Players: Tabitha, Taylor, and Cale
Summary: Taylor goes clothes shopping; drags Cale along to add a little something to his wardrobe. Cale meets Tabitha in the process.
Date: May 1, 2012
Log Title: Trans is for Transform
Rating: PG
NYC - Mutant Town (Avenue A)
Mutant Town, also known as District X, has become a haven for mutants. This section of town doesn't care what you look like, accepting all mutants no matter what their appearance. Most of the businesses in this section of town are mutant run ranging from small convenience stores to clothing shops to restaurants to night clubs. The buildings here aren't the high rise buildings you might find in mid-town but most are about 5-6 stories high. Mutant Town might not be the most luxurious section of town, in fact it's fairly run down, but this section of where mutants are safe and welcomed regardless of race, religion and culture.
Players: Cale (IC), Franky (ZZZ), Robyn (ZZZ), Taylor (IC)
[A]venue [B] [F]our [A]rms [A]partments
[G]enoshan [E]mbassy [G]reenwich [V]illage
[N]o[W]here [T]hompson [S]quare [P]ark
It's evening after school and the streets are literally teeming with people still, even here in Mutant Town. Cale for one seems almost overwhelmed. He flew over the city in passing on his way to Xavier's, and has of course seen pictures, but actually being IN New York is another thing altogether. Living in Denver didn't even compare for density of population and the sheer… urban-ness of it all. The androgynous boy is being drug along by another, even more androgynous boy… girl… it's a Taylor! That's what. Cale makes sure to stick close to his friend, at any rate, because he's sure he would get lost and probably eaten or something if not for the other's guidance.
"So this is Mutant Town," says Taylor, taking on the human appearance using the image inducer still, just looking like a very pretty blonde teen of indeterminate gender, "It's not super nice or anything, but nobody asks you funny questions when you are trying to find pants that accomodate a tail nicely, or a hat that won't crush your ears." The teen considers that for a moment and then shrugs, "I'm about your size, right?"
"Um, yeah! Well," Cale catches up with Taylor, peering just over Tay's head, "I think I'm a little bit taller, but it's probably close enough…" he trails off. He's not really used to seeing Tay as human, so that takes a little bit of getting used to. "Why?" he asks, seeming slightly oblivious, still taking in the sights of the city for the most part.
"Most people are a little taller than me," complains Taylor, frowning slightly, "I think I'm due for a growth spurt, one of these days…" The teen sighs and then shrugs, "Well, we could get you some things. You know, for wearing and stuff, but if you don't want to try them on in public, I can try them on for you. I'm not terribly self conscious…"
"Oh, I…" Cale looks down at the ground, "Well, honestly, I hope I stop growing! I don't wanna be huge. I'm already big enough," face reddening a little, "We'll… see when we get there… I might be able to do it," he swallows. "If you can… help me pick something out? I dunno. I mean, they have dressing rooms, right?" Of course. "You know about that kinda stuff pretty well, right? I wouldn't wanna. I dunno. Pick something that looked bad."
"Yeah, I know what looks good. I mean, look how I dress when I try, it looks amazing," says Taylor, smiling brightly at that, "So yeah, I'll help you pick things out, I dunno. If you want to, I mean." The teen considers for a moment and then says, "Well. I wish I was just a bit taller. Like, tall enough to be a model if that's what I wanted to do, but it's probably not."
Taylor then pauses for a moment and laments, "Though fuzzy is not in season…"
"You wanna be a model?" Cale looks over at Taylor as they continue walking towards Tay's shop. "I think you'd make a pretty good model, actually. Well. Fuzziness aside," the boy pulls his ponytail around front over his shoulder, tugging at it and smoothing it out a bit nervously.
"No, I dunno, I don't think I'd want to be a model… well, maybe I would, but I wouldn't know what kind of model," says Taylor, grimacing at that, "But, yeah, the fuzziness is not something that's really acceptable for fashion models, so… I'll stick to, I dunno, making dolls…"
"But you do have the image inducer and all and well… things do change," Cale posits, "Though dolls are pretty cool too… I mean, I think you could do anything. Fur is unique, too, anyway, I bet there's a market for that sorta thing among mutants. So where is this place?" he squints down the street, just seeing tons of people. And bars.
"Oh, it's down a couple of blocks. They have a tailor who uses their powers to make and alter clothes… so it can be produced really quick at relatively low expense. But… well, I guess that is more for me…" says Taylor, shrugging lightly and glancing aside, "Though they have lots of normal outfits, too."
"Oh, that's good," Cale wiggles his toes. Sandals are /not/ the best shoes for walking across a city in, and his feet are letting him know that. "I dunno about you, but I'm not really used to walking this much. I always thought city-people were lazy 'cause they didn't have to go very far to get anywhere…"
"I guess I was wrong."
"We haven't walked that far, have we?" says Taylor, glancing back to where the two came from and then pauses in the front of the clothing store where clothes for mutants are custom tailored according to physiology. The teen gestures towards Cale and then walks in, "Anything that catches your fancy, I'll try on for you."
Cale follows after Taylor into the store, "But," he pauses, bringing up a valid point, "What about your tail? Won't that be a problem?" he asks Taylor, looking over his shoulder from a rack of shirts that he's peering at.
Already inside the store is one Tabitha Jones, which might've been evident from the motorcyle parked outside, if either of the two entering mutants would have recognized it. The rat girlis busy looking over several pairs of jeans, that seem specifically designed with tails in mind. She frowns, looking over a pair of damaged jeans — the style, not discount bin material — and holds them up in front of herself. "Probly make me look fat," she mutters.
"Are you kidding? A cut like that, make you look fat? Also, hello," says Taylor to Tabitha, though Taylor is wearing an image inducer at present, "Probably slimming, more than anything…" The teen then looks towards Cale and then considers the queries for a moment, "Well, I'll just have to pull them just up to my tail, or you can just try 'em on!"
"That's ridiculous, I'll just-" Cale cuts himself off, blinking at Tabitha momentarily, and then back and forth from Tabitha to Taylor slowly. Of course, Cale could pretty easily be confused for a girl without even wearing girl's clothing, given that he's fairly pretty - much like Taylor. He holds the jeans in his hand, "Erm, try them on. Myself," he finishes in a quiet voice.
Tabitha's ears twitch, and she looks over her shoulder at the two boys(?) behind her. The fairly obvious mutant tilts her head, and nods. "…Right, Taylor. You're hiding again," she observes. "Who's your friend?" She glances down, and considers the jeans she's holding. "And yeah, alrighty, I'll try 'em on."
Taylor raises a brow slightly and then fiddles with the watch on their wrist, dispelling the illusion and appearing all fuzzy again. "There, how's that? The staring is less awful in Mutant Town, at least…" The teen then glances towards Cale and then says, "Ah, this is Cale," deciding it's an androgynous enough name to offer. "You probably don't need much slimming, anyways, you look like you've got an athlete's build."
Cale smiles at Tabitha, nodding and picking up a shirt to go with the jeans he's hanging onto. He ends up setting them back on the rack, wandering off a few feet to look at a black skirt and top combo… which he seems to like. He takes that, and a purple hoody and disappears back into the fitting rooms, emerging a few minutes later wearing them. He seems a bit nervous, but presents himself for Taylor's approval, asking a quiet, "What do you think?" His skin is visibly taking on the coloration of his surroundings, as it does tend to be when he's nervous. Particularly, he eyes Tabitha, unsure of what she might do. It was /supposed/ to be just him and Taylor, but… It seems okay, there's not really anybody else nearby in the shop.
Tabitha mmms, "Alright, I'll try them," she replies. "Hi Cale! Good to meet you. I'm Tabitha, or you can call me Patches, I'll answer to either." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, turning back to the feline mutant, "And Taylor, you don't *have* to jump out in full view, just for my benefit… but you shouldn't have to hide. There's no reason to be ashamed, y'know? And I think you look cool." She folds up the jeans and holds on to them, as she turns to look back at the emerging Cale. "Lookin' good."
"I'm not sure how I feel about the hoodie with a skirt like that," says Taylor, making a bit of a feline frown for a moment, "But the skirt looks good. You have good legs." Taylor nods once in approval and then shrugs at Tabitha, "I know I shouldn't have to hide, but it makes me so uncomfortable the way people look at me. The disgust, I can take… the fear, though…"
"You think I should lose it?" Cale nods, shrugging out of the hoody and smiling a little at Tabitha, "Nice to meet you too," he nods cheerfully, "You can call me Kaylee, too, if you want… I like Cale better when I wear boys' clothes, though," he explains a bit nervously, smoothing out the skirt.
Tabitha nods once. "Kaylee it is," she replies. "Or Cale. …but Kaylee right now." She pauses, and shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Do your powers change your gender?" The question is honest, and well mannered. "If you don't mind my asking, I mean." THe rat girlpicks a shirt out of the racks, and humms softly. "Trust me, Taylor, I know what you mean… and you never totally get used to it."
"Yeah, maybe not the hoodie. I mean, it's nice, but I'd wear something like that with slacks or jeans…" says Taylor, considering that for a moment and then shrugging, "That's just me, though…" To Tabitha, Taylor nods, "Yeah, I can't imagine you could… I've never been all that scary, as much as I wanted to be before this happened. Be careful what you wish for, I guess…"
"N-no!" Kaylee exclaims, "I just, um, that is," she rubs her arm nervously, holding the hoody over it. "It's just. What I want to be called. Okay?" she chokes out. She wants to turn and run, and just get out of there, but 'her' feet won't move. Should have just let Taylor handle things. "I mean, I've always - been like this. Tay wanted to take me shopping. After we talked. S-so I'm here," the young mutant explains. 'Kaylee' at this point is trembling slightly. Maybe she wasn't ready for this…
Tabitha's ears color along the insides as she blushes, and she puts down what she's holding and holds up her hands. "Hey, it's okay," she murmurs, dropping her voice a notch. "There's no wrong answers or anything, right? I'm not here to judge you or make fun of you, and we don't have to talk about anything you don't wanna talk about." The rat girl's hands descend, and she hooks her thumbs in her belt. "I'm gonna make one more guess, if it's okay… and I'm guessing you're kinda… new to the whole mutant thing. …Anyway, don't worry, I think feeling like a total basket case is normal."
Tabitha tilts her head towards Taylor, and gazes at him for a moment. "Uhh… I uhh… maybe ought to just let you sort this out," she admits.
Taylor puts a hand on Kaylee's shoulder to comfort them and then says, "It's okay, everything's okay, nobody is judging you here or anything, okay? Now go try on a different top." The teen then looks towards Tabitha and then shrugs lightly, "I don't think there's really anything to sort out. We can all be nervous about some things sometimes, I guess."
Kaylee calms down immensely the moment Taylor's hand touches their shoulder, letting out a deep breath and focusing on Tabitha again with her bright green eyes, "Yeah, I am!" she nods, "I just got my powers a few weeks ago." Hence probably why the colorshifting is so damn uncontrollable. "I'm pretty new at this, too," she adds, gesturing to herself. Realizing that Taylor seems to trust Tabitha enough to let down their image inducer (not a small feat), she relaxes somewhat. "Sorry," she laughs nervously, "I guess it's okay, since you're Tay's friend… I'm normally, I mean, physically a boy, it's just, I want to try being a girl," she explains, as bravely as she possibly can. There's still some tripping over her words. "Tay… ca… can you help me pick something out, maybe?" she asks.
Tabitha chuckles softly, "It's okay," she replies. "And if it's any help, I think you're a pretty hot girl. My girlfriend would probably think so too, if she were around." Her expression looks distinctly… sad, for a moment, before she shakes it off. "Anyway, yeah, try your powers out lots, by all means. It does sound like you transform?" She pauses, and chuckles softly. "Looks like you're pretty good at it too."
Taylor's eyebrow whiskers rise up slightly at Kaylee explaining precisely what's going on, and the feline smiles at Kaylee encouragingly, as much as an ocelot face can smile. "Yeah, here, if you want something purple, maybe… this?" The teen offers Kaylee a purple turtleneck, "Distracts away from the bust lines for those of us lacking… a bustline. Especially since it has a cinches around your waist… try it on." The teen then looks towards Tabitha for a moment and then grins, "Now, now, don't flirt to much with the poor kid!"
"Really? You think I'm… hot?" Kaylee blushes furiously, but at the same time seems quite happy to have that opinion. Nodding, she takes the turtleneck from Taylor, once again disappearing into the back room and coming back out thirty seconds or so later, smoothing the turtleneck around her body. The bottom hem seems end just around the top of her skirt. She looks at herself in a mirror, "You're right! This is a lot better," she turns this way and that, noting the way it seems to accentuate her waist and make her hips appear a bit bigger in the process. "I like it," she announces.
Tabitha chuckles, "Yeah, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." She brushes her fingertips through her hair, and stretches her arms out behind her. "Don't worry, Taylor, I'm not hittin' on her. I have a girlfriend already, remember? …And just because I've decided to be discriminated against for being gay as well as being a mutant, doesn't mean I want to try out polygamy, too." She picks up the pants and shirt that she'd set down, and ahems softly. "I'm gonna go try these on… I want to be cute when my girl gets bck in town, see?" She pauses, and tilts her head. "And… Kaylee, if you don't mind, I'd love to try copying your powers sometime, if that'd be okay with you?"
Taylor nods approvingly at the outfit that Kaylee is wearing and says, "That looks great, actually. We should pick that outfit up for you, so at least you have something." The teen then nods at Tabitha, and smirks, "Well, I just thought you were a minority collector, you never know. And… your girl is out of town? Whereabouts?"
"Oh, sure!" Kaylee nods, furrowing her brows a little in confusion at the copying bit though. How? She's not sure. Maybe it's a mutant power? "I think that's a good idea, anyway. To get the clothes, I mean. I'm gonna go change back, though. So they can ring 'em up," she nods, pointing back. She disappears, and a few moments later, Cale reappears dressed in his normal clothes. He looks a little relieved, but also somewhat disappointed, hugging his new outfit close to his chest.
Tabitha hunhs. "…Okay, yeah, that was pretty cool," she observes. She eyes Cale a moment longer, before tilting her attention back to Taylor. "I don't know. My girl's been kidnapped… and… I mean like, I know she's okay, but I'm worried sick, and I'm just trying to act like I'm not worried sick." She pauses, and sighs heavily. "Anyway. Yeah. I'm… gonna go try my stuff on." She bobs her head. "You two take care." And with that, she slips into a changing room; from which she does not emerge for some time.
Taylor frowns for a moment and then says, "Oh… sorry to hear about your girl, Tabitha. I hope she gets back soon okay. Seeya." The teen scratches the back of their neck and then heads towards the register with Cale, for moral support in this fine purchasing event, before the two head out of the store.
