8110/So This Is Evolution

So This Is Evolution
Date of Scene:	30 June 2019
Location:	Club Evolution
Synopsis:	Wanda returns the favor paying for a night out at Club Evolution with Josh.
Cast of Characters:	Elixir, Scarlet Witch

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Elixir has posed:
Josh toyed with the idea of when he should call up Wanda for a while, and whether to tell anyone. In the end he decided not to wait that long, and not to say anything. All he knew was he was not going to miss the chance to meet up with her again. Beyond everything else, he was just so deeply intrigued, not something he was used to feeling in particular about women.

At any rate, he called and arranged to meet in the club at the bar. Josh arrived early, dressed in his trendy dark jeans, sneaks and blue short-sleeve shirt with pretty wild blue, white and black pattern. He fit right in with many of the other guys his age. Josh orders himself a beer and sees a few people he knew from school at nearby table. The room was getting full already, but he pulled some strings and tipped the bouncers. They were watching for Wanda to send her right in if a line up started. In the meantime, he hung out joking around and trying to relax. And not to look toward the stairs every two seconds.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
It was apparent from Wanda's voice that she was glad when Josh called. On the appointed day, Wanda had spent a little more time in her closet than normal deciding what to wear. Once again Janet van Dyne came through for her as Wanda picked out a black dress from JVD fashion. Worthy of the name "little black dress", if more tame than another that also fit the term which Janet had made sure Wanda left with.

A bolder red lipstick color than normal gave Wanda pause. But then it was time to go. And so that is how she arrived at Evolution, smiling as the staff at the door let her in. Her dress's bodice hanging just low enough to be interesting, and a fanciful gold ring on her finger, Wanda makes her way down the stairs, eyes scanning the crowd. As she spots Josh, a warm smile crosses Wanda's face. It remains as she slips through the crowd and over to join him.

"There you are. I was so glad to hear from you. A nice night out and away from... things... is exactly what I could use right now," she tells him. She looks slowly around the club and back to him. "And I see why you like the place," she says, sounding impressed. Her eyes take a moment to take in the man's handsome appearance and the clothes that he wears so well. She doesn't comment on what she sees, though the soft smile might grow just a little more.

Elixir has posed:
Josh catches sight of Wanda coming, but keeps talking with his friends until she comes over.

"Hey! Wow, you look amazing," Josh says with his big easy grin. He offers Wanda a hug in greeting.

"It's a great spot, really chill," he agrees. "If I wanna let things go, I come here!"

"Let me introduce you," Josh says and introduces her as Wanda to the five guys and girls he was talking with, all friends from university. Two guys, three women, one pair which was a couple.

"Get you a drink?" Josh offers and turns to the bar.

"I like that ring," Josh compliments when they get to the bar.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff returns the hug as she smiles at the compliment she was paid. "Thank you," she tells him, flashing the smile to him before Wanda follows Josh's motion over to his friends. "Hello, so nice to meet you all," she says to the small group. Wanda makes a few comments in small talk, telling one of the girls how she reminds Wanda of a friend of hers, and commenting favorably on the adventurous hairstyle of one of the boys.

Wanda looks back to Josh and she gives a slow nod of her head. "A drink would be perfect," she tells him. She rests a hand upon his shoulder lightly to follow him through the crowded club and over to the bar. Once there she turns her back to the bar and leans it against it. "So what do you like to drink usually?" she asks him. "I am willing to try about anything. I haven't been out to too many places like this here," she says.

Elixir has posed:
"Really? I would've thought you were getting asked out all the time," Josh says with a grin.

"Ah, two whiskey sours," Josh says and raises an eyebrow at Wanda appraisingly. Then he looks back to the bartender. "Real ones, forget the sugar."

"So really, you can't tell me you don't have guys begging to take you out. Or are they all too scared?" he jokes with a wink.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda holds up both hands in that time-old gesture expressing she doesn't quite know the answer to that last question. "I don't really get asked out very often, no," she tells him. "I'm not quite sure what the reason. Perhaps that has something to do with it?" Wanda says, and from her expression seeming to wonder at it herself if that might be it. "I'm also busy enough I probably do not end up in a lot of... well, social situations," she tells him.

The auburn-haired woman smiles over to Josh as she says, "You know, social situations. Like churches. So do you find that is a good place to meet women?" Her voice and smile are both openly teasing, though in a warm tone. Wanda glances to the bartender as he brings the drinks. She slides some money over to him, telling Josh, "And tonight is on me, I'd remind you," she says, sticking to what she said after the meal at the pub. "So your friends, they seem like a nice group. Where do you know them from?"

Elixir has posed:
"No, that was pretty random," Josh admits with a laugh. "Though you'd be surprised. Church was like high school.".

He chuckles at getting caught trying to cover the drinks.

"You win. And yeah, they're really cool. We're all pretty different, but have a bunch of classes together. We're all trying to get into med school. Which is nice, we keep each other on track. Come on, let's hang out with them, have a couple drinks then dance," he suggests brightly.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda takes her drink and follows Josh back over to his friends. "I have always heard how lengthy the process is for becoming a doctor," she tells him, talking loudly enough to be heard over the sound of the music. As they arrive back at the table, she repeats what she said to the rest, adding, "It is nice seeing people with the drive to go after a goal like that. I imagine having each other really helps with that," she says, agreeing with Josh's comment to her.

Wanda will sip from her drink, seeming pleased enough with the choice while the group continues talking. She manages to join in the conversation, and also to draw out Josh's friends with questions now and then. After awhile the drinks are settling a bit lower in their glasses. As a new song starts up, Wanda look up and smiles. "Oh, I like this one. Josh?" she asks, looking over to see what he thinks.

Elixir has posed:
"I'm in," he says. He knocks back the rest of his drink and gets up with Wanda and leads the way through the press of people to the floor. It is crowded by now and there is not a lot of room on the floor. The house DJ has given way to a really popular Bushwick DJ who was just back from overseas. People are pumped. The music picks up and from where they are, it vibrates through the body. You feel it as much as hear it.

Josh pulls Wanda into a small space among the others dancing. He seems almost intrigued at what she will do. A couple drinks in, he is fully at home here, another place he might have spent more time at than he should have, perhaps.

When Wanda's song finishes, there is a shout that picks up near the DJ that spreads across the room.

"Oh no way," Josh shouts to Wanda over the noise. "You're in for a treat! Just relax and go with it, hang on to me if you get dizzy. If you don't like it, just close your eyes and it'll stop!" he says enigmatically.

A short woman in her early twenties with long brown hair in a braid over her shoulder climbs up onto one of the speakers with the help of one of the bouncers. She is wearing jeans, block heels and a black crop top. She waves to a few a people, takes a breath and then nods to the DJ. There is a ton of cheering a second time.

The beat comes in slow and sparse, but steady. Every phrase, another element is layered on top. And with each part, the sound does not just get more complex, it draws everyone in. It expands in their minds. And when people start dancing, the feeling spreads. Perception spreads. It's like hearing the music from fifty different angles, a hundred. Feeling the electric surge, the heartbeat in a hundred bodies at once. Dancing in a hundred different ways. And the feeling just deepens, like a musical gestalt.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda finishes the rest of her drink as well, setting the glass down with the rest of the groups and then slipping her hand into Josh's so he can lead her into the dance floor without losing her.

The little dance space he finds is like being in a room with a moving, shifting wall of people. Lights flashing and making even one's vision feel that bouncing beat. The deep bass rhythm that guides the movements of their bodies as Wanda dances with Josh. "I haven't danced like this in... quite a well," she yells into his ear.

The change is noticeable then when the mutant girl climbs onto the speakers. Wanda tilts her head, sensing the girl's ability in a way that few in the room do. She opens herself up to it after Josh's suggestion. The music slides inside of her skin and into her brain. Wanda finds herself moving. Not dancing, but part of the music. She moves with the crowd that has become the tapestry for the music and the mutant girl. Wanda spins around, hair twirling before she is righted by the music, dancing close to the man.

Elixir has posed:
Josh just grins when Wanda comments about not having been out in a while. He finds Wanda easy to move with. In the press of people, perhaps too easy. He is all too aware of her.

Josh nods along and then starts to move with everyone, giving himself mostly over to the movement and the feeling. When Wanda spins the dancers part just enough, fluidly, without any thought, like birds in flight or a school of fish in a strobe lit ocean. Josh laughs in simple delight watching Wanda twirl free in the momentary space. Then he reaches out instinctively at the end of Wanda's spin, puttting a hand on her waist. He guides her back toward him as the bodies around them press closer again. He flows with the music, Wanda, the crowd.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The music is part of Wanda, and she part of it. As is Josh. His hand about her waist guides the woman to the handsome college student in the same way the bass notes guide the melody into their next measure. The auburn-haired woman wants to dance with him, so the melody's desire to have that bass accompaniment feels so right.

The other bodies press closer about them, some moving to different instruments. But Wanda slips a hand to the small of Josh's back, helping keep herself close to him as they move together as one, flowing in time to the music's rise and fall.

Her forehead ends up resting against his, vivid eyes gazing over into his own as their bodies move in unison. The woman lets the music take her and lets Josh's touch lead her, the woman of magic appreciating the special moment on a deep level.

Elixir has posed:
Familiar with the effect, relishing it and yet watchful for Wanda in her first experience of it, a piece of Josh's awareness watches. Like that awareness of being drunk. But when Wanda presses close it melts into the moment and her eyes, the music dancing in them, the warmth and smell of her. He just gives in to it.

The music rises and falls, carrying them on a tide of emotion. Longing, joy, abandon, counterpoints of loss, worry, punctuated and washed with strength, resolve. Josh's hands linger on Wanda's waist, around it when her back is to him, nearly to her cheek at one point when they are forehead to forehead

Then the music crescendos, building tension and energy and suddenly the beat drops. Nobody moves. The young woman on the speaker, who had been winding up there like a mercurial snake, stands still with her head lowered. It is hard to even breathe. A faint rising sound creeps into awareness and the expectation rises with it. The drum carries sound like dawn light and then the bass drops in again. The music, the lights, and bodies burst into movement again. The surge is electric and then they are subsumed in an entirely new beat.

This time Josh does not hold back. His hand slides up to Wanda's cheek when they come back close together, and he leans forward to kiss her and erase the distance between them.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The pause is like a moment of time stopping, bodies frozen but for the rise and fall of chests and the smiles that people exchange as their eyes find one another. Wanda's grows considerably as she looks over to Josh, not looking away from him even as her other senses strain for the next notes of the music.

And then it comes, breaking on them like a storm wave upon a shore. Sending their bodies back into a frantic rhythm, dancing and cavorting.

Wanda stays joined to her dance partner, snug in the fold of his arm, her body held in against his torso. She moves without thought, her eyes on Josh as he cups her cheek, until finally her eyelids flutter close, her head tilting slightly to offer her lips up to the taller man.

She kisses him back with the same energy and passion as the music that infuses them. Bodies moving with each other, and never a fear or worry of bumping into others. Wanda's hand slides up from Josh's back to cup the back of his neck as her lips press that deep, sultry kiss back to his. She finds her lips parting, offering the opening for him to taste the sweetness of her mouth, her tongue slipping out for just a moment to get a tiny little taste of his own lips.

Elixir has posed:
Josh feels Wanda in particular among the others joined in the music. Her abandon and passion mirroring hers and melding when they kiss. His lips melt into hers, he tastes her, his own lips parting. The music and awareness of others fades into the feeling and awareness of each other. It becomes hard to tell exactly where the kiss begins and ends, which of them touches the other, the sensation meld. It is not even clear how much time passes before the feeling fades away like smoke on the wind. People come out of the dream and start cheering wildly for the woman on the speaker. Her face is beaded with sweat but she veritably glows. In fact, she may /actually/ be glowing slightly.

Josh pays no attention. Instead he stands forehead pressed to Wanda's, breathing heavily.

"Oh my god, how long did that go?!" a woman asks loudly from somewhere nearby. Some people laugh and there are murmurs and buzzing as newbies slowly start coming down from the experience and re-orient in time, hours later, and space.

"Come with me," Josh breathes his the invitation, unwilling to break whatever connection he can hold with Wanda.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Like a dream that one can remember parts of, but not all, the moments spent in dance are somewhat fleeting at first for Wanda as the mutant's ability slowly slips from their minds. But the kiss, and the feeling of being held, those don't fade. The moving in symmetry and union.

They might have something to do with why Wanda doesn't pull back away from Josh as it ends. She stays nestled in his arm, the curves of her body feeling the warmth of his brawny build. She bites at her lip for a moment and then smiles, nuzzling a small kiss to Josh's cheek, this one given fully of her own choosing and as if confirming the same feeling about everything that's transpired before.

The woman looks back into Josh's eyes and gives him a small nod, smiling as she stays within the fold of his arm if he allows, but letting him move her about in the crowd as he desires.

Elixir has posed:
Josh closes his eyes briefly when Wanda kisses his cheek. When she nods, he lingers a moment, willing his body to let this magical woman in front of him move away from him for now. He grins that easy, carefree golden boy grin and slips his hand around Wanda's. He leads her back through the crowd, past the tables and up the stairs.

Even though it is summer in the big city, the air feels cool and fresh in sudden comparison with the closer, warm air of the club.

"It really isn't far," Josh says, walking backward in front of Wanda and still holding her hand. Then he turns and leads her across the street and up the block.

His building is a four storey brick building. The Elgin Mews is proudly proclaimed on a sign above the doors in fading letters. Josh buzzes them in and the lobby is clean but tired. There are some notices posted on a bulletin board about various things, selling or asking for help with others. When the elevator comes, Josh steps in and pulls Wanda close to him.

"Never felt like /that/ when Neena performs," he whispers to Wanda with big bright blue eyes. "Or after." He leans forward to steal another kiss from Wanda before the elevator stops on the third floor. The door opens and he leads Wanda to 303. The apartment is dark inside, small, clean and tired. The dishes are done, the sparse furniture is clear of extraneous things except for textbooks on the little table. It smells a bit like butter chicken.

"You want another drink?" he offers quietly, close to Wanda as he walks backwards with her hands in his, passing the galley kitchen.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The walk from the dance club and down the street of mutant town just brings a different sort of ambience to the moment. Seeing other mutants out and about, walking in areas that they can do so without feeling ostracized or stared at most of the time.

By the time they make it into the elevator, Wanda smiles as Josh pulls her to him. Perhaps what he suggested earlier about others being scared of her had some merit, for Wanda feels a little thrill at the confident way that the younger man draws her to him, knowing that she will come. By the time their lips meet again, she has slid a hand up, over his chest until her fingers lie close along the skin of his cheek.

"It is a nice feeling," she whispers in her softly accented English, eyes flashing at him before Josh leads her into the apartment. Wanda glances around the clean interior, but her attention quickly returns to the young man as he leads her further in. "Another drink would be nice," she agrees.