16034/Snowcrab and Siblings

Snowcrab and Siblings
Date of Scene:	08 October 2023
Location:	Lafayette's Beau Cherie
Synopsis:	Jimmy and Gabby meet to catch up over dinner. Gabby plays wingman. Possibly poorly.
Cast of Characters:	Gabby Kinney, Jimmy Hudson

---

Gabby Kinney has posed:
It had been ages since Gabby had chance to catch up with Jimmy. This meant fancy restaraunt! Or at least one that would serve some good fish!

--This place, however, is neither of those apparently.

Gabby stares at her phone scowling a moment or two at the Yelp reviews muttering to herself. "Should have guessed when they all said 'got so drunk lol' that this place wasn't exactly ..." She looks around the restaraunt with a small sigh. It wasn't TERRIBLE, but it certainly wasn't authentic. At least she could hope that the seafood boil she was anticipating (and might need help eating) would be seasoned well and fresh enough not to send either of their noses complaining.

"Oh well. Might not be too bad. Just. Don't expect *awesomeness*," she remarks while plucking up a menu again to browse over it. "At least they've got Old Bay."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"When they said it was a taste of New Orleans," Jimmy drawls in that soft Canadian accent of his as he follows Gabby in and looks around. "I don't think they meant the underside of a parade float." That said more dryly. But Gabby picked the place and she seemed quite proud of it, so he goes along with it.

As he picks up the menu to look over it, his brow knits gently. "Old Bay? But but... noone puts Old Bay on Cajun food. But then again. East coast. Hopefully the beer's decent at least." he manages, before he sits up a little straighter in his seat.

"So how you been? You look a little taller, little more filled out. Life been good, eh?" he asks her curiously.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"I know," Gabby remarks with a solemn nod. "I'm hoping if we go the Old Bay route we can enjoy it instead of thinking about how awful of cajun food it is. Maybe pretend it's just some Maine ... seafood place or something." Sighing, shoulders slumping, she drops the menu back down with a helpless little shrug and wry grin. "Sorry. I shoulda done more research on the place."

The question of how she's doing gains a grin that dimples the scars on her cheeks even now. That part never changed even as she'd grown up. "I'm doing good. Been running with the group I kind of took over after Rien bounced with her new guy and the rest of the leadership." A long pause comes as she considers other things. "Dated a couple of folks for awhile. We went our own ways, still friends. Potentially got someone else interested but compared to that it feels like it's too normal and I'm trying not to psyche myself out about messing it up."

Her eyes slip back into focus with another grin. "What about you? Doing okay?"

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"Cajun Maine infusion. Them some big crawdads." Jimmy comments with an amused smile as he shakes his head. "All good, getting a chance to catch up with ya is always good."

When she asks how he is, Jimmy makes a gentle lean into the bench. "Been okay. Concentrating on getting back into the grove after going home to see mom and dad." He doesn't add much to that, before his attention is pulled to her personal life.

"Do what makes you feel comfortable, Gabby." It's the only real advice he can give her on the current state of her dating life. "I've dipped my toe into the dating pool once or twice since Sif. Nothing's panned out." A chuckle and as the waitress comes over, he orders whatever is on tap while waiting for Gabby's order.

"Met a friend of yours, Mercy. She wasn't shy about asking if I knew you." he shrugs his shoulders. "She's pretty easy on the eyes, good attitude."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
There's a breif look on Gabby's face at mention of Jimmy's 'mom and dad.' Not quite sadness, not quite curiosity or loss, or envy just... an emotion hard to put a name to. It's gone quick enough as she grins easily again.

"Yeah, I know. And Mercy is awesome. You should try her cookies someday." A pause, and she adds, "She's an excellent baker. Bribed me more than a few times with some baked goods," she explains laughing over the potential faux paux. "I need to catch up with her. She really helped me a lot when my senses came in so I could get used to them."

But the waitress was here, so she orders, "I'll take the snow crab, shrimp and crawfish boil with the garlic Old Bay. Red potatoes, corn on the cob. If I find an egg in there I will throw it somewhere hard to reach," she warns but in such a joking tone that the waitress laughs and marks down to avoid adding that atrocity to the boil. "Oh, and a Coke. What do you want, Jimmy?"

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Jimmy notices that look and considers Gabby a moment. "I was actually discussing the idea of bringing you and your remaining siblings there for the holiday. They were pretty thrilled with the idea." A shrug of his shoulders.

"I'll have the catfish po-boy with fries -- and I can tell the difference between tilapia and catfish." he says to the waitress, a glance up at the poor waitress. "And the aforementioned what's on draft." he offers.

Then back to Gabby and he chuckles. "To try her cookies would require me to see her again, and I think the only way that's gonna happen is if I buy a German car to visit her for a repair or diagnosis. And I'm a teacher, even at Xavier's I don't have that type of money."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney perks just a bit at the suggestion of visiting. "Really? That'd be awesome. I mean, I'm okay most of the time and all just..." Here she pauses considering how to really say what she was feeling. "Sometimes I kind of wonder what parents would be like, y'know?" She shrugs herself a bit with an awkward clearing of her throat because the waitress was probably giving her a VERY confused look. Thankfully she's off to get the orders soon enough.

"Naw. You don't get a NEW German car. You go to a junk yard, you get a mostly kind of running one, and you start to restore it," Gabby advises with a wag of her finger in his direction. "And then you need a *lot* of help and oh look there's Mercy."

She does look at him a bit curiously, and thoughtfully. "If you do need a loan though. I mean I'm not exactly Roberto, but... Roberto gave me a business for Christmas last year and I got investment help from Emma, so I'm doing pretty darn good for someone my age."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"I have no illusions about my blessin's, Gabs." Jimmy offers easily and leans with his elbows on the table. "And that it was by luck that I got handed off to the Hudsons when I was a lil biter. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't get a chance to have a normal holiday, right?" he asks her, as he plucks at the bowl of HOT NUTZ in the middle of the table, "No telling how many folks stuck their hand in here today." Hopefully they change them out after each guest, right?

"I don't need a loan, I'm doing well enough. Chevy's giving me fits, was looking to replace it." And then he chuckles at her gentle plotting. "If she's only seeing me for my car, is it really worth it?" he asks her. "She has my number if she wants to call." The reverse is also true, but this is Jimmy we're talking about.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney wriggles her nose a bit as if trying to figure out how many people had gone for the nuts. "Yeah, hard pass. I'm not a germophobe and I'll survive but... Don't NEED to, right?" Still, she grins a bit again. "I think I'd really like that actually, Jimmy. Thanks for thinking of me. I dunno about Bellona, but Laura might be up for it too. If she's not already visiting the other Kinney's. Never met them myself. She tries to keep them safe." Which she could understand at least.

"Bah. If you like hanging with her, go hang out. Chat, pass her some wrenches, whatever. It's what I do. She has a really chill cat too that loves belly rubs." She's trying to help here, maybe just a little bit. "Seriously though... Mercy's good people. Even if her family is a bit unique in their own right. More my angle of things lately."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"I'll let mom and dad know." Jimmy decides with a smile, and then a nod to her about the Laura and the Kinneys. "She's got her reasons to be secretive. I won't give up on trying to connect with her, but sometimes, you just need to respect the boundries, ya know?"

"Mercy's more than good people, though." Jimmy taps the side of his nose. He knows Mercy's scent was hinting at something far more than human and closer to the canine. "Caught scent of her and blood." he explains. "The shop masked a lot, but I could catch parts of it, even if my nose ain't as good as yours."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yeah, that's how she was able to help me with the nose thing. Taught me a few tricks on how to focus when I got overwhelmed on scents. Not my place to say what she IS though, so kind of skirting that topic. But yeah she's more than that," Gabby has to agree with a slow grin. She knew exactly what Mercy was after all. "Her family is really wild, from waht I hear," she adds with a laugh.

"You know I deal with the things that go bump in the night these days, right? I mean... I can't do magic stuff myself, but so many of that sort need to know how to work with others. Teamwork, that's my skill. We've got a good bunch."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"Good girl, friends don't share friends powers." Jimmy responds with a small chuckle.

The waitress comes over with the drinks, setting down the mug of beer in front of Jimmy and the coke in front of Gabby. "Food will be out in a few minutes!" she promises as he leaves to head to deal with another table.

"Okay, okay, I can feel you twisting my arm." Taking out his phone, he types a message and sends it. And then he shows it to Gabby.

> Meeting with Gabby, she said you might want help 'round the shop. And make excellent cookies.

"And yeah, I'm aware. I'm glad you're finding a version of a family of your own." he points out gently to her. "You're the most social of all of us. I'm probably the laziest."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a quick double-thumbs up at the text that he writes with a wide grin of approval. "Excellent! And yeah, I probably am," she has to agree while leaning an elbow on the table. Her free hand reaches out to pull her soda closer to properly stab her straw into it and take a long pull off the carbonated, sugary beverage. "I mean... I had nine sisters. It feels weird not to have people around me. I can see how others don't feel the same, but to me it's just... Natural." A small shrug comes though with a grin.

"Yeah, same. I wanted to do more at the school but they kept trying to treat me like a kid. I mean I was, but I wasn't a naive or inexperienced kid, there's a difference. You can't just..." Her hands spread open wide in a shrug. "ERASE what happened to me. They wanted to ignore it. I wanted to find another outlet for what happened to me. It was frustrating. I know they meant well but." But. It's all she can end with. It didn't work for her.

"We're based in a little occult tea shop place called the Candle, Booke and Belle. Easier for people to find us if they need to. You should stop by sometime. Just be prepared for a *lot* of tea smells."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"They're used to dealing with kids that are just discoverin' their powers. Not someone who has had them and understood them since the day she was developed. If I had been there, I'd spoke up more. Sorry you got yanked around like that, Gabs." Jimmy takes a long draw from his beer, and sets the mug down. "I mean, most folks know I'm his son, but I still feel like I'm tryin' to find my place. But PE teacher, that's a fine fit."

"Sounds mysterious." Jimmy says as she mentions the shop that she's working out of. "I can drop by sometime, I don't think tea's gonna make me sneeze." he offers with a snort of a chuckle.

"You do deserve to be happy though. You weren't happy at the school, you sound happy now. So now, you're trying to figure out relationships, a team, all that..." A smile that gets a little crooked as the food is brought to the table. "...you're growing fully into that adult you said you were."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney sits up a bit straighter in her chair. "I never said I was an adult back then. I said I was *experienced* back then. Trained to fight, and trained to fight with a team which is ... kind of what the school was aiming for to begin with." Her straw is see-sawed in and out of the soda a few times popping some carbonation bubbles. "Thanks, though, I appreciate it. I still met some good friends there, and some of them treated me like I knew a thing or two. The Doc was good like that."

"Yeah. I also found out dating two people at the same time is a lot of work even if it was kind of cozy. Ended up not giving either one the right amount of time they needed. Or I needed." She pauses, crinkling her nose, to look over for the waitress. "I'm rambling. Need food to put in pie hole so I don't keep talking."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
Jimmy's phone pings and he lifts it up, reading the message and then he responds to it with a shake of his head, his attention back to Gabby, his hands lifted in defense. "Yes, I know. Experienced and youth can be the same thing and not mutually exclusive. Sorry about that."

"I can understand that. A little. Never dated two people at once. But dated someone who was pretty much immortal, so she'd disappear for months on end and when she came back, to her is was like she was outta town for a weekend." he shrugs.

"I'm not gonna be able to give you an answer. But if whoever it is makes you happy and gives you warm fuzzies, go for it? Explore, learn, experience. It's what we get to do best with noone holding us at bay, yeah?" He takes a bite into the sandwich and scowls. "This is totally tilapia. Gross."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yick. I mean Tilapia isn't bad but not on a poboy. Shoulda tried shrimp. These are at least..." Gabby holds up a shrimp from her own squinting at it. "... Okay not the FRESHest but they are shrimp. Probably frozen." Shrugging she pops it into her mouth chewing away while picking up the little nutcracker thing to crack some snowcrab leg open. "You're welcome to try some of mine. Not GREAT but it is... What it is. Lots of 'butter' that I hesitate to call butter."

"Yeah, I'll just see how it goes. There's other things to worry about too. Halloween is coming up and other holidays which apparently ramp up weird happenings a lot. Might just be Winter in general, too."

"You know we actually ran into a Yule Cat last year."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"Mercy says she'll make you cookies and didn't realize you had a gift for matchmaking." Jimmy offers with a small grin at Gabby, and then uses his fork to spear a little bit of Gabby's food. "Halloween's a touchy time for you?" he asks her curiously.

"This is..." he looks at the crab and dips it in butter, "Really turning into a sushi at a gas station situation, isn't it?" But he does eat it, since like Gabby, he can survive pretty much any bad food.

"What's a yule cat?" he asks, and then amends. "I asked her out to dinner."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Eh it's at least not rotten. Or bad. Just not really... Yeah. I've had better at school cookouts." Of course they had their own ACTUAL cajun so of course they did. Gabby doesn't mind sharing the haul of her own stuff though. "Eh. Next time I'm just going for a hotdog. At least I know to expect not much there." A grin is cracked, and she gives a quick laugh.

"Well I don't usually but ... Now that I thought about it, I think you two would at least make good friends. And a Yule Cat is a Norwegian cryptid that hunts and eats people who don't wear the new clothes they're gifted for Christmas. Apparently someone brought one over here thinking it was one of the Norwegian forest cats and there were kittens. We got them back over where they belong--And no they don't actually eat people." A long pause, "So far as we could determine. I think it has more to do with wanting to play with yarn. Just we do stuff like that, too, and not just fighting necromancers and spooks and giant demonic geese."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"These type of restraunts ain't the same as they were before the last couple of years." Jimmy admits as he picks at his fries, that are covered in too much Tony's, but it is what it is.

"Were you giften pink bunny pajamas? Please tell me you had to wear pink bunny pajamas." he teases lightly. As he tells her stories, he leans back and lets out a low whistle. "You know there's a rather sizable amount of people that use our powerset, so I'm glad you're making a good use of it."

He has no illusions that in the scale of Snkts, he may be the least likely to Snkt. "So she'll commit to coffee, but not dinner. I can accept that."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins in amusement at that though she shakes her head. "Naw, but someone gave me some new socks so that got me a free pass. They're apparently normal sized cats most of the time, then just..." Her hands lift indicating LARGE size. "House sized during portions of Winter holidays. Pretty tame one compared to some stuff. Bigfoot's pretty chill, too."

The mention of what Mercy's committing to earns a grin, and a nod. "She does like her coffee," she has to admit with a chuckle. A quick swipe of her fingers over her napkin occurs before she pulls out her own phone to shoot off a few quick texts. "I figure... I mean we're all going to have pretty long lifespans, so long as we don't get... Y'know. Might as well aim for the long game where I can help." Eyes glinting with amusement she adds, "Oh yeah, Rien put an enchantment on my claws, they glow like little lightsabers now and I can stab ghosts. It's great."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"You can stab ghosts? That's neat!" Jimmy may not have been raised as Gabby's older brother, has easily adapted to the role. He's easily proud of what Gabby is doing and has become. A few more fries are snacked on as he waits for his phone to ping.

"You're a decent wingman, Gabby. Just a shame I can't return the favor." he admits as he lets out a breath. "But listening to you, now I'm wondering if I'm doing as much as I should, but I'm pretty stress free, so I have that going for me."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a little flapping wave of her hand at mention of not being able to be a wingman for her. "It's okay. I'm as taken care of in that department as I can be for the moment."

"Honestly, it's coo if you're just living. My sisters worked really hard to try and give me a chance at freedom so I could live my own life. Given what most of our 'family' or genetic line is like... It's cool to know that we *can* kind of have a mostly relaxed life, you know?" A grin comes and she pops another shrimp into her mouth. "Just don't be such a stranger. I like your company too. Family is good, even if it's 'surprise' family."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"You'll keep me up to date, yeah?" Jimmy asks as he drains back the rest of his beer and sets down the empty mug.

"When I was little, I was feral. I think that comes with the territory, no matter where we end up with family. The Hudson's worked really hard to make it work and raise me as theirs. To be honest, Logan may have given me his genes, but I'm James Hudson, Jr. in my heart."

"I won't be a stranger. You have my number. You get caught on one of these adventures and you need another set of claws, you'll let me know." Not really a question.

"Don't let the school keep us strangers, alright?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins broadly. "Deal. Also, if you haven't found it yet, if you go to the Eastern side of the lake you'll find a giant slingshot between two trees... Totally works and will get you to the middle of the lake. I was the test pilot on it," she explains with amusement at the memory.

"Anyway. Dinner's on me. You get to pick the place next time though." More seriously she adds, "Thanks, Jimmy. For getting in contact again. I'll try not to be so distant again too."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
"I... will keep that in mind." Jimmy offers, when it comes to the slingshot as he gets to his feet and leaves a fiver on the table for a tip.

"And yes, easy as a phone call. Both ways." And before he leaves, he leans over and gives Gabby a warm hug. "No matter how it goes, make sure it works out best for you, okay?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Hugs were something Gabby could and would always give. She hugs tight back with a squeeze not at all being standoffish about it. "You too. Including the thing with Mercy. If it's not right, it's not right. Take care, Jimmy!"