2170/A Cheery Cafe

A Cheery Cafe
Date of Scene:	25 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Rainmaker, 1277, Voodoo

---

Rainmaker has posed:
    IT's been a few days since Claire called Sarah the first time to return her shirt, and this time, it was Claire who was called, with Sarah asking if she'd like to meet for lunch, and if she minded her girlfriend, Priss, coming with. If nothing else, because Priss wanted to meet her, but Sarah certainly can see the benefit of her knowing as many people who can help Claire out in a pinch as she can.

    And, because it's a nice, sunny day, with only a few straggly soft white clouds crossing the sky now and again, she suggested they meet at a outdoor cafe this time. It's a pretty little place, with a striped awning that extends out over a series of round tables, each with a little vase with a variety of colorful flowers. There's the scent of fresh baked goods leaking out from inside, where a good half of the cafe appears to be a French bakery, with people coming and going to pick up bread and sweets, while the other half, mostly outside, is where people sit who are actually ordering food to go with their fresh baked bread. The sign overhead reads 'Chez Axel', and it appears to cater to those interested in good French food.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet shows up, a little bit nervous, her hair tugged back into a loose ponytail. She has on a powder blue tank top and a pair of white shorts, along with some heeled white boots. Petite and unassuming, no one would ever imagine her to be an indestructible superhuman. She looks very much like the college freshman she actually is.

She makes her way in and looks around for a moment until she spots Sarah, heading over in that direction and raising a hand in greeting, "Man, this place smells super-good," she says. "I think I got my daily carbs just from breathing."

Voodoo has posed:
Beside the Amerindian beauty sits a mulatto young woman probably a couple years older. Rather than being dressed like a coed, she is honestly dressed like ... well. Let's just say 'streetwalker' wouldn't feel like a terrible stretch. Priscilla has on a pair of super-short, super-painted-on purple shorts, a very thin - almost scandalously so - white camisole for a top, with hints of more purple showing through from beneath, as well as signs of some very vibrantly colored tattoos on her arms and across her back, showing up against the caramel tones of her skin. Very long midnight black hair tumbles down her back in a cascade of tight ringlets. She chuckles at Claire's opening lines, but leaves it for Sarah to introduce her before she speaks.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah looks over from where she's been chatting with Priss and smiles in welcome. "Hey! There you are. I know, it smells wonderful, doesn't it? And I guess at least there's a lot less sugar and stuff in the bread here." She grins. "Though honestly I think you're safe from a -few carbs-. Their quiches are really tasty though, and they do a great fresh strawberry crepe if you like. Good breakfast, if nothing else."

    She motions to the chair across from them. "Claire, this is my girlfriend, Priss." she says easily. "Priss, this is Claire, cheerleader and college student." She smiles a bit to herself, leaning forward. "Well, until she decides what else she wants to do too with her talents." She leans back in her chair a bit, crossing her legs absently.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet can't help but stare a bit at Priss because, well, she's extremely pleasant to look at. Plus, Claire grew up in a fairly conservative household - her dad wouldn't even let her wear make-up until she was sixteen. A faint blush colors Claire's cheeks when she realizes she was just kind of ogling and she glances down again, clearing her throat.

"It's nice to meet you, Priss," she says, "Ooooooooooo, I do love strawberries," she says. "I'm not sure if my powers affect my metabolism or affect what I can eat. My old cheerleading coach used to really harass us about our diets, but I'm not actually cheerleading anymore..." she says.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla actually stands to extend her hand over the table to Claire, smiling. This proves out outrageously tall she is, and that she has augmented that with three inch heels. As if! "Pleased to meet you, Claire. Please, have a seat and join us. And feel free to order anything you like; I'm well acquainted with the hungries. And the food here is pretty great."

Once 'Claire Bear' is seated and chatting about powers, Priss settles and smiles. "Well, my experience tells me it's likely your body will burn a lot more calories when it has work to do, healing you, than it would otherwise. Also, it'll prefer calories of stuff that it can use for all that work, so if you're vegan, I'm really sorry. Proteins are your friends." Interesting that Priss speaks as if she has some experience with this, like it's all old hat for her.

Rainmaker has posed:
    "Priss would know." Sarah says simply, trusting in sempai Priss to teach and instruct as the taller woman sits down again along with Claire joining them at the table. "Carbs are nice too, but if you're really worried and not getting back into cheerleader or something active, there's plenty of gyms you can go to to train at." She tilts her head. "Priss and I hit a good place pretty often, and we do some self-defense and fighting training too...if you'd be interested in that?" she says curiously. "It can't hurt to know how to defend yourself, and it's not a bad way to keep the calories off." She smiles a little.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet shakes her head, "No, no, definitely not vegan. I eat way too much pepperoni pizza for that. I think it's more just the residual sort of guilt that got pushed on me, y'know? Can't weigh too much if you're going to be on top of the pyramid," she says.

"And yeah, I definitely need some self-defense and martial arts...stuff. I'm a pretty good gymnast, but I'm not going to be hurting any bad guys with my spectacular cartwheel," she says. "Well, maybe one or two," she grins.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla smiles at Claire, apparently identifying heavily with the little blonde. "The coordination and pattern of exercise in the gymnastics will suit much the same as mine from dancing. If someone shows you how, and drills you, you'll pick up the fighting quickly enough. Getting a head for it, that's harder. But if I can learn, anyone can." There's a real, genuine self-deprecation there, one that likely raises some of Sarah's hackles. Hard as she has tried, she still hasn't managed to convince Priss that she isn't stupid. It's been very deeply engrained within her view of herself.

"Go ahead and get something to eat. We're not going anywhere, I promise." Priss offers to Claire.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah does get a faint twitch to her lips as she glances sideways at Priss, but she doesn't comment; for now, anyway. Any other time though...

    She smiles a bit. "Yeah, feel free? We were waiting for you to order." She tilts her head, but can't resist saying. "And Priss is running herself down...she knows her stuff, and she's a good teacher. I've improved a lot since I started sparring against her."

    She grins. "I'm much more the amateur, most of my stuff was self-taught from books and such. No gymnastics or anything to really prep me either, just..." She shrugs. "Well, there wasn't a lot to do, so exercise definitely filled the time."

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet does make an order, getting a crepe as Sarah suggested, although she decides on blueberry instead of strawberry for the filling. She also gets a mochachino with extra whipped cream.

"I'm sure you're pretty amazing," she says to Priss, "I know Sarah is and I can't imagine she'd be with anybody who wasn't. I know I'm kind of small," she says, the girl barely five feet in height, "But I can be pretty feisty when I get pushed. And not being able to get hurt, I can kind of...throw myself in whole hog. People don't tend to expect that. I get by a lot on the power of surprise."

Voodoo has posed:
The smiling mulatto dancer nods to Claire. "Going in whole-hog is a good thing. Never go in by halves if you can avoid it. And always use surprise if you have any shot at it; take every edge you can." Priss' best advice follows. "Remember: Honor schmonor. Fight hard, fight dirty, do anything and everything you can to get an edge and win. Flirt. Snark. Punt them in the nards. //Anything.//"

Rainmaker has posed:
    The Amerindian girl actually flushes slightly at Claire's unexpected compliment, blinking at her, before she tries to cover it by picking up her glass of water to sip from it. The empath next to her will definitely feel a little burst of embarrassment but also a little pleasure at it having been said.

    "So you want to then?" she says with a smile, banishing her reaction after a short puff of breath. "And size isn't everything...especially if you know the right throws and joint locks."

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet grins, "Now you sound like my dad. He's very proper, in his own way, but he always told me to go straight for the balls or the throat if any guy ever got out of hand," she grins. "I'm definitely a survivor. I actually thought about using that for a...y'know...a name. But I dunno, it's very reality TV. I don't wanna get voted off of the island," she giggles.

To Sarah, she nods, "Absolutely! I'd be thrilled to train with you guys. And it gives me an excuse to buy some new gym clothes," she says.

Voodoo has posed:
"Survivor's not bad. I'm Voodoo." Priss offers. "There're some that never bother with another name. What matters is that you know what you're capable of, and you find a way to use that. Maybe to make your own life better. But ideally, to make the world a little better, or your little corner of it?"

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah hmmmms. "I don't know, it's not quite capturing you, somehow..." she says thoughfully. "But then, I don't really have a secret identity name or anything..." she says, with little air quotes around the 'secret identity'. "Rainmaker already pretty much describes me anyway." she says with a grin. "Though I do think Voodoo works for Priss...magical, mysterious, sexy...." She peers at the mulatto woman next to her with a playful look. "But then, I'm biased, perhaps." she adds, archly, as the waiter returns with Claire's blueberry crepe.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet grins, "Nothing wrong with biased. I like Voodoo, it's very cool and totally suits you. Not that I really know anything about voodoo. Basic white girl here," she admits.

"Everyone back home just called me "Cheerleader", but that seems weird as a sort of...I'm not going to say superhero, I'm definitely not a superhero. I'm not sure what I am, but I would feel really weird saying that."

Voodoo has posed:
"My old teacher called them 'nomme de guerre'." Priscilla explains. "My old team leader called them 'codenames.' I just call them 'other names'." She shrugs her shoulders a bit, and smiles at Claire. "Thanks for the compliment." A wink for her girlfriend. "You //are// biased. But adorable."

Priss pauses for a bit, letting Claire enjoy her crepe, before she finally speaks up. "By the way: the reason I was speaking with such authority is that I heal, too. Not quite the same way. But I'm guessing, from what I've seen, that the burden it puts on your body won't be dissimilar. I shapeshift." And does a whole Hell of a lot of other things. But shapeshifting is the thing they sort of have in common.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah flushes a bit at Priss. "Well, I can live with that then." she notes wryly.

    The native girl sips from her water again before leaning back as Priss explains. She's gotten in the habit of letting Priss decide what she wants to reveal and how soon, really. At the end, she adds. "Priss could probably help you learn a bit more about good ways to use your ability. Though I'm pretty sure she DOES feel pain when she gets hurt." she says softly, her eyes flicking to Priss, apparently remembering something recent.

    She shakes it off quickly, then says. "Anyway, the nice thing about the gym we go to, they let you rent out private rooms. So if you wanted to practice stuff, maybe that would help?"

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet nods, "I felt pain at first, it just kind of...faded over time. Sometimes I worry that I'll stop feeling altogether, that someday I'll just be...numb. All over. That would not be fun," she says, her eyes turning down.

She takes a sip of her mocha, sighing, "I think that's pretty amazing. Shapeshifting must be so cool," she says. She's kind of amazed by these two startling women, with such strong abilities and such obvious beauty. And a couple at that! "It's really nice of you guys to help me."

Voodoo has posed:
Priss sips from the tall, dark drink in her own hand; Sarah knows that it is in fact not coffee at all, but iced cocoa with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. And Priss is not shy at all about cleaning her upper lip with her tongue after each sip. She even grins decadently at each.

"I do feel pain." Priss confirms, nodding. Then she looks closely at Claire, considering the young woman. "I could be wrong. I'm no science girl. But my guess is that your body is adapting. You're getting hurt a lot more often, because you don't hesitate, you don't shy away. And you know you'll recover. So your body is dialing back its sensitivity to pain accordingly." She sure sounds smart when she talks like that. But she's not.

Definitely not. "You know, my teen self would have been so jealous of you, Claire. I could never have been a cheerleader." Yeah, the mixed-race foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks with the dangerous curves and the easy reputation - however unfounded - could never have made it into the elite corps of the cheerleaders in Louisiana. "I did make it into the dance squad, though."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah is definitely finding it hard not to watch Priss do that little flick of the tongue to clean her lips off with each sip. She doesn't eve realize she's doing it quite, then she blinks a bit as Priss talks about why she couldn't have been a cheerleader. "Hmmph. Their loss. You'd have been an great cheerleader, you've got everything you need to succeed. Right Claire?" she says, peering at the other girl with a faint smile. "I mean, you'd be the expert here." She smiles. "I don't know if I would have ever tried to be a cheerleader. It wasn't a big thing on the rez as much as it was in other schools.

    She grins. "Well, maybe if I'd run into the two of you and you'd talked me into being on a team with you, at least." she admits.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet follows Sarah's eyes and blushes a bit. She isn't sure which of the two women she's jealous of, but she suspects it might be both. She's been single for quite a while, after all, and the two make a rather startling and impressive pair.

"I bet you were pretty good. I've thought of trying out for the college squad, but it's too much attention and responsibility. With my luck, I'd fall and break my neck in mid-practice and then have a lot of explaining to do," she sighs.

"I'm sorry if people were mean to you, though," she says. Priss didn't say as much, but Claire knows cheerleaders all too well. "The three of us would make a heck of a squad, though, I bet. I'm sure you could both lift me up pretty easily."

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla grins at Claire, and then glances towards Sarah only briefly, rolling her eyes. << Don't you dare say it. >> she sends to the Amerindian beauty, before she turns back to Claire, suppressing the urge to laugh at a joke poor Claire never meant to make. "You're right. We'd probably make a great squad together. You really should come by the gym some time, when you get the chance." She hadn't actually agreed to the lessons, but now she will. After all, why not? Pay it forward; Zealot taught her, she should teach others. If they want to learn, and they're good people in her eyes, that makes them worthy.

The Coda would disagree. But screw them.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah is just starting to open her mouth when Priss beats her to it, then pouts briefly. <<Spoilsport.>> She smiles a bit. "Yeah, could least show you where it is. Not sure if you have a way to get around other than the bus right now though, right?" There's a speculative look. Well, Claire IS kinda petite. Could Priss's bike take three? They'd have to kind of be really friendly though.

    "I mean...I could give you a ride by flying you out there, or Priss has a kickass bike. We can figure something out!" she says cheerfully.

Claire Bennet (1277) has posed:
Claire Bennet grins, "Flying sounds pretty amazing. I'll have to make sure not to wear a skirt if I'm going to do that sometime," she laughs.

"I'm pretty good on a bike, too. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. Like I was telling Sarah, I'm pretty far away from home and I haven't really met much of anybody here. To have new friends and have them be friends with powers, friends like me...that's pretty special," she says. "Don't worry, though, I'm not gonna drive you crazy or anything. Or, at least, I'll try not to!"