5802/Chats and snacks at the Shack

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Chats and snacks at the Shack
Date of Scene: 31 March 2021
Location: Shake Shack
Synopsis: katsumi and Atlin meet Lydia at the Shake Shack and try to have a conversation, but it doesn't go well at all.
Cast of Characters: Lydia Dietrich, Atlin, Katsumi Oshiro




Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Gramercy Park is a smallish park in the heart of Manhattan, at least compared to the other parks on the island. In it houses the Shake Shack, which is one of the best places to get yourself a milkshake in the area. It's early evening, and the sun is about to set, and the dinner rush is winding down, leaving plenty of tables open.

Lydia is here, having just gotten herself a cheeseburger with fries, and a large chocolate milkshake. She finds an open table to set her food down and pulls out her journal and a nice pen, and writes a little something in it before taking a fry.

Currently she's dressed nicely. She's wearing black slacks with matching comfortable looking black flats. Complimenting that she's wearing a cream colored blouse over which a warm looking charcoal grey jacket is worn to keep the chill out. The thick mass of curly brown hair has been tamed and wrapped up in a bun, giving her something of a librarian look, and as always, there's the softly green glowing aura of her ectoplasm that swirls around her.

Atlin has posed:
The wonders of a Milkshake had been something that Atlin had been introduced to, but now? There's still quite a few flavours that still have yet to be tested. That and she's out and about after her own recent workout. It took a -lot- of time and a lot of effort to get any benefit from standard gym equipment for the Amazon after all!

Herself dressed in simple activewear leggings and a tank top that hugged her form close enough it was actually likely she -wasn't- wearing her armor beneath, the blonde made her way towards the fast food restaurant, a simple gym bag slung over her shoulder.

Seeking junk food right after working out was kind of counter-productive, but in truth? Both activities were more about the benefit to mind rather than body.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Darn persistent lingering chill. It can't seem to decide what it wants to do! Granted, Katsumi comes from a country that's basically all coastal, so she's used to it. But she can't help but yearn for more warmth. It feels like Winter has lasted a very, very long time.

Nevermind that this is likely psychologically connected to the trauma and pain she's endured in her personal and professional life this past winter, and how moving on to warmer times would feel like turning over a new leaf. No, to Katsumi, it means being stuck wearing layers still. Ugh. Blech. Layers, who needs'em.

Certainly not her legs! Those still go bare. The upper-half is covered in a chic, functional metropolitan dress, however. Gloves and boots remain steady fixtures, but for once, she's foregoing her collar!

Unlike Atlin, Katsumi hadn't just wrapped up a workout. She was on the phone with some people back home, caught glimpse of a milkshake purveyor, and had to get in on that. So she's arriving, shortly after the blonde - but immediately recognizing her. "O-oh, hey!," she greets, eyes widened. "I haven't seen you in a while. Been staying good?" The question is chased with the sort of coy smile that might suggest she hopes the answer is a negative.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots what looks to be a glowing librarian. She peers for a moment, then adds, "You're seeing that, right?," to Atlin, nodding in Lydia's direction. "I'm not going nuts?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lyida looks at what she's just written, which is an in depth description of her food. How it looks, how it smells, what the fry tasted like. This is the kind of writing exercise that she uses to keep her writing muscles fit. Now that she's done that, she looks up to see what people are about, and if anybody catches her eye for the next bit of writing.

She feels eyes on her, however, and she looks around and spies Katsumi staring at her. This isn't all that unusual. People stare at her all the time because of the particular effect of her mutation. She gives Katsumi a warm smile and a small wave. That's usually enough to keep people from staring while still being friendly about it.

Then her eyes dart to Katsumi's companion and her brain grinds to a halt. P.. pretty girl. With tight clothing despite the spring chill. She catches that /she's/ now the one who's staring and her cheeks warm in a furious blush and she hurriedly turns back to her food and stuffs a fry into her face to try to hide her embarrassment.

Atlin has posed:
Yes...the ectoplasm aura was a little hard to miss! Atlin actually takes a moment of staring only to notice Katsumi as she speaks up, the blonde turning to face Katsumi with a blink and widening smile. "Katsumi!" she greets, giving a little nod. "I have been fine, doing well. And you? How have your...new developments been going for you? Not to mention your wrestling?"

She'd ask more, clearly happy to have the familier face present, but the slight shift in the edges of her empathic senses not to mention the hurried motion of Lydia at the corner of her eye has her looking back over. A bite of her lip in thought, she addresses the wrestler once more. "Would you like to join me for a meal?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is totally staring. The warm smile and wave is met with continual, blank, portrait-esque staring. One does not seep supernatural radiation (or whatever it is!) and so easily distract with pleasantry! Though Lydia's attention shifting to Atlin and lingering in a completely unsubtle way is, perhaps oddly, the thing Katsumi snaps onto. And for a flash, she's offended! She gets a smile and wave, the other girl gets /that/?! Injustice! She demands a recount! Her right hand raising to whisk through the silken tresses of her hair is subconscious, but most certainly borne of a jealousy at not being equally noticed!

Atlin successfully refocuses her, turning those bright magentas onto her big blues. Developments? She's just as developed as Atlin, dammit! Okay, maybe n- ohshe'stalkingaboutsomethingelse.

Katsumi's gaze dips self-consciously. "It's.. I mean, I've tried some stuff to figure it out," she submits. "And the wrestling is... not... happening anymore. A-at least not right now. M'not giving up on it." The last part is said more for her own benefit.

At the invitation, however, her head lifts again to nod eagerly. "Sure!"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Eventually, Lydia has the courage to look up again, now that their mutual staring is over. She thinks about it for a moment before deciding to be a little bit brave and waits for them to get their food. When they turn back, she gives them another friendly wave, and reaches over to pat the bench she's on.

"Come sit with me," she says to them. "I know you're curious and I'm happy to tell you all about it."

Atlin has posed:
Bravery is rewarded with a much more likely break from a long meal with more attempted subtle peeking, plus it would be rude to refuse an offer like that...at least in the Amazon's culture. Poor Katsumi simply gets her arm looped and pulled along for the ride.

"Take heart, I'm sure you will find your means to resume your passion soon enough. Oh! And how is your paramour? Things are well?"

Apparently either Atlin had been missing a little friendly contact of late and was making up for it with questions now...or she was over-caffinated. If such a thing were possible.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro orders just a shake. Strawberry, at that! Good stuff. America does a decent strawberry shake.

Upon getting it, she finds her arm looped and tugged along to the beckoning, smouldering (literally!) woman. As they approach, Katsumi decides now is the best time to respond rather than wait and say something weird in front of the unknown woman.

Her tone might not inspire much cheer. "Don't know. Not really. She's... I- I think she's really busy," she offers unconvincingly. Katsumi has already assumed the worst and hefted the mantle of blame onto her own shoulders. She isn't sure what she said or did, but she's sure it's her. Maybe it's just too much baggage, dealing with someone like her. It'd make sense. She's a mess.

The other female serves as a good distraction; nevermind how gracelessly Katsumi goes about it. "So are you toxic or what?," she asks, not sitting yet. She needs to know if her skin is going to melt off!

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia doesn't look offended as she laughs lightly at Katsumi's bluntness. "Oh, no no. It's completely harmless," she reassures the pair. "It's just ectoplasm, and no, unlike what Ghostbusters would have you believe, it's not slimy at all."

"Please, sit," she says, folding up her journal and putting it in her messenger bag sized purse. "Join me." She holds out a hand for them to shake, "I'm Lydia." Should they choose to shake her hand, the ectoplasm tingles and cools the skin, like if one had rubbed mint on it.

Atlin has posed:
Either confortable or reckless enough to take the offered handshake, Atlin does just that. Katsumi isn't pressed further on questions, one didn't need amazon empathy to pick up on that discomfort! Instead she looks back to the new face that is Lydia, offering a bow of her head in greeting even after the more traditional handshake.

"I am Atlin, it is a pleasure to meet you...even if I am unsure what a 'Ghost buster' is. Some sort of spirit hunter?"

Accent alone probably suggested she wasn't a local, but Atlin wasn't exactly a pop-culture expert either.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro squints a little at the mention of ectoplasm. "You a ghost? You gotta tell me if you're a ghost. That's the law."

Lips pursed, Katsumi plops down into the seat. She glances to Atlin, the brazen bronzen Amazonian just shaking hands like it ain't no thang. Katsumi has more trepidation. "Westerners with their handshakes," she sighs, hesitantly reaching forward. She is /visibly/ uncomfortable with coming into contact with the weirdness, her fingers curling in as the hand inches closer, before finally taking the plunge. "Oshiro Katsumi."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia tilts her head curiously when questioned about the movie. "Ghostbusters is a very popular movie," she explains, figuring that the woman isn't from around here considering the accent. Lydia herself has a hint of a Brooklyn one. It's not very strong but it's there if you listen.

She shakes her head at Kastumi. "No, not a ghost. A mutant, though. Fifteenth birthday and I suddenly start producing ectoplasm all over the place. Gave my mother a heart attack," she says, chuckling. Her handshake is a gentle one, as she senses Katsumi's hesitation. "Good to meet you both."

Atlin has posed:
Only now does Atlin seek herself a shake, order placed quickly now that a few explainations have been added. She smiles, nodding at the explaination. "Interesting. Learning of mutants was strange in itself coming to this city...but then again people blessed with power is a story as old as written history."

A shrug, the blonde looks back to the nervous Katsumi.

Obviously, Atlin doesn't get it.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
And that nervousness spikes!

A mutie!

A mutie with a glowing aura!

And she *touched* it!

Katsumi swallows hard, the corners of her eyes scrunching just a hint. "A- a mutant, huh?," she asks. Some, she can interact with more easily than others. But this one is setting her at edge - to no fault of her own, granted. "W-what is it you, um, do?," she asks.

She isn't sure what kind of response she's expecting. Of course a serial killer or terrorist wouldn't come right out and tell you, right?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I wouldn't say I was /blessed/ with this," Lydia says with a slight scowl. "It's been... hard trying to find a job when you're a mutant as obvious as I am. I've been trying to find work for almost a year now, with no success." She gestures with a hand towards Katsumi, "I get that kind of reaction all the time." She tries not to sound mean about it.

To Katsumi she holds out an open palm. "Watch," she says, and the cloud of ectoplasm contracts in her palm until she's holding a solid phosphorescent glowing ball. She pinches the top of it and raises her hand, distorting the ball into a teardrop shape, lifting it out of her palm. As the ball slowly descends, eight legs sprout out of it and the body reshapes itself to that of a spider, about the size of a tarantula, hanging from a thread from her pinched fingers.

"I can do all sorts of stuff with it. Some of it useful, some just fun." The spider wiggles down into her palm, and she pokes at it and it transforms, growing larger until it's a crow. It looks at Katsumi with beady green eyes before disappearing into a puff of ectoplasm which quickly reasserts itself in a haze around Lydia.

Atlin has posed:
"The fear of those who are different is sadly just as old..." Atlin speaks softly, but it's spoken more a lament than a barb at her companion. After all, even her own people were not immune to the same judgements as Atlin knew all too well.

The demonstration however? That had her leaning in, the eerie light illuminatin their little gathering before she nods her head lightly. "It is beautiful to behold none the less."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Atlin leans in, and Katsumi rears back. Sharply enough that it scoots her chair a few inches noisily against the floor. "O-oh, cool..," she offers, once again, unconvincingly. She's spooked! But she's relieved enough when the whole thing ends and the construct resumes being no more than a gaseous blob, a part of the greater, amorphous collective.

There's a sudden look to Atlin and a pang of guilt. At least for the blonde's sake, she needs to try to be more chill. Or if nothing else, she needs to not be a detriment. So she stuffs a straw into the shake and occupies her mouth the end of it, shoulders hunching inwards and gaze settling on the tabletop.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's eyes flick to Katsumi when she recoils during her demonstration. She tries to keep her expression neutral, but the more attentive will notice that behind it is a deep weariness.

"Thank you!" Lydia says to Atlin, with a little blush. It's not often people actually /compliment/ her powers, at least, not when she's just showing off instead of saving somebody from mortal peril. "It's useful for every day things, too." She rummages around in her purse until she pulls out her journal and a pen, all without lifting a finger. The curls of mists that hold the items deposit them down on the table. "One odd effect of constantly being surrounded by it is that I sense ghosts all the time." She shakes her head, "There are times when I wish I could see them, but then there are times when I think better of it."

Atlin has posed:
Convenient! If not likely a little unnerving to the average person. When gods and magic are the norm, it does tend to skew what makes you uncomfortable!

That being said, constantly detecting spirits of the departed? That makes the warrior woman frown ever so slightly.

A shake of her head, instead she turns her attention back to Katsumi, a hand to her shoulder. "Katsumi has been showing me about the city, showing me places such as this to find good food in the past. But I this place is new to me."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro blanches slightly. She talks to ghosts? Sees them? Dead people around? People who, like, died? That's taboo! And she isn't even questioning the validity of the statement. She just looks deeply unnerved by the way this has rolled out.

When Atlin touches her, she'll find Katsumi is a ball of tension; rigid, stiff, fortunately not bursting the milkshake in her hands. But the furtive glance she shoots the Amazonian is pretty hard to mistake. She's spooked.

But hey, at least she's not making matters worse?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's eyes flicker between Atlin and Katsumi, and she lets out a heavy, weary sigh. "Obviously I'm spooking your companion out," Lydia tells Atlin. She starts to gather up her food and drink. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your evening." With that she takes her food and milkshake to a different table that's a respectable distance. away. Even though she might respect the two's comfort, there's no way that she's going to let Katsumi's obvious uncomfortableness around her chase her out of the area that she has just as much right to be in as they do.

She takes a few fries and consumes them, pulling out her journal and pen and decides to get her feelings out on paper. That usually helps.

Atlin has posed:
"There is...a lot different in this place for many of us. Where I come from, some things are more normal. Others can be strange." That hand on Katsumi's arm remains, even as Lydia makes to leave. "You do not need to flee...but I know what it is like to be unnerved by things strange to you. Coming to this place was one of the scariest things I've undertaken in my life and Katsumi has helped with that. So..."

She looks back to the asian, nodding her head. "This is normal enough to me. And I will keep you safe Katsumi, you need not fear."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro exhales a sigh of her own. She stares down at the table, feeling the social barbs. She doesn't know what she did exactly - in her mind, she was doing her best to not create a problem. But it seems she did anyway. It's a pause from the Asian girl before she looks back over to Atlin.

"I'm gonna go. She likes you. You should talk to'er." No elaboration on how she knows that. She suspects it wouldn't make much sense to the Amazonian anyway. Sullenly, Katsumi scooches in her chair to try to stand up. "We can catch up some other time, kay?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia scowls. "She shouldn't have to fear me at all," she says, again sounding more sad than anything else. "No, don't," she says to Katsumi. "You were here with your friend and I interrupted. I didn't know I would upset you so much."

Atlin has posed:
There was a lot that didn't make sense to the Amazon, and certainly this was going to be added to the list.

Unsure, uncomfortable and once again in a situation relying on social skills rather than muscle? She freezes, looking between the pair a little lost.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Ironically, Atlin isn't the only one stunned into uncertain statue mode. And it just wrenches on Katsumi's heart a little more. She knows she screwed this up somehow! She doesn't know how exactly, but it's terribly clear, and now she's made an awkward situation by trying to fix it, after trying to not create a problem by being quiet! Katsumi chews on her bottom lip.

She looks at Atlin. No use. Atlin's frozen.

She looks at Lydia. She still spooks her. But she's scowling. She did something bad!

She looks at her feet.

Suddenly, Katsumi darts to flee the establishment in a hurry. There's escaping an awkward situation, and *escaping* an awkward situation. She figured it couldn't get any worse, right?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia unclenches fists she didn't know she was making as she watches Katsumi flee. She wishes she could say that this is the first time somebody has flown in terror away from her, but it isn't. It's always a punch to the gut when it happens. Tightly controlling her emotions she turns to Atlin and says, softly, "You better go after her," and then turns before she can see her starting to cry.

She makes her way to a different table, picking up some extra napkins on the way there and sits down on the bench heavily. She tries to keep it together enough to finish her food and not burst out in tears in front of everybody, but doesn't quite manage it, and just stares morosely at her uneaten food. She doesn't bother touching it. She's just not hungry anymore.

Atlin has posed:
Where to go? What to do? Atlin is lost yet further. But she cannot just sit there dumbstruck.

Shake forgotten, She swiftly moves to snatch up the pen from the journal, a hasty scrawl of the in the margins leaving her phone number behind. She'd finally gotten the hang of the device.

"I would speak to you again," she offers, her own abnormal Amazon empathy not exactly missing the swirl of emotions from both women. A hand from thr blonde reaches out to squeeze Lydia's shoulder, then she turns away to give chase after Katsumi.