3316/Staying Grounded

Staying Grounded
Date of Scene:	10 September 2020
Location:	Washington Square Park
Synopsis:	A meetup at Washington Square Park's fountain leads to chatter about art and helping others.
Cast of Characters:	Mori Merritt, Drake Riley, Sarah Rainmaker, Sally Houki

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Mori Merritt has posed:
The fountain at Washington Square Park was one of Mori's favorite places in New York. Big cities were always weird to her, so green spaces, places with water, all of that felt more like home than anything else. It felt like being grounded. Water, of course, was also great at putting out fire. That was also a rather grounding prospect. Sitting sideways on the edge of the fountain, Mori is currently pretending to sketch. There's nothing actually on the page in front of her, but the sketchpad and pencil are ready for whatever she's working on.

Except it's all a clever ruse. Really, it's there so she doesn't look awkward trying to set scraps of paper on fire cautiously leaning over the edge of the fountain to do it. Safety first!

Drake Riley has posed:
It's quickly become a rollercoaster since arriving in New York City. The first couple days were nothing to write home about (so to speak), and mostly involving focusing on survival. And then he met a nice person who was apparently named forest. But in Japanese. Eclectic parents, right? Either way, her generosity was appreciated. And the next day, things took a steeper turn into weirdness; meeting another mutant, if briefly, meeting a humanoid turtle. Then? Running into his first superhero. And winding up in a sewer recovering an unconscious person.

What even.

Drake needs a little normalcy. So he decided to scout around the area Mori had mentioned he could find her. The intention was purely to exist in a space where he could clear his head under the sun, no hood needed. The baseball cap is unfortunately staying right where it is. Where else would he keep it than on his head?

Unfortunately, homeless people don't have much opportunity to freshen up. He'd made a deal with Mori before, and he hasn't yet lived up to it. His attire is still distinctly off the Hobo Brand line, dirty and rumpled, but now with an offensive sewery overtone. He's probably gone noseblind to it. Pedestrians around him haven't.

Drake had assumed position on a bench, hands stuffed inoffensively in the central pouch of his hoody. He intended to stay there and not really budge for a while. But up ahead, he can clearly see none other than the girl he didn't intend to actually find, perched on the edge of the fountain, looking prim as can be. Sketching, no less. Should she so much as glimpse in his direction, she'll be met with a sheepish smile and wave, eyes up-lidded in self-consciousness.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    The fountain is one of Sarah's favorite places to relax near as well, the sound of the continuously falling water a soothing undercurrent to the usual noise of conversations, music, and the occasional skateboarder practicing nearby. She wanders into the area, dressed in well-washed jeans and tanned fringed boots that come up to her knee as her concession to the increasingly chilly fall weather. Above that, she wears a stylish black blouse that leave her belly bared, a oversized button holding it closed just under the swell of her chest, the sleeves rolled up to end above her elbows. A simple messenger bag is slung across her shoulder, swaying as she makes her way over to find an open place near the fountain itself.

    As she gets close to Drake, her nose wrinkles slightly at the smell, but she pauses to dig in her bag for a moment, pulling out a wrapped burrito. "Hey. They gave me an extra of these, want it?" she offers, her free hand idly reaching up to tuck an errant few strands of black hair behind her ear.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori holds a strip of paper over the water, eyes focusing on it seriously. She stares for a long time, perhaps a full minute, with no indication what exactly she's doing. When it does catch on fire, it's enough that it startles her, and she drops the burning paper immediately into the water to put it out. She also, for good measure, puts her whole hand in it. She takes a look quickly around to double check that no one saw, only to notice that someone was already aware of her presence.

Mori offers a smile towards Drake, the hand she's lifted to wave actually being the one she just pulled out of the water. Act casual. On the plus side, someone else is there to serve as a distraction. Sarah has unintentionally perhaps drawn some of the potential awkwardness off of her, and she quickly returns her hand to her lap and shoots a glance at the soggy burnt remnants of paper in the fountain.

Drake Riley has posed:
What exactly is she doing at the fountain? Her sketchpad is in the other direction. Are there fish in there? Koi? Something? Those big ol' orange fish?

Drake's curiosity is thefted away by a voice rising nearby. His head tilts to look up at the tall female, then the food she's holding out. Instantly, he's aware of how hungry he is. And just as quickly, he's embarrassed by his situation. She's being nice, and he's... well, like this. It's a little soul-crushing. But it's the life he chose, rather than what he was enduring on the West Coast.

Still, there's a subtle wince.

"Um, sure, I mean, if it's extra and you're not going without, I could lighten your load...," he says in a weak attempt to spare what dignity he has left. But as he reaches up for it, he gives the girl a genuine smile; warm, pleasant, and embarrassed. And then comes the self-aware, "Thank you," ruining the masquerade that he was doing her a favor somehow. Gratitude is more important than pride.

There's another glance to Mori, noticing her seem to be focusing on the water much more keenly now. And as she raises her hand to him, he realizes it's wet. His head tilts slightly as he greets her. "What're ya working on?," he calls.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah smiles faintly, not directly acknowledging the awkwardness as Drake takes the burrito. "No problem. Will just make me feel off during my workout later anyway." she assures him, before walking over to perch near where Mori is, sliding her bag off to sit on top of the fountain lip. She frowns faintly, seeing bits of..paper?...floating in the pool, then leans down, reaching in with her hand to run it through the small cloud of burnt bits. Somehow...all the paper seems to just gather in her palm as she does, as she scoops it out, frowning faintly, then gets up and walks over to toss it in a nearby trashcan before returning.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori's gaze goes back to the blank page in her sketchbook, unfortunately not having the forethought to actually have started a sketch before doing all of this. She wipes her wet hand off on her jeans, lifting her sketchpad. "Ah, er, nothing yet, I was..." She trails off in her attempt at an explanation when she notices Sarah's scooping up the paper bits.

A mortified look crosses her face as it seems like she's torn between apologizing and calling attention to the fact that she had something to do with it, or ignoring it and potentially looking like she'd perhaps just been litternig in the fountain. "Do you have a suggestion for a drawing?" It's directed towards both Drake and Sarah, mostly because she's found drawing things tends to distract people from anything. Especially awkward things.

Drake Riley has posed:
A quick, if involuntary assessing glance-over towards Sarah suggests, indeed, that she probably does work out. It can't be helped; even in a state like this, Drake's a guy. But her avoiding the obvious nod towards charity is appreciated, the smile quickly retrained on her. "Yeah. Cheers," he offers amiably.

To his surprise, she goes right up to Mori and sits. He didn't realize they knew each other. Or do they? Maybe everyone around here is very communal in their personal space? ..Nah, they probably know each other.

"Not me," he quips to Mori, tone playfully flattened as he unwraps the burrito. Inside joke. "Does the fountain have fish in it? If it does, maybe that. If it doesn't, put one in there. But make it something weird." It's a challenge!

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    There's no poor reaction to the look; it's not like Drake is staring or, worse, leering. Sarah pulls her long legs up to sit crosslegged on the lip of the fountain, rummaging in her bag to pull out a text book and a water bottle. Not a fancy one, just a plastic one that looks well used, the bottom casing scuffed and cracked. She doesn't seem to know Mori - more it was an open spot to sit. Thus, she looks a bit suprised at the question from Mori, looking over as she blinks. "What to draw? Are you having artist's block or whatever?" she says with a faint smile, shifting as she gets comfortable, then shrugs. "Draw the clouds then. They're always what you see in them. So what do you see?" She motions to the thick white clouds rolling by slowly far ahead, the shadows under them occasionally running over the fountain area as they eclipse the sun temporarily.

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Usually I have too much to draw," Mori says, though she's vague in her meaning, picking up her pencil and lifting her sketchpad into a better position to actually work. "Oh, no, there's no fish in there! I wouldn't have..." She stops before she needs to explain anything further in that regard. Instead, she smiles at them both. "So a weird fish? And what I see in the clouds?"

She shields her eyes with one hand, pencil resting between her fingers, and she stares up at the clouds for a moment. She seems to study them, a distant look in her eyes as she drops the pencil, which rolls off into the water. She doesn't seem to have noticed, she's still looking at the sky.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley may be a dirty, and unfortunately smelly, homeless teen. But he's not a perv', at least. An appreciative glance is one thing.

From an outside perspective, the two suggestions may seem comical. On the one hand, something a little more wild and daring, on the other, something more introspective and thoughtful. He's too far away to really hear her clearly when she muses, but that's alright. He knows the state he's in. He doesn't want to make people uncomfortable. He can hang back and let her do her thing while he chews on this charity burrito.

That is, until the pencil starts rolling. "Whoa, whoa, Mori, hey!" And off it goes. Drake quickly gets to his feet and hurries near the pair, burrito held aloft as he tries to lean over the fountain to fish with his free hand for the pencil. "It's cool, I'm frumpy anyway, I got this," he assures.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Step one or two of drawing is probably having something to draw with." the Apache girl says amusedly, watching the pencil go splash and Drake fetch it back out. She doesn't go for it as well, content to leave it to one of them to recover. "Maybe you see strange fish in the clouds, or among the clouds?" she says, shrugging her shoulder idly. "Art is about creativity and seeing the world in a particular way, after all."

Mori Merritt has posed:
If Mori noticed the pencil rolling, she certainly doesn't show it. Even when Drake goes for it and fish it out, she doesn't seem to have noticed. Eyes fixed on the clouds, perhaps searching for meaning in them. It's hard to tell if Sarah's advice has registered, because she simply doesn't respond for a good long moment. Long enough that it's definitely creeping into awkward territory.

She's not fully catatonic or anything, however, and eventually she lowers her hand and looks away from the clouds. "... maybe not drawing what I see there," she says, her tone soft as she looks around for her pencil. She has no idea where it went.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley retrieves the pencil and wags it back and forth in a vain attempt to air-dry it quickly for her. But in the process, he realizes Mori is continuing to stare up at the clouds.

Eyes shift sidelong to Sarah, and he murmurs, "I think what she sees up there is Hypnotoad..."

Oh, it looks like she's returned. The fact that she's looking around for her pencil adds a little more curiosity to the situation, but Drake quickly offers it out to her - now only damp. "It got away from ya."

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "What toad?" Sarah says cluelessly, looking unsure. "Ah...well...you're the artist." she says with a shrug of her shoulders, then gestures to Mori. "Draw him, then?" she says, in a tone suggesting it's no skin off her nose either way. She pauses to unscrew the top of her water bottle and take a swing, before closing it back up again.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori seems a bit shaken, but it's a momentary pause in her attitude. When she sees Drake's safely got the pencil, she takes it back with a smile. "Hah, thanks, I guess a lot of of things tend to get away from me like that." Maybe an explanation as to the cloud-searching. She glances briefly to Sarah for a moment. "I can draw the clouds, just not what I see in them." She seems to feel the need to justify things by the tone in her voice.

She adjusts the sketchpad, moving to put the pencil to the page. "Maybe a weird fish, then," she muses.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley is displeased with the miss on the reference joke, but it manifests only in a faint sigh. It's not important.

But what sounds like the counter-suggestion gets a more visceral reaction, eyes widened and recoiling. "Ohh no. Don't draw me. We've been over this," he reminds Mori. A pox upon her photographic memory, eternally retaining his image in this horribly unkempt state. Satisfied, however, that she'll draw a weird fish, he's cool with relinquishing the pencil. And he starts to withdraw from the two, back to the recesses of his bench to be further away. "Get weird with it, artist," he jokingly encourages.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah just shrugs again. Oookay. Obviously some bad memories or something there, so she lets the subject drop easily enough. "Draw what you want to see then." she says easily, opening up her textbook idly as she rests it in her lap, then raises a brow at Drake. "Oh, you two know each other?" She glances between them idly.

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Hey, you don't have to go all the way over there," Mori notes as he retreats towards the bench again. She glances towards Sarah with a small smile. "Drawing what I'd like to see is a better idea, I think," she nods her agreement. "We've met once, I told him I'd draw him but I thinking he's holding out for a day that his hair listens to him and doesn't have a mind of its own." Her pencil moves across the page, making shapes there.

Drake Riley has posed:
"Y-yeah. Something like that," Drake says, vivid green eyes shifting aside guiltily.

Mori certainly has a nice way of putting it. He's positive there's no way she doesn't understand fully; he looks like a wreck. Being homeless and living on the street is a lot worse than just messy hair. But he appreciates the reductive approach; the discretion.

His focus turns to Sarah at this point. He didn't make it all the way back to the bench, but he's still standing several feet back from them. He could call it being courteous, but it's really the embarrassment of his current state. "Name's Drake," he introduces.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "I mean, you could draw him as you'd picture him if he didn't have messy hair or such." Sarah says dryly, shaking her head a bit, then nods to Drake. "Sarah." she responds after a moment. She's not against the extra distance because, well...Drake kinda stinks and there's no polite way to put that. It positively makes Sarah want to dunk him the fountain (briefly) to help with that, but she has a feeling he wouldn't appreciate it. Not to mention she'd have to use her abilities in public, which she tries not to do without a good reason.

    And people often don't take 'Well, I can just instant dry you out again' as a good excuse for pushing them into fountain water.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Regardless of Drake's situation, Mori doesn't seem inclined to judge or push it into the light. She looks down at her paper, then lets her gaze move between Drake and Sarah. "Nah, that's the catch, I've got photographic memory so I've seen him with the messy hair, it's never going to leave." There's a tone of amusement. "So he just has to meet me again with tamed locks and he'll get a much more proper portrait."

She looks at her page, the outline of what looks like a koi in water, but it has wings instead of fins. "I'm Mori. And sorry about the..." She gestures vaguely towards the fountain, as if Sarah would understand. "I was going to clean it up."

Sally Houki has posed:
It's been one of those days of high distraction for Uncanny Sally.

?Flitting from one task to the next, finding herself losing track of what she's supposed to be doing and then getting reminded. Getting texts from Heidi, only to find that her group chat of ... herself has already answered all of them for her ... and done the very errands she was supposed to be out doing herself, actually, in some cases. It's all a mess.

?Sally is a mess.

?In any event, the mess that is Sally has now arrived on foot in Washington Square park in the middle of the afternoon and she isn't exactly sure why she came here until she hears the bell ring. What's a park in New York that doesn't have someone selling ice cream during the summer? Whatever she was going to do, the ice cream is what she's going towards now and she gets herself a split vanilla-chocolate twist cone because, whatever, it's what she feels like.

?And thus, she has seated herself near the fountain to enjoy her ice cream. She looks around, slowly, just another park-patron at the fountain, even if something is leaving her vaguely unsettled feeling. Wait, why was she here again? Her ice cream melts a drop onto her finger and then her face lights up. Oh right! Ice cream. She starts to eat it.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley is content to let the others talk for a moment, or muse internally over the merits of throwing him in the fountain, blissfully unaware. One would need shampoo and shower gel to make a difference, alas. ...And a lot of detergent for the clothing. Or a fire in which to burn them. Either way, he's occupied with chewing on the burrito finally.

Sally gets a glance upon her arrival - a little lingering, thanks to her attire, but his focus returns to the other two in silence. Nom.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah's dark eyes flick over to Sally as she sees her arrive. "No problem." she repeats. "Everyone's got their things." She gestures to Sally. "She's got ice cream though and that looks really good." She closes her book again. "Would you mind watching my bag for me while I get some?"

Mori Merritt has posed:
Ice cream? That's certainly appealing, but Mori's got bigger fish to fry. Or draw, as the case may be. Something about the act of working on the art seems to refocus her. At Sarah mentioning watching her bag, she pipes up with a cheerful 'of course', splitting her focus between the general vicinity of Sarah's things and the flying fish she's working on. She's distracted briefly by Sally, but in general she seems to be keeping her head out of the clouds again for the moment.

Sally Houki has posed:
Sally is definitely an eccentric when it comes to her garb. It's bright and colorful, loose and flowing and her hair is dyed bright pink and done up in twin tails at the moment. It's definitely A Look. A distinctive one, to say the least, but then she is hardly the *most eccentrically dressed* person in New York. New York, where someone in colorful spandex tights can be seen zipping through the skies on a regular basis.

Still, it's attention getting, and she offers a smile at Sarah when she's gestured at by her and waves cheerfully from her seat. She puts a hand to her ear, as if listening for something for a moment, and then has another bite of her ice cream. Oh yeah. Ice cream. Better finish that before it melts. Her eyes are now on Mori, though, and she's studying her intently. Perhaps she's interested in her process.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley nods to Sarah as she moves away from her perch, as if to reassure that Captain Homeless will watch over her valuables. Because that's who you want keeping track of your purse, right? A random street urchin. What could go wrong?

To his credit, Drake simply moves forward to sit on the edge of the fountain on Mori's opposite side. It's a little safer to sit near her, given she'd already tolerated his pitiful state once before. Granted, this was before his trek through the sewer.

He leans to the side, head tilting over to look down at the pad and its progress. It's a fish. But a fish with wings. He's calling foul. "That's a flying fish. Those are already things. C'mon, weird it up. Get all in that headspace," he teases.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    It's not a long trip, so Sarah is only gone a few minutes, returning with a purely chocolate cone of her own as she seats herself again. Her eyes flicker as she sees Drake has moved away from her bag, cockign her head slightly before resuming her crosslegged seated position, wiggling back as she nods in ice cream solidarity to Sally. She glances over at the picture. "Let her work, it's her vision." she notes absently, focused somewhat on her cone. At least it's cool enough that it's not melting immediately.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori seems to be pretty good at not noticing some things around her. Like Sally watching her. She seems fairly oblivious to the extra pair of eyes, and she peers at the paper in front of her once more as soon as Sarah's back with her bag. The suggestion to weird it up has her raising an eyebrow, squinting a bit as she tries to come up with something different.

After a moment, the pencil shifts. Instead of just wings, she's drawing scales. The scales on the fish seem to each be some kind of intricate rune, though it's hard to really tell what the runes mean--could be anything from actual history to something pulled from a video game. "Usually if I'm drawing something weird it's somthing I've already seen," she chuckles.

Sally Houki has posed:
"Mmhmm. Pretty!" Sally says to Mori, now, directly, as she begins drawing that rune. She has no idea what it means, really she doesn't, but there it is and it is pretty as far as she's concerned. She gestures at her with her hand, which makes whatq's left of her ice cream slough off the front of her cone and hit the bench.

She looks down.

"AWwwww.."

Summer days. These things happen.

Drake Riley has posed:
"I'm just adding a little pressure, that's all~," airily chimes Drake in defense.

And it seems to've done the trick! Now the fish has scales. Or.. runes? It's starting to look a little like something off of Shadow of the Colossus. Which is not a bad thing, in his opinion. It's definitely distinct. "Just to be clear," he notes to Mori as he tilts his head faintly askew, "You're saying these little markings are things you've seen. Not that you've seen a winged fish that someone tattooed markings on. Right?"

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Aww. Bad luck." Sarah commiserates with Sally. "I like your hair though, what color is that?" she wonders curiously, idly flipping her own back over her shoulder so it falls freely behind her. She glances over to Mori, just to see what she's doing then back to Sally, not wanting to spoil it before Mori is finished. "You're not supposed to pressure artists other than reminding them how poor they are generally." she says dryly to Drake.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori looks over at Sally as the ice cream comes off, frowning a little. "Aw..." She echoes, genuinely looking a little bad for her. Even if there's a bit of a moment to mourn the ice cream, she smiles at Sarah's mention of artists being poor. "Poor is certainly one way to put it. Lost all my stuff and now I'm trying to help someone out with their medical bills cause he seems like a really nice guy. I figure maybe I could do a fundraiser or something. Medical bills are /awful/."

The fish gets another couple of runescales. "I've never seen a winged fish like this, no, but the runes I'm drawing from something else I've seen. I just thought they'd make nice scales and make it look like some kind of album art for some up-and-coming musician."

Sally Houki has posed:
Aw, indeeed.

Sally looks down at her lost ice cream, sadly, for a moment. Oh well. Not like she can't get more.

Stikll, then there's Sarah talking to her and she offers her a smile that can only be described as 'bright'.

"Yes! It's a shade of pink, obviously, but I don't remefmber the name. Electro-Pink? Metal-Pink? I don't know." She gives a little shrug and then bites down into the cone itself without much more thought. When Mori mentions medical bills, she glances towards her and frowns. "Could..." Then she trails offf, leaving her thought unfinisheqd.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley balks a little at Sarah, eyes widened. It might've hit a little too close to home. As if he, a homeless person, is in any position to be calling someone poor. "I'm pretty sure I automatically have the opposite effect. Make most people appreciate what they got," he chides. Despite the bitter reminder of his own dire circumstance, he delivers it with a rueful sort of self-depricating humor. But as if to steer the point home, he lifts the charity burrito to take another bite out of it.

Sally gets a brief, sympathetic look, but she's easily the furthest from him. He doesn't want to yell a condolance to a stranger.

Back to Mori. "Ragnarok Fish. Fishnarok," he muses aloud. His gaze lifts more directly to her face, bemused. "At some point, you're gonna have to decide if you're an artist or a social worker," he jokes.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah makes a face. "Medicine in this country is atrocious. Not the people who work in it, but the system is ridiculous. You have to be lucky enough to have insurance that's actually worth a damn to pay for anything, with hospitals charging outrageous prices to insurance companies because they can. Unless you're rich and can afford to pay for services out of pocket or something. The sooner we have a single player system, the better." she comments, in the tones of someone who has a) read about this and b) has had a family member closely affected by same.

    She nods to Sally. "I've seen mostly darker pinks, yours is the brighest. Really stands out and looks good. I've only seen streaked bright colors so far around campus, but I've only been here a little bit. And I'm not exactly goth or punk so I guess I'm not around people who go for that stuff as much?" she says uncertainly. "I mean, I'm sure there are other people who like the hair dyeing stuff too, it just wasn't really common where I'm from."

    She studies Drake thoughfully. "You know. I work at a shelter near here who helps people get jobs and stuff. If you'd be interested. I mean, it's just simple stuff helping out with the kitchen and such sometimes, or dishwashing, little things like that, but it's better than nothing. Enough to get you a place to stay?" she offers.

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Yes?" Mori does get the sense that Sally's trying to say something, but she doesn't pry too much there. She does give a little nod of encouragement, letting her gaze move to Drake. "You know, you're actually the second person to make some comment about that." She grins. "The first person is the person I'm trying to help with the medical bills. I don't know, I guess when I see something someone else is going through and I feel like I can relate and I've been through it... I don't want it to be as hard as when I went through it."

She offers Sarah a very serious nod. "He doesn't have much in the way of money and I think he has to pay something like $1800 a month for medication and because he's got a form of amnesia he doesn't even know how to contact any family he might have. I felt bad and he seems like a nice guy. That's why I offered some kind of fundraiser." She falls into silence when Sarah mentions the shelter and the help, a tiny smile on her face as she goes back to the runefish.

Sally Houki has posed:
"I'll never understand the American medical system," admits Sally in solidarity with Sarah. In fact, it is such solidarity that she gets up, walks over to her, and offers her a fistbump. See? Solidarity.

"Also, yeah. My hair is the best. Todaqy, anyway. Sometimes, it is also very uncooperative." She cranes her neck to peeeer at the painting by Mori agaiun, though she doesn't immediately answer Mori as to what she's *trying* to say.
 % "Amnesia? Really?" she asks after a moment. Oh, right. Sometimes, she forgets it's one of THOSE universes.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley blinks owlishly at the commentary on the American medical system. Not his pony, not his show, he's keeping out of it. His focus instead sets to the work Mori is doing, offering an idle, "Doing the online thing could help. Lot of things get crowdfunded these days..."

The basketball that is his attention gets stolen by Team Sarah once more, and he looks at her like a deer in headlights at first. "I- might be?," he posits. "I have a sort of interview thing coming up. Maybe today, if I can grab the person. It's kind of an informal setup-," he pauses to look down at his shapeless hoody, "-I mean, obviously. But where is it?"

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Wait, I think I've got a card..." Sarah sets her battered textbook aside, opening her bag to rummage around, then pulls out a slightly rumpled white card that she offers to Drake. "It's not too far, a bus ride away. I can give you the fare if you need it, there and back. As long as you're not afraid of some hard work, they'll have something for you." She pauses. "Though tell them up front if you've got a record, they like to know that. Or if you've got medical conditions; sometimes they can get you in to see a free clinic, when they hold it." She shrugs. "If the interview doesn't work out, that way you've got something to fall back on, anyway?"

    She smirks a bit at Sally's hair complaints. "It's not bad. At least it's not really windy today, I have to braid mine up on days like that or it goes everywhere." She frowns at Mori. "Fuck, $1800 a month? That's criminal. That's almost rent for a place these days. A online thing might help him in the short term, but sounds like he needs some way to be making that kind of money in the long term."

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Uncooperative hair seems to be a trend," Mori offers a smile towards Sally. "But yeah, he's got it pretty rough. I only met him cause I donated a couple of times and I think he got the idea that I wasn't just someone who had a bunch of money to throw around so he wanted to thank me. Not sure what else I can do to help, but a fundraiser would be really nice. I'd do a bunch of art for it, but if I had more people who could do things to contribute we might be able to get a really good start going for him. He can't find anyone to hire him I guess? Kind of hard when you have no references."

There's a bit of a wince. The more she recounts the story the more she just feels bad about it. "So yeah, it's kind of hard not to want to help in that case. Even if it's a couple of dollars. It's a nice distraction from your own problems when you can help someone else, I'm starting to notice. Puts things into perspective." She glances to Sarah. "Do you have an extra card? You did say the shelter helped people find jobs and I'm certain he's looking. I can pass it on to him if I see him or email him the information."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Oooh, yeah. The wind is the worst, especially when I decide to go for a wig or something," Sally replies nonchalantly, giving a nod towards Sarah and then her gaze swivels back to Mori and she squiiiiints at her again. Just studying her rather intently. "Mmn. Maybe I can help too! I am pretty good with social media and all it takes is a snappy write up and you can have ALL the people trying to help, especially if he's like... super sympathetic and sad looking. Is he?" She asks.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley lifts from his impromptu seat to cross in front of Mori, pausing a moment to steal one last glance at the art she's working on. And then a follow-up glance to Sally - she does look like the social media type, now that she mentions it. And finally, to Sarah. He moves closer to her and takes the card. "Nono, don't worry about the fare and stuff. I can manage." He hates being a burden as it is; he can tough out an urban hike. The card is slotted into a pants pocket. And he pauses.

A record?

He might. It's hard for him to say for sure. He never went to juvie. He was never arrested. But his family knew about what he did. His father's a cop. Is this even an option to him? Especially now, knowing he isn't quite human. Would such a thing even be wise?

The zeal in his voice has faded. "I'll keep it in mind, either way. But I'm keeping fingers crossed for the interview to go well."

His gaze lifts skywards in lieu of a cellphone or watch. He's gotten pretty decent at figuring the time by the sun's position, even amidst tall buildings. "I should be going. Nice meeting you, Sarah. Mori - our deal's still on," he reminds. And lastly to Sally, whose name he never got, "...Nice hair," he adds with a boyish uptilt of his chin.

And with that, he turns to shuffle on his way out of the park.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Sure." Sarah goes back to her bag, pulling out another card that she offers to Mori. "I mean, I don't know if they can help him with something that pricey, if it's a super specialized medicine, but...maybe a job or something? Or help figuring out who he is, if he needs that." she says, shrugging her shoulders slightly, then thumbs to Sally as she offers to help. "Or that. Can't hurt maybe." She raises a brow at Sally. "A wig?" she questions after a moment, glancing at her hair again. Obviously wondering if it's a wig too now. Looks real though!

    She nods slightly to Drake, sensing his unease. "If you want to keep it private, they'll respect that. As long as you're not on a pedo list or something, that's where they've got to report it, because it's required by law. But most people know that people are going to have rough backgrounds, so it won't be a shock if you do." she says to reassure him, nodding at the bus fare. "Good luck!" She goes back to her ice cream, realizing it's starting to drip over with her talking so long without taking a lick or two.

Mori Merritt has posed:
"I mean, I don't know that he's sad looking, but he's got a sympathetic face," Mori smiles at Sally. "But yeah, help is cool. I just feel like someone's got to help him. Poor guy. So if you're good at social media, I bet we could try and boost his funding." As Drake moves to leave, she gives him a small two-fingered salute as a fairwell. "You better hold up your end of the deal!" She calls after him, but then looks back to Sarah. "I think he said he was trying to do day labor but he's finding it hard to get anything at this point. I got the impression he's not really got a lot in the way of options."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Well, he'll need a story written up. I think I can help with it. I'll get him on twitter, instagram, all the ams."

Sally taps her chin once, "and the book of faces, of course, I guess, much as I don't like that one it's too big too ignore. If you can catch the right eye it can get done pretty fast! Or nothing at all can happen. Or not enough. Or everything in between."

She waves after Drake as he tells her nice hair but then her eyes are back oN Sarah and Mori. She bounces on the tips of her toes. "I will totally give you my number and you can, like... write up the sad tale of woe and then I can put it out there! Team... whoever it is we're funding."

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Day labor is better than nothing." Sarah notes, then eyes Sally. "....book of faces sounds like it's some sort of weird creepypasta." She shifts, finishing off her ice cream as she crunches down the rest of the cone, letting the other two chat for a moment.

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Sure, I'll pass along any information to him on whta he needs. I don't know that there is a story that he /remembers/, though." Mori rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "But being able to give him options on how to navigate the whole situation seems to be a nobrainer for me." She's still sketching, filling in all the scales of the fish, drawing in a backdrop that's hard to tell if the fish is flying or swimming. Is it air? Is it water? Who knows.

Sally Houki has posed:
"A lot of people will doubt amnesia, so it's probably better to focus on his struggles *now*, and how he's fallen on hard times. His condition being whatever it is can be explained, but its better to not use such a laden term..."

Sally turns and looks at Sarah with a blink.

"They call it that somewhere," she muses aloud.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah frowns. "I don't know anything about amnesia, other than movie stuff. Which is sure to be flawed and built up for story. If he's a missing person there are websites you can go to though? I think. I mean, you can go to the police but I have a feeling they won't be willing to drop everything for someone who's saying they don't remember who they are."

Mori Merritt has posed:
"Well, he's got amnesia and some weird cellular condition that costs way too much," Mori pulls out her phone to fish for the webpage for the HelpFundMe. "Police can only help to a certain point. I mean, what are they gonna do? He can put in his info with them in case someone's trying to find him, but other than that to be out on your own with no money, no idea who you are, and a bucketload of medical bills? I've never been quite in that particular circumstance, but I certainly feel for him."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Ha, ha. Yeah. Imagine waking up and not really knowing, like... anything because your history is ... broken. That'd suck," muses Sally, absently, ignoring the fact thatq this is effectively part of her own histopry.

Nope. Not gonnaq think about that.

She looks down at her ice cream cone, because she's still holding a little of it, and tosses it into her mouth. Crunch! Crunch crunch.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Well. They've got those face recognition things, but they're not super accurate. And I've no idea if they've got something online to search on your own." Sarah admits. "But it sounds pretty crappy all around, yeah. Did he have a head injury or something?" she wonders. "Or is this part of the medical condition with his cells?" She shifts, idly licking her fingertips clean of a few drops of chocolate then rubbing them on her jeans idly.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori's scrolling down the page, holding her phone out with her free hand so both Sally and Sarah can see Ben's page. "He said a couple of weeks but didn't mention how it all happened. I can get not being super personal about it on the internet because... you don't know what you're going to find out there. In his case, though, I don't think it hurts. He just wants answers and that's something I respect more than anything."

Sally Houki has posed:
Sally peers at Ben's page. She watches. She listens.

"...wow. That sounds terrible! The poor guy! I want to help." She leans, gets a glance aqt the page, and she has her phone out.

She's already getting ready to donate. POOR BEN. He needs help. So, of course, she's donating. Blink, blink down at her phone. It's a pink and glitzy thing because *of course it is*. Also, it looks ... kind of spendy, actually. Top model.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah looks over the page, frowning thoughfully to herself as she leans back. "I don't know anything about biological stuff, but that sounds...really strange. I've never heard of a genetic sickness like that, that worked that quickly anyway." she says after a moment. "It isn't, like..a mutation or something? I know mutants get the short end of the stick sometimes....."

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori glances over at Sally's phone. She's not judging, but maybe there's a bit of envy there. Nice phone. "Whatever it was that's going on, the meds seem to be working. When I met him he was cheerful and said he was feeling a lot better with them. Don't know if steroids work on mutations, but the little bit I know about mutant abilities and stuff is like a five minute spiel given to me by someone way smarter than I am. But they can trace that sort of thing." She's still trying to come up with solutions. "I wonder if we can get him to send in one of those family tree genetic tests and see if it matches anyone."

Sally Houki has posed:
"It really does sound strange," agrees Sally, musingly. Is this why she's here today? She has this sort of thoughtful look on her face as her donation goes through. Whatever was left for having to get through the month of his medication is taken care of, or at least a good chunk towards his next one. She is a helper. She is helping.

"I will signal boost," she says, brightly.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    "Well..." Sarah says slowly. "I do know someone who has a degree in cellular biology who might be able to tell him more than a standard doctor would, but she's...um...out of contact right now." she says with a sigh. "After the Warzoom whatever they were thing. She's missing. She might just be..." She cuts off, then says. "When I hear from her again, I could ask her about it. She might be interested in it as a puzzle if nothing else."

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah's phone chirps at her, looking down, as she frowns, then slides her textbook back into her bag, pulling it on. "Well...if you need to get hold of me, my number's on that card, right? Sarah Rainmaker. Sorry, I gotta run to my next class, but it was nice meeting you both." She waves cheerfully, then starts quick walking in the direction of the campus.

Mori Merritt has posed:
Mori beams at the fact that Sally's chipping in. "That's super generous, I'm sure he'll be happy." She looks between Sally and Sarah, nodding at the latter of the two. "Okay, I appreciate it Sarah. It was really nice meeting you!" She moves to tuck her phone away, going for her sketchpad shortly after. "I should head off myself. Homework for the boring classes." She offers a wave to the retreating Sarah.