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Summary: Tabitha runs into Tony at a Brooklyn coffee shop and they catch up on various topics.
Date: April 25, 2011
Log Title: A Full Cup of Conversation
Rating: PG
Brooklyn, NY
The Brooklyn Coffee & Teahouse is an alternative coffee house for students, art and coffee lovers, and international people to come and enjoy a cup of coffee or a pot of tea. Live music, open mic nights, karaoke, and poetry readings can usually be found held here at least once a week. The brick structure has ground floor storefronts and large window bays over looking the East River, giving a lovely view of Manhattan. Comfortable chairs around tables are scattered across the shop and the menu offers more than just coffee and tea, but iced drinks, sandwiches, and pastries are offered here.
There's a popular brick coffee and tea house out in Brooklyn that draws quite an assortment of people. Why? There's live music, an incredible view of Manhattan, and decent enough food. The real draw happens to be the coffee however and that is why on a late Monday afternoon pushing the dinner hour one could find Anthony Stark lurking in a corner at a table peering out over the river. With a half eaten sandwich on a plate, a untouched pastry nearby on a napkin, and a pot of coffee sitting on a hot plate near a mug he looks to have settled in there and has been sitting at this particular table for some time. By all appearances he must have been working for once as he's wearing a suit though the tie has long been loosened though it still hangs about his neck.
And then, the doors open and someone walks in; albeit someone who has a bit of trouble, owing to a large pair of wings that they're clearly unused to. Tabitha the rat girl looks quite the sight; she has a Barnes hoodie tied around her hips, and above the waist is clad only in a light halter-top to accommodate the wings. Three people get up and slip out moments after she enters, one of whom was in line; the rat girl sighs softly, glancing over her shoulder as she steps in line, and waits her turn to order something.
Tony rips off a piece of his sandwich bringing it up to toss into his open mouth. There's a bit of foot traffic in and out of the shop door which is not much of a distraction until someone nearby whispers rather loudly that there's a winged rat waiting to order something. Throwing an arm along the back of the chair he turns about at the waist to peer over at the line noticing that the be-winged rat in question is actually Tabitha. Seated as such he will wait to catch the eye of the young woman.
Tabitha's ear flicks in response to the loud whisper; oh yes, she caught that, even if she doesn't turn her head. Her arms stretch behind her back; and then, her wings nearly do the same, much to the alarm of a couple of people behind her. The rat gets things under control though, as she pays for her order; the wings fold up neatly once more. It isn't until she has a hot chocolate and a pastry firmly in hand that she actually turns around. She looks about for a seat for several seconds; wherever there is a free chair, people have placed handbags or propped up their feet. No, not in that corner… not over there… "Oh!" She breaks into a big grin, and crosses the floor in quick strides until she's in range, and leans down over the back of a chair. "Hello Mr. Stark," she comments, more quietly. "Is this seat taken, or… can I join you?"
There's a welcoming wave of a hand towards one of the open chairs at his table. For his part Tony refrains from commenting about the wings but that may not last very long given he is Tony Stark. "What brought you over to Brooklyn?" There's no band at the moment just a cd playing softly in the background as people chat over their coffee much like Tabitha and Tony now are.
Tabitha slips gratefully into the seat, and sips her hot chocolate lightly before setting it down. "Curiosity," she admits. "I've never been to Brooklyn before. I've been studying like a crazy chick to catch up on my studies… and I was just about going bonkers so I decided to take a break and enjoy these wings while I've got 'em." She giggles softly, and sits up a little straighter in her seat. "What do you think? Do they suit me? I have to say I *do* like flying."
Tony twists his plate around to the left. "If you're starting to go mad adding coffee into the mix might not be the best idea." Of course he can't talk considering he lives on the substance. As he sips at his coffee a glance is given to the wings, an eyebrow arches, the coffee mug gets sat back down to the table. With a straight face, "I don't think they're your color."
Tabitha holds up her hand and points a single finger meaningfully downwards at her drink. "This," she explains in a very serious tone, "Is hot chocolate." She grins, before tilting her head up and sniffing in Tony's direction. "Yours is coffee though. And you've got a hazlenut flavor shot in there if I'm not mistaken." She shrugs her shoulders, and settles as far back in her chair as the wings will allow. "I actually copied someone who has wings by mistake. I'm glad I did though, it's been a great experience." She pauses, and ahems softly. "Well, mostly. Trying to get to sleep is a pain." The rat girl shrugs her shoulders, and turns her pastry around on the plate. "You look like you're planning on being here for a while. What brings you to Brooklyn, if I can bounce your question back to you? Like verbal tennis."
"Hmm, sugar rush can nearly be as bad," Tony insists when he glances over at Tabitha's drink before returning to his. A lone finger touches the tip of his nose then points to Tabitha as she guesses correctly about his coffee. Mug back onto the table a bit more coffee is poured from the pot into the mug. "Thankfully you were unharmed by the accidental copying." The sandwich plate is turned to the right before a piece is broken off the sandwich then popped into his mouth. "I'm lurking. You're actually in a very popular coffee shop. Later on they'll have a live band if you ever want to come back to see that for yourself."
Tabitha mmms softly, and her lips press into a thin line. "Actually, it hurt like hell. Not just the wings; the guy has hollow bones I think, and I copied that, too. It'll probably hurt like hell again when I lose them." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Oh well, it's been worth it. I'd do it again. …Anyway, I have to learn how to handle that kind of stuff." She has another sip from her hot chocolate, and lifts up her pastry. "I definitely will come by to see that sometime." She grins once more, and shakes her head. "Don't worry about sugar rushes, though. I'm a teenager. We live on sugar rushes."
Tony breaks off another piece of sandwich though this bite seems to be tapping to the plate to the beat of the current song. "Live and learn?" Not meant to be a joke though it was intended to lessen the remembrance of the painful transformation. "Hopefully you will be able to learn how to keep from accidentally mimicking someone fairly quickly. There are a few people I can think of off the top of my head that you never want to accidentally copy."
Tabitha nods her head quickly, "Yeah, I'm not dead, so I definitely learned something." She isn't joking; well not entirely, anyway. "I've actually had several people tell me I wouldn't want to copy them, but I think it's mostly because they don't think anyone else can handle their powers or that I might not like having them, more than any danger. But I bet you're right… I mean like… I hear the headmaster of that Xaviers place you mentioned has to wear special goggles or he blasts the stuffing out of whatever he looks at. I wouldn't want to get *that* by accident."
Cyclops is certainly one of those that shouldn't be copied. "Have you thought about telepaths? Empaths?" Those could cause the young woman considerable trouble though that hadn't been why Tony mentioned what he had. "Let's just say there are those out there, I happen to know of at least two, that you do not ever want to copy. I doubt you and I would ever randomly have a conversation again if you got a hold of their abilities." Piece of food eaten slowly then a bit of the relatively untouched pastry before he's turning the conversation away from her powers. "How are you liking it at Barnes so far?"
Tabitha hunhs, "I do know an Empath actually, but I haven't tried copying her. One way or another though, I really do need to copy people in safe settings so I can learn control, without anything bad happening if I can't manage it." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Anyway, nothing to worry about right now. …Barnes? I love it. I mean I really love it. My roommates, Rashmi and Dashenka are bother pretty awesome. And… in the hanger, they have jets." She completely forgets about the pastry she's holding, as her eyes glaze over for a brief moment. "The curriculum will be a lot of work, but I'm still just on catch-up right now. I don't formally get started until next semester, since I can't dive into classes… like… right at the end."
Tony pours a bit more coffee into his mug having drained it half dry again then sadly the pot is empty at that point. "I'm glad you are having a good time at least. Tell Rashmi that I said hello. I am unfamiliar with Dashenka however. Russian?" The sandwich is polished off then the pastry is dragged in front of him to be picked at. "You'll do fine by the way." A napkin is reached for so that glaze can be wiped off before he reaches into his jacket pocket to pull out his thin datapad to manipulate a few files. "The streets are a bit safer these days in case you haven't paid much mind to the news. I'm not saying to put on your best outfit and go dancing in the streets as there's still a few crazies about but you should be able to get around without too much trouble. Having said that steer clear of Mutant Town for awhile longer. Things need to settle down."
Tabitha nods her head quickly. "Sure, I'll tell her. I haven't actually gotten to see much of Dashenka, but yeah, she's Russian." she lifts her hot chocolate for another sip, and slurps softly at the hot liquid. "I remember when the whole rat-thing first started for me, I had a really hard time drinking anything. Kept sloshing coke and mountain-dew and whatever else all over myself. Anywhere but in my mouth. I had to stay away from hot drinks for a while." She eyes the cup she's holding for a moment, before putting it down. "I've been pretty careful, I don't want to get into any more… hospital visits. I'm good to go after my concussion actually, just waiting to lose the wings before I come to pick up my ninja." She takes another bite from the pastry, and chews it slowly before swallowing. "Do you have any bikes? Or are you just into cars?"
The datapad is tucked back into his jacket pocket before he finishes off his pastry. "It is good that you've been able to adapt and to stay out of trouble." That last bit draws a smile out of Stark though he's shifting in his seat a bit restless. "I have a few of pretty much everything," just as a useful piece of information. "I've the one bike here at the Towers. I've been riding since I was sixteen. Street legal, and not so legal. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie not that it isn't obvious."
Tabitha nods quickly, "It is obvious, though I didn't want to just go off making assumptions." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Well, anyway, uhm… maybe this is a lame question. Or maybe not. But I have to change the oil on mine soon… which I'm looking forward to, by the way, I like working on my bike. But I was wondering what oil you use with yours? I mean for the first time I think I can actually afford to get any oil I want and I think that's pretty cool." She goes to take another bite from her pastry, but just breaks into a big grin instead. "I'm sure I'll find some trouble to get into before too much longer. I seem to attract it like honey attracts flies. …Must be because I'm so sweet."
Tony cleans up the area in front of him as it would appear that he's getting ready to leave. "I actually do not use oil in mine. I created my bike from the ground up to use a clean energy system. Though to answer your question you can't go wrong with AMSOIL synthetic. Any synthetic would do though you never want to buy the cheap crap at the store. You'll see when you take a look at things." Since this is a place that cleans up the tables Tony simply places the empty containers and plates in the center before turning to Tabitha. Thankfully he wasn't drinking coffee at the time she mentioned how sweet she is or he'd have spluttered a bit. "Funny. Try not to add any more appendages while studying. Then again, the more hands the quicker you could get your work done. Just a thought." With that he scoots his chair back then straightens his jacket. "I've got to run. People's money to take, systems to hack, etc. Stay out of trouble, kid and good luck with your studies."
Tabitha holds up a finger, "Well I do know a guy who has six arms. I don't think I want that many though, then I'd be a spider-rat or something. And that would just be weird." She reaches up and over her shoulder, to pat one of her temporary wings. "I like being an angel-rat so much better." She flashes a toothy grin; big front teeth and all. "OKay, I'll try AMSOIL. I read some good stuff about their products on the internet. I'll be going in a minute too, actually… I think I'm going to lose the wings tomorrow, if I'm right about how long I can keep stuff, and I don't want to be two hundred feet up when that happens, so I'm enjoying the wings while I've got 'em." She holds up a hand to wave, "Take care! And good luck with your money and hacking and stuff."
