Owner	Pose
Steel	As much as he had going on this week, John Henry Irons was good for just a night off. He's found his way to the Southside, despite its nick name even, he's been looking about. In an area that is nicer than most, there are a few shops, some places to eat, sidewalk cafe but Southside style. The metal pulled up to the stores, a few stools out front and good food. One can take their pick, John has chosen a taco joint. Nearby, between a few of the food vendors, a makeshift band has set up. Cigar box guitar, plastic bucket drummer, street stuff. Bluesy even, with taco in hand, he's moved to claim a steel bench, part of a revival project, probably a few around. An otherwise normal evening, he is listening and people watching as he unravels his taco from the plastic wrap.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell has been lingering outside of the taco joint for a while, staring longlingly at the food inside (and maybe kinda planning petty theft). She's wrapped up in a bundle of blankets, just her face visible. It's a bit too hot to wear a blanket, let alone two, yet that's what she's decided to go with. As the large, muscular man exits, she turns her gaze toward him and cants her head, but doesn't approach just yet.
Steel	He didn't notice at first, John had a one tract mind. Food, listen to the music. It registers as he went to take the seat, someone else watching. More so when he sits and she cants her head towards him. Nearly taking a bite of that food, he pauses, holding it still in the wrapper. Then he stands, holding it at his side and making the choice to approach her. "Is everything okay," its not the sympathy sort of question like can he give money or a room, more like 'is someone in trouble' the way he says it.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell perks up a bit and glances around, making sure there's nobody behind her he's talking to before she turns back toward the man and speaks. "Ah...c-could I bother you for...something from th-that taco place?" Her voice is quiet and raspy, and if one looks closely, her breath comes out in frigid clouds, despite the warm weather.
Steel	As he listens and she indicates the taco place, John looks over for a moment. "You could," he agrees, eyes falling back to here, and that mist of breath. "But it ain't free. You'll have to humor me with some company. Not sure I fancy eating alone, this works out for both of us." And a grin touches his lips, "I'm John. Why don't you come tell them what you want, we'll be sure you get it." A team effort in that approach, and he leaves his food untouched for the moment, seeing if she takes to the offer.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell visibly hesitates, seemingly surprised that he'd actually accept her offer, then skitters closer. "M-Maya," she says flatly. "My, uh...n-name, I mean." Her gaze lowers down to the taco, but she doesn't bring it up. "I'm n-not really picky, but...er, something easy o-on the stomach, maybe?" She lifts her gaze back up to John.
Steel	A hint of a chuckle to his voice, "Easy on the stomach, we can do that Maya." He looks over at the board, "Just some of the cheese burritos maybe, you can try the beef. I don't think its spicy, if that sounds good to you?" He offers a hand, to bring her closer at least, to the counter to start an order proper. "And a large drink, can't go wrong that way." If she's agreeable, they can get the order going there. "And now that its more social, we could throw in some Churros. Its a churros night I think?" BUt needs some confirmation.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell looks between John and the menu and just nods rapidly at everything he says. "Ah, sure, y-yeah. Is...this place any good?" She either hadn't thought that that's why he's eating here, or it's a painfully poor attempt at small talk. The woman rests her hands on the counter as she peers at the workers behind the counter. Her hands are pale as can be, and are rapidly chilling the small surface area her hand's taking up.
Steel	"You know," he ponders, order in and looking at her, "We're about to find out, my first time too." He takes not of her hand, hard to miss when she lifts it to the surface of the counter there. "You good, Maya?" His eyes stress his look down, and he reaches a hand over, as if to warm her, but uncertain if that's a good idea or not even. Just giving her that moment of trust, or faith, but making the offer, his own warmth.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell doesn't seem to notice John's hand over hers (the size difference almost comical) until a second or so after. Her hand is beyond just cold, it's -freezing-, quite literally, at about 0ËC, or thirty-whatever Fahrenheit. "Wh-Huh? Yeah, I-I'm just...hungry..." She weakly tries to shimmy her hand out from beneath John's and back into her bundle of blankets.
Steel	"Sure, sure," he agrees, "This should to it, and if we need more. Well, I don't think they're closing any time soon." A grin still, though John felt the hand. He doesn't bring it up while at the counter, but when the food comes, he offers to take it for her and chin juts towards the bench he was on earlier. "We can park it there, enjoy the music." Street band, another song, part of some set. "I'm not really from Metropolis, grew up in DC, been living up in New York lately, just passing through. So first time for this joint." The food they're about to have. He offers her choice of seat first too.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell meekly follows John to the bench, music blaring back up as she exits the shop. She doesn't seem to care where she's sitting, as long as she's sitting. "I, ah, I'm...f-from southern Pennsylvania, actually. And...uh, this would be m-my first time at this place, too." She eyes the food hungrily. "...I-It's been a while since I've had fast food..."
Steel	A nod as he listens, he can finally take a bite and he enjoys it as she says where she is from. 'Don't go fast on it then, go easy on your stomach." WHich see seemed inclined to do anyways, but with the grease in the fast food even. "Well, to firsts then. I don't eat it all the time, but its part of the atmosphere." Here, Suicide Slums, or this more lively part, if one could call it that. "You always cold Maya?" He indicated he noticed, but its not a big issue the way he says it, more like idle curiousity, he's eating and enjoying the music, his eyes focused on her for the moment.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell quickly starts gnawing on the cheese burrito (basically just a rolled up quesadilla), ignoring the instructions to go slow. She pauses as John mentions her coldness and glances up at him "...Um...y-yeah. I'm...a mutant. Feel." She holds out not her hands, but her burrito, which has already chilled to what would be, to others, a gross and inedibly cold temperature, but she seems fine with it.
Steel	A look at her hand. John takes his other to touch it again, if she allows him, and still gets freezing if so, so can't keep it there too long. "You're comforable though?" He takes another bite, swallows as if thinking he had more to say, taking a sip of his drink with the hand she cooled or nearly cooled. "I wasn't born an different, but I tried to hon my body to be that way. Didn't work, so I learned to tinker to make my mark." Converational he hopes.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell simply nods at his question, then draws her hands back and bites into her cheese burrito. She gulps the mouthful down before replying, still well-mannered, despite her apparent homelessness. "I, uh...I-I see. I...can't really...erhm..." She suddenly lowers her head sheepishly. "I can't...uh, exercise. It's...tiring, you know?" She takes another bite, finishing it off.
Steel	Taking a moment for another bite himself, he listens. When she ponders if he knows, John takes it seriously. "I can imagine. I mean if you're cold, the state of electrons probably makes it difficult." Though he's not one hundred percent sure, because of her physiology, John couldn't really be certain. "That has to be hard on you Maya, the tiring. Is it getting worse?" There is concern there, when he asks that, like he's considering what could honestly be done for the girl now.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lowers her head sheepishly and stays quiet for a suspicious few seconds. "Y-...Yeah, it's...that. Um, e-electrons. And it's, I mean, it's...o-okay. It's just...something I have to live with, that's all." She shuffles awkwardly on her seat, staring down at her uneaten churro.
Steel	The look down brings some manners back to John, to much focus on who she is. "There you go, is what it is." He takes his own churro then. "And here we are. About to toast churros." He holds his up, "And an excuse to get you to look up and smile, its a good night Maya. I think you got a good smile, time to wear it." He'll lean over and shoulder bump her, get into that spirit for the moment.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell briefly meets John's eyes and flashes a quick, disingenuine smile, before turning to look away. It's pretty obvious she's lying about the electrons thing. She's quick to switch off of that topic. "Yeah, it's...um, i-it's a nice night. At least it's not raining. That's when I, er...get ice all over me..."
Steel	Lying or not, John isn't pressing so much. He may be curious, but it seems she doesn't want to broach the subject so much either. "I'm glad then, it is this nice. I got to meet you Maya. So, why here, out of Pennsylvania. Off to school or something? Mayb work brought you this way?" A lean down, and a nod, "I'm nosey, you can stop me any time you like. I don't want to put you out of sorts. You can return them to me, ask away. Or just enjoy the churro, we'll call it even?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lets out another sigh and hangs her head. "It's...c-complicated. Long story short, I-I'm not allowed at home anymore. I...I-I made a mistake." She stares down at her lap. "...Mom doesn't even know I'm a mutant."
Steel	"Yeah, I made a mistake too," returns John, looking down at where she looks in her lap, as if seeing some past there, different than hers. "Mine caused dozens of families their lives, more even. Countless." A look up at the street somewhere, "I'll do what I can to pay for it." As if determined, but back to her. "Do you want your mom to know, and if you're not allowed there, you have some relatives here?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell shakes her head, black bangs swaying in front of her face. "No, I-I just...I dunno, I picked a road and...went. I mean, a lot of mutants a-and supers kinda flock to this area--you know, Metropolis, Gotham, New York..." She shrugs.
Steel	"Yeah, it seems that way," returns John in light of that news, glacning at those bangs as they sway. "You finding new family, others. Supers, or mutants? New family." He'll call it like he sees it, if she is estranged. "Hate to think you followed the road here and still, staying out here hoofing it alone." His food finished, he'll lean back on the bench, work on finishing his own drink. A soda.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell shrugs again. "Well...yeah. I mean, a-a lot of places...don't, uh, like hiring mutants. Negative stigmata towards that. And I can't...you know, -hide- it." She lets a breath out her nose. "And the jobs they -do- let mutants do a-are, like...warehouse work, heavy lifting, stuff...b-behind the scenes where it's all hot a-and stuffy, and I just can't do that." She bites into her churro.
Steel	"Yeah, I can imagine." He seems miffed and its not affecting him first hand even. "I wish I could help with the job. Out of work myself, so to speak." He admits readily enough, "Look Maya, you got some place to crash. Friends place, wherever, just a place your comfortable?" He pauses, "I don't want to get weird on you either, if I'm crossing lines you have, you let me know?" He tries to find her eyes agian, watching the breath from her nose.
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell lifts her head back up to look at Steel, her own eyes a very light, frosty blue, then looks away and starts chewing on her lower lip. "I-I dunno...Your house would...er, g-get really cold. You know, uh...insulation. And I'm...I'm fine out on the streets, really."
Steel	A slight grin when she meets his eyes, then a shake of Steel's head, "Nah, I have a couch, and I have a way to stay warm." A glance back to her hands, "You live with what you are out there, but me, we'll, I made myself who I am and I keep it a secret. But I have ways. You're call, but I'd like to offer some help, find a job or something?"
Maya Caldwell	Maya Caldwell hesitates and brings her gaze back down to her lap in thought, before finally looking at John. "Just...uh, one day? M-Maybe I can take a shower, clean clothes, something like that?"
Steel	A shared look, he listens, then nods, "Sure, just a day, get your spirits back up." And if she does go, and it gets too cold for him somehow, she may learn his secret too, for the sake of warmth that night.