13319/Shark in the Minnow Club

Shark in the Minnow Club
Date of Scene:	09 November 2022
Location:	Minnow club, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Iara and Caleb made small talk, discussed appearances and exhanged phone numbers.
Cast of Characters:	Iara Dos Santos, Caleb Dykstra

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Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     It was a relatively normal night until *they* showed up.

     This bar Caleb had been hanging out at - a place where he could relax off the clock but still be at the mob's beck and call - was sleazy, cheaply decorated with furniture that was 90% particleboard and had a sort of chemical smell nobody could quite place or identify where it was coming from. EDM blared a little too loud of low quality speakers, but the fog effects and lasers made up for it, along with the light up dance floor and the relatively low cost drinks.

    Now, however, the door had opened and a group of misfits had wandered in - mutants, for sure. One of them seemed to have a bloated body and see-through skin, another looked relatively normal, and the third... the third was a giant shark woman wearing very little, and what little she was wearing was partially covered in sequin.

     Six foot seven, dark grey on her back and white up her front, a towering, muscular, amazonian figure wearing a hot pink sequin tube top and a pair of gold short shorts, a flashy and tacky affair... that somehow works. Maybe it's the size of her chest that would make most girls jealous. Maybe it's the sheer height of her. Or maybe it's the giant shark head and glossy black doll-eyes that belong to an ocean terror, but that one turns heads.

     Luckily though, some time passes without incident. The underclass of Gotham shuffle about, the mutants mostly keep to themselves even if they are flamboyant, and Caleb is able to enjoy his evening with only mild annoyance and suspicion... until one of his contacts leans in from out of his peripheral.

     "Hey." the mobster says to the reluctant errand boy. "The boss wants you to keep an eye on them. Go make small talk. Make sure they ain't here to cause problems."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And he was really just enjoying the quiet night - if there is such a thing as a 'quiet night' in Gotham.

Throughout the whole night, Caleb's been avoiding drinking - otherwise he's have it added to his tab, which means he would have to pay up in extra favors or money -, so he's just been having some idle time on the chat with his kid sister until orders came calling in.

And they did.

Sigh. Cutting his conversation short, he types in he has to go, and looks at the newly arrived bunch.

Mutants. Well, isn't this turning out to be eventful?

He looks over the corner of his eye to the already departing mobster. 'Italian prick', he thinks. Words remain unsaid as the walls tend to reverberate occasionally.

So, he starts to get up, making a slight evaluation of the group. How to approach them, how to approach them?

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     The one with see-through skin just walked into the bathroom, the normal looking one seems to have cornered someone of interest of her own, leaving the shark lady on her own, lounging back in a plush couch with a drink in hand, apparently tired of dancing for the moment.
     He could pose as a waiter, or other employee? Not entirely untruthful, and if he gets them free drinks they might open up more, not that the boss would miss that swill they're serving. Or he could just approach with a compliment or a classic ask of "This seat taken?" Either way, that shark and the way she fills out that tube top are his only real option... it's really up to him on whether he wants to approach as a potential suitor, or purely business.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra approaches the shark girl, who is basically on her own now. "Damn. Some friends, leaving you all alone in a bar in the heart of Gotham City." He looks in the directions her friends took off, then returns his attention to Iara. "I'm gonna guess you're not from around these parts?" He smiles a little.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     The Shark-Girl's pointed face turns up towards the man approaching her, smirking with that long mouth. "I can handle myself." she says with a playful brazilian-portugese accent, "And I don't know that I feel too out of place, doesn't Mr. Cobblepot have an orca lady in his employ? I was half hoping to see her on my trip down here, but oh well." She scooches over a little to give the man room to sit down, the smirk widening into a grin, as if daring him to come closer to the man-eating shark.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra keeps his smile, "And I have no doubt you do." He takes that seat. "But, in the case of anything happening, there're always the buddies. And then that's strength in numbers." He sounds non-threatening, just stating the fact.

When faced with the development of the orca lady, he hmms, adding a shrug to it. "To be honest, I dunno much of anything about Mr. Cobblepot", he sounds kinda relieved at that, "nor his associates, for that matter." He pauses, "And that smile, right there..." He pauses, "I'll point you to this guy who goes by the name Killer Croc. I hear he /eats/ those who fall back on their rent." He shrugs, "Or so the story goes."

But he cuts back on the dark conversation, "I'm Caleb Dykstra."

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     "Iara. Iara Dos Santos." she says in reply, and then thinks a little, looking up and putting a hand to her chin, saying "Killer Croc, yeah, now that you mention it I've heard of him... Not sure about him, really, he seems like the sort you wouldn't want to meet." She leans in, the smell of alcohol on her breath between those rows of triangular teeth as she whispers "Not like me. I'm a *nice* Mutant..." before she giggles and then leans back, her accent coming through stronger as she says "The X-Gene was pretty kind to me, I think. Lotta people describe it as a second puberty, I didn't realize how right they were until after the fact..." as she thumbs towards her chest, sticking out her tongue between her teeth, the no doubt superhumanly strong mutant putting an arm around the back of the couch behind the man that approached her.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra follows her pointing of her hand, aaand... He finds himself slowly nodding. "Second puberty." Deadpan. "Got it."

Ahem.

Quick shift of subject, before he gets his head bitten off - heh, pun! "Well, no mutant powers on my end - that I know of, anyways -, so I really can't say if I got lucky or not." He can't help but notice the extending of her arm. "I guess it must be difficult, to... become...? a mutant?" He is searching for the right word to say, his lack in vocaulary clearly betraying him. "I'm not saying the right word, am I?"

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara shrugs, saying "Your body changes, you suddenly find out things you never knew about yourself, turns out my affinity for the ocean was genetic, you know? And if you're lucky, you become hot like me." She grins as she leans in, that arm moving to hug around the man's shoulders with a very firm grip, saying "Others are not so lucky. Like this kid Beak, he's like a malformed bird, another guy Glob can't stop getting into trouble, but wait, sorry, that's not his mutant power. Well, it might be. But really, he's like, a giant see-through blob of pink wax with a skeleton and organs inside, he creeps people out when he leaves the school so he usually stays there." That shark nose is now pressed against the man's hair, rubbing against it as she inhales deeply, saying "Not as easy on the eyes as I am..."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Well, I guess it's all like a big roulette for you guys..." He pauses. Did she just used the words 'hot' to describe herself?

Aaaand that's where it gets awkward, when she's sniffing out his hair. "Okay, it's going a little..." Yeah, it's an awkward situation, alright! He does his best to pull away. "Okay, please stop... What're you doing?" He will pull away from her - or try to, anyways.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara blinks, and looks a little hurt or disappointed as the young man pulls away, the giant shark woman suddenly concerned as she says "I..." before finding herself without a good answer, and then shrugging and just admitting the truth, saying "Smelling you. I've... got a good nose. You smell nice." It's now her turn to act awkwardly as Caleb pulling away from her sobers her a little instantly, looking to the side as she asks "Did I... frighten you?" as she avoids his gaze.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Ahem. He changes seats to now face Iara instead of being at her side. "Well somewhat, but more because it was getting awkward." He explains, "I mean, think back to those days when you weren't shark-ey... shark-ish..." Gah! Vocabulary fail! "Well, so I don't shoot myself in the foot, let's leave it before you going 'Jaws', alright?" He interjects, "Sorry for the cheap comparison, you're worth more than that, but it's what I got right now." He resumes, "How would you have felt if someone you just met in less than 10 minutes in conversation started sniffing your hair and wrap their hands around you?" He calms himself down some. "I mean, the obligatory kick to the lowers is imprinted on the self-defense manual, right?"

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara's sullen expression continues as she looks down at her empty glass in shame, and then sighs, saying "You're right." as she swirls the ice in her exhausted drink. "I guess... I wouldn't have liked that sort of thing. But at the same time, it's different... but I guess you're right again, in that the roles are reversed here. I'm the stronger one, so I can't act like that." She purses her lips, furrowing her brow, saying "But I'm still the girl here, and I dunno... with how I look, when someone's interested, I just... want to make it damn sure they know I'm interested too, and being the girl actin' like this I just hope... Well... I was hopin' you'd think it was fun?"

     She shakes her head, sighing as she says "I dunno. I'm sorry. I've always been bad with guys and I thought guys liked the aggressive approach most, if most can't get past the face I have now..."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra listens to Iara intently. His voice has returned to the calm smoothness, "I guess then, we can chalk it down to instinct, that reaction? You know, with your mutation and all, if you take on physical traits, this includes instincts?" He smiles a little, "I guess it's easier to say, in how I smell... Thanks. This poor kid from Gotham does prop up." Oh, look! A light-hearted jest!

He orders the waiter to bring him a drink - and another round for Iara. "Anyways, in the hopes of no hard feelings... Drinks are on me."

Returning to the subject, "But you can't change back to your..." He searches for the words again. "Your previous form?"

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara winces at that, saying "I can, but like..." before she sighs, saying "When I look in the mirror, that's not the real me anymore. This is the real me. The old me... feels like I'm going backwards when I change back into it, you know? Like I'm hiding in the past rather than living in the now. And I just... I like this form better. How I look. How I feel. The size. The muscles. The teeth. The tits." She smirks a bit at that last one, and then takes her drink from the waiter, saying "Besides, if I shifted back now, my old form is smaller, these clothes wouldn't fit. Wouldn't want that, now would we?"

     She takes a big swig from the new drink you ordered for her, keeping an eye on your reaction.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra listens, while in the meantime, his drink arrives and he sips. When Iara gets to the 'tits' bit, and how shifting to her previous form would cause a wardobe malfunction, he turns his mouth into a small v-shaped smirk for a few seconds. At the very end of it, he replies, "Now, aren't you sad that your mutation hasn't given you the ability to read minds?" Gasp! A jest!!

"But now, on more serious a note...", he shrugs, "Your body is your own, of course, though if I were in your shoes, I doubt I'd ever give it up for being able to blend in. Lots of people out there that aren't kind to appearances."

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     "That sounds like a 'them' problem." Iara says, relaxing as she finishes this new drink you gave her rather quickly. "And mind reading... I dunno, I'd rather other people have that ability. I like surprises, I feel like that ability would kill the surprises in a lot of situations..." before she smirks, saying "I feel like you're just here for the conversation though, so I'll spare you the implication that I'm a nice surprise. It'd just be desperate sounding on my part, at this point."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"It is a 'them' problem", Caleb nods. "But bigot assholes waste no time in making their problems other people's. But you probably know more about it, so who am I to lecture?"

He raises his eyebrows some when the shark girl speaks about sounding desperate. "It would sound desperate. And the conversation is what brought me here." His phone beeps, and looking at it, he sighs, going visibly annoyed.

Returning gaze to meet Iara's, he smiles, passing out his phone number. "But it doesn't mean I'm not curious about where further conversations will lead." He winks, and proceeds to get up. "I need to go, razzum frazzum and all that jazz. Be seeing you soon - you hoping as much as I do, I'm sure."