretty much hanging on Blink's every word while trying not to look like she is. It takes her a few moments to notice the menu shown to her. She reads it, then smiles and nods her agreement. If a little bashfully given the "for four" part.

"From what I know, she's one of the big name villains, right? Almost nabbing her is pretty cool, I think. Can I ask what she said? I don't want to press any wrong buttons..." she explains.

Blink has posed:
Clarice grins at the agreement, waving John over and pointing so that Dana doesn't have to stop talking. With a nod the server's away again having never actually impacted on the discussion. Though she's nodding at various points, especially when Dana's asking about who Harley Quinn is.

"I recognised her from a documentary..." That deep plum stains her cheeks again. "I might have uh... Insinuated she was old enough to be my Grandmother... She didn't like that." Blink's grin this time is sheepish, if still a little proud. "I managed to get her and her stupid dog-things out to Genosha." Up until that point, everything had been going well... Sort of.

"But then she started spouting some nonsense about her 'puddin', I guess that's got to be the Joker?" Blink shrugs. "Anyway, she went on to call me one of those that locks people up... And it just kinda... Well it's not something I do. I don't lock people up." For reasons... She trails off, using a sip of her coke to cover the loss of words.

Imbroglio has posed:
Brown eyes follow the brief interaction with the menu, but she also doesn't let it interrupt. She really doesn't seem super clued-in on heroes, villains, and metahumans in general. Especially considering she is one.

"Oh wow," she blurts out at Blink's talk of insults, "You totally smack-talked one of the most powerful villains in Gotham? You are so cool." The question, there, seems to be both for whether Blink actually smack-talked her as well as whether Harley Quinn is as important as she thinks she is. She's not really aware of her having any powers, but powers aren't the only means to power. Dating the Clown Prince of Crime is power in its own right, after all.

"You don't lock people up?" she wonders next. There's a connection made to her statement from their last meeting. Her history. She can't help but ask, though, "What would you have done if you caught her?" She looks around, making a vague horizontal gesture over her throat. It seems that part of their last discussion hasn't been forgotten either.

Blink has posed:
Clarice's eyes widen and she quickly shakes her head. "Oh no! No I don't do that unless it's /really/ neccessary. Like... City's going to get blown up if that guy doesn't go down, and down hard. That sort of thing." As if she'd ever be in the position to save a /city/. She's no X-Man.

"Yeah... She asked if I was another Bat-brat, which kinda put my back up. I mean, we're both adults right?" She gestures between Dana and herself. "Right, totally adults. So I just looked her over and said something like; 'I haven't had a chance to ask Batman about helping him clear up his city, but just because you're old enough to be someone's Grandma, doesn't mean they're a kid." She grins impishly. "Should have seen her eyes /pop/!" And thus the giggling begins, because really, she /had/ stood up to a supervillian and got off scott free!

A glance around and she drops her voice; "I'm sure you've done some pretty cool things though right? I mean, you can /fly/ and turn into things!"

Imbroglio has posed:
This doesn't seem to quite satisfy Dana's curiosity. Just what does Blink do to villains if she doesn't put them to jail or kill them? Maybe she misunderstood, the shapeshifter ponders. Maybe she just teleports them somewhere far away. Blink had suggested that, hadn't she? She doesn't dwell too long, just now at least.

"Oh my God, you didn't," is Dana's answer to the full story, grinning brightly, insisting again, "You are so cool. I could never do that."

There's a little shrug at the question, "I haven't done much... people always get away because I'm holding back. Or because I'm a klutz. All I've really done is destroy my dad's work place and run away from home." This slips out before she really realizes she's said it, and her cheeks redden with a blush.

Blink has posed:
Praise causes the teen to puff up like a hen all pleased with herself. Clarice isn't one to be /too/ modest, she does train hard for the skills she has. If not the powers - but even they had a cost that was paid in full. Several times over in her mind.

Dana's slip up as Clarice's attention back on her, the grin slipping to a look of concern. "Oh Dana, I'm so sorry to hear that. Won't your Dad miss you? I mean, sure he's probably chewing nails that you broke his shop, but I hear they forgive that." They? Humans? Parents? She doesn't ellaborate.

"So you really meant it when you said you were new here... And you're all alone? That's sucky... But you can give me a shout any time! Unless I'm fighting or training, I'll come straight over!" She means it too!

Imbroglio has posed:
"Probably, but it's better they don't know what happened," Dana answers quietly, averting her gaze. It's clear she didn't mean to let this slip, and she's uncomfortable with the topic.

The next questions get a brief nod, and the offer earns a smile. "I think I will. I like hanging out with you. Just make sure to tell me if I'm bothering you, okay?" she requests.

Blink has posed:
"Sure thing!" Clarice agrees readily, it's unlikely this little wallflower is going to every become a bother. She's far too shy and retiring for that sort of thing. "I'm sorry if it's a sore subject, you can talk about it whenever you like with me 'kay? But I won't push." That said, she waits a moment to make sure that Dana understands, before she changes the topic.

"You know you could easily have handled Harley right? She had a /baseball bat/. That was it. Well, other than those two hyenas, but as they can't /fly/." She waves a hand. "You'd have been fine. I mean, you'd have probably broken the bat in two rather than cut it like I did, but that's just somantics right?"

Imbroglio has posed:
The easy acceptance of her request earns a smile from Dana. "Thanks for being so nice," she offers quietly, still shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "I just... I really messed up. It's how I got to be like this. I don't think I could see them again unless I fixed it."

"She doesn't have any powers?" she wonders next, a little surprised but grabbing at the change of topic, "I'm worried I'd kill her then if I got a good hit in. That's the real problem. Need to learn how to hit without doing too much damage." She still looks like a pretty scrawny young woman, so all her talk of strength might seem odd. But then she did explain she's heavier than she looks... or alluded to it, at least.

Blink has posed:
And there's plenty of mutants with super strength. And non-mutants too, look at Superboy for instance. Looks normal, hits like a mach truck. Clarice accepts the girl at her word, if she says she's heavy and can kill normal people with a blow, then that's what she can do.

"Then you need to practice." It's not a suggestion either, the Brotherhood member's voice turning serious. "Powers are no good if you can't use them." Now how many times had she heard /that/ line over the years? It certainly has a ring of an 'old addage' as she says it. "So! You need to train, so do I. How about another time I bring you back to Genosha and we can practice." She grins, taking a sip of her coke before finishing. "The city's already in ruins, so it's not like you can do any more damage to it." Well, most of it is anyway.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I could focus on disasters, maybe..." muses Dana, perhaps avoiding the idea of practice for a moment, "I bet I could save people trapped in wreckage..."

The suggestion of training together, however, seems to catch her attention.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you..." she answers. Maybe an offensive thing to say, if she sounded at all confident rather than the complete opposite.

Blink has posed:
"If I get hurt, it's because I didn't move quick enough." Clarice answers with a smile. "I train with /Sabretooth/, and he hits hard. Part of training is learning to deal with pain Dana. I'd be no good if I couldn't deal with the fog pain brings. It's about being able to push through it." There's a beat, honesty warring with wanting to help. "And even if you /did/ hurt me, we've got plenty of medical tech." There, that's a good mix of the two.

Conversation pauses as the platters arrive. Tiered shelves of shining stainless steel loaded with various meats, vegetables and cheeses. Sauce arrives in big dishes, along with what must be a litre or more of melted, gloopy cheese over a small burner. It's only a moment before she opens her hands with a bright grin; "Dig in! Let's see if we can't quiet that hunger for a few minutes."

Imbroglio has posed:
"I'd still feel awful," protests Dana a little further, but the talk of other people Blink trains with seems to settle her down some. Slowly, she gives a little nod, "Okay. Alright, it seems like a good idea, right? Train together before we go fighting bad guys?"

The food arrives, then. It looks like Dana might actually drool, but she catches herself in time, closing her mouth to swallow.

There's hesitation. Looking to Clarice to see if she'll make the first move. Looking hopeful that she will. Eventually, a hand goes out to grab a taco and start loading it up. Mostly with meat, with anything else added in small amounts in a desperate bid to try and not look like a total freak.

Blink has posed:
Blink has the good grace to whisper; "Just be yourself." When she sees Dana picking at the veggies like a five year old trying to be good. She herself grabs a taco, layering meat and peppers. Then an exorbitant amount of cheese, both solid and melted.

The mess dribbles around her fingers as she takes a bite, crunching and chewing before she's able to swallow. "No need to stand on... what's the word... Propriety? Manners? Whatever, no need. Just eat, have /fun/ Dana. We're friends, I'm not going to judge!"

Sometimes it just takes someone that deals with daily judgement just because of the colour of her skin (and the way her eyes glow like those odd green chemical lights), to make a little monster feel normal again. Or at least, she's trying. "But yes, training..." She's speaking with mer mouth full now. "Much better to know each other first. Like... Did you know I can make javelins?"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I don't want you to think I'm a freak..." murmurs Dana quietly, hesitating a moment before biting into her own taco. It seems that she might relate to mutants pretty well, despite not being one.

As for her eating, it may break expectation. There's absolutely nothing strange there. No unhinging jaw or gaping maw. Her mouth is where it belongs, looking like it should the entire time. Nothing horror movie here, it seems! Her pace does pick up a little, though, at the reassurance of friendship.

Perhaps it's her own strange body. Maybe it's the joy in having someone to spend time with. But Dana doesn't ever seem to really linger on the strange skin or eyes. sometimes she does let her eyes linger a little here or there, but there's something other than judgment in her gaze each time.

"Javelins?" she wonders, brought out of her food-induced reverie at the new information.

Blink has posed:
Blink nods, holding up a hand to produce a three foot shard of cystal. It glows with a soft bluey-purple light, the same light that edges the mutant's portals in fact. Just as quickly, it vanishes into thin air. "Yeah, and I can move things or destroy them with them. Well, /displace/ them. The same as the edge of my portals can cut things..." There's a pause in her chewing, before she forcefully swallows.

"That's why I told you to be careful of the edges." She advises quietly, looking at her half eaten taco thoughtfully. "Normally I throw them when a portal's too dangerous to try, there's a lot of goons that have fallen into the sea thanks to my Javelins." And onto the floor as well, but something tells her Dana wouldn't approve of that.

Imbroglio has posed:
The first taco is gone. It might be unclear exactly when that happened unless Clarice is watching particularly closely, but she's definitely loading up another one.

"Oh, that's really cool. So you can do more than the portals," she observes, clearly interested even as she piles on some chicken.

"It's not fun, but... I'm pretty sure you can't kill me. So you don't have to hold back when we practice. I only really have one power, then a little magic, but the power makes me really tough," the young woman tries to explain, vague as she is, in return.

Blink has posed:
"I don't know... They told me the thing just kind of /displaces/ the atoms of thing... So they kinda stop existing here." She takes another bite of her taco, chewing thoughtfully. "I don't think it's something I want to try, until you're more sure of yourself. But I can certainly teleport you up in the sky, see how quickly you can change into your bird form. That's something you're going to want to get /really/ good at." Because falling from things certainly seemed like a hazard of the job.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I've been shot and stabbed a lot since I started," confesses Dana, taking a large bite of this next taco. "I don't think I can die anymore," she follows up, as if immortality is a reasonable conclusion from the evidence presented.

A gentle nod follows, seemingly agreeing to the talk of falling.

"Do you keep momentum?" she suddenly asks, "Like if you fell really far and used a portal, would it save you or would you still get hurt?"

Blink has posed:
"Momentum stays..." Blink answers, after swallowing. She pulls a napkin from the dispenser, and a pen from a bunch of 'tell us what you think!' cards. Drawing lines, she explains;

"See, it's about angles and trajectory. So if you're falling pretty fast, you can just open one directly beneath, another next to bad-guy and /pow/ you get to give him a good solid kick." She draws a stickman with little crosses for eyes next to the second circle. "But when you hit terminal velocity, it's trickier."

She turns it over, "Sideways can help, but angled /up/ you turn it into a curve, and gravity itself will slow you down." It's obvious that this is something she's had ingrained in her, either through practice or training. "Using that, I can /kinda/ get about a bit like flying. But it's really falling at an angle." She shows a series of circles, with lines between showing how someone might traverse around a few buildings. "Of course it's always quicker just to go straight where you need to, if you can."

Imbroglio has posed:
"That's pretty clever," Dana observes, leaning forward some to look at the doodling. The second taco seems to be gone now, too.

"Quicker maybe, but flying is way more fun," she gives a knowing little grin. Okay, maybe neither of them fly like Superman, but they each have their own methods to accomplish it anyway.

Blink has posed:
"Well it's certainly an adrenaline rush!" And it /can/ be pretty terrifying as well! But she's not about to admit that to the girl calling her a hero now is she? Not yet anyway. She's just finishing her first taco as she notes that Dana's gone through two. Clarice takes another taco, grinning at her new friend.

"Glad to see you've got a good apetite!" Because /wasting/ food, now that would be bad. "So how does surviving being shot and stabbed make you invulnerable to death? I mean, Victor heals really quick, but he can still die... I think." She doesn't sound so sure, and not wanting to dwell on it, she moves on quickly; "Sounds like a risky assumption to make... We don't want anything happening to you now after all!"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I'm pretty much always hungry," Dana answers, repeating herself from earlier.

"I don't have anything to hurt anymore," the shapeshifter answers to Blink with a helpless shrug, "No heart, no lungs... at least I couldn't find them. I know I'm talking somehow."

Blink has posed:
That does cause her to pause in loading cheese onto the new taco. Clarice looks Dana over again, then shrugs. "Well, least it means you can't drown?" That seems to be her entire take on the 'no heart and lungs' point. Who's she to judge different anatomy?

"You know, I could probably get you a room on Genosha if you didn't want to stay living alone. Quite happy to portal you to and from your job, and I think Magneto said they're working on getting machines up that can do the same..."

Imbroglio has posed:
There's tension in the young woman as Blink is made to pause at her revelation. The persistent optimism seems to catch her off guard in turn.

The offer of a room seems to catch her interest. She even pauses from loading up her next taco. Then, she's back to it, admitting with an averted gaze, "I wouldn't want to impose on you like that. Making you take time to send me to and from work."

Blink has posed:
"You mean a few seconds out of my morning and evening?" Blink grins impishly at the other teen, taking another bite out of her own taco, speaking with her mouth full; "It's no problem for me, I'll just need to run it past whoever's assigning places. Make sure there's room." She swallows. "But Magneto invited Molly and Lucy to stay without any fuss. So I can't see a problem in it."

Taking another bite, she chews quietly for once. Letting Dana mull the idea over a bit rather than trying to force it. She'd offered out of friendship, but she doesn't want to seem /pushy/ about it.

Imbroglio has posed:
Dana can't help but smile at the reassurance. She takes another bite of her own, swallowing before speaking:

"I only know about Magneto from those, and... he's kind of scary, right? But it can't hurt to ask. It means a lot, thank you," she answers back with a little nod.

Blink has posed:
"No problem Dana. If nothing else, having friends over more often might make you clean up a bit." She's grinning though, a joke and nothing more. After all, she /had/ said her own was almost as bad.

"He's pretty scary, but that's more just his /intensity/." Oh dear, now they're on a topic that the young mutant is actually passionate about. "You see, it's a visionary, so he's always seeing what /could/ be. Rather than what is. And he's relentless in his persuit of mutant rights." She takes the final bite from her second taco. "It can seem pretty intimidating at first."

Imbroglio has posed:
Joke or not, the embarrassment comes back to Dana in full force, ending with her setting down her taco.

"I'm not a mutant," she murmurs quietly, though her interest seems to be caught regardless. Swept up in Blink's passion. "But rights are good," she offers lamely.

Blink has posed:
Even through the topic, Blink can see she's hurt Dana's feelings. "Oh Dana I didn't /mean/ it..." With the tip of her finger, she gently nudges the other woman's taco. "Please don't worry about it, I was kidding." Her smile is understanding. "That's just me, I kid. You've got no heart and lungs, I make portals and jokes." It sounds silly, but actually that pretty much sums up her need to be Blase most of the time.

For a moment, it seems she'll try it with just words, and then, throwing her cred to the wind the young mutant stuffs her face full of the last half of her taco. Barely able to close her mouth she sprays little bits of detritus over her plate and nearby table as she says; "Shee?"

Imbroglio has posed:
Unfortunately for Dana, embarrassment doesn't really cure her hunger either. A few more moments, and the next is gone. She doesn't go for a fourth.

"I know," is her quiet response, along with a little smile.

Face-stuffing then earns a bit of a giggle from Dana, smiling brightly at Clarice. She opens her mouth to say something, but she stops short. She just smiles instead.

Blink has posed:
It takes a good minute or more of chewing, swallowing a little then chewing some more. Now and then she gives Dana a dispairing look, the mutant girl having bitten off more than she can chew. Literally.

Finally however it's all gone. "You realise I ordered for four because I assumed your powers meant you eat more right?" She herself has no compunctions about reaching for another taco. "If you don't eat it here, I'm just going to get it bagged for you." More meat, this time lettuce and just a sprinkling of cheese.

It seems Blink feels she's got to justify it as she adds; "Growing up where I did, you learnt never to waste food. So /eat/." But it's left at that, she's not going to brow beat the poor girl into anything. And they're early enough friends that the purple girl is still a little worried about offending her.

"Magneto would still fight for your rights to be equal you know. Not predjudiced against just because you're different." She genuinely believes it too, it's clear from the openness on her face.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I kind of thought so," she confesses with a little smile, "I'll probably eat all the leftovers, don't worry. I just don't want to pig out with people looking. Believe me, it won't go to waste."

The justification is met with a little nod of understanding.

"I thought he hated non-mutants," she answers quietly, confessing to her own tentative bias against the villain, "That's what I heard anyway. I know we talked about media putting its own spin."

Blink has posed:
"That's the reputation." Clarice explains, taking a much more /sensible/ bite from her new (and probably last) taco. "It's an impression that normal's got when he demanded a place for us to be safe I think. But neither Molly nor Luce are mutants, and they were welcomed by him /personally/." She lets that sink in for a bit. "He hates bigots and mutie-haters I think. But I can totally get behind a feeling like that."

The coke is gone by this point, so she signals John for a refill. Letting him know that everything with their meal is fine, Clarice checks with Dana and then orders two more of the same drinks.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I can at least meet with him. If he'd see a nobody like me," Dana admit, tilting her head as if testing the idea in her own mind, "Hear him out. I mean if you're with him, how bad can he be? I'm not a bigot. I don't think. Have I done anything wrong? Or like... insensitive?" She momentarily looks genuinely concerned by this possibility.

The shapeshifter seems very good at timing. Her drink is gone, much like those tacos; she apparently consumed it whhen Blink wasn't looking at one point or another. The refill seems welcome.

Blink has posed:
"Not at all!" Clarice answers with widening eyes. "No, why would you think that? I mean, sometimes I've caught you staring, but it's with this odd look. Not judgemental at all. It's quite refreshing really." The girl observes, clearly not quite getting the type of look Dana's been getting.

"But yeah, leave some space for dessert. They've got this big ice cream thingy, that's in a glass /this/ big." She has to run her hands around a shape approximately half a foot wide at the top, and only getting wider as it goes down. "Normally I'd share it with someone, but you can have your own if you want?"

Imbroglio has posed:
The young woman's cheeks go pink at this.

"Yeah, no, I..." she stammers, embarrassed, "I just... really like your hair." It's a fairly lame attempt. She seems to get this, and she admits closer to the truth, "You're just really pretty. I'm sorry for staring."

Her eyes widen some at the talk of dessert. "I always have room for dessert," she answers back with a little grin. For some unknown - at least, unknown if Blink hasn't figured out the stare yet - reason, she speaks up, "We can share. I don't mind."

Blink has posed:
Clarice seems to think it's just what she said. Perhaps the girl's a bit /too/ trusting? Or maybe it's just not something she's used to. Either way she pulls her hair over one shoulder. "Thanks... People often ask if I dye it, but I don't. It's just normal hair though..."

With hair that long, it's not so hard to turn her head and hold out a handful. "See? Pretty normal." She'll even let Dana touch it if she wants. It's not surprising she's curious. "It's normally the eyes that people stare at though, not that I can blame them really..." They do /glow/ after all.

When the option to share opens up, Clarice's expression is one of relief. "Oh phew! There's no /way/ I'd eat one on my own... Especially not after all those tacos!" She does lean back then, patting her belly lightly. And if a small burp esacapes? Well she's only human... Sort of.

Imbroglio has posed:
The failure to get across what she'd meant to has Dana a bit ambivalent. On the one hand, there's always that anxiety around whether certain thoughts are mutual. On the other, it's a relief to not be putting herself out there like that so very soon. She just kind of waches Clarice a few moments, as of wondering if she's being messed with.

She does look at the hair, though, smiling, "I really like how long it is. And the color." It's a little awkward. Maybe a little weird to her, but she does reach out to touch it.

"I like your eyes, too," she blurts out, turning her gaze there instead, "It's so cool how they glow."

The platter, meanwhile, gets a little look. A look that promises that she'll be devouring it mercilessly later. When she isn't watched.

Blink has posed:
Finally, Clarice blushes. "Oh! Thanks Dana, that's really nice of you." At least the burp had gone by unnoticed, or at least uncommented on. The teen sighs contentedly as she leans back in her chair again, glad that she's wearing a dress and not jeans after the meal.

"We can wait a bit to order dessert if you need to?" There's a slight note of hope in that voice, with time comes more room, and more room means more ice cream eaten later!

Imbroglio has posed:
Compliment the eyes, then. That gets filed away in Dana's brain. It's unclear whether she noticed or not. She had more important things to focus on. Like complimenting Clarice and giving threatening glares to food.

Speaking of food, her belly isn't any bigger than when they started.

"We can wait. More time to talk, right?" she offers instead, smiling a little.

Blink has posed:
"Right!" Clarice agrees with a grin. "So I know you come from Salem, but there's so much I /don't/ know. Like how old you are, what's your sign? Do you prefer showers or baths?" The portaller grins impishly, only curbing her own enthusiasm with effort.

"And you can ask me some things too if you like? I mean... Well I suppose you know more about me than I do you..." Her grin doesn't falter as she adds; "Sneaky Dana!"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I'm eighteen. My birthday was March 25th," explains Dana, smiling a little at the interest shown, "And, um... I love a good soak." It is, perhaps, more private a question than she expected.

"What about you?" she asks back, though it's unclear which question she means, giving a little grin at Clarice's observation, "And, um... the mutant gene happens in your teens, right? Did you look different before that? Is that rude to ask?" For her, it'd be a mark of common ground. Clarice may not know how Dana changed in appearance, but that doesn't change much in Dana's mind.

Blink has posed:
The mutant shakes her head, answering in reverse. "I've always been this colour. My Dad apparently had the same colour eyes, but otherwise looked pretty normal." She brushes over the /had/ quickly. "But I couldn't do any portalling until I turned eleven... After that..." Clarice pauses, trying to slip past that bit to the rest of the questions.

"I'm eighteen too! It's my nineteenth birthday in October." She advises, "I'm a Libra, and I kinda like showers for getting clean. But soaks in the sea when it's warm are amazing... Especially if you get those little fish nibbling at your feet!"

Imbroglio has posed:
"That's pretty neat," Dana answers truthfully to her companion's tale of looks and portals. She doesn't press on the matter of parentage, and she may not have noticed the word choice. She certainly seems distracted tonight.

"Oooh, we're the same age. You're a little older, I guess. That's so cool, right?" she smiles cheerily, "What do you do for fun, then? Or is it all training and taking losers out for dinner?" While calling herself a name more or less fits Dana's attitude thus far, her tone is more cheery and friendly. Casual, really, when she says it.

Blink has posed:
"I don't take losers to dinner..." Blink shakes her head, still grinning. "Mainly only cute heroes and heroines." The wink that follows is clearly directed to include Dana in that list. With all that entails.

"And being the same age is great! Means we'll be able to do things pretty much soon after. I mean like going to clubs and such, that's /got/ to be fun right? All that dancing and... Well, dancing!" Though Blink's face and hands are animated still, the rest of her body remains leaning against her chair, stuffed. "But for fun? Well I like ice cream..." This admission actually has her flushing plum! "I'll sometimes go places just to try and find a new type..."

Imbroglio has posed:
It is, perhaps, time for mixed feelings once again. The inclusion of heroes on the list maybe leaves Dana feeling less special than she might like. The inclusion of 'cute' leaves her feeling a little more. There's a moment or two where she can merely smile awkwardly at Blink, but eventually she does offer a shy, "Thanks," in response to the indirect compliment.

"I tried to make myself look older to sneak into one once," she offers up with a conspiratorial little whisper over the table, "But they carded me anyway so I had to run."

A blink of realization follows, and she admits, "... I haven't danced since prom. That sounds really fun, actually..."

Then, there's an amused look, "You do ice cream for fun? Next time, we can go out for ice cream. I'll buy."

Blink has posed:
"Aww that's really nice of you Dana. I'll try to find us a good place, somewhere warm so you can really enjoy it." Then Blink... blinks. As something else finally sinks in she asks; "Wait, you can make yourself look older? Oh wow, that must be so useful!" She pauses again, trying to work out exactly /what/ it would be useful for.

"Okay, forget that, I'm sure it /is/ useful though. For disguise or something. Dancing then! I'll find us a place we can get into, maybe in the UK? The drinking age is eighteen there, so we can probably get into a club too!" That certainly seems to excite her. "We'll probably need to get a hotel though... I don't think trying to portal whilst drunk would be a good idea."

Imbroglio has posed:
"I can't wait," Dana answers back genuinely, smiling at the idea of ice cream with the mutant.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Kind of," she admits a bit bashfully, "I have to use one of those aging apps so I can visualize it right, so it doesn't turn out very good. Kind of has to be dark or it looks weird."

"Could you just teleport us into a club, skip the bouncer?" she wonders. Perhaps clueless about cover charges, or perhaps less good-guy than she claims, "I've never been to the UK. That might be fun, t-..."

Talk of a hotel room causes her brain to do that train-derailing-thing again. She doesn't comment, just kind of sits there quietly for the moment.

Blink has posed:
Clarice's grin turns sheepish. "Nah, inside can be a bit tricky." Her face turns away a bit, looking down at Dana's shoulder rather than her face.

"See, that edge I talked about? It cuts as it opens, so anywhere too enclosed and walls start getting taken out." A beat; "Add in people and what can happen to /them/... It all gets too dangerous."

Imbroglio has posed:
"Oh. That's fine! Just about everything I do is tricky, so I get it," Dana answers back, trying to be reassuring in case this was a soft spot. A nod of understanding follows at the explanation, "Okay, yeah. Not inside. We can go to Europe then! That sounds fun, and less shady than sneaking our way in anyway."

With no further mention of the hotel, the shapeshifter seems to be recovering from the embarrassment.

Blink has posed:
"Yep Europe. Though we'll have to wait till later in the evening, they're like six or seven hours behind us I think." The mutant advises without must worry. If she's noticed Dana's reaction to the hotel, it doesn't show. Or maybe she just moved on quickly /because/ of the reaction. Who can tell with those glowing green eyes giving nothing away?

"So how come Gotham anyway? I mean, I get you wanted to get away from your folks so they don't know. But /Gotham/? I mean it's rain central!" And then, as the realisation hits that she'd just insulted Dana's home she adds; "Not that it's /all/ bad or anything!" As if that makes it all perfectly okay!

Imbroglio has posed:
"That's fine! Whenever you think is best," answers Dana easily enough, seemingly in no rush. They hadn't even ordered dessert yet, if they were even still planning on it.

"Why Gotham? It has lots of problems. And the problems tend to be creepy and insane, so I thought I'd fit right in," the shapeshifter answers. She speaks a bit flippantly, but she does genuinely believe herself to fit in Gotham best for those reasons, "I wanted a place where I could try to help." She doesn't seem offended.

Blink has posed:
"Nope, no rush at all." Blink agrees with a smile. She sips her coke with a smile and stays in that easy, comfortable slouch. "That's a really nice reason, wanting to go to help people. Though I don't think you're part of the 'creepy and insane' crowd. Leastways you don't /sound/ insane."

The young mutant takes time to really look over the other girl. From blonde hair to where her waist vanishes below the table and back again. It's a slow assessment, and the blase teen doesn't hide it. "Why do you always wear such loose clothing anyway? Surely it's easier to move in jeans and such?"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I make people really uncomfortable if they look at me too long. It kind of qualifies? I think it's because of my power," admits the shapeshifter, her features having subtly shifted over the course of the meeting in ways too subtle to really place.

The assessment has Dana shifting her weight some. Sitting a little straighter, looking a little embarrassed.

"Um... a couple reasons, I guess? One, it's easier to hide the book without swallowing it," she just... leaves all that out there without explanation, "Two, it's a little less creepy in the end. Less things to worry about going wrong in my shifting."

Blink has posed:
"So... Those clothes are you? Like your suit was?" That's the difficult bit to wrap her head around, is Dana always nude then? Had she actually been staring /at/ her just then? None of these questions seem like a good idea considering Dana's embarassment already.

"And what's that about a book? Is that where you get all your powers from?" She grins, leaning in; "Is it a spell book? Like with the runes you use and stuff?" It's almost like show and tell, only between just the two of them. But Clarice does the young insatiable learner well.

Imbroglio has posed:
"No! No, these are actual clothes. I sewed symbols into the lining so I can change quickly if something happens, even," Dana answers back quickly, reaching for her jacket off the back of her chair to show the lining. Strange sigils inside circles are indeed sewn there. The fact that she took her jacket off earlier may have suggested it wasn't part of her, but it would have been easy to forget with the jacket out of sight.

Then, the book. She looks uncomfortable, "Reading it is what gave me these powers. Keeping it around is the only thing keeping me from going full evil. If I leave it behind, I go kind of crazy. So I keep it with me all the time." She shifts her weight some, perhaps adjusting the weight of the book in reality, "I haven't read it since. I'm pretty sure it's evil."

Blink has posed:
"Wow... So you're kinda linked to it now? That's rough..." Because it can't be that small if she has to wear baggy clothes to hide it. "Couldn't you wear a backpack with it in? Or does it have to be touching your skin or something?" Blink's obviously intrieged now, Dana's mash up of dark occultist gone straight is just completely different to what she normally sees.

"Tell me if I'm prying too much, I really have no idea with all of this magic stuff." She waves a hand to the jacket, rather than to Dana herself. "I kinda lose understanding around the point words can shape reality or something, I mean, I can /tell/ a rock to move all I want, it's not going to go anywhere!" And that apparently, is what magic is. Making things do stuff with words.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I do, when I can get away with wearing a backpack without looking like a weirdo," Dana admits with a little smile, "But it'd look weird wearing one while out to eat."

There's a pause, and the smile falls, "I broke into the library vault where my dad works, because I was curious what they kept there. I just peeked. Read a little bit. Couldn't even understand it, but when I woke up, I'd destroyed the place and became what I am now. That's why I want to help people. To make up for my big dumb mistake."

There it is. Her dark origin story, finally revealed. It's no escape pod from a destroyed homeworld or parents shot in an alley, but it's her's.

"You... aren't prying too much. Maybe if it were someone else, but not you," Dana admits, once more speaking without thinking.

Blink has posed:
Blink smiles sadly, nodding and doing that casual reach over to give Dana's hand a squeeze. It seems they were sharing now, and Dana's idea that she was evil came from blowing up a building. Well she assumed it was just a building, probably best to check. "So the building was empty right? No one in there?"

She hoped that was the case at any rate. "Because things are just things Dana, people get insurance for that." People insured their lives too of course, but that didn't really support her argument here.

Imbroglio has posed:
The hand is squeezed back, seemingly without thinking. It does earn a smile from Dana, though.

"The vault was empty when I started, and I didn't see anyone hurt, but... I didn't stick around to see. People were coming, and I didn't want them to see me like I was. But I don't think I hurt anyone..." the thought does seem to disturb her, and she frowns some and looks distant for a few moments.

"Yeah, I guess. But reading the book was pretty wrong, too. I'm not human anymore, I'm sure of that," she explains.

Blink has posed:
"Your mind still seems human. I guess that's why you keep the book around huh?" She had been about to tell her own story of course, but something about how Dana looked so disturbed that someone might have even gotten /hurt/ stops her. Surely what she'd have to tell would be more than Dana would deal with.

Outwardly all that happens is the mutant looks down at the table for a few moments. That's it. By the time those green orbs are back up, she's grinning again. All blase happiness and bubbles. "But that's the past right? We're here now, we'd not have met if you hadn't read it." She puts out her fist, ready for a bump. "We're going to be the new crime fighting team remember?" Her grin /is/ infectious at least.

Imbroglio has posed:
"Yeah. Without the book, my mind kind of... matches my body. Not human anymore," Dana confirms Blink's suspicions with a little nod, "That's what happened when I changed and destroyed everything."

"That's true," she gives a bit of a smile, "I'm really glad we met. And I have superpowers, I guess. So it's not all bad." There's some hesitation, almost like she doesn't know what the fist is for. But she does eventually give an awkward bump, "I never thought I'd get to be on an actual team. So cool."

Blink has posed:
"We'll need a cool name." Blink grins before slurping the last of her coke through a straw, the grating noise lasting a few seconds before she's sure she has every last drop.

"It'll need to be all dark and mysterious to suit you, but with a bit of flair for me." She pauses, apparently for dramatic effect as she offers; "What about... Big Mad Drongo?" She manages to keep a straight face for four, maybe five seconds, and then it's all giggles and laughter.

Imbroglio has posed:
"We do!" Dana agrees with more enthusiasm than Blink has likely seen from her, "What makes a good team name?" This question seems almost philosophical for her as she ponders deeply.

This lasts until the suggested name. Her eyes widen, uncertain if Blink is being serious enough. The giggles settle that mystery quickly, and she breaks out into the same.

Blink has posed:
There's very human looking tears in her eyes by the time Clarice gets her giggles under control. "Oooh, it feels /good/ to laugh doesn't it?" She says with a genuine smile. "It's nice to be able to be a bit silly about it too. I think if you always thought of it all /really/ seriously like... Well that's when you end up like that Batman guy, all the serious, all the time. I bet the poor guy never sleeps."

It's certainly a novel idea. But Blink seems to consider it sage counsel, for she uses that moment to flag John back. "We'll have the Giant Belly Buster please John. Two spoons." John smiles and nods his understanding before heading off to place the order with the kitchen.

Imbroglio has posed:
"It does," Dana adds between giggles, taking a little longer than Clarice to get it all under control, "I can't remember when I last laughed that hard..."

Batman, she's never met. So she takes that one at Blink's word with a little smile, her own eyes watering from the laughter.

She looks over to the server at his arrival, then to Blink, "That's what it's called? Sounds like a mouthful..."

Blink has posed:
"More than one!" Blink grins in agreement; "More than two even!" Because it really it /massive/. The mutant had ordered it now because she knew how long it would take to prepare. Thankfully it wasn't just one of those pre-made things that only barely resemble the picture.

"But seriously... Have you got any ideas? I mean you've got that really cool meaning name for your super self." Best not to actually mention it in public. Kind of destroys the reason for having a secret identity.

Imbroglio has posed:
"More than two mouthfuls! That's a lot of mouthfuls," Dana answers back, sounding almost playful. Clearly, she's getting more comfortable around the mutant. Not quite so quiet and reserved as she had been.

"Well, what are some other team names? There's the Justice League... the Brotherhood of Mutants..." she kind of trails off. Her metahuman and mutant knowledge seems remarkably limited, "How about we both think on it, then we decide together when we team up for real for the first time?" Then she can research other team names and sound less dumb.

Blink has posed:
"Well there's a lot of X names. But I don't think we qualify for that." The colourful girl answers with a nod. "And yeah we can do that. Write our top two each and see which one we like best!" It seemed a good way to give them some more time. You didn't want a bad team name after all!

"They won't know what hit them when we get on the streets!" She seems very excited about the concept now. Maybe together they'll make a /real/ difference! Rather than the random bits she's made so far.

Imbroglio has posed:
"X-names? Oh, like the X-Men?" Dana wonders. That name she picked up when she looked up Blink's group. She's learning a lot about mutant rights lately, not at all related to wanting to not sound clueless to Blink.

"Yeah, we'll totally kick butt. Bad-guy butt," Dana answers with a little grin back at the other woman, "But we should train first. Get used to fighting together, right?"

Blink has posed:
Dammit! She'd gotten so carried away she'd completely forgotten about the 'training' bit! Quickly Blink starts to nod; "Yep, that's always best. Plus you need to learn how much hurts, and how much can kill. So that you can start being more effective." There, that sounded suitably responsible!

Imbroglio has posed:
"Do you think one of your friends could help?" Dana wonders tentatively over at Blink, tilting her head, "Like, someone tough that won't get too hurt if I make a mistake..."

This remains a concern, it seems. Particularly the idea of hurting Clarice during practice, given how she glances away.

Blink has posed:
"Mister Creed!" Clarice blurts out, flushing quickly after. "I mean, Sabretooth. He'd probably agree if I ask him /really/ nicely." She'd probably just have to ask him really, he seemed to like teaching her anyway. Surely one extra wouldn't be a problem?

"I'll ask him next time I see him 'kay?" It's no big thing to /ask/ anyway. And the next training session will come sooner than she'd like anyway. "He can heal /really/ quickly, doesn't even seem to feel pain half the time!" After all, how much pain could someone that puts out cigars on their own chest feel!?

Imbroglio has posed:
"Oh, that's good then. We can train with, um... Sabretooth," Dana answers with a little frown, "I'm starting to feel like my name is too complicated..."

"Those are good powers for this, I think," she smiles a bit, seemingly reassured at least somewhat.

Blink has posed:
"Yep! Sounds good." As long as he agreed anyway. There didn't seem any point in belabouring the point though. "So what are your forms of attack then? You know mine I think, portal edges and the javelins. But do you attack with like animal claws or is it more like the thing you did with your hand?" She waves her fingers about a bit, trying to make them look boneless. "You know, with the tentacles?"

Imbroglio has posed:
"I can do teeth and claws, but... I don't like really hurting people, so mostly it's just, like... punching really hard," Dana admits over at Blink a little awkwardly, "I don't really get opportunities to go all-out safely."

The finger wiggle gets a terribly embarrassed blush, "... you saw that? That wasn't really on purpose... things just go, uh. Really weird. When I get spooked, like when I almost fell."

Blink has posed:
"Why are you blushing?" Blink's look of surprise is unfeined, "It was /awesome/! I mean you were falling then -shlorp!-" She makes a sort of tentacle sucker noise. "Auto-save is what it is. Don't be shy about it!" And that's when the mountain of ice-cream in a glass bowl arrive. Cherries, chocolate, toffee, m&m's of both variety... The list goes on. Blink's eyes are round as saucers.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I don't like people seeing how I really look," Dana tries to explain, looking away as she does so. Giving a small hint as to the nature of her true appearance. "It's really gross and scary," she adds a little further.

Thankfully, ice cream interrupts her embarrassment. "Oh wow," she lets slip, sounding awestruck. After a moment, she motions, "You get first dibs..."

Blink has posed:
It's straight to one of the flakes sticking out the sides for Clairce. Using the choclate to scoop up ice cream and pop it into her mouth, the girls eyes roll back a little in please. "Ooooh, that's /so/ good!" She nudges the bowl a little closer to her new friend. "Come on Dana, dig in!" Not that she's stopping her own second scoop of creamy goodness.

It's safe to say it's a good ten minutes before the mutant is fit for conversation again, and by that time she's using a napkin to try and find all the various bits of syrup and ice cream that have gotten missed by her mouth and instead hit her face.

Imbroglio has posed:
Dana goes for a spoon, taking a large bite and savoring the first taste with an 'mmmmm' of her own.

The silence seems fine for Dana. The first few moments are a little reserved, but she digs in along with Clarice soon enough. She tries to keep a similar pace so as to not hog the thing, taking the break from conversation to let any lingering anxiety or embarrassment go.

Blink has posed:
The purple teen is very neat in her line of pudding. There'd been an almost exact straight line down the centre of the bowl between them as she'd eaten. Must be a trajectory thing.

"Eugh... I'm going to /burst/!" The bowl isn't really empty, but she got through a good two thirds of her side of the monstrosity. Once again she was glad of the stretchiness of the dress. "Did you like it?"

Imbroglio has posed:
Dana trails off to a stop soon after Blink. Still concerned about looking like a pig, apparently.

"It's really good. Thank you so much," she offers, perhaps a little too earnestly given it's just dessert, "Best dinner I've ever had. I owe you one."

Blink has posed:
"Just watch my back when we're out there..." There's a moment's hesitation as something comes to her and she ammends; "As long as you can see it anyway. I tend to move about a lot." Her bashful grin gives tell that she hadn't thought that point through properly beforehand.

"So what's next? We've still got some time until Scotland's an option. Unless you wanted to go walk around the town there first? It's kinda dull, they've got a wool shop, a care and a post office. Well and the pub." Pretty small place then.

Imbroglio has posed:
"I'll definitely watch your back!" Dana answers out, confident in that at least. Genuine and free of innuendo. "And I'm kind of excited to learn how to help you fight with your portals... I bet we can do all kinds of cool team moves," she offers up, seemingly quite open to the issues portals bring into things.

The question 'what's next?' seems to throw Dana for a little loop. It takes her a moment to regain composure.

"You still want to hang out after dinner? You're not super creeped out by, like..." she motions over her face, with those features that slowly shift over time.

Blink has posed:
"Sure why not? We were meant to be patrolling for hours yet weren't we?" At least in her head there were long hours spent standing on roof tops, listening and waiting for someone nearby to need help. It didn't seem very efficient, but then that's not what superheroing was always about was it?

"Well if we're too early for clubbing this time, shall we just find something crazy to do? Like something /really/ out there..." She pauses, then explodes her fingers as if it's an amazing idea. "Trampleen land."

Imbroglio has posed:
This still seems to have Dana surprised. In a good way. She's smiling a little, avoiding the psuedo-rejection she'd expected. She hadn't thought people could handle her company for so long. The suggestion then catches her off-guard.

"Tramp-... what? Is that a real thing? I have to see this..." she muses, looking for the server, "If you're done, let's get this stuff bagged and go? Don't waste food, right?" She remembered that, it seems.