16726/Cat and Hyena

Cat and Hyena
Date of Scene:	31 December 2023
Location:	Long Island
Synopsis:	A cat and a hyena walk into a submersible. Somehow this wasn't a corny joke and the two hung out and watched the ocean waves, finding new friends in each other.
Cast of Characters:	Sma'shaw Ihaka, Sally Pride

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Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
The sun warmed the soft sands of Long Island, though it would not soak fully yet into the crystal green waters of the lapping ocean waves until later in the night, as the ebb and flow of warmth tended to go. Down near the further end of the beach, where few beach goers were milling about or leaving, a lone Hyena mutant lumbered along slowly breaking down his fishing rod for the day. His cooler was heavy from the catches and good fortune of the piers, and an earlier lunch was in order to get these bad boys filleted and fried, Cajun style!

"Sharkie! 'Ere, shiela, Oi've got cookin' ta do!" He barked out towards the ocean, coming to a stop as waited patiently. It took a few minutes, until the waves bulged and burst, unraveling from the blue-ish white frame of the Landshark itself, the heavily modified RV wrenching itself from the grasp of the ocean and driving up onto the sand, lowering its patio in front of him so he could begin boarding and putting up his fishing gear. Naturally, he paid no mind to the spooked swimmers and sun-tanning folk shouting and running further down the beach.

Sally Pride has posed:
The beach is not one of Sally's usual haunts, but sometimes a gal just wanted a bit of her own time. Stroll the warm sands, feel a bit of sea breeze, let the mind... think of nothing really and let go of some of the stress of other parts of her life. Not that she had any issue with doing the mercenary work, but you had to take time for yourself so it didn't consume you.

But for much the same reason, it being a less populated portion of the beach being farther away from the resorts and tourist traps, is why that stretch of beach is the one the stroll brings her down. Just in time to catch a glimps of the vehicle pulling itself out of the water! And the few people that had been nearby spooked in other directions. Sally stops, stares, ignoring the small panic of beachcombers for the moment as her attention is on the craft, at first worried it might be some manner of assault or villainous intrusion. It doesn't do anything hostile though. So she treks closer, and that's when she catches a glimps of the figure nearby.

... Wait a minut, that's not a human. Sally picks up her pace a little and calls out. "Hey, hey you!" Also the smell of fish, but despite being a feline she manages to not let that distract her.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Aaaaaand there it was. The hyena scowled as he kept his back turned, setting his cooler down and opening the little cargo pocket on the outside of the Land shark to stow his fishing rod. Usually he'd be left alone to his own device to enjoy some beach time, but everyone now and then you'd get some speciest -jackass- trying to ruin the day. Maybe he oughta count his lucky blessings, he'd already finished his fishing for the day.

"Ye, -nah-, Oi'm not gonna entertain any anti-mutant drongos, or con-artist bogans troina' sell me on some 'humanizer cream', and if yer a cop, Oi'm already movin' moi vehicle so yOU CAN F-" He swiveled around...and saw her, pacing quickly towards him.

"...Fff..." The syllables fell away as his already big eyes widend a little. Shock gripped him in a way it hadn't in a long time. A rough and tumble lookin' Lioness, half-walking and half-running to meet him at the lowered patio of this RV, kicking sand up as she moved. Like...something out a movie...or a mirage...or a heatstroke? He was pretty sure he hydrated...his face did feel pretty damn warm, though. Still in a bit of disbelief, he lifted a large claw to wave softly. "...Eh...g-g'day. 'Pologies 'bout tha'. Used to ah...otha' folk botherin' me." His thick, Australian accent was clear as the day itself.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride slows her pace as she draws closer, but the initial response followed by the recovery does get a bit of a smirk out of her. "No worry, I understand the sentiment... Have had to punch enough of them over time." Likely refering to the anti-mutant and maybe the con-artist part. Not that she doesn't look like the type that would punch a cop if it was necessary. A dirty cop, mayhaps. Definitely a dirty government agent or two, but that's different.

She tilts her head a moment, mostly at piecing together the accent. The mutant hyena-man part is already pretty obvious. But her attention is already drawn back to the very heavily modified craft he's accompanying. "That's quite the rig you've got there."

Wait, she shouldn't let it get her too distracted. "My name's Sally. Sally Pride."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
There's a bit of green that rushes up under the fur of his snout, darkening across the bridge of his nose as he smiles back sheepishly, a hyena giggle bubbling just a touch under his breath. "Glad to know Oi'm not the only one, ay?"

His smile widens, and he extends his claw out to her. "Noice t'meetcha! Oi'm Sma'shaw Ihaka, and this lovely shiela," He raps his knuckle against the solid, reinforced hull of the Landshark, beaming with pride. "Is tha' -Landshark-. Full submersible, kitted out with the essentials: bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen n' living room, and a fully stocked garage. Oh, and of course, internet at any depth. Troi not ta' get too jealous now, she's a foine lady on wheels, but Oi also made her, an' we keep a good familial bond, ay?"

The Hyena nudges Sally playfully, his tail picking up in an excited wag as he gets the opportunity to gush about his hand-crafted beaut with the mutant lass that just walked up to him on the shores! Man, he startin' to think he oughta go fishing more often...

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride mouths for a moment without saying anything, like she's trying to parse the pronouncing that name without doing so out loud and horrible mangling it. Then just settles on "That's a very unusual name." Not every mutant needs to be named in some kind of pun or reference.

She laughs at the joke about getting jealous, but it does also perk her interest in the craft more. "Hot damn, you did all that yourself? Impressive. Getting the parts to do so must of been a pain in the ass." And not just in their kind can't just stroll up to any ol' hardware store to get materials. There's clearly stuff that wouldn't be off the shelf involved in this. Her tail flicks a bit as she puts her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "I've put cars back together, but not anything to this caliber of customization."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
His green blush grows a little more as he realized, right, his name wasn't exactly convention. "Ahhh, roigh', heh, Oi wanted ta' sound tuff when Oi was a teeny lil' toiyke. Pup puffin' 'is chest an' all, so 'Smasher' it was, but Oi made it sound all cool n' raw: Sma'shaw." He grins all big and goofy like, nostalgia washing over his mind in a gentle wave. "Oh, an' me last name is Maorian for 'He will laugh'. Pretty accurate, honestly."

He puts a claw on the back of his neck, grinning wider as Sally speculated the sheer complexity. "Weeeell. With anyone else, you'd be roigh'. But with me, bah, moi powers allow me to circumvent tha' need for actual engineerin' knowledge (mostly) without sacrificin' safety standards and all. What y' see here was made with scraps n' machine guts, polished up all pretty n' noice, and she works loik a charm."

And a lightbulb come on. An opportunity. He clears his throat, a cheeky smile spreading across his hyena snout as he extended his hand out to her. "Would tha' foine sheila standin' in front of me care t' come aboard for a tour...~?" His tail is going wild behind him, despite the feigned composure and suaveness.

Sally Pride has posed:
"Oh, so it's just an exaggerated pronounciation of Smasher, got it." Then Sally laughs a bit. "There is sort of a pun in your name after all!" Followed by a soft achem. "Sorry. It seems to be a common thing amonst mutants to have word play in their names. Mine is Pride, after all."

Her attention goes right back to the Landshark. Realizing it's a pretty fitting name now, with the whole RV converted for aquatics. Piercings jangle a little as she flicks an ear and cants her head again. "Your powers? So you're a kind of..." she has to think, she knows she's heard a term for it before. Oh. "Technopath? Interesting..." It takes her a little longer to realize the 'sheila' was directed at her this time. "And I would love to. You've gotten me more curious, to say the least."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
The hyena chortles softly, waving dismissively. "No worries about it. Better than bein' called -Eugene-, am Oi roigh'?" He smirks, getting a more noticeable cackle to well up from him. "Hahah, 'sides tha', Pride is a pretty fittin' one."

"Anyhoo, watch ye step...Shahrkie, bring us up, girl!" And the patio the two of them were standing on lifts up, hauling the two mutants up to the double doubles, which hiss and pop, sliding apart from each other van-style. "Roigh' this way then~!"

As he steps in, letting her follow behind, the doors slide closed behind them...and she's greeted to an unbelievably homely interior. A blend of cabin and cabana aesthetics that...oddly seems to mesh. Rich wooden floors greet her steps, stone accent walls peppered with volcanic rock guide the two of them to the surprisingly spacious kitchen. Sma'shaw took the fish from his cool and poured them out into the freezer portion of a rather retro-looking, cherry red fridge. "Have ye eaten yet, boi the boi?" He lumbers over to the vending machine buttons built into the walls next to the fridge, and he hits the one marked 'Cajun Fish' a couple of times.

A machine in the wall chirrs and stirrs into motion, muffled clanking as automatically begins to prepare a couple of fried fillets...the smell of cooking fish fat n' meat, and delicious spices hitting the air.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride whistles as the patio rises like a lift to the doors sliding open for them. "Voice activated too, cool." She follows the yeen in, though her attention is immeadiately grabbed once more at the sight of the interior. She slowly turns a few times, taking it all in. A hodgepodge yet homey feel to it all.

She pauses to glance over her shoulder when he asks about eating. "Not for a few hours, no," she replies as she walks over to the kitchen... And is a little surprised to see him just pushing buttons rather than scaling and filleting fish. Though the aroma that comes out of the machines is unmistakable when she inhales it. "Another one of your creations I take it?" She almost said contraptions, but stopped herself as that would sound rude!

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
"Tha's roigh'! Another handy lil' contraption of moine!" He leaned himself against the space of the wall right next to the vending portion. "Takes care of the muss n' fuss of scalin' and cuttin' when Oi don't got the energy for it...or for when Oi get some surprise guests." He smiles toothily, ears perking up at a classic kitchen timer ding~!

The plastic cover below the buttons opens up, and the wide mouth of the machine deposits a couple baskets and Cajun fish n' chips! He takes one and hands it to her. "Feel free to grab yerself a brewski from th' fridge, also got cola in there."

He lumbers further into the living room, tail wagging softly as he bit into his fish, scarfing it down quite handily as they passed by the sofa, the flatscreen and the consoles nestled in the medial cabinet...and he opens the door at the further end, flicking on a few light. They illuminate in sequence, starting with the tools, and the racks of drill bits and attachments, power tools, then the work bench...until it lit up the -dual engine'd- muscle car in the middle, yellow painted with a black chevron running down the sides and hood of the beauty.

Sally Pride has posed:
Well now he used the word himself so she doesn't feel so worried it might sound disrespectful.

Sally accepts the basket with a nod and a smile. "Thanks." She grabs a drink from the fridge, then turns to follow him into the living area... and apparently past it. To where he opens up another door and turns on the lights. She looks inside as things are one by one illuminated, finishing on that final piece in the back. She stares a bit. "Hot damn that's a beaut!... No offense, Landshark. You're beautiful in your own way."

Though then she stares at Smashaw a bit more. "How do you -fit- it all in here though?" Maybe she just misjudged the size of the vehicle from the outside or something.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
He slowly walks himself back out of the garage, grinning all giddy-like as he walks to the living room couch and plops down, kicking his legs up as he finished up the last of his food. He didn't want to get grease on his car, after all. "Well, Oi did overhaul an' expand the Airstream's original frame, even tacked on a second floor above us, where moi quahrtehrs and the guestroom are. Buuut part of it moight be m' powers. Seems to be that as long as it rings as feasible to moi head, Oi can build it an' make it work. Chances are th' Landshark moight be bendin' dimensions a lil', but Oi don't think about it too hard, ay?"

He pats the spot on the couch next to himself, giving a bit of room as he scooched his larger frame over. "Tell me 'bout yerself though. Seems like yer a fellow gear'ead with a good eye for foine crafts. Think Oi'd like to know a bit more about the pretty kitty Oi ran inta'!" The cheeky yeen playfully winks at her, fully relaxed and genuinely stoked that he's getting to geek out about his home.

Sally Pride has posed:
Likewise Sally resists the want to stroke that chassis when she's got food in her hands. But she can admire it plenty with her eyes, at least until the yeena responds and gets her attention back. ".. Yeah, not thinking too hard about it seems like a good idea. Just, you know, feline curiousity. If I don't at least ask it'll keep nagging me." And then she will think too hard about it, and give herself a headache or something.

As she turns and walks back to join in him the living room she takes a bite out of a fish... and then a bigger bite to finish the rest of it off after finding that it doesn't taste strange or anything because of the strange method it was made. "That's pretty good."

She joins him on the couch. "Yeah, well, it's not fancy powers like you have bud." She snaps another fish fillet in half and flicks it in her mouth, chewing giving her another moment to compose her response. "When I was mutated, I was trained as a pilot and vehicle operator to take advantage of the feline reflexes and what not. Which included the mechanical skills for maintenance and all that, which I've expanded on over time. Tinkering is a hobby and stress relief."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Nodded along, his expression shifting to something a bit more...forlorn, as she opened up at the origin of her mutation. "...Mmmgh. Well, Oi moight 'ave 'fancy powers', but it came with a proice, not too dissimilar from yours. Where as you were mutated and trained to be a crack poilot, and road-shreddin' droivah..." The distaste in his voice trickles in. "...Oi was spliced from conception. Parents wanted some freak-show cross between kid an' pet, somethni' that could serve as a bodyguard once Oi stopped bein' all cute n' small."

He turns over a paw, showing her the streaks of off-color scsr tissue on black pads. "Rich socialites with more buckaroos than sense...or morals. Every party, Oi'd get brought out to have older folks gawk at me, and they'd...cut m' hand, gettin' all giddy about 'oh look, his blood is green, isn't that neat? He's like an ork!'." His hand squeezed closed briefly. "...Never felt the love of moi 'family'. And funny enough, Oi think abandoning me on a luxury cruise ship was th' best thing they evah did fer me."

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride eats a little more slowly as she is also listening intently as Smashaw retells his own history. That is one hell of a backstory. She's frowning in solemn sympathy by the end of it. "... That is horrendeous. Why they made you, how they treated you, and then when no longer interested they threw you away." Pause. "Though yeah, that at least probably worked out for you better in the end, but it's still a shitty way to treat another living being." She cracks open her beer and takes a long pull of it, it is kind of needed after that story. "Well, you've clearly made well for yourself in the meantime, putting this all together and such." She's trying to not let the mood get too more dour than necessary.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
The hyena smirks as he clinks his glass bottle with hers. "Damn straight. And Oi 'ave the good fortune of gettin' to share it with someone who understands..." He grins just a tad, his giggle cracking back up a bit! "Honestly, Oi kinda thought that ye' moight be a plant, or somethin'. Loike, government agent toype. But ahhh...think Oi'd probably be dead boi now. Unless yer playin' the long con to see all of m' cool stuff, which Oi can't blame ya'."

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride clinks drinks together, and chuckles a little. "I would not blame you at all for being a little suspicious. It's kind of a necessity for us." Conversation is a little slower when you're eating at the same time, but it keeps going. "But I only happened to be down on the beach because it's a nice walk in the fresh air. Then I saw the Landshark first, and was worried it was some supervillain's assault vehicle or something. I do not feel bad about being wrong about that." She glances up, as if to apologize to the Landshark itself. It's a gearhead thing. "Not that you per say look like one miss, just you know, being out here unexpected, a few beachgoers panicing, so on." Then chuckles again. "You did make an impressive entrance at least."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
His giggle wells back up, his claws tipping the bottle end up, bubbles spilling up into the inside of the bottle as he glugs softly. Prying the lips from his bottle. "Oh yeah, nah, Oi stepped out during Christmas in this city and got blinded and almost squished by a big robot." He looked down at her, not looking at all offended. "Can't really blame ya'. 'Sides tha', it introduced us to each otha' by chance." The comment about an impressive entrance gets a big, goofy grin out of him. "Oi think your entrance blew moine outta tha' watah, sprintin' across th' sand and callin' out to me..?" He blew air out of his black lips. "You know, a normie would've keeled ovah from a heart attack. Can't be doin' tha' to folks~!"

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride pffs, waving it off with one hand. Fortunately she'd set her basket in her lap, and by this point it's mostly the chips left. The fish was that good despite it's unusual preperation method. "You want a proper dramatic entrance? You should of seen the time I intentionally crashed a helicopter into a corrupt corperate stronghold to rescue some mates, and ripped one of the busted blades off for a weapon to beat the shit out of the robot swarm trying to subdue 'em." Then gets to work on those chips. "Next time you wander into the city, there's an area in Brunswick known as Mutant Town. Not the fanciest of places, bit of a slum actually, but that's where a lot of the folks like us that don't wanna be involved in the Big Things that go on tend to stay."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
He lets out a low whistle, taking another swig of his beer as he perks his brow. "Oi once did a big hit n' run on a luxury ship touring New Guinea. Crashed through the upper storage area, hooked the Tornado up to tha' vault insoide, and gunned back out tha' other end~! It was hoigh enough so it didn't sink, but it diiid cancel a -very- expensive cruise. Boo-hoo for tha' rich fucks. Tha' was back when Oi was a bonafoide poirate!" He perks up at the mention of Mutant City, making a little 'o' shape with his cleft hyena lips. "...A whole city of us? Wowie...an' 'ere Oi thought they sent a tough cat to tell me about moi extended submersible warranty! HAH!" He cackles into his claw, snickering with a dumb grin on his snout!

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride groans at the warranty joke, as it's called for, but then laughs as well afterwards. "City is stretching it, and it's not entirely free of the bigots occasionally making trouble, but it's better than having nowhere at all.... not that you've got that problem. More than capable of take care of yourself. But, you know." She winks as she filtchs chips from the bottom of the basket. "If you ever want to be a little less by yourself you can at least visit more of our kind." And chips go in cat's maw, beer to follow to wash it down.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
The wink causes his ears to flick up to alert, his eyes widening with a scrunched little smile of surprise. He melts into an easier, warmer smile as he feigns deep through, looking up at the ceiling as he taps his chin. "Aw geez, really tough choice...got a nice view out 'ere in the ocean. But..." He grins all cheeky-like again, turning on the sofa and propping his chin on his hand. "Buuut...~! S'pose Oi could always trade one good view out fer a -great- one." Sma'shaw gives her the smarmiest smile, his yeen laugh bubbling up as he smiles with all teeth. "Don't s'pose we'd get ta' hang more often, ay?" Despite him being a big cheesy flirt, there was some warmth spilling into his tone, and a genuine desire to interact more.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride laughs softly herself. "I don't mean you should move or anything, but it wouldn't hurt to visit right?" She doesn't mind the bit of flirty, she's happy to see he's in good spirits. She's had to deal with too many people that are bitter and resentful over things. And while not perfect he's done good for himself. That is refreshing. "It is where I usually hang when not out on mercenary jobs." She holds up the empty fish n chips basket. "What do I do with this?"

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw hums with interest, smiling softly back as he bobs his head, clicking his tongue. "Think Oi'll hafta take you up on tha' visit, fer sure." He perks up a little at the mention of 'mercenary'. "Ahhh, and a fellow independent contractah! We oughta work togetha some toime then!" He reaches over, taking her basket, crumpling it up with his, and he pitches it riiight into the trash can in the kitchen! "Yessss! Still got it." He pumps his fist a little, kicking his legs all excited like. "...In tha' mean toime, want to see tha' -Captain's- quarters?" His tail wags a little faster. "Oi'd watch out for him, though. Bit of a shmuck, scruffy lookin', two-stars, wouldn't recommend." He cackles a little, polishing his beer off and setting the empty bottle in a cup holder.

Sally Pride has posed:
"I can handle a vehicle, handle a gun, and put my claws to use when necessary. It gets the job done." Sally whistles a little. "Nice throw." Followed by a laugh after she finishes her beer. A shrug of her shoulders. "Scruffy, huh? I've dealt with worse."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw chuffs through his nose, slowly getting up and helping Sally to her feet. "Mmmh, dunno, the noigh-...day is young." He snickers, walking back to the kitchen's left side, going to the hallway near the front doorway. Along a bare section of wall, panels open up and ladder steps slide out into view, leading up to a hatch. The hatch unseals itself and opens as he steps up and enters the Captain's quarters.

The room is a...cornucopia of 80's-90's paraphenalia. Neon signs blinking on and off, posters of the Breakfast Club, Dirty Dancing, Labyrinth and more...checkered walls of black and white. A surfboard against the wall, resting above a turntable on a cabinet full of records. And of course, a nice cushy bed, with a memory foam back in the middle of the red-carpeted room. "Ahoy there, come on up, then~!" The hyena grins, holding his hand out to help her up in the room.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride accepts the help off the couch not that it's really needed but she's respecting that he's being polite. Sets the empty bottle aside and turns to follow him back through the kitchen and to another part of the vehicle. Despite seeing the outside she had some concern about there being a second floor, but sure enough it's impossible to ignore as she's helped up the the next level. "Heh. I think the captain's quarters is living a few decades behind," she teases at the paraphanila, most of which she only recognizes because of movie binges with the Turtles or her other crew. "The neon is nice though. Doesn't keep you up at night?" Asks the cat woman who sleeps with a nightlight as a traumatic nightmare protection.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw plops down on the memory foam bag, snorting a little at Sally as she tosses a bit of playful shade. "Ay-ay, now, this quarter's got heart!" He chuffs indignantly through his snoot, puffing his fluffy chest a little. And then he smiles a little as he looks over to her, leaning back in the big bag of cushy. "Nah, not this...Sharkie?" Sally could feel a hitch in the hull indicating the vehicle was moving...but she didn't feel any of the inertia. No jostle or anything. The hull muffles the wash of seawater as the submersible descends...and the rooftop canopy exposes the ceiling viewport, giving the two of them a gorgeous view of the sunlight filtering through the ocean. "But this? Yeah, lil bit..." He smiles with relaxed mirth, starting up at the vista of the ocean blue.

Sally Pride has posed:
And being the experienced vehicle operator she is Sally would notice such things... But other than the initial start of motion and the muffled splash of water against the sides of the craft there is no indication that they've started to submerge. "Damn, that's a smooth decent." She doesn't bother asking what method of ballast is used. From what she's seen of the yeen's abilities there either isn't one necessary, or she wouldn't understand it anyways. Instead just looking up as the viewport opens. "Oooo. That's a nice view. I've been out to sea a few times, but not under it very often. Not other than the time it was used to infiltrate an isolated island compound."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw looks up at her with a big smile, wagging his tail as he idly kicks his legs softly. "Heheh~! Ye, she's pretty good at tha' too, but she's wonderful fer just...bein' home, y'know?" He curls his lips, sinking into the bag with a little sigh. "...Never really got ta' share this view with anyone before. Figured it'd be just be lookin' up at all this. And here you are...government plant with tha' easiest job." He wheezes with that yeena laugh, but he genuinely seems glad he's gotten to share this little slice of the ocean.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride nods, and she doesn't want to intrude on his personal space so she just leans against the wall next to the bed so she can keep looking up at the view above them. "It really is a sight not many get to see. And getting to share it is really nice. Yet wouldn't even know we were under water if it wasn't for seeing that."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw looks over to her, cracking a little giggle. "Ye don't hafta post up next to the wall all cool loik, y' know. Memory foam bag's big enough." He pat-pats the spot next to himself before looking back up at the cascade of light shafts, dancing into the ocean. "Mhm...best part is? Oi can stream n' get perfect internet now mattah how deep Oi go. Think about tha': you an Oi can cozy up for a wholesome watch of the Toitanic..." He cracks up a bit more, but the idea genuinely seems to make him giddy. "...Honestly the noight view is especially gorgeous."

Sally Pride has posed:
Well when he says it's okay that's different. Sally moves over to sit on the open side of the bed, lift up her legs and turn to lay down. Wiggle a little to get her tail out from under herself, it is not comfortable to lay on top of, and gets comfortable. "... Yeah, I can see how one could enjoy just laying here with that view, a movie on low, maybe just some calm music."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
He smiles a bit wider as she lays down a bit to his side, and he shifts a little to get re-comfy. "It's moi lil' sloice of paradoise...deep beneath the waves. Away from all the chaos n' stuff. That bein' said, Oi'm glad Oi come back up every now and then to see the soights...and run into inta' cool fuckin' people." He nudges his shoulder into her, squinting his eyes in content. "Betcha didn't think this is whot ye'd be doin' with yer day, ay?"

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride laughs. "Nope, would of never been able to anticipate something like this." She nudges right back playfully. "But certainly not complaining about the results." They both do the freelance merc thing, they know how hard to it can be to get the time like this to just enjoy and unwind. So definitely doing so now.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
Sma'shaw nudges her right back again, but keeps his side pressed gently against her, a bit of green touching his snout as he laughs with her! "Aye, noitha am Oi..." There's a bit of a beat as the two as they lounge next to each other, soaking in the tender moment. "...So uh...moind if Oi ask a bit of personal question?" He looks just a touch more nervous, little cackles spilling out from him.

Sally Pride has posed:
Most people would probably find it odd to see a lion and a hyena lounging together, but mutants don't run on all the same insticts as their inspirational species would. Sally arcs a brow a little. "What's on your mind?" She doesn't want to take her attention off the view above them, but with how close together they are it's hard to miss the slightly nervous shift in his manner.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
He clears his throat a little, psyching himself up mentally as he looks up. But he looks over to her, letting out another chuckle! "Roigh, okay, ah, don' take this as me loike...super comin' onto ya, or loiike troyna jump in yer pants...cuz Oi do really enjoy yer company, and Oi'd love to hang more for sure..." He clacks his claws a little, trying to not dance around the question...and he finally just poses it with a huff.

"...Are ye single? Loike, I just, y' know. Oi don't wanna being steppin' in on someone's -literal- floy girl. Would be a liiittle awkward, just a touch."

Sally Pride has posed:
"That is one hell of a lead-up," Sally replies. Though give the guy credit for trying to clarify the matter, even if he's tripping over the words a little. "But no, got some close friends, but no body -that- close." The one she is pretty close to it's more a brother-sister thing, as they were mutated by the same people around the same time.

Then she playfully waggles a finger at the yeen. "But don't get ahead of yourself. We've gotten along smashingly well, but we've only just met... That said, appreciate the asking beforehand. More forethought than most people woulda given," she adds with a faint little smile of amusement.

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
The yeen nudges into her with a playful giggle, radiance filling his voice as she teased him! "Oy-oy-oy, Oi'm just tryna be a gent and all, thoughtful as you said. And Oi'll have ye know, Oi get -terrified- of tryn ta' flirt othas!" He rasps with amusement, getting a lot more green in the face!

"...'Ppreciate you not dunkin' on me too hard, though. And bein' candid about your ah, status n' all. Definitely things to think on...Oi'm single too, thank ya fer askin'." He pretends to all haughty and frumpy, wiggle next to her with a mock-petty lick of his lips.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride chuckles a bit. "I'd hope so, when you start asking questions like that... it's good to get that clear and out of the way." She gives another playful nudge before folding her hands behind her head. "But for now, we've just got this wonderful view beneath the waves to enjoy together."

Sma'shaw Ihaka has posed:
He nods, looking right back up to the churn of the waves, and the scattering of the light piercing through. "Aye, that we do. It's a damn beautiful view too." He reaches over to a remote by the pillow, giving it a little tap...and gentle lo-fi begins to spill from the speakers as the record begins to spin.