6315/A Saturday Night Lunch

A Saturday Night Lunch
Date of Scene:	23 May 2021
Location:	Barney Greengrass Deli
Synopsis:	Lydia meets Atlin at the deli to have a little date. It goes well, and they agree to do it again!
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Atlin

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Earlier in the day, Lydia had been cleaning out the detritus that accumulates in the bottom of one's purse. Random receipts, loose change, a couple of q-tips and some packets of wet naps are amongst the debris that she pulls out. One of the pieces of paper catches her eyes as it's got something scribbled on it. Turning it over to read it, it's got a phone number and a short message: Call me. Atlin.

It takes her a while to recognize the name. She was the Amazon that was with that Japanese woman who was totally freaked out by her. Heat rises to her face at the memory, and she nearly tosses the paper away, but that amazon's reaction dulls the edge and causes her to reconsider. She seemed truly apologetic and, let's be honest here, she was /gorgeous/.

Lydia's hands reach for her phone. Surely it's been long enough that Atlin just doesn't remember her. But what if she did? After all how many green glowing mutants are out there? Not many. Swallowing she rings up the number. When answered, Lydia tries to keep the nervousness out of her voice. "Hello? Yes, this is Lydia Diettrich. I... uh... you probably don't remember me. I was out in the park and you were with your friend and I glow green and she got freaked out by it...."

Atlin has posed:
She almost missed it...

The buzzing of her phone almost drowned out by the footfalls on the treadmill. Excercise and training was important to an Amazon of Bana-Mighdall...but it was a little hard to find anything other than cardio that could keep up with her. They didn't exactly have a superhuman sports store!

Fate however had other plans, the blonde diving to retrieve the device and swiping her finger across the prompt. Her voice wasn't nervous, but breath increased by haste rather than exhaustion carried in that first 'Hello?'

If she'd forgotten? She remembered fast, a hand coming to wipe her brow as she paused, a little chuckling breath as her heart steadied. "The glowing girl, how could I forget? I'd...honestly given up hope that you'd call. I uh...assumed you'd thrown the note away after..."

The girl trailed off. Bringing up the poor impression wasn't exactly a great opener!

"I'm glad you called!"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Now Lydia's in trouble. The problem with the plan of 'let's call the pretty woman' is that once that's done there isn't that much guidance as to where to go from there.

"No I didn't throw it away," she confesses, "I just...." forgot it was there? No, that isn't a good thing to say. "Got distracted by other things. I found it and decided to give you a call!" There's a pause as she collects her thoughts on what to say next. "I.. uh.. think our meeting got off on the wrong foot," she confesses. "Would you like to try again?" Thankfully they're on the phone and Atlin can't see her wince. "I know a place. In the city. It's got great seafood if you're into that."

Atlin has posed:
"I like food," Atlin answers almost instinctively, a muffled noise following practically announcing her tapping her phone against her forehead in immediate embarassed frustration. Daughter of war...but not exactly an expert in flirtation in the broader world!

She takes a breath, her voice firmer, an attempt at least of playing confidence if she couldn't find it for real as she tried again. "I like sea food, and I would very much like to 'try again'. Where would you like to meet?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives Atlin the address to Barney Greengrass Deli, and a time where they could both reasonably make. She has enough time to finish cleaning out her purse and to get ready, most of which she uses to fuss over her curly brown hair. Eventually she just gives up and pulls it back into a bun and heads out.

She gets there a little early due to fortuitous public transit timing. She goes and claims one of the tables inside, aiming to wait patiently for the Amazon to arrive, but soon nerves get the better of her and she starts fiddling with her phone.

Atlin has posed:
A good thing too, because turning up to a 'date' flushed from training was perfectly good where she came from, but here in 'Man's world' it was frowned upon almost as much as wearing weapons openly. That much she'd been warned about.

One shower later and a change of clothing from her borrowed stash, a button up shirt and slacks, the outfit might have been androgynous on another, but not for the blonde Amazon. It would have to do!

Not quite so deft with public transport, it takes her a minute or two more to actually find her way into the deli, the blonde arriving at the restaurant with a ring of the bell announcing her appearance.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia looks up at the ring of the bell, as she had half a dozen times before. This time, however, the person she was waiting for came in. "Atlin!" she says with a grin, getting to her feet. She stands awkwardly for a moment, unsure of how else she should greet the Amazon. Shake hands? Hug? Kiss the cheeks? Shit. She's an Amazon. Friggin /wrestle?/. She realizes that she's been nervously turning her phone over in her hands, and stuffs it into her purse, and steps back to let Atlin come join her.

"Thank you for coming," she says as she makes her way to the counter, beckoning Atlin to follow. "The sturgeon here is to die for, but I prefer the pastrami salmon. I highly recommend it, as is the rugelach if you're looking for a sweet pastry. Get whatever you want. It's on me." Indeed, the prices here are a bit spendy, but it all looks so mouth wateringly tasty.

Atlin has posed:
Sure enough, Atlin looks equally unsure on the greeting to go for, if only for the akward parting last time. A little smile, she's more than happy to move past that part and into following the glowing girl.

"I will follow your recommendations," she offers with a laugh and a shrug of her shoulders. "I feel like every time I begin to think I have found the best dishes that the city has to offer, I encounter something new. There is...a lot of food that I have not seen before I travelled from home."

Eyes move, taking in the sights of the pastries beneath the glass before lifting to the other woman's face. "Perhaps we can pick what you think looks best, and share the dessert afterwards?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods. "Mmhmm. New York has every food known to man and then some in it. This place has been around for over a century which..." she pauses as she admits, "for America is a pretty long time, but probably not as long as anything overseas." Her eyes glance over the menu board, before stepping forward and ordering for them. For herself, a pastrami salmon sandwich, and a sturgeon sandwich for Atlin. She gets them both some bottled water since she isn't sure what kind of drinks her companion is into, and finishes it off with two rugelach.

It only takes a few moments for the man behind the counter to make their food, and hands the wrapped sandwiches and bagged pastries to Lydia, who then turns and sits down at one of the little tables that are inside the shop. She slides Atlin's food across the table and opens up her own sandwich with obvious delight.

"I should.... I feel like I should apologize for how I reacted that day," she says. "I don't know why. I usually don't get that upset around people."

Atlin has posed:
A nod, the blonde shrugs as she moves to sit, discussion of food bringing a little frown to her lips. "Bana-mighdall has had...limited cultural exchange for a long time. It is why I am travelling now, to learn about the rest of the world."

Settling at the table, she too opens up the sandwich, inhaling the scent and claiming her first joyful bite.

Mouth filled at first, there's a soft 'mmpf' of reassurance as she swallows her meal before tilting her head to the side. "No, if anything I understand. I know what it is to be different, and I am sorry that my companion was so...I'm sorry that our meeting was an upsetting one."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia takes a bite of her own, her eyes closing in pleasure at the sandwich. "Mmm. Bana-mighdall," she repeats. "I'm sorry for my ignorance. I've never heard of it or, if I'm being honest, know where it's location." She chews on another bite thoughtfully, "How long have you been in America?"

She lowers her eyes, though. "It's okay. There's always going to be somebody who's going to react like that. I had thought I'd gotten over feeling shame or or anything like that but obviously I guess it still gets to me on some level."

Atlin has posed:
Few do know where her homeland is, as illusive as 'Paradise Island' and as vigilantly defended from those who would stumble across it. It's a fact she'll leave unspoken for now.

"Several months," she answers instead, a shrug suggesting she'd not kept track of time exactly. "It is all still very new."

Those lowered eyes didn't need her inbred amazonian empathy to pick up on, plainly and painfully familier to the blonde who offers a sad smile. "It's like an armor sometimes, growing accustomed to such things. You forget you wear it, until something slips through."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia snorts in laughter, her mood lifted with that bit of wisdom. "Or softly glowing green," she adds. "It used to keep me up at night, so I would often wear a sleep mask to help me sleep." She shrugs, "But eventually I got used to it enough that it stopped bothering me."

She takes another bite of her sandwich which she takes time to savor before continuing. "The one thing that I do regret about my powers is that I've effectively become colorblind. I mean... bright lights can kind of cut through and overpower the mist, but for the most part colors are all just kind of shades of green to me." She picks up a piece of salmon that fell onto the table and unthinkingly pops it into her mouth. "Again, it's something that I've gotten used to so my brain has kind of adjusted for it. But still," she says wistfully, "It's something that I miss."

Atlin has posed:
Atlin nods as she listens, small bites of her meal but not enough to break her focus on Lydia as she shares. Of course, there's a little furrow of her brow at the internal comparison to her own differences, but even among her own people they were just that: internal. Unknown on observation.

The grab for the salmon is reflexively mirrored, but her hand pulls back as Lydia goes for it, perhaps the lightest contact before she returns her own fingers to her food with a light flush to her features. "Does it ease if things are closer? Or is everything only green not matter how close?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
The brief contact causes Lydia's cheeks to flush a bit as well and makes her consider just leaving a hand out, ready to be taken. "It gets a little bit better the closer it gets, yeah," she admits, "And colors come through better if I'm using my phone or a tablet but I feel like I'm making myself nearsighted if I do that all the time, and the world is farther than three feet in front of my face."

She laughs at that, though, not sounding really all that bothered by the whole deal. It's a good thing my career paths of choice is mostly just a bunch of reading because most books don't care if you only see in green.

Atlin has posed:
"That is...unfortunate," Atlin offers, a slight frown on her lips perhaps conveying the fact that she wasn't quite sure how to offer sympathy.

Still, she was trying!

Tilting her head to the side, the woman shifts in her seat, taking a bite of her sandwich and then tilting her head, the Amazon looks down at her hand. "I had never planned on being an envoy, but I am glad for it now..."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia takes a sip of water and shrugs with a grin. "It's a minor complaint, all in all. I wouldn't change anything, really. I like who I am, ectoplasm and all."

Lydia's eyebrows raise at the mention of being an envoy. "Oh? How did that happen?" she asks, leaning forward her curiosity genuine.

Atlin has posed:
Her sandwich is lowered to the plate, taste or not her hunger sours a little at the memory.

"I am...a little different to some of my sisters, things got carried away and...I scared some people important to me."

Trailing off, the amazon actually looks unsure, nervous when she lifts her eyes to the glowing girl.

"I was sent to learn of Man's world and everything Bana-Mighdall has missed."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia scowls a bit, uncomfortable in empathy for Atlin. She wants to know more, but it's obviously a sore subject for the woman. "Have you learned anything that surprises you?" She asks, redirecting the conversation so the Amazon doesn't have to relive painful memories.

Atlin has posed:
A shift, even with her empathy less attuned than some Amazon she's grateful for the change. Exhaling a breath, Atlin looks towards Lydia once more with a little laugh.

"Food here is wonderful, the fashion is weird, most women here are not warriors...and mutants are not among our people."

She trails off, a slight sheepish smile on her lips, but the woman tilts her head. "Meeting you has been quite wonderful too."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
A blush colors Lydia's cheeks, and she bashfully pushes the remains of her sandwich across the plate. "I think you're wonderful too." Wait. That wasn't exactly what she meant to say. "I.. I mean," she stammers, "Meeting you was wonderful as well. I've never met an Amazon before, and all the ones that I've heard of came from Themyscira."

"... And I can show you more food!" she hastily concludes.

Atlin has posed:
A little flush follows Atlin's cheeks, the Amazon leans forwards lightly resting her elbows on the table. "I would like that. I..." she trails off, tilting her head to the side. "I am glad you called me."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I'm glad I called you too," Lydia says. "I didn't know what to expect considering how we met but..." She trails off gathering the courage to say, "I'm glad that we did this and I really want to do it again. Maybe take you to a show so you can see some entertainment besides television."

Atlin has posed:
"I would like that...I would like to show you my own people's entertainment but..." she trails off, apparently finding the courage to gently rest her hand atop the other woman's own.

"That is limited to training, dancing, swimming...."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia turns her hand palm up so she can grasp Atlin's. "I've always wanted to learn to dance," she says coyly. She can't believe she said something so bold, but it's true. She wants to learn how to dance. Especially the kind of dance than an Amazon might be able to teach her.

Atlin has posed:
It was different of course, different music and different dancing, but the interest itself was enticing enough. Enough to offer a squeeze of that hand. "So, another 'date' as it is called? Whichever idea we settle on?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia can't help but feel a bit giddy as Atlin confirms that this is a date. "Yes. A date. I'm looking forward to it. I'll see if I can't get tickets to a show. Maybe Hadestown. Show you some more American culture. Then we can go dancing somewhere."