Summary:Working late gets interrupted by a newcomer Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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It's getting late in the Bronx. Late enough that the afternoon has given way to the evening but not so late that work has stopped at Paragon Investigations, at least not for Nick Gleason. Most of his six person staff has gone home, he thinks. One or two of them might either still be around or have crashed in one of the bunks upstairs.
People thinks that private eye work is like it is on television. Well, people think a lot of things are like they are on television. But it's not. Nick's work involves a lot of calling places, getting public records, sifting through the internet and generally building up files of information that may or may not be useful. Only a little bit of it is going to places to find things out or doing something actually dangerous. Right now, Nick is at his desk with a slice of meatball pizza cooling on a plate next to him while he wades knee deep through the boring part of this profession.
The big brown werewolf leans back and lets out a big canine yawn, then flicks a lamp on.
"When did it get dark?" He mutters to himself. Dark in here that is. It's still light outside, if only a little bit.
There's the pad of feet outside Nicks door, one of those of employees had certainly stayed around and the smell of Pizza has summoned her. "Is it dark?" Isis asks as she pokes her head in the door, blue/grey slitted eyes zeroing in on the second Pizza that's been ordered.
That's hers. No one is going to argue with her about that. Nearly everyone who knows her learned that lesson quick.
"What you still doing here?" The feline-like mutant stalks across the room and takes up the box, settling on the floor cross legged to start eating.
There's the rattlerustle of the trash bins in the back, too soft for normal ears to notice. It's not an usual occurrence, either. the number of feral cats and dogs in the city is awful. This dog is… really damned tall though.
Kyle's pants are dirty and worn, with holes in the knees and frayed hems. He has a shirt that's in equally poor repair and his hands and face are just as dirty. His feet are bare and the long, talon-like claws there that match the ones on his hands are visible. His hair has gotten long and shaggy, hanging around his face limply and overall he looks like a homeless man going through the trash for food. Which he is. Except a keen eye might notice he doesn't have the emaciated form beneath his clothes. There's a decent amount of muscle.
His features are sharp and angular and his ears come to points. He's hunched a bit, making him look shorter and he sniffs about as he digs through the trash.
"Yes, it is getting dark." Nick says as he takes a bite out of his pizza and watches with amusement as Isis sits on the floor to eat some of hers. She likes that. Sitting on the floor. There are chairs. There's one right next to her. But she never seems to be in them. Well, unless someone else wants to be in them.
"I work here, you know." The werewolf is about to follow that up when he pauses. His ear flicks and he holds up a clawed finger.
"Someone's out back." He says quietly. It has him getting up and walking through the office space, past the old equipment room and to the back door. He pauses to listen, ear pressed up against it.
Yep. Someone's out there.
The door creaks when it opens and Kyle might be a bit surprised at what leans out to look. And possibly what leans out behind the first thing. Isis DOES like to see when things are going on after all.
"Can we help you?"
"You don't live here …" Isis answers simply. Nicks right, she's rather sit in the chairs only if someone else wants them and, if she's comfortable enough with that person, she's normally sitting on them.
At the rustling, the feline-like mutants peaked ear turns but she doesn't give any other indication she's heard. She sighs when Nick moves, pushing the box to the side - and leaving it on the floor, closed - padding out behind the lycanthrope silently.
As he opens the door though, she seems to wind her around him, squeezing through the smallest gap possible to be the first one out.
In a simple leap, she perches on the dumpster looking Kyle in the eye "What'cha doing?". Curious cat, indeed.
Kyle Gibney's head turns towards the door when Nick opens it and he draws back a bit, some of the trash falling to the ground in a messy spatter. His slit-pupiled gaze locks on the wolf-man's and his lip curls a bit as a soft growl rises from him. It's more warning than aggressive, and Kyle's body seems to hunch down smaller on itself. That Nick's kinda-sorta-a-wolf calms the man's reactions. At least until Isis pounces onto the dumpster and then the dirty man moves back a few paces quickly.
The questions seem to throw him a bit, and the muscles in his jaw works a bit. When he speaks, it's around elongated canines and his voice is soft and low. "Just… looking for food." He looks between the pair again. Nick with his wolfen features and Isis with her kitty-cat ears.
Nick opens his mouth to say something when Isis bounds past him but closes it. Too late. She's already out. Much like the cat she sort of resembles. At least he doesn't usually have to chase her to get her back inside.
Nick moves off the back 'porch' area and slowly moves out to the side. No sudden movements. There's something oddly canine about this man. Maybe its the way he growls. Maybe it's his odd eyes - well no those are more feline. Maybe it's the voice which seems a bit rough.
"Careful Isis. Look…" He's pointing to the man's arm. This is no starving vagrant, he does pick up on that yes.
"All the good food's inside…" Nick says carefully. Slowly. "Not gonna hurt you…" He doesn't want to get any closer. The man might bolt. Or bite. He thinks bite might be more likely.
"Do you have a name? I'm Nick. That's Isis."
Ooooh. This one doesn't growl at her - much. Not directly. Isis' nose twitches, her ears tilted forward, as she stares at Kyle unblinkingly. When he backs off, the young woman moves to the ground, closing the distance between again as she sniffs some more.
He'd been almost pretty if he weren't so dirty …
Nicks caution gets a flick of one ear. She heard him but curious cat is curious and there's something about him. "Are you hungry? I have pepperoni pizza …" she says. Nick might fall over at that - the young woman doesn't offer to share … often. And never with strangers.
And still, she's closing the gap between them.
Kyle Gibney's head tilts to the side, definitely a canine expression there, as Nick says the good food is inside and Isis is offering him pizza. The dirty man with the shaggy hair moves laterally, keeping Isis in view as he shifts a bit closer to the wolf. The scent of wild wolves has faded from Kyle's scent, he's been in the city too long but they made up his most recent friends.
Belatedly, he recalls that Nick answered a question. He has to reach for it a bit. Reach for the memories and the man. He stands a bit straighter, and the feral cast to his features don't seem quite so severe at second glance. "Kyle." He finally says in that quiet tone of his. A glance between the pair of them. "I'd like pizza." For anyone with an ear for it, they might pick up the slight Canadian accent.
Isis gets a curious look. Cats - all cats - in his opinion view the world by the answers to two questions: What is that? And, is it mine? Isis is very much a cat. Sharing is just not in her vocabulary. Or, well, volunteering to share is. She will. Usually when someone reminds her that she should.
The almost circular dance the two are doing is amusing. Kyle sidling toward him as Isis keeps closing the gap. He's gonna run out of room at some point though. There's an odd scent to this one. Something beyond the dirt, and grime and the smell of someone who hasn't showered in days. He smells like he's been sleeping with dogs. Which isn't unheard of for the homeless but not quite like that. Maybe it's not SLEEPING with dogs but there's something canine about his scent.
Normally Nick would bring some food out to the guy rather than inviting him into the office but something is off here. Kyle… reminds the brown furry one a bit of some of his clients. Something in the way the man presents.
"Why don't we go get him some, Isis?" Nick finally says, tilting his head for Isis to lead the way back to the office and for Kyle to follow. It's air conditioned in there, which is a big plus.
He'll bring up the rear. And make sure nothing untoward happens on the way there. Hey, it's the Bronx. You never know with the people out here.
Isis doesn't really relent as Kyle moves laterally. Nick will attest to the fact she's terrible with personal space and this just highlights it. "Kyle…" the word is almost purred, Isis rarely speaks loudly, she doesn't have to. Almost automatically now, a wave of soothing emotion washes over him.
"He speaks funny…" she says to Nick, like Kyle isn't there. Slight though the accent might be, its enough for her to pick up and know that it's not local.
"Ok. But you'll have to order more. I'm hungry." She's quick as she slides past Kyle, not minding if she brushes against him in to get to the door first.
Personal space? What's that? It all belong to Isis.
"Come on then …" the small woman seems to stalk towards the office.
There's something to the way Kyle holds himself and moves that bespeaks someone that knows how to fight, even if he's not looking like he's inclined to aside from the warning growl when they walked out. Combined with the muscle and the natural weapons on him, not many would invite him in.
As Isis puts out those waves of calm, they seem to eddy around Kyle, not affecting him with the ease that she normally has. When she brushes against him to get into the house first, he backpedals a bit which has him bumping into Nick but their lack of tension helps Kyle to keep hold of himself. With another glance over his shoulder as Nick brings up the rear, he steps inside to follow Isis.
While the tall man looks around as they make their way through the storage area, he doesn't seem confused or surprised at anything, just watchful. As they keep going, he straightens even more until even in bare feet, he's… really damned tall.
Nick rolls his eyes a little at Isis and gets out his phone to hit speed dial 4. "Hi… Danny? Yeah it's Nick. I- oof."
Kyle backpedals and Nick gives him a little push to get him moving again. Interesting. He doesn't especially seem to like being touched…
"Yeah can you send over the usual? No, we got it I just need more. Okay. Thanks." Click. He hangs up the phone and drops it back into his pocket. More food it is.
Kyle can smell it. Nick knows this because he can smell it. Isis can too. The pizza is hot and it's actually pretty good. Isis' box is right where she left it. No one's around to mess with it and even if they were not many would dare.
"How long have you been wandering around?" He asks, pausing only to grab a few canned drinks. Does this guy know how to open one? Hopefully he doesn't puncture it. Those look like claws and he remembers the first time he gave Isis a coke.
She had been so sticky afterwards.
"You're a mutant?" That's a bit of a… direct question, but it's a reasonable guess given everything. He's clearly not human. And he IS damned tall.
Which is unfortunate if he doesn't like being touched. Isis likes high places.
Isis spares a glance for Kyle as he backpedals and bumps into Nick. There's a distinct look of feline satisfaction on her face. Because she's put the man off balance or because Nick is ordering more pizza - probably both. The way she struts around here, you'd think she owned the place.
Nicks been good at accepting that part of her nature at least.
Taking a piece of Pizza from the box, the feline-like mutant nudges it towards Kyle, making him have to step closer to her to get it if he wants it. Not too close, but close enough. "Eat. You feel hungry." Feel not look. She's picking up at least some of what he's feeling. "And I don't bite." beat "Often."
"Where are you from?" The question is added to Nicks, even more blunt and direct. "You look like you could do with a shower." Of all things that they'd discovered about Isis when they rescued her. She really liked to be clean.
Which is why she'd been so grumpy when the can had exploded and sprayed her with Coke. That, and the fact she'd been thirsty at the time.
Nick can see her eyeing Kyle, how so very tall is. Isis isn't exactly short, but she's not tall either. Is she assessing the likelihood of … perching?
When Nick gives Kyle that little push there's a quick turn of his head and a snap of his teeth in the werewolf's direction that doesn't even try to come close to biting. There's that soft growl that bubbles up and he gives Nick a bit more space. The tall man is certianly skittish.
While Kyle hears the words that each speak, he still has to focus on them. He's spent long enough leaning into his feral nature that it takes some concentration to parse them. "Mutant. Yes." There's a crease of his brow as he thinks. Yes, that's right. There was more, later. But he shakes his head to chase it away.
He does step closer for the promise of the pizza, the lean body folding down to where it sits on the floor so he can pick up a slice and he takes a few large bites before he answer their other questions. "Wandering around the City? Mmmm. Few months. From Canada." Which is something of a long walk, if you do it that way. When Isis comments on the shower he looks down at himself and, perhaps the most human expression so far, he grimaces a bit and tilts his head in a nod. "Probably." The admission is a bit guilty. Finally, "Thanks." Presumably for the food, which he goes back to stuffing into his face. His tablemanners leave something to be desired.
Isis may want to get some pizza quick before Kyle has disappeared it all. The man's table manners leave something to be desired but he certainly has an appetite. There is, of course more on the way. But is the feline mutant going to want to wait? Probably not.
In fact Nick is anticipating her taking some of HIS pizza which is why he's putting a few more slices on his plate and sliding that to the far end of his desk, out of easy reach for the other two.
"Canada?" Isis at least knows geography so she'll know that's north and not a short ways north. "You came all the way down here from Canada?" The homeless don't USUALLY get around that much.
"Why? Was there trouble?"
There's a shower upstairs but Nick doesn't offer it quite yet. He just hands Isis one of the drinks and gives her that funny look again. Why is she sharing? He can count on one hand the number of times he's seen her push food at people.
Kyles need to shower possible saves him when he bends to take the pizza. Nick will see the flick of her ears, that little start she gives when she's about to climb on somebody. And climb on people she's been known to do. Kyle being so tall is a definite draw for the feline-mutant.
"Canada. Maple Syrup and ham." Isis says firmly. Two of her favourite things - and the things that come to mind first when she thinks of the place. "You can have shower after you eat."
She's making decisions without really thinking about it. It's just the way that she is.
With Nick asking the questions, the grey eyed woman takes the box that the werewolf pushes over, perching on the corner of his desk - legs folded again. Nicks questioning look gets one of feline disinterest. Isis can do as she likes.
And right now sharing food seems to be it. Though, she'll share all Nicks.
As the moments tick by and the other two remain calm, the tension slowly bleeds out of Kyle. When he finishes the pizza, he licks at his fingers in a manner a bit more like a cat than a human just cleaning them off. It's something in the long, broad strokes of his tongue even though the dirt on the rest of him hasn't skipped his hands.
Slit-pupiled eyes look over to Nick as he muses over Kyle's answers. "It's… been a while since I was in Canada." He admits. "I needed to get away, and I ended up coming south." There's the flicker of a smile at Isis's thoughts on Canada. "Maple syrup is a necessity for life." That sounded like a joke. Was that a joke?
It might have been a joke but Isis probably doesn't think it is. She would likely agree that this is the literal truth. "Get away from what, if I may ask?"
Nick would offer more food but Isis has already appropriated everything he didn't put on his plate. Thankfully, the big brown werewolf had anticipated this.
"You're sending him to the showers, huh Isis? Are you going to make sure he scrubs up?" The inscrutable cat look just gets teasing from him. She is indeed making decisions. It's interesting, given how growly Kyle was just a little bit earlier that he just accepts those decisions. Maybe there is something to be said for… feline mystique?
The front door opens and the delivery guy falls out. "Nick? I'll just leave it on the front desk, okay?"
And then it closes again. And not long after… the smell of yet more hot pizza is drifting in.
"He seems a bit like you, doesn't he Isis?" Nick means 'catlike' but she may take that other ways.
"Maple syrup is, but you have to be careful. If you get it in your hair it's annoying." Poor Nick has had a lot to deal with, with the young mutant. Reverting more to Isis style, she doesn't offer any of the stuff that she has in the fridge here. Seems that's a hard boundary for the feline-like woman.
"He's dirty, he needs to shower. It's good to be clean." Another simple statement from the woman as she polishes off Nicks Pizza. She doesn't blush either when teased but turns those cat-like eyes on Kyle "Do you want help to scrub up?"
It's hard to tell if she's teasing. She might be. Probably is. Nick likely has a better handle on that.
Her nose twitches as the smell wafts through and she bounds from the desk and out to the entry "More pizza is here … " The two men might be wondering if she'll leave any for them.
She returns in time to catch Nicks question. "He is, yes." Nick is going to regret this as she looks at the very tall man "Were you an experiment too?"
Kyle Gibney wipes at his mouth with the back of his shirtcuff, gaze darting between the pair as they ask after what he was running from. His pupils had started to relax back to something closer to normal when Isis asks if he were an experiment and then they draw out into long slits again. He shifts a bit, but makes himself stay in place though Nick might feel the urge to move over to the strange man who needs a shower. Which has got to be an odd impulse.
"Experimented on me, yes." Kyle frowns as he remembers, and then circles a finger around the side of his head. "Made it hard to think." He doesn't volunteer the things he *did* for them.
The continued talk about showers gets a slow rise of one brow when the prospect of company is brought up and he looks over to Isis. And down over Isis before bringing his gaze back up to meet her eyes. "I didn't think cats liked water."
Nick's eyes narrow. It is an unusual thing to want to go curls up on someone like Kyle. Especially as dirty as he is. Given that Kyle has already mentioned he's a mutant, and has actual cat slitted eyes, he wonders…
Could Kyle make Isis want to curl up in a sunbeam? Or his lap?
Isis, as she has already mentioned, was experimented on. There ARE people who do that. The wolfman has dealt with them before. Unfortunately they tend to be well connected and even worse, they tend to be rich. And money buys a great many things that everyone wishes they didn't have.
"Are you still in danger?"
No Nick isn't thinking of calling others, not at this point. He might be thinking of looking into it, though. Just to make sure.
Hey, that's what he does?
"Do you know who they were?" He's trying not to overwhelm the poor guy.
Is Isis teasing about helping Kyle scrub up. Good question. Normally Nick would say yes but she's acting… really, really weird at the moment. "Yes if you get syrup in your hair it is annoying. And then I have to take you to the barber."
Isis blinks as she reenters the room, catching the edge of the urge. She take a step forward and stops, green slitted eyes staring at Kyle. She's so very tempted. And he's so very tall.
It's the smell of the pizza that saves them all. The mutant woman relents and hands over the boxes, keeping a whole one for herself. For a slim woman, she sure can eat.
She manages to still though as Kyles eyes change, instinctively sending out that reassuring wave of emotion. "It's not nice. Do I need to hurt anyone?" Some of her instincts Nick, Piotr and the Institute haven't been able to curb too much.
"I like water just fine." comes the reply to Kyle. "I like to be clean." Nicks reminder of the barber gets a sour look, the edge of disgruntled emotions flowing from her.
"I didn't like the barber."
Kyle Gibney's ability to influence wolves isn't something that he has a lot of knowledge of. It only came up when he ran into the wild wolfpacks and he wasn't in much of a mindset to realize that maybe they should have been a bit more wary of the human. Isis, with her more developed empathy might be able to pick up Kyle's *lack* of control. It's an unconscious thing. Like breathing.
The question as to if he's still in danger gets another furrowed brow as tries to sort through his tangle of memories. Finally a shake of his head. "Someone attacked the facility. That was a long time ago. Then I worked for Department H, under the Canadian government. But then they disbanded the program." His gaze moves down to the floor, one clawed finger scratching at the knee of his pants. "I didn't have anywhere to go." Certainly, he'd have a hard time fitting into normal society.
The food and the talking have done a lot to bring him back to being more passably human. Both in looks and thinking. His features are less angular and sharp and while there isn't really any mistaking the bestial traits, they're much more subdued at the moment. The tall man pushes up to his feet, shaking his head to clear the mental cobwebs. "Sorry. I.. tend to forget myself. I appreciate the food."
Nick thinks for a moment. Now that Kyle isn't trying to get big fuzzy hugs from him it's a bit easier though with Isis 'spilling' emotions everywhere he's certainly had practice maintaining his concentration. Not that it always works. Or even… often works, to be honest. Nick can be a bit of a mess himself in that regards.
"There's a bunk upstairs. And the showers. Isis can show you both. Why don't you get some rest? I'm going to make a few calls."
He's giving Isis a look that says 'overtime'. Which is probably not her favorite word but with a new person to poke she might be more amenable to it.
"You don't have to stay, but I'll see if I can find out a bit more about your situation and what can be done to help you."
He has never HEARD of 'Department H' before, but if this guy worked for the government and felt compelled to flee his country, Nick suspects there might be something in this that needs digging into.
"Nick says I'm always forgetting…" Isis adds, polishing off her pizza in no time flat. Opening her mouth to ask more questions she looks at Nick when he offers the bunk and shower, she closes again, eyes narrowing in thought.
This probably doesn't bode well for the man. She's plotting. "You're buying dinner, Nick." If he wants her to work overtime, that's the extra fee. Heavens knows what she just called two pizza's.
Kyle Gibney seems torn for a moment. He doesn't know either of them, but they fed him and now they're offering a shower which, as he starts to lean more man than animal, sounds *really* good. Finally he nods. "I'll take you up on that." Not sleeping in an alleyway sounds pretty damned appealing too.
As Isis works on negotiations, Kyle will head upstairs to get cleaned up and after that with his fully belly, he'll be out like a light.
Nick snorts. "I did that already. Twice, I think…" He mutters as he sits back down at his desk, retrieves some of his pizza stash and picks up the phone.
"Hi yes, Canadian Embassy right? This is Nick Gleason, I'm a Private Investigator…"