Giant in the Coffeeshop

May 04, 2018:

Scandal Savage hands out business cards to several coffeeshop patrons.

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

"Hey, the deal is the deal." Scandal nods and smiles calmly at the man she is meeting with, "If you don't like it, you can feel free to find someone else by tomorrow." She then smirks at him and he just growls and grinds his teeth. She then puts out a hand and seems to wait till he finally shoves an envelope into her hand and she puts it into her jacket, "Nice doing business with you." She then turns and walks over toward the coffee place nearby.

The afternoon light is starting to wane as she slips into the entrance and simply nods her head to a woman as sh epasses, her eyes glancing over her shoulder at the girl before she turns her gaze back over toward the counter. She walks up and orders a latte. She then glances around the small cafe and considers what to do with the rest of her day.

The joys of no longer being 'just' an administrative assistant— Caitlin can get coffee for herself without it needed to be a 'coffee run' for ten people. Wearing a smart blue navy skirtsuit and jacket, with sensible low-heeled brogues, Caitlin would look like any other office drone out avoiding the 9-5 grind.

Few office drones have Caitlin's stature, or flaming and barely-tamed red hair. She flicks a reflexive smile at Scandal when the smaller woman slips past, part of the queue to pick up her drink rather than to order. The tall redhead hums quietly to herself, a tuneless little ditty while she waits for her coffee to finish. "Ooops, 'scuse me," she remarks, speaking to Scandal in a politely soft tone. "I think you're about to drop your envelope?" she says, gesturing at the small folding near Scandal's wrist in her jacket pocket.

There was no grander purpose that had brought Ne out tonight beyond a sweet tooth and a wallet pilfered from a passer by. The 'icecream colored' girl was currently sitting at one of the tables, a rather large glass containing a milkshake in front of her and currently being drained via a straw. Her appearence was striking enough that the young mutant might earn the odd look or two, but the girl herself had turned her gaze towards the pair as Scandal's deal had been completed and the giant that was Caitlin speaks up. There's a tilt of her head and those unnaturally bright eyes look a little closer at the envelope. Isn't that curious?

A blink as she looks up at Caitlin and Scandal sucks in a breath. She then looks down with a blink and chuckles softly, "My jaw must have hit on the way down." She looks up at Caitlin with a grin as she adjusts the envelop away, "Thanks." She then looks over at the counter to watch her drink being made for just a second before looking back over, "My name is Scandal." She grins wide, "I know, weird name but it is mine." She offers her hand out, "And you are?" She does notice Ne in passing but right now a giant woman has her attention.

Caitlin looks a little taken aback at Scandal's brassy demeanour, clearly surprised at how effortlessly the smaller woman projects an attitude of cool confidence and self-assurance. "I… it's nice to meet you," she says reflexively, and answers Scandal's handshake with a gentle grip of her own. Gentle being the keyword— Caitlin's hand feels like it could crumble granite, but she's very careful not to apply any strength to it. "I'm Caitlin," she says, by way of introduction. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," she adds, a little hastily. Her entire posture suggests she's carefully trying /not/ to tower over Scandal, and she backs up a half a step so she's not doing precisely that. Her hip bumps Ne's table, threatening the stability of the milkshake in the other woman's hands.

Neon doesn't speak…which isn't exactly new for the silent girl, but the sudden sound of tipping glass and scraping chair combined with the expression of pouting anger on the petite girl's face says enough. At least she hadn't got any on her, but Caitlin's bump had caused quite the topple of her drink. How horrible! Standing back now, the girl looks up at Caitlin with an expression of utter betrayal.

The rear of the coffee shop suddenly seems to fill up with the presence of the newcomer as he emerges from the back hallways leading to the rest rooms and emergency exits. He's big on a scale that can only be described as a human mountain range. Some seven feet plus and a physique that implies that he ate the defensive line of the New York Giants, topped it off with the current Yokozuna and then came back for seconds with the current bodybuilding line up of the past few Mr. Olympia's with a side of World's Strongest Man competitions. By the way, he's huge.

He's dressed surprisingly well with custom fit clothing in the form of a brown jacket and a dark shirt and slacks that..do nothing to hide his outrageous physique and proporitons and the floor rumbles ominously from his heavy footsteps as he makes his way from the back while casually adjusting his clothes and heading for an unoccupied table.

So many questions. But the most pressing question aside from how'd this guy get so massive might be..how the heck did he fit into the stalls in the men's room??
Heurely a mystery for another time should he even opt to divulge such acrobatic feats. For now he just lowers his immensity, carefully, into a chair that groans dangerously under him, and then rests his elbows on the table before him, swamping it with his arms, and then..just sort of..waits.

A smile and Scandal nods her head, "Caitlin, huh?" She nods her head, "I like it." She grins before Caitlin steps back and she closes her eyes, chuckling a little and looks to Ne, "Don't worry about it, I'll get you another one." SHe nods to Ne, "It's partially my fault anyway. Caitlin was trying to get a bettr view." Scandal grins at Caitlin before she blinks as she hears the sound of Cain Marko simply moving. SHe turns her gaze to him and then blinks a few times in surprise at that big fella.

Caitlin blinks at Marko as well. There are not a lot of people she has to look /up/ at, which is weird enough itself. Combined with Marko's sheer bulk, the way he lurches from step to step and displaces such a quantity of air, would be enough to give anyone pause.

Where does he buy his suits? Surely it's someplace that also sells sheets to coastal clipper ships.

"Huh? Oh! I'm so sorry!" Caitlin tells Ne, automatically. "Gosh, I didn't see your table," she remarks, with sincere remorse. "It's just, uh… super crowded in here," she laments, a little inadequately.

For Ne, there were a lot of people she had to look up at, but Cain Marko was a whole other level. She actually has to take a step back and look up at the man passing on his way to the table, her head tilting to the side and slow blink made.

Turning now towards Caitlin and Scandal again, there's a ghost of a frown and a bite of her lip before she nods. Apologies would be easily accepted with a replacement of her treat.

Tinted glasses do a good job of hiding where Cain Marko's gaze is falling, but there's that odd feeling of being observed by a earthquake or watched by a hurricane when one notices that he's looking at you. Such might be the feeling Caitlin gets as the giants ice blue eyes settle on her with an appraising look that is noted by the slight upturn of his lips at their edge and a mild raising of his eyebrows.

He seems content to appreciate the bombshell from afar though as he eventually turns his gaze away from her to look out of the windows to watch the streets with the air of someone looking for someone else. His massive fingers twitch, drumming mildly impatiently against the table he's at before glancing over to a set of newspapers nearby, likely brought with him and set there before he moved to the rear. One Is actually a..Daily Planet? Strange.

A smile is given to Ne as she goes to order another drink for her and asks, "What were you drinking?" She then looks over at Caitlin and states, "Don't worry about it." SHe nods her head and then looks back over at the big guy again. She considers him for a moment and hmms, "I wonder." She then looks over at Caitlin, "Hold here, Caitlin." She nods her head and then grins, "I still gotta get your number. Be right back." She then walks over toward Cain.

"Hey there, big guy." She nods her head, "How are you today?"

Caitlin starts to respond to Scandal, and her expression looks a little like a balloon with the air being let out at the other woman's flickering grin. She gapes at Scandal's back, unsure of how to respond. She blinks at Scandal's back, then looks at Ne, trying to find some solidarity— even if it's from a relative stranger!

Caitlin gives Marko a wary look as Scandal saunters up to him. He's just too… /big/ to just be some fellow out enjoying his morning repast, and there's something a little villainous about how he folds his paper backwards, to Caitlin's eye, anyway.

Villainous!

Neon isn't exactly going to offer words of advice, but the short woman with the pink and brown hair does blink at Scandal's rather upfront words, watching the other woman depart before looking back at Caitlin. Those oddly heterochromic eyes look the redhead up and down, earning a tilt of her head to oneside before the apparent mute gives a little shrug of her shoulders in a non-verbal 'fair enough' of her expression.

Of course Cain gets another look too, but most people would be drawn to look twice if someone the size of a small bus walked into a room.

Cain isn't exactly a..social butterfly. People seem to sense this and leave him be though mouth's hanging open and long stares are a dime a dozen and something he's used to. Still, he's not exactly the type to invite strangers coming up to him to ask him what his biceps measure or something along those lines, and this suits him just fine. If he wants something from you..you'll know it.

And so when Scandal just sort of saunters up and address him, he pointedly ignores her at first, continuing to read the Planet, a few days old at that and obviously a paper for a whole different city.

Eventually he rumbles out, bass voice a low thrumming vibration that seems like it has the potential to rattle windows with its tone, "Fine.. What can I do for ya, miss?"

A look of annoyance crosses Scandal's face and then she pulls out a card. She offers it over to Cain. On it is simply the name Scandal Savage and a number. She then states, "Someone of your size…I imagine you are a talented individual." She nods her head, "If you like money, give me a call at some point. I might be able to use you." She shrugs, "Or don't. Your choice." She then turns and simply walks back over to Caitlin and grins.

"Now, where were we? I believe you were just about to give me your number and I was gonna ask you on a date?"

Caitlin starts stammering a little incoherently, backpedaling half a step. She find's Ne's table again with the back of her thigh and stops, unable to move from there. "You w-were?" she remarks, clearly uncertain of herself with the sudden change in circumstance and Scandal's bold behaviour.

She looks over at Ne for a little help, perhaps fruitlessly, then gives Cain a quick glance as well. She finds her backbone and rallies, her posture straightening and a little frown landing on Scandal. "What's your game, huh?" she inquires, her tone a bit more certain. "You just gave that guy over there your card— are you just trawling for phone numbers, or what?" she inquires.

Well, she was down a snack but up a show, Neon simply leans back a little against one of the nearby chairs with an amused expression on her lips as she watches Scandal's rather forward pursuit of Caitlin's number. Caitlin's look her way? It gets a shrug from the silent girl and an expression that almost speaks where words cannot: don't ask me! Scandal's own introduction however does have the odd-colored criminal tilting her head the other way again. Was it simply because the name was odd? Or had she heard it somewhere before?

Well now, this is interesting.

Cain doesn't react at first, instead simply cutting his ice cold gaze over his glasses to peer at Scandal as she sets the card down and then saunters back off from whence she came. He remains still for a few moments longer and then finally sets the paper down and reaches for the card with his massive fingers. He plucks it up from the table and studies it curiously, staring long at the name and number in silence.

Eventually, all that happens is his other eyebrow lifts. He manages a good poker face, not really reacting overly much one way or another, but when he looks over in her direction once more, if eye contact is made, there's a sense of familiarity with the world the card is an invitation to, that shows it's clear he has some sense of who she is and what sort of matters and 'work' she really deals with.

When Caitlin visibly reacts to what Scandal said to her and her actions, Cain moves his gaze towards her briefly and then back towards Scandal again, watching to gauge what may happen next. They have his attention now, for better or for worse.

A chuckle and Scandal looks over her shoulder a moment before collecting her drink. She takes a sip from it and says, "That? I gave him my card. He looks like a guy who could be useful for bodyguard or bouncer work. It's in my field." She nods her head, "That was business." She then takes a step toward Caitlin, "When it comes to you I'm only thinking of pleasure." She nods her head and then winks at her.

She glances briefly at Ne though and pauses a moment as she looks at her. She hmms, "You don't say much, do you?"

Caitlin's ears start to pink a little at Scandal's forward manner of flirting, and she maintains a stern face despite an internal struggle that undermines her poise. "I, er, well, uh," she says coherently, fishing desperately for some purchase on the ground. "Your, uh, field, huh?" she gets out, trying to maintain her control of her personal space. "I'm not, er, I'm not a, uh, a bouncer, I have jobs. A job," she remarks. "Jobbed, I work for Starr Labs," she clarifies. Ne's no help here, and Caitlin tries to balance on her own feet again without looking like she's being driven backwards out of her personal space. "A very un-bouncer sort of job."

Scandal's addressing her actually gets another blink, this one of suprise on her otherwise 'innocent' face. A shake of her head, she gestures with her fingertip to her lips before waggling it lightly in the classic negative in front of her. It wasn't exactly traditional sign-language so much as charades, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was indicating. She didn't speak. Mercifully, it seems the short woman with the dichromatic-haired girl makes a light wave of attention seeking before gesturing to the counter and tilting her head invitingly to the pair. Perhaps a drink, a coffee to be enjoyied while they talked might help Caitlin find a 'break' in the pace….or maybe Ne just wanted another milkshake!

Making sure the shop is making Ne's drink, she looks back at Caitlin and then says, "That's nice." She pulls out another card and places it in Caitlin's hand, "Seeing as you are obviously a little dazed by me, I'll just give you this." She nods her head, "Give me a call and we can set up that date." SHe sips her drink and looks Caitlin over once before nodding, "I'm sure you can find time between your unbouncer job." She chuckles.

She then grins at Ne and waves at her, "I'm Scandal, as you probably heard. I hope you enjoy your drink, silent girl." Then she heads for the door.

Change of plans it seems. A piece of paper is taken and Cain's massive fingers scribble something onto them. He then takes the pen and Scandal's business card and tucks them into a pocket into his jacket. A moment later and he is standing, towering up and up and up and stretching out to his full height. He collects his newspapers and begins plodding in the direction of the exit although, conveniently, it is taking him closer to where Scandal, Caitlin and Ne are engaging in their back and forth.

As he steps past, he flicks the paper he wrote on into the air in Scandal's direction, clearly expecting her to catch it while he continues moving past the trio like some massive freighter passing by three much smaller one person boats.

Caitlin gives Ne a somewhat helpless expression— she's no good at charades and she's not a psychic, so the best she can offer is an apologetic shrug at Ne's predicament. "Er, well, yes, I.. .thanks," she gets out, as Scandal smoothly tucks a business card in her hand.

Scandal's plenty distracting, but there's something positively unnerving about Cain Marko as the freight car of a fellow gets to his feet and stretches. Though while most of the other patrons make sure to clear out of Marko's way, Caitlin just settles her weight on the balls of her feet as he cruises towards the three women. Something about him definitely twigs Caitlin's instincts, and she stares at his blunt, heavy features fearlessly as the giant of a man closes the distance and makes for the exit. She doesn't make a move to threaten him or menace the fellow— just warily alert. There's definitely more to the ginger bombshell than her neat office attire would suggest, anyway.

Arriving through the doors is one Malachi Von Caedmon, someone who ran into Juggernaut but a few days ago and they -almost- got into a fight where it would most likely not end too well for Malachi. Either way, he walks in with a little yawn, covering his mouth with a hand to be polite. Nonetheless, he walks up to the counter where drinks are being made and he simply orders a sprite.

Is this a coffee shop? Eh, who cares.

He notices Cain first because HOLY JESUS that guy is huge, but he also notices Scandal, and he gives her a subtle upnod in greeting. He hasn't quite noticed Caitlin or Ne quite yet though.

Neon herself? She steps out of Cain's way. It's more a matter of physics than intimidation, she wasn't really going to be blocking that path with her height. Ne herself can't really return Scandal's introduction, there wasn't really time to reach for her notepad, so the girl instead simply bows her head in a nod of greeting-turned-farewell at the departing woman and then back to the seemingly flustered Caitlin whose sudden shift in demeanor to tension has her blinking yet again.

A moment passes before she looks questioningly to the other woman, pointing at her and then drawing her thumb to a classic 'thumbs up' with a questioning expression on her features. Was she okay?

The new arrival gets a glance as he makes his way past, but the icecream-colored girl merely glances her equally odd colored gaze towards him before looking back at Fairchild.

A grin back at Caitlin one moment more, Scandal nods to Malachi. Then she is heading out. As the paper sails over from Juggernaut, she snatches it out of the air and hmms to herself as she looks at it. If she cares what it says, it is unclear. SHe simply slips the paper away and goes walking down the street.

If Cain even remembers Malachi by sight is probably up in the air. IF he does, he maintains a good poker face or air of indifference, likely seeing the guy as not worth his notice and indeed during the altercation it was really Wukong that was fanning the confusion and sense of chaos and confusion that was raising the giant mans ire. Right now? As far as he's concerned if he has no interest in it, it's of no particular consequence and that includes most of the people present save Scandal and..to some extent Caitlin and not just for her looks. The bruiser picks up on her sense of defiance and he cocks his head slightly, before allowing a slow toothy grin to spread across his expressive features looking not unlike a great white shark grinning at a smaller fish. But he says nothing and does nothing and eventually continues on his way, brushing past Malachi and heading for the streets beyond though it takes a second of him ducking, twisting to the side and looming his body through, torso first, to the outside but heading in the opposite direction of Scandal.

Caitlin reflexively steadies Ne with a surprisingly gentle hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. She glances down and nods once, a gesture of firm reassurance, and then— the instigators are gone, Scandal slipping into the streets like a shadow and Cain lurching out into the general population.

"Whoooo," Caitlin says, and /then/ she allows herself to sag, leaning against the wall next to her. She fans herself with a napkin, a little ineffectually, looking a bit pink under the collar. "Good grief, -that- was intense," she remarks to Ne, wryly. She glances at Malachi, her awareness of the area turned up to 11 with the post-encounter adrenaline spike.

Malachi stayed right out of Cain's way, watching the man leave with a sharp eye, fully prepared to try and stop him if he did anything. What? no one said he'd be successful in the matter, but he'd fight for other's safety. With cain gone though, the level of tension is nonexistant. With a small sigh of relief, he looks to Caitlin as she seems to be visibly more exhuberant in how she calms herself down now that the Juggernaut in human form has now left the building.

It's a truly peaceful thing, really.

Though he looks over to Caitlin and Ne as the two seem to have been perhaps intimidated or made a little uncomfortable by the Juggernaut. "Are you two alright?" he asks curiously.

At Scandal's departure, he only gave her a little nod in farewell.

Despite her silence, one could -swear- that Ne was chuckling a little before she reaches into the pocket of her jacket. It's a smooth movement that precedes the presence of a slightly crumpled notepad and pencil in Ne's hands. A few swift movements later and her communication comes in elegant cursive before she offers the paper out towards Caitlin since the other woman had been struggling with her gestures. There's a quirk of a smile on her lips, but she too looks back over her shoulder after a moment towards Malachi with curiousity plain on her face.

Perhaps the big man had simply made everyone nervous by size and demeanor alone.

"We're fine," Caitlin assures the newcomer, flickering a smile. "Just… yeesh, I don't like to cast aspersions, on someone's looks, but he was making my neckhair stand on end," she admits ruefully. "Just… big and … angry looking. I've seen the Hulk walk around with a more pleasant expression."

She cranes her neck down at Ne's note and laughs briefly, touching her forehead momentarily in embarassment. "Yes, and yes," she says, cryptically answering Ne's statements. "Just was… a lot of moving parts, all at once, y'know?" she concedes.

Malachi tilts his head softly then to Ne as she writes something down on a piece of paper that's clearly only meant for Caitlin's eyes. Most likely, anyway. With that in mind, Malachi shifts his attention to Caitlin, and wow. Are her good looks natural? Huh. Though he looks back to Ne as she herself looks a little bit…supernatural? Unnatural? It must be the eyes.

Two very unique people in a very ordinary place. That sounds like a books tagline.

Regardless, he listens closely to Caitlin's words and he offers her a small smile. "I met him a few ays ago. He's about as friendly as you think he is." he says with a little bit of a wink to try and get them to laugh to cool off the pressure. But he nods.

Neon was certainly quite different in flavour of beauty to the 'bombshell' that was Caitlin, that much was certain. Even so she nods at the other woman's response with another one of those eerily silent but still obvious chuckles. Malachi's words of meeting the departed giant draw her attention over to the man whom she herself finally draws those odd eyes over his form before she tilts her head questioningly. Of course, just what question she might be non-verbly asking wasn't exactly easy to decipher.

Caitlin politely doesn't respond to being stared at— she's probably quite used to it, though ironically it didn't stop her from goggling at the giant when he came and then left from the shop. She absently pushes at her hair, which is attempting to escape her neat ponytail in a ginger revolutionary insurrection against fashion.

"Sheesh. Well— just glad he's gone, anyway," she concedes. She flashes a smile at Malachi, who is at least trying to be friendly. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Caitlin," she tells the fellow, offering a polite and gentle handshake to the man.

Malachi certainly glanced, but an argument could be made that he was staring at Caitlin Fairchild. What? she was gorgeous. More than likely anyone who's ever met her has stared at her in one way or another. Regardless, when she introduces herself, he smiles to her softly and he bows his head in greeting, reaching to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you Caitlin. I'm Malachi." and he'll give her knuckles a little kiss before releasing her hand.

Then he looks to Ne. "May I ask what your name is?" though he has no idea Ne is mute, and he extends his hand to her in greeting.

The extended hand is not met with the grasp of her own, instead it returns to the notepad where she flips a few pages back. The pink and brown-haired girl seems to be searching for a page, but it comes back quick enough with older writing of the same cursive hand. <My name is Ne> it says lightly, although some scribbled out lettering suggests that her name was being shortened down. Perhaps it was simply for ease of saying? Regardless, the notepad is offered to the man to read, although Caitlin herself hadn't gotten an introduction from her prior either.

Caitlin's smile freezes politely and she pulls her hand back at the last moment before Malachi can kiss it, layering her hands over one another just below her midsection. "It's nice to meet you too, Malachi," she remarks, her tone friendly still to show there's no hard feelings.

She glances at Ne's note, then blinks at herself. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry," she says, placing a palm to her temple and looking down at Ne in consternation. "I didn't even bother to ask your name. I'm so rude," she says, mortified at her own inconsiderate behaviour.

Malachi notes that Caitlin withdrew her hand away. Malachi is from…a much earlier time where some introductions are changed over time. Either way, he looks at Ne as instead she hands him a notepad. He tilts his head for a moment as he reads. "Ne?" he looks at her as if to ask if he was saying it right, before he smiles once again. "It's nice to meet you, Ne." he comes to the conclusion that she's mute immediately after the fact.

He does hand the notepad right back to her afterwards, because it's just rude if he stole her notepad. "So then, what brings you both here?" he asks curiously.

A nod, the mutant whom very much seemed to resemble her namesake at least in color palette actually gives a little smile at that before she points towards herself, and then mimes the motion of taking a drink. A sidelong glance, the girl gestures to Caitlin and then mimes the 'cup' she was holding toppling, a spread of her arms and waggling of her fingers hinting at the spill before the notepad is tucked back in her back pocket. Caitlin herself however? She gets looked at questioningly too for a moment before Ne smirks. Luckily the girl had placed her notepad away before she could give her answer to that in humor.

"Coffee break," Caitlin explains, a little wryly— then blinks. "Ack, I meean, I'm on /break/— I have to get back to work!" she remarks. "Gosh, and I'm standing around here like it's Saturday afternoon. I'm so sorry— I have to run, or Ms. Starr will make me work overtime tonight," she says, apologetically. "It was really swell to meet you two, though. Ne, I'll see you around?" she tells the other woman, as she gathers herself and makes sure her purse is still where it ought to be on her shoulder. "Mr. Malachi, it was nice ot meet you as well."

Malachi looks at Ne Curiously at her gestures and how she mimes her actions. "Very curious indeed." before it seems that Caitlin must be off! With a small smile for her, he nods understandingly. "Of course, Ms. Caitlin. Until our paths next cross." and he'll bow softly as he moves out of her way so she can get to wher eshe needs to be. Though he does look at Ne and by the time he does, his coffee arrives and it looks like he's out the door too.

"It was a pleasure meeting yo uboth. Stay out of trouble, yeah?" he winks softly before he's gone!

There's an opening of Neon's mouth in expression of protest, but it seems that Ne was swiftly to be left alone. A silent sigh given instead, the mutant shakes her head to dig for the wallet tucked into her jacket. Oh well, at least it wasn't hers!

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