Owner	Pose
Cindy Larsen	Sometimes, you just need to get away from the people all around you all the time, especially when you have all kinds of social anxieties. Sure, the welcoming nature of Xavier's school is helping, but all the same, Cindy occasionally feels the need to slip out and get away for a little while. She's found her way to the nearest beach, and is currently seated underneath a tree near the edge of the sand. She's dressed in her usual attire of a red-and-white tie-dyed hoodie, yoga pants and a skirt, and a pair of sneakers. She's got the hood up to keep her feline features concealed, and her hands are tucked in her pockets. Kind of warm clothing for her to be wearing, but that's why she's sitting in the shade!
Drake Riley	It's a lovely day to be on the beach! And thanks to having not a whole Hell of a lot to do with his time, Drake Riley has made his way out to the beach. Alone, of course, because that seems to be his general lot in life since discovering his powers, but the beach has always been his sort of zen. The sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean, watching the rhythmic roll of the water - the world seems to stand still out here. It's not as attractive a beach as those he's used to on the West Coast, but when he digs his toes into the sand, it doesn't seem so important. The teen makes his way along the beach, towel over his shoulder and looking for a place to settle in when he spots a tie-dye hoodie. That... that seems /way/ too familiar. He draws in closer to the figure and chances a friendly, "Hey. Kind'a warm for a hoodie, right?," he asks. "Not cookin' in that, are ya?"
Cindy Larsen	Cindy usually wore her hoodie even in warm weather, as it provided a quick way to hide her features. She wasn't familiar with him, though, so when he comes up to talk to her, she turns away a little to keep her face hidden. "I'm doing alright," she says, "And I've got water if I need it." Even though she's got the hoodie up, when Drake's standing close to her there's really no hiding that Cindy has a long, spotted tail. She tries to keep it tucked close to her and hidden, but it's definitely there. There's a bit of an awkward silence from her then, an apprehension in the air around her.
Drake Riley	Drake Riley continues a little closer to her, picking out the feminine voice easily enough. He'd figure a tie-dye hoodie to be something worn more typically by a femele anyway, but data is processed as it comes. "Well, the beach is pretty sparse today. Would you like some compa-" He cuts off. Vivid green eyes have landed on the tail. "Is that a.." He leans down, pering a little more closely. "..is that a /tail/? Like a cat tail? For real?," he asks, agog. But should she turn her hood towards him, she'll find that he's grinning ear to ear.
Cindy Larsen	If anything, the yoga pants and skirt are usually a giveaway, and the hoodie is more fitted to her figure anyhow. Cindy fidgets a little when he mentions the tail, and she does turn towards him a little. Enough to glance his way, which would give him a peek at her nose and muzzle. She has whiskers, too, apparently. She's not quite sure what to make of that grin, either. "...I just wanna watch the waves," she says, "I don't want any trouble..." She's had run-ins in the past, with the current climate of the world, and the attitude of many towards mutants, it should come as no surprise that she's cautious of a stranger.
Drake Riley	Suddenly, Drake's on his knees beside her and tilting his head to try to get a better look at her face. She has feline features! A tail, a little button nosepad, whiskers - he's fascinated! The towel on his shoulder is dropped carelessly to the side as he tilts onto all fours. "You won't get trouble outt'a me," he promises. "I came out here for that, too. Basically, I mean. Maybe not totally. But mostly?" He blinks at her, then ducks his head. "Sorry, rambling. But you're, like, an /actual/ catgirl, aren't you?"
Cindy Larsen	Cindy goes wide-eyed briefly as he gets down on his hands and knees and tries to get a better look at her face. "H-hey! Personal space," she tells him, one hand coming out of her hoodie, lifted with her fingers curled and claws extended. A warning more than an attempt to strike at him. She remains tense until he backs off a little, at which point she loers her hand back to her lap. She sighs and looks around, but doesn't really see anyone else who would take notice. The jig is up, it would seem, and so she pulls her hoodie back, revealing her head fully, along with her blonde hair and triangular feline ears. "Yeah, though... I prefer 'girl who is a cat' over 'catgirl'. That just makes it sound..." She wrinkles her muzzle up in a grimace. "...Fetish-y." She keeps her eyes on Drake, still not -quite- trusting him yet. "My name is Cindy. What's your's?" she asks.
Drake Riley	Drake Riley leans back when her hand raises and she shows claws. He gets it, but at the same time, that's also fascinating. Claws! She actually has claws! He settles back on his knees fully, hands folding over his lap neatly. He coughs softly, cheeks rouging a hint at her choice of words. "Yeah, sorry. I could hear that. It's-.. okay, yeah. Girl-who-is-a-cat is kind've a mouthful, but I get ya." He's back to studying her face, from the curve of her muzzle to her eyes. "Drake," he adds. "Name's Drake." While focused on her eyes, he realizes there's still apprehension there. He curbs his enthusiasm with a gentler smile. "It's hard hiding that, right? Well.." He offers his right hand forward, palm turned up to the sky. Tiny tendrils of brilliant blue electricity slither along his hand to gather at his palm in a flickering pocket of ionic energy. "..you're not alone. I promise I'm not gonna hurt you."
Cindy Larsen	Cindy glances down at his hand when he holds it out. She watches the sparks of electricity arcing across his palm. It seems to put her at ease, at least enough that she relaxes against the trunk of the tree again. She nods her head slowly, her eyes lifting back to his. "Okay," she says, "Nice to meet you, Drake. You, uh... You don't go to Xavier's, do you." It was more of a statement than a question. "I don't remember seeing you around at all. I haven't been there for very long, so maybe I'm wrong. And yeah, it's.... pretty difficult to hide. That's why I wear the hoodie even though it's pretty hot out." She shrugs her shoulders slightly. "How long have you been able to, um..." She nods down towards his hand again, then gives him a questioning expression.
Drake Riley	Suddenly, the electrical pocket has vanished! The palm places over his lap again, and Drake glances off to the side in thought. "More than a year," he says. "I'm not sure exactly right now. I'd have to think about it." The emeralds return to her and he shakes his head. "I used to go there, but.. it, uh, wasn't for me. I wasn't with'em long. Butted heads with some administrative types." After a beat, he exhales a sigh. "That makes me sound bad, I know. I swear they were all aggro at me." In an effort to change the topic /off/ his academic shortcoming, Drake cants his head. "So you're stuck wearing that everywhere? That seems like such a sucktastic waste. You look /cool/."
Cindy Larsen	Cindy nods her head again. "They can be... tough, but they're understanding, if you give 'em a chance," she says. She gives a shrug of her shoulders. "I know what bad people look like," she says, glancing towards him again, "You don't seem like the 'bad' type." A little grin shows up on one side of her muzzle. "Misguided, maybe, but not bad. And I only wear this when I go out. Lotta people... don't like mutants, and I always look like an easy target, because I'm a 'dangerous predator'." She says the words with a note of sarcasm and a roll of her eyes. "Around the school I can wear more... normal clothes. Everyone there seems to be fine with how I look. ...It's a little unsettling, actually. I'm just not used to it yet." She blinks a little when she realizes he just said she looks cool, and the insides of her ears turn a little pink. She grins again, and shrugs her shoulders. "Thanks. I don't think anyone's ever called me 'cool' before."
Drake Riley	"Yeah," says Drake flatly, "Mileage may vary." His experience at the school was quite different. He can't recall specifics, but he has the distinct feeling that a faculty member blew their stack at him over nothing, and had him convinced that life there would be utter Hell. No, other topics are better. "Kind'a wish I met you somewhere you could be more relaxed. But at the same time, I /love/ the beach. Maybe if we ran into each other after dark or somthing- oh! Yeah, definitely cool. Yeah. Cool cat." Oh god. He just heard himself say that. He visibly winces. "Nh.. can I get a do-over on that one?"
Cindy Larsen	Cindy grins again, her tail giving a twitch near it's end. "I'll give you a pass on that one. I like the beach, too. I go swimming a lot on the school grounds, there's... a pretty big lake out back. There are a lot of mutants who are a lot better swimmers than I am, but I'm pretty good." She looks at him again, shrugs her shoulders a bit. "I'd join ya in in the water, but... I didn't bring my suit, and I don't think I wanna go back to the school with my fur stickin' out in every direction, either." The grin she flashes him suggests she's only teasing him, perhaps as payback for the 'cool cat' comment.
Drake Riley	Drake Riley crinkles his nose at her when she says she'll give him a pass. "Would'a been nice to have someone to hit the water with when I was out there. I remember swimming solo a lot. Nearly every time." He breathes a little sigh, but then perks. "Hey, don't knock it! I'm sure you look fine, all ruffly'n stuff. Oh-oh! Are you a longhair or a shorthair?," he asks, grin widening. "It totally matters."
Cindy Larsen	Cindy snorts and shakes her head. "I'm a leopard," she tells Drake, "There's no real difference, it's all just... hair." She shows him, pulling up the sleeve of her hoodie to her elbow. "I guess it's pretty short, at least? It takes a lot of maintenance, too. I spent like, an hour every morning just brushing myself."
Drake Riley	"Oh, see, you have nothing to worry about. You can get wet, and you won't look like a soggy rat! You'll look fine!," Drake jokes. His eyes lift from her wrist to her face again with a bright, but impish smile. His eyes are practically gleaming with mischief. "An hour every morning grooming? I hope hairballs aren't a thing for ya," he teases.
Cindy Larsen	"I didn't say grooming," Cindy corrects him, "I said brushing. That doesn't include showering, trimming, conditioning. The list goes on. I'd say I probably spend about two and a half hours three times a week doing the full routine. I can cut it down to an hour fifteen most other days, if I take a quick shower." She laughs a little. "But no, not hairballs. That's only a problem if I lick myself, and I don't. I'm not a cat, remember. I just look like one."
Drake Riley	"Cats brush with their tongues!," Drake contends with a laugh. But he doesn't dog the analogy any further. Pun intended. "Well, back on point, I think it looks really cool. And I get the worry about looking different, but we're not talking about looking like a monster or anything. No devil horns, or a chomper like a deep-sea fangly fish. You're a pretty jungle cat!" His head tilts slightly to the side as he seems to pool some courage. "Kind'a joked before, but would'ja like to meet back up here later for real? Just us?" After a beat, he lifts an index finger. "Remember, you said you'd give me a pass on the 'cool cat' thing, so you can't hold that against me!"
Cindy Larsen	"-You- see that," Cindy replies, "-Other- people see a mutant freak. A dangerous predator who might maul their precious little children. Or something awful like that." She rolls her eyes again and sighs. "I'm better off doin' what I can to keep it hidden in public. For now at least. Hopefully that'll change someday." She gives Drake another smile, and then nods her head. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind that. It's always nice to have friends." She pauses. "You got a phone?" she asks him, "I'll give you my number."
Drake Riley	"Yeah, well, screw /those/ people," Drake shrugs. "They'll get on board eventually. And until they do, just... I guess just know that some people think this," he gestures vaguely in her direction, "is special." The gesturing hand dips into the pocket of his trunks, thankfully dry due to having not ventured into the water. He retrieves a cellphone and unlocks it. "Ready. And do you have anything going on tonight? I know I'm /supposed/ to wait to call a girl out to a starlit beach, but carpe that diem, yeah?"
Cindy Larsen	Cindy laughs and nods her head. "Yeah," she says, "Ass-loads of homework." She grins at him. "I -live- at a -school-, remember. Not exactly like I can get away from my responsibilities." Her tail twitches again, and she tells him her phone number. "I'm usually free on the weekends though, if you wanna get together then. Just text me or somethin'."
Drake Riley	Drake Riley taps in the info and tosses the phone aside onto the towel. "I could say I'd help you with the homework if you wanna bring it, but I think you'n I both know that's a total lie." He tilts his head and gives a wry smile. "But okay. The weekend, it is. I'll probably text ya before then, so you at least know who's asking you out ahead of time."
Cindy Larsen	Cindy nods her head and grins. "Yeah. I wouldn't wanna torture you with that, either. And text me whenever," she says, "I don't give my number out to a lot of people, I'll remember it's you." Cindy gets up then, looking around her. "Speaking of homework, I really ought to get back. They're gonna be wondering where I got off to by now, I'm sure. It was nice meeting you, Drake. Thanks for the company." She grins at him. "Enjoy your swim."
Drake Riley	Drake Riley turns his head with a dramatic, "Oof. Being ditched for /homework/," he jokes. But he soon smiles up at her again, bracing himself with his hands behind his back. "I'll text ya later, after I take a dip. And it was a pleasure meeting you, too! Lookin' forward to later!"