ArchivedLogs:Still Surprising

Still Surprising
Dramatis Personae Jackson, Jim, Rasputin	2013-12-16 '
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. New York is still cold. But cold and /clear/, today, and that's an improvement from the slow and slush and icy rain it's been getting. At the moment, cold and /dark/, as the evening wears on towards dinnertime, but the park is well-lit enough that doesn't much matter. Jackson is typically Southerner-bundled in scarf, mittens, silvery jacket, tall boots. His hair's changed colours again, bright lime-green streaked with black; it peeks out shaggily from under his black-and-red striped knit cap. His bulky-boxy supply bag and the flecks of paint on his jeans suggest a return home from his nearby college. -- At least, an /attempt/ to return home from his nearby college; at the moment he's been corralled off beneath a streetlamp by a very /excitable/ young man animatedly explaining the good registration will bring. "-- things, things, you know like that kid? That poor kid up at Harlem, that kind of thing wouldn't /happen/ if people knew, if they knew for sure how to -- what to /expect/, how to /deal/." Jackson is listening with the kind of uncertain-polite smile of someone rather hoping to /extricate/ themselves from this conversation posthaste but too polite to disengage. In contrast to the other man's increasingly heated animation, he's just sort of /reserved/, quiet. "Look. There's ways that -- that maybe, in an /ideal/ world, registration would be a neutral or even a beneficial thing. But the way people treat us in /this/ world, right now, today? Please tell me honestly y'don't think that'll be used against us." "/Jackie/." Jim can throw his voice like a branch snapping, wandering up the street with a kind of shifty swagger men of a certain age and disposition tend towards, decked in worn out brown corduroy jacket, scuffed shoes, a crooked fedora. It kind of leans forwards with his head tipped slightly on side, "The hell is this?" He doesn't just come up abreast of Jax - he walks right past him to stand, hands crammed in pockets, staring down scar-faced at the earnest young man with a cigarette drooping out the side of his mouth. His dull gray hair is long enough that it's pushed back behind his ears. Dirty hippy. "Y'talking business off hours? What d'you want, kid, a treat? Scram, it's dinner time." Coming out from the other side of the park, is a fluffy white cat, clad in a /scarf/ tightly wrapped around it's neck. Friendly as usual, Rasputin walks up to Jackson/Jim/weird young man, grinning. "Oh, hello! Lovely weather, isn't it? Hey, wait, I know you. I've been in your apartment!". Rasputin says this /excitedly/ to Jax, and also potentially creepily. "How is your night tonight?" Rasputin then tilts hir head in bow to Jim and the other young man. "Oh, hello!". "S'Jax --" Jackson's answer is reflexive, habitual, coming automatically before he's even looked away from his overeager company. The young man, whose habit of forward-steps during his speaking has very much encroached on Jackson's personal space, looks up at Jim with a startled expression. "No I was just -- this is big news and I saw --" He waves at Jax like this will explain it. "Was good to meet you," Jackson says, with a small nod of his head. "Oh --" The other man frowns. At Jax, at Jim. /Startles/ and frowns at a sudden talking cat. It's hard to tell what part of this equation has him backing up rapidly. "Right. Yeah. Just -- right." He's watching Rasputin as he backs away, turning to hurry quickly on his way. Jackson exhales heavily, but turns to give Jim a bright smile. "Wow, um, thanks, I mighta been standin' here clear through time to start my /next/ shift at midnight." /He/ looks rather startled, too, though, at Talking Cat. "Uh --" He actually pulls off his hat just to facilitate running his fingers through his hair. "I'm -- sorry was that --" He looks /around/, after this, peering /past/ Rasputin like he might find someone else responsible for the talking. "Ohgosh, Jim, I think I'm losin' my mind. More. More'n I already have." "Augh," Jim makes a sound to Jackson when he turns to him, the harder edge of his stare crumpling into just - /aggrieved/, palms gesturing towards him like - just LOOK at you, "You Southern -" is he going to say 'belle', he might be about to say 'belle', manages to swallow it and pounce instead on, "/people/. You got so much patience with these goobers one of these days I'm gonna start punching faces just to even out the cosmoshit." He happened to have been looking /at/ the fluffy white kitty when it speaks. And stares at it /hard/. "/No/." He says... AT the feline. Hello REJECTED. And king of... extends the toe of his shoe. To discourage at it. Like no, hallucination. No, I want none of your haunting today. His fingers are still casually curled around his cigarette. "Wow, am I /really/ that freaky, in a world of firebenders and healers and metal-benders? Jeez, why does everyone think I'm a hallucination?". Rasputin makes a sneer, kind of upset with being called a hallucination by /Jackson/. "I'm a person too! Atleast, mentally? I don't know how it works.". Rasputin shakes hir head, before sighing, to /explain hirself/. "Oh and uh, when I meant I was in your home, I was like, uh..um..not breaking in or anything. Mentally sang disney musicals at a telepath. I swear.". "Wha --" Jackson's fingers curl in tighter to his hair again, but now at least he does look back to Rasputin, staring down at the cat for a moment. "I --" His mouth opens and closes for a moment in silence. Slowly, he replaces his hat. "Oh --" Now he sounds apologetic. "Oh, gosh, Jim don't -- uh. Gosh. Honey-honey, I apologize. It's just -- I wasn't /expecting/ --" He shakes his head, slowly leaning back against the lamp post he's been standing beneath. "I'm -- it's just you don't really often see --" He blushes before admitting: "I do got a friend who's a ferret right now. Um -- hi. In my -- you friends with my family?" "Heyheyhey," Jim protests, still staring, though instead of wide-eyed it's more of a sight-hound kind of /squint/ and vague mouth-breathing. His foot lowers, "I got plenty-enough freaking-the-fuck-out for the firebenders and healers while I'm at it. That ferret thing?" He TURNS on Jackson again, pointing at him like it's his fault, "/That/ still freaks me out. How /is/ he with all. That. Ferretshit." Then he turns back to Rasputin, folding his knees to squat down for a more level view. "...christ, I'm too sober for this shit. -- So what. You a fucking... shape changer. Or--?" "Possessor. This is my usual body.". Rasputin clarifies for Jim, nodding hir head, swishing hir tail, before turning head to Jackson. "It's fine. I'm one of the weirder mutants, anyhow. I'm not /particularly/ friends with your family, but I'm friends with Dusk, and he's been staying at your apartment, so..yeah. He's helping me with something.". Rasputin laughs at Jim's ferret reaction, swishing hir tail again. "Hive, that's the telepath I think, was wondering if my power would work on your ferret friend..uh..I think he called him Joshua. I didn't test though, no worries.". "Oh, Dusk's friend, alright." This information relaxes Jackson considerably. His hand drops from where it's been rubbing at his face. "Joshua's -- still a ferret but I don't think for much longer. Hopefully. He's been working a lot on managing it." His arms cross against his chest, hands tucking beneath his elbows to pin them against his sides. "Hive, yeah. He's staying there too." His teeth scrape against his lower lip, brow furrowing as he looks at Rasputin. "Possessor?" He sounds a little uncertain about this. "You steal -- animals? People too?" "Weirder." Jim is saying it more like he's not sure the word is quite /right/ rather than agreement, scratching behind an ear, "/Damn/ unlucky, though. Fuck man, how d'you uh. Do you... shake --paws or what?" No, he's not actually fully acclimated to any of this, he looks utterly /baffled/ and semi-horrified still, but he'll be damned if he lets that stop him. He PLOWS on in and puts forward an open hand, saying brusquely "I'm Jim." "Just animals, though Hive theorized or something that since Joshua's a ferret, I could possibly take him and gain his powers. Iunno, though. And just animals". Rasputin wrinkles hir nose, continuing. "I tried on your son..uh..he asked me to, don't kill me. No dice.". Rasputin bats Jim's hand with hir paw, grinning. "Rasputin. The unkillable!". Rasputin laughs at the last part, grinning, before turning bck to Jackson. "I've seen you..around the old house, right? You're there sometimes on Fridays?" "So you're always in an animal body?" Jackson's brow furrows, and he considers Rasputin now with intense curiosity. "-- You tried with. Gosh. OK, so you can't possess the pups -- but wow, if you /could/ do with Joshua that would -- that'd be /complicated/." He sounds /fascinated/, like this is a complicated he totally wants to /try/. He watches the paw-hand shake with a small amused smile. "Yeah. Yeah, Fridays. I fight. Or make sure my kids don't get into /too/ much trouble fighting. Just animals? What about," his single eye is slanting sideways to Jim with a /hopeful/ look, "what about plants?" "Y'saying that like you /want/ him to," Jim grouses, looking at his hand after it's pawed and then just... /drops/ it onto a knee. "Yep! Real body's dead, not really a big story, don't remember it so don't really give it much thought.". Rasputin is /still/ gleeful at this, which is awkward. "I only do experiments on willing individuals. Except for animals, since they can't voice an opinion.". Ze laughs, before quirking hir head in curiosity. "I've..never tried on plants? No clue. Never thought it'd be /too/ fun.". "Hey it's just /interesting/. Like if he possesses a /person/ does he get --" Jackson shakes his head, his nose crinkling up as he grins wide. "S-- apologies, I get a little too curious on things like this. /Dead/? That's uh --" Jax's widening eye implies that /he/ thinks it sounds like a big story, but with Rasputin saying it's not, he doesn't press. "I work around mutants /all/ the time an' I still don't never run out of things t'be surprised by." "Why are you saying that like it makes you /happy/?" Jim will ask. Jim will /flat-out/ ask. "What, like. Dead-dead? /How/ dead. Where dead." He pushes down on his knees to stand up again, brushing off a sleeve. "Not happy, just, eh. It's over.". Rasputin sighs, /story time/. "Hit by a drunk driver, in Albany. I think I was...15? Maybe? Don't remember anything before I woke up in a squirrel. Everything I know is from stalking myself. Dusk is helping me find a way to talk to my sister and tell her I'm not dead. Didn't want to start a pity party, though.". Rasputin then /grins/ at Jackson. "Hey, I'm curious too. All I know I can do is possess animals, not fish or bugs sadly, and manipulate sound, which is how I'm communicating now.". As a tiny prank, Jackson's voice suddenly emerges from /behind/ Jackson. "Hey, over here! It's your voice!" "Huh. That sounds rough. Although -- maybe -- not as rough as being dead?" Jax wiggles at his lip ring with his teeth, examining Rasputin thoughtfully. "Oh! Oh, yeah, that's nice'a him. Do you -- I mean she don't know you're alive, clearly, but did she know that you --" He waves a mittened hand towards Rasputin!cat. And then /jumps/, twitchily whirling around behind him at the sound of his own voice. He snorts after this, clearly amused. "-- M'best friend does that. Sound -- thing, it never stops bein' startlin'." His hand drops to rest atop his bag, his smile still warm. "Hey -- look, I apologize, but I got kinda a full house of husband and kids an' -- not-kids who still can't really find their way around a kitchen so good nohow, I should run an' make sure everyone's got proper food into 'em 'fore I gotta get back to work. You -- feel free t'stop by whenever, aright, guess you know where I live." He claps a hand onto Jim's shoulder briefly. "An' you know /you're/ always welcome t'dinner." "Damn." Jim actually sounds kind of impressed with that one, shaking his head with actual /face/ turned to the side to not blow smoke in either of his company's direction. "Sucks, man. Rasputin, y'said? /Heavy/ name. -- I'll probably be along soon, huh, Jax?" He pats a hand against Jackson's back when the illusionist wanders past. It makes the mutual patting a kind of not-really hug. Jim's SPECIALTY. "I wanted to scope out a few icicles that've been hanging off the sides of some of the buildings. Snap a few pics. I'll see you two later." Oh, wait. That's Jim saying good bye. With a little... salute. Made with his cigarette. "See you two around, then.". Rasputin grins, swishing hir tail at them, before walking off hirself into the distance.