Summary:Friends catch up. Bad news abounds. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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New York City. Best part about it? Brooklyn.
These are where the tough guys are, or so people would tell you, and even though its not the best neighborhood on the planet, its still better than the Bronx!
Robbie Reyes is one of the people who live here. After tending to Gabe wheeling him up to the special School Bus transportation vehicle, Robbie smiles. "Remember to study, little bro. You got a test coming up in two weeks, so I want to see them A's."
Gabe just laughed at his brother. "I'm still smart big bro! You'll see, I'll have A's in every single one of my classes, just you wait."
Robbie smiles as the doors then close, and the bus drives away. Though Robbie then exhales. He's wearing his leather jacket, a black shirt underneath, some blue jeans, and some vans. His car is parked on the side of the street, so he starts making his way over it it. But its New York! So who knows who he'll run into.
Ororo doesn't spend much time on the ground in Queens compared to Brooklyn or the Bronx. The latter for obvious reasons, the former due to the welcoming quality of so many of its venues. None of Manhattan's pretensions exist there, and it feels a little closer to the vivid thrum of humanity she left in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam. The young woman wears a light coat over a peasant blouse and pair of wide-legged pants that exude cool in a way that won't impair her taking to the sky. Always significant, considering that so often it's a requirement.
Click-clack, her sandals make a little sound coming down on the ground. Her nose is briefly buried in her phone, though she pays heed to traffic around her as best she can. Swiping and marking sends another opinion blazing out into the digital world for her hundreds of thousands of followers to eat up immediately, especially when it comes punctuated with a pithy hashtag. Someone's going to make that show up on the news tomorrow.
No bus, no sound of trouble. Away putters the vehicle, and that leaves her humming thoughtfully under her breath. Just in time to look straight up: "Why, Mister Reyes, no dashing vehicle today? Parking here is not bound to be easy, is it?"
Robbie turns his head at the sound of Ororo's angelic voice. She spoke with a fine regality that Robbie just did - not - possess, so she might find it comical how he speaks. "Hey, Ororo." He grins at her, turning to face her while his hands are in his jacket pockets. "Well, my car's right there." he looks to the curb, where the Hellcharger is parked, untransformed of course. Not in broad daylight.
"How are you?" He asks of her, a warm smile on his face. "But, speaking of the parking thing, I was just about to go for a ride. Care to join me?" He moves to lean against the car, awaiting an answer. "Maybe even grab some lunch? Should be a little easier than just flying for you. Plus, I feed you. Win-Win?"
Was it a date? Or was it just a hangout? Up to the two of them, really.
That lilting fluidity of Swahili isn't like English and it won't ever try to be. It wants to sing in a chorus and capture all the monotony of English in its arms, then cast it up in the air for a good dance. White braids flow into a cloud of swirling loose silk, a mane of sorts. She glances over at the Hellcharger with a practiced eye, as though anticipating the hood might spring up and start talking or the grille could turn downward in an opinion about her. Always good to distrust inanimate objects, clearly.
She sneakily waves at it. Just in case.
"I am well. You are good to ask." Her phone goes into her coat pocket and she smiles back at Robbie. "Too long since we met last. Is everything good on the streets, and no trouble for you? Neither have I seen Alex but classes resumed, and we are both running left, right, and center." She pauses at the idiom. It will suit, even as she gives a bit a smile. "Not much is easier than flying, but that's a blessing of the open skies on me. Lunch sounds like just the thing. Can you recommend anywhere?"
The Car does not seem to respond to Ororo in any way shape or form. Eli certainly doesn't haunt it anymore, but he does whisper to Robbie (since they share a soul, Ororo can't hear him).
-ooo, I like her-.
Robbie seems to smile at Storm when she seems to question him about the streets. "Streets are fine. With the Ghost Rider out and about, the gangs arn't as brave as they used to be." Robbie speaks wisely, and he winks at Storm to prove it. When she agrees to go with him, he opens the passenger seat door for her to allow her inside the car like a gentleman.
"There's a nice steak place down the street, if that suits your fancy?" of course, he doesn't know if she's a vegan or vegetarian, in which he'll feel horrible.
See, no indication of flashing headlights or trouble like that. She isn't hearing a revving of an engine, so it's simply a car she can quietly maneuver around with satisfying certainty. Ororo navigates a city well enough, though certain elements make it easier for her. "That's surely a pleasure for those who live here. Having a stable community starts with safety and security. They might take a little while to understand the gangs are in retreat but with time?" Her thoughts trail off even as she steps aside for Robbie to open the door.
"Thank you." Tucking her hands to her sides, she dips and sinks into the seat. With her height, caution is always a welcome thing. No bumped knees on the dashboard at least, and that's an important aspect. "Steak? Are you sure it won't be any trouble?"
Far be it from her to say no, but she considers these things.
Robbie looks at Ororo with a small smile. He might be a street rat, but he's a street rat who can afford luxuries from time to time. "Anytime, Ororo. and of course I'm sure, otherwise I wouldn't offer. Plus I'm not the type to dine and bail." he winks at her, and takes into account that she'll be alright before he closes the passenger door and moves over to the driver's seat, sitting in and buckling up. Yes, even Ghost Rider drives safe.
"So, tell me more about you, Ororo. I feel like I don't get the privilege of talking to you often." He revs up the engine, and Ororo can feel the Horsepower this baby's got, before he drives off.
Seatbelt applied, even though it might not be essential, Ororo smoothes her hands over her legs to assure that her pants don't cling with any dirt or dust from a walk around the city. Or soaring through the upper atmosphere, anyway. "I doubt you are the kind, but I do not want anyone to feel the need to impress me. I get it a fair amount when people learn others listen to me," she admits with a slow roll of her shoulder. "Others want to leave a good impression and they do that on their own." Warm smile left behind, she sculpts a line down her wrist with her opposite hand and proceeds to finish looking smart. "You're enough as you are, that is all." Street rats can be nice! Rats are invested and adaptable.
The question puts her in a thoughtful pursuit. "That is a hard question. What about me do you want to know?"
Street Rats are also really resourceful!
But Robbie can tell that she's not looking at him like his origin matters, but as a person. For a lady to look at him like that, consdiering that Ororo looks like a million dollars, it means a lot. Robbie does seem to chuckle when she tries to tell him not to do this if his goal is to impress her.
"I let me being me possibly do that." he teases her. "Honestly, I just want some steak. Gabe is at school, and I got real lucky seeing you. Sucks eating alone, you know?" Robbie shrugs. Even if he's technically not alone, but he doesn't want to listen to Eli keep talking and talking and talking…
But he looks at her once again. "Well, you work at the School right? What do you teach?"
Ororo glances out the window as the street slides by, another neighbourhood and another part of the world linked together by stories unfamiliar to her to a degree. The people here have their own trials, their own exuberant experiences, locked off by brownstone facades and busy streets midway through gentrifying.
She smiles, and her reflection smiles back at Robbie. He's probably busy watching the road, but it counts. "Gabe?" she asks, not meaning to pry too deeply. "Is that your…" Careful here. "Relative? Or someone you watch?" She crosses her legs at the ankles. "Eating alone is sometimes worth it, but dining is a time to talk and share. It can be lonely, I agree. You have someone to recount all those terrible and silly things that happened."
Robbie looks over at Ororo as she speaks about Gabe VERY carefully. If she was evil, then Robbie would encourage her light stepping on the thin ice. But Ororo is friendly, and she gets along with people easy. He can tell by her eyes. "Gabe is my little brother. And your partly right. When our parents died, I started to take care of him. He'd be able to take care of himself, but he's confined to a wheelchair." Robbie says in a very straightforward way.
"But don't feel bad for him. He's happy and he's living his life as best as he can." But there seems to be a guilt in Robbie's eyes, but he might not be ready to discuss that yet.
There's no evil in her, unless it comes to wanting things to move along faster than they ought to or the hint that she might be more focused on the general welfare of the world. "Your brother, that's a serious and important duty to take on." She sounds impressed, looking over at Robbie. "Taking care of him until he is done with school and in a position to decide what he wants." Her smile lifts at that. "I am not much of a teacher yet, but I appreciate you put him on such a high place. You have that, your own work on the streets to keep it safe. All that with the way the world is, it says much about your character."
Her expression brightens as she warms to the topic. "I'm sure he appreciates your help. I would not feel pity for someone else. It is terrible to lose your parents, and that is something challenging to overcome. He has you, though, and in a large city full of choices and chances he can make. It seems to me he's in a good place." She fans her fingers wide over her knees. "You are his defender, that is a fiercely loyal brother and guardian to have. You believe in him and that surely gives him the courage of a lion and spirit of an elephant. Let him grow from that grounding you offer."
When Ororo seems impressed that Robbie takes care of Gabe along with everything else he has to do, Robbie gives a small smile to her. "Yeah. I'll take care of him for as long as he needs someone." he shrugs. "Gave up school so he could go. Most of my cash goes to his schooling and keeping the water and lights on at home. I just want him to have the best shot he can have."
When she gives him the speech about how big of an influence Robbie is on Gabe, he smirks her way. "You should be a therapist." he pauses. "Your good at talking to people."
.~{:--------------:}~.
The easy way that Robbie speaks, guarded though he might be, ease Ororo from any of those uncertainties about fresh new friendships or cultural changes. Patient and at ease, she sits back against the seat, looking between the city flowing by and him while he drives. "Some obligations never go away, though they change with time. Family, always a kind of duty, but a good one. It gives so much strength and purpose to life," she answers. "I hope you don't regret too deeply giving up school. A different path, and there may be chances and choices in the future. Listen to me, giving out too much wisdom." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry. It is not my place to do that."
His recommendation to be a therapist makes her laugh, warm and rich, unfettered in its throaty welcome. "You are flattering me now! I have been privileged to know many strong people with great hearts and spirits. They taught me to listen better than I ever did. If you say that it's their debt I pay forward because they did very well with me. But you make it easy to listen. You speak of Gabe with such fondness. It's hard to ignore."
Robbie drives the car and eventually parks it in a parking spot right in front of the steak place that Robbie had spoken of. But then he turns his head to look at her when she apologizes to him for her offering her thoughts. "Never apologize for speaking your mind." A man who will listen to her thoughts and opinions?
Cool.
Robbie then chuckles. "Well, you're worth flattering, Ororo. Really. Not many people even think about hanging out with guys like me. So…Thanks." He smiles to her. "and I think you'd like Gabe. He's a little dorky, but its one of the reasons why he's just too good for the world." He gets out of his car then, before he opens the passenger door to let Ororo out of the Hellcharger like a gentleman.
"So, here we are." He offers her his arm even so he can walk her up.
The steak place in question isn't familiar, probably because Ororo rarely gets out to eat that nicely in the city. New York is expensive for anyone, especially a girl who can't make it rain actual gold. No one worries about her existence until a hurricane starts meancing the coast, which it does and she is well aware of. "I don't find it right to instruct others when they have not asked me. It makes me sound rather bossy instead of helpful. The spirit could be good, but I know better." She shakes her head and unsnaps the seat belt, carefully seeing the strap spooled into place. She can get out of a car with ease, a swift adjustment when stepping forth to avoid tripping on the concrete or catching her blousy sleeve on the door. Wouldn't that be troubling?
Probably less than it could be.
"I'd like to say hello one day," she admits with an easy smile. "People who overlook hanging out with 'people like you' probably do not get outside their circles much. A loss for them. Meeting others is important."
And in. In to a place where they can blend, dine, and speak. Ororo tackles it like she does everything else: head high, arm in Robbie's, like she appreciates but doesn't want to own the place.
Robbie knows she doesn't need to try and own the place. She was already the most beautiful woman there when she first walked in. As he realizes its STORM on his arm, Robbie turns his head to whisper. "I'm beginning to think I'm underdressed for you." He compliments her beauty with mild flirting.
A waiter leads them over to a table. Robbie pulls out a chair for Ororo before he takes his own seat. Its at this point that Robbie takes off his driving gloves so he can eat normally. The waiter then asks for drinks, and Robbie just orders a water.
He then looks at Ororo. "and its fine." though the words' the spirit could be good' does seem to have some kind of meaning to Robbie.
"In America, image matters too much. People judge one another too freely based on looks. I have been told that very rich people wear pajamas and the poor groom themselves to present a good face to the world when they have little but their pride. It is not a good indicator of much," Ororo says in a soft undertone. She maneuvers easily into the restaurant, standing tall and unbowed, innately comfortable with her surroundings. The waiter earns a word of thanks for his assistance seeing them to a table and providing a secure haven for proper conversation.
Like everything else, she settles with grace and surveys the menu after they've been settled in. A flicker of the pages under her long fingers settles into an open break, showing her the alternatives with an eye for detail. Drinks are simple: she asks for tea. Nothing extravagant there, not even a request for cream. "Now then, regale me with the most interesting thing you've seen or heard in the neighbourhood of late."
"Of course image matters here. They think if you wear a suit, a nice polo, and a good tie that your the richest man in the world." Robbie shrugs a little bit. "But, I always figure its the inside that counts, you know? Appearnaces should be the last thing considered, not the first." He shrugs just for a moment but when she asks him about the most interesting thing he's seen or heard in the hood as of late, Robbie smirks.
"Not much, really. Been quiet. There was a guy talking about the impending apocalypse that isn't going to happen, but aside from that, I've been boring. What about you? How's that college life going?"
"Does a suit define someone so richly? If it's that important, then the access to those image-making pieces should come out more," says Ororo. "Too many people think the inside is reflected by the outside. Someone in a suit should be trusted. Someone with a good name is inherently good and successful because his father or grandfather made a fortune. It is the same way often with kings and queens of old. We simply replaced them with business people and politicians by other names." Mind that's a bit rich coming from a rain queen, but she isn't a monarch in the sense of the queen of the United Kingdom or the king of Wakanda. Her tone stays friendly, this being a matter not to spoil a good conversation with. "It troubles me sometimes that we define whether someone is of value by simply how they look or sound. Not how they act."
She sets aside the menu, clearly having a selection in mind. "A man talking about the apocalypse? What did he say would bring it about?" The next question gets a laugh. "The semester just started and I have a long way to go to finish my degree. Physics is a demanding course of study!"
Robbie seems to chuckle just a little bit, but he listens to Ororo as she speaks. He smiles, apparently enjoying when she speaks. She has a sense of…wisdom and formality. But when she asks him of the apocalypse, he shakes his head wit ha shrug. "Well, he was talking normally for a second. Mayan calendar being only the first of a series of signs, then I saw he had some heavy duty drugs on his bag. So I tipped off a cop rather than go Ghost Riding and I went on my way. Soon after, I stopped at Gabe's, then I found you." He smiles then.
"I wouldn't know, but I'm seriously wishing you luck. You can use my place for study sessions if you want."
Ro gently flips over her menu to indicate readiness, and the delivery of her tea requires a certain kind of care. Turning the teapot around, she plops a bag into the steaming water to gather strength. Cream and sugar will not join right away for she happily takes it black, content to drink it plain and simple. "A Mayan calendar causing trouble and drugs," she says with surprise in her voice, shaking her head. "I hope they help him, so they no longer are troubled by whatever chase them." Crossing her ankles under the table, she listens with ease.
"Most of my work requires me to work with computers to make the right calculations. They are not projects that follow with things most people can see." A dry chuckle dances on the air, fond.
"I hope they help him too." the waiter then asks for their orders. Robbie orders a Ribeye steak, cooked medium rare. "and whatever thel ady would like." he gestures then to Ororo, encouraging her to truly order what she wants.
As she speaks about computers, Robbie shrugs. "Oof, I have absolutely no idea on that front. Computers arn't my thing. But want to learn how to fix a car? Adjust the engine, give it a boost? I'm your guy." He chuckles. "So…I'm curious, are you and Alex actually dating or are you two just hanging out?' He's kinda hoping she says no so he can make an attempt.
Ororo picks up her teacup, awaiting the server to finish taking Robbie's order before soliciting her own. "Prime rib, the small portion, with steamed summer vegetables, please." That will constitute a hearty meal offending no one, and the fall-off-the-bone smoothness of the meat is sufficient to appeal to her palate. Besides, the spiced peppery rub has a good deal of memory from home.
"That's all they used back home and here, but the programs run through the data we put in them," she explains. "They have to crunch the numbers and explain how complex systems make the weather turn or things flare. It is not enough for me to say 'I see it happening, I know.' That never flies except when it lifts me up." She suddenly grins. "Why would you lift up a car? Is there not a lift for that?" With a thoughtful sip of the tea, she smiles. "Fixing a car is good to know. A skilled mechanic can go anywhere. He is suddenly everyone's best friend when they hear a click or a bang."
The last question earns a slight grin out of her. "Quite happily so, yes. It came about suddenly but it works well."
Robbie seems to nod in approval of Ororo's choice of order. Though as she speaks about programs and data, Robbie doesn't look like he even follows. "I don't follow with that. I'm not that smart, Ororo." he xplains to her, but then she tells him that apparently she and Phobos are dating, though now he seems a little concerned. "…talk to him lately?"
That seems to be all he says about that. But despite his own sadness that he can't make a move on Ororo because of bro-code and not wanting to get in the way of an existing relationship, he lets the matter pass. "Good to know."
Then he seems to stretch a little bit. "Cars can't fly. Unless your Tony Stark or something. But.." he shrugs.
Her expression changes, slightly, to the question. "This week settling in for classes has us passing in the night." She always has a phone, near always. Ororo isn't panicking at all because she slips a hand into her pocket, coming up with the device. Three or four swipes on a screen has her dropping in a text message at formidable speed, practiced no doubt on making pithy comments that savage the unsuspecting politician or latest celebrity to speak up where they really ought not to.
"Cars will fly! I saw that show once. It had the man who worked in a factory and his flying cars. I prefer flying police boxes myself." A wink there even as she smiles. "Do you want to fly?"
A simple request, honest as that.
Robbie keeps his eyes on her. "…just checking." Robbie looks like he wants to tell her something, but he doesn't. He's learned that he just shouldn't. But then she's pulling out her phone and sending a text. But then she's talking again. "Do I want to fly? I mean, sure. But I just don't want you to drop me or something." Robbie shrugs.
He's used to having his feet on the ground. Sure, if she dropped him, he'd survive the fall, but…eh.
The words fly into the ether, the digital void rippling with activity from a city bombarded by signals and producing enough noise on its own to halo the entire western hemisphere. Ororo's pupils are smothered in white, the tanzanite halo ring around them still visible, but that blink erases anything normal about a white-haired African woman. "You give me reason to be concerned and doubly charged not checking in as promptly as I should have." Guilt that flashes into a shroud is contained, as everything is about her. She doesn't often do boisterous and never sobbing histrionics, but the air around her is charged less by electrical particles and more by deep, quiet regard.
"I have never dropped anyone in my life," she says softly, "and the winds would hold you if I asked. But you make me worry something happened. A fight, a falling out?" A beat. "His father?"
The ping strikes the phone.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Ororo's head tilts.
Robbie sees that concern and fear in her eyes, and he shakes his head. He takes a deep breath. "Last time I spoke with him, he talked about this…girl. Didn't give me a name or a description. But he looked like he was…struck. And not about someone you would think of as a friend." Robbie's implying that maybe Phobos might've…? But he shakes his head. "But I don't know for sure. I just…" he takes a breath.
"I don't want you to get hurt, Ororo. I've never met his father, but he's implied that his relationship with his dad is good."
He shakes his head. "Doesn't mean I like heights. I trust you, sure, but I don't trust wind."
"I haven't met his father like that. It seems they have a different dynamic, but a bad one." Her thumb runs down the edge of the screen, sliding into the glass and metal margin. Contemplation settles in over her expression, knocking her out of the realm of sunshine to a partly cloudy state. But as the winds aren't screaming and people are not suddenly dragging out plywood or tables up to the windows, they might well have nothing to fear from a woman codenamed Storm.
The signal fires spark and simmer, dashing across the screen. "My emotions are sort of out there. And it's kind of rough and scary. But it's also led me to actually caring a lot about a person," she reiterates in that neutral tone inflected by its highs and lows through her underlying Swahili. In times like these, that rigid fist clamped around her emotions is possibly visible in some fashion, even as she parses Robbie's warnings. "He hopes I don't hate him. Which spells right there what has happened." A pause. "I've been next to ghosted, I think." Her phone is placed on the table where he can read the screen if he wants to, though a constant stream of data highlights the header with various messages. "You are not hurting me with the truth. None of us should be torn down by honesty from a friend." Her lips quirk. "I wonder the sudden change of heart. It is not the time for an autopsy though."
Another blink and the white cores of her eyes invert back to the normal black they ought to be.
Robbie looks at Ororo then and he seems to frown for a moment. But considering the city isn't in total danger, Robbie leans forward, he reaches perhaps for her hand. "…are you alright?" When she tells him the outcome of such a situation. But if she doesn't want his comfort, thats up to her.
"I know. I can't speak for him but…well, greek demigods are fickle." especially romantically, Greeks arn't exactly role models.
But then their food arrives, and the ribeye is given to Robbie, and the prime rib is given to Storm.
Prime rib will go nicely with a meal that might taste of ashes. In other circumstances, it might. She slips the knife into the meat, though it hardly needs it, falling apart practically at a touch. The sideways application of the fork would do that, such a tender creation to undo the chef's handiwork. Turmoil doesn't mean disregarding the chef's efforts or the server's impeccable sense of when to vanish after offering more water, hot or cold. He certainly sin't the focus of her concern.
Greek gods, as a romantic model, are absolutely horrific unless their name starts with Hades and ends with 'Polyxenus' or 'Polysemantor.' And she is no Persephone of spring, not exactly. Cutting small pieces from the greater whole, she waits until Robbie has finished speaking to compose her thoughts aloud. "I have not decided the appropriate response to that." A slight tap of her finger against the handle of the fork is the most she allows herself. "I will not put you in the middle, either. Alex is your friend and someone you are on a team with. Putting pressure on that isn't right of me." She takes a bite of the steak, probably considering she hasn't answered the original question. So the question must in turn be given a moment. "I am not happy. But in matters of a relationship, both people have choices. He is free to move on, if that's what he wants. I will not wish bad omens on him."
Ironic that the oldest of the big three gods (Hades, Zeus, Poseidon) was the one with the best love life. Regardless, Robbie seems to pull away from Ororo when she clearly displays that she is most unhappy with her present situatin. "Well." Robbie clears his throat. "If you need me, I'm there." he's a firm believer in that a strong foundation needs to be present for anything.
But he starts to eat his steak, letting Storm speak. He lets her have her silence though, and he doesn't speak again for a short time. Plus it allows them to truly enjoy their food. "…do you like sports?" Robbie tries to maybe cheer Ororo up, but its a long shot.
Pulling away isn't unnoticed. She puts down the cutlery, and takes up the phone like a horrible bad Millennial. Except it's to offer a quick response, and then she silences the screen. Ororo flips the device over, leaving it in sight. "He's your friend before I was," she says in a quiet tone. Her smile is gentle enough. "If he found someone else who suits him better, I am not going to ask you to pick a side. That would be the kind of behaviour always happening in movies and on those terrible shows. It's a free country. That does not stop us from being friends either, Robbie. Out of respect for you and for Alex, I will not break down and cry or throw my phone. Sorry to disappoint."
She even manages a quick smile, though it dims faster than it might. Most unhappy isn't quite the right term, neither is resigned. Stoic? Respectful? Proud? That's up to him to decide on. "I do like sports. Football, of course." Translation: soccer. But maybe not! He probably knows Fifa is a corrupt group too. "Running for health. Dancing for fun. Taekwondo for relaxation, sometimes. A good few kicks fix things."
He just didn't want to make her uncomfortable. But, Robbie watches her pull out her cell phone and send out a quick reply, but when she tries to say that Phobos was his friend before she was, he looks her in the eyes. "Then why do I feel more comfortable with you than I do him?" Probably because Eli actually likes Ororo compared to Phobos. but either way, when he manages to get something she might like out of her, like football, taekwondo and dancing, Robbie smiles at her.
"Then how about we go dancing?" He asks her for a night out with him of fun and just spiritual reset.