Owner	Pose
Groot	Coney Island isn't particularly busy, but it's not super empty, either. It's got people hanging out, taking in the sites, nomming on unhealthy snacks, and basically just doing what people do at Coney Island. There is a slow wave of awe and cameras on phones coming out to take pictures and video of the odd entrants to the park. Mutants are one thing; they are generally pretty close to human, and political correctness mandates ignoring weird deformities, generally. A ten-foot, perambulatory tree is quite another thing entirely! With or without the talking definitely-not-a-raccoon (who is totally a raccoon, you guys).
Madison Evans	Madison's friends were supposed to meet her at Coney Island - but unfortunately, they got caught up. No doubt Irie would regale her with some tale of how, once again, the Titans have just saved the known universe and //that's// why she had to leave Madison on her own to make her own fun.     I mean, as far as excuses go, it's a pretty good one - and it's hard to argue against when it hits the papers the next day.     At the moment, the high school student who is dressed in a t-shirt that depicts Chewbacca as a sloth hanging from a tree is sipping away at a fruit smoothie. A commotion off to her right catches her attention and she turns to look - fully prepared to have to stand tip-toes and crane her neck to see what has people excited.     Instead she only has to look uuuup and Groot's massive form. "Whoa," she murmurs. "That's... so... COOL!"
Rocket	"You flarknards act like you've never seen someone like me before." Rocket is already grumbling at all the staring, stopping to cast his arms out wide..which is not all that wide compared to the taller humans. "Go ahead, Humies. Get a good look at ol' Rocket! Groot and me, we're heroes! Saved your mudball planet at least twice, maybe more! We'll give you autographs, for a price." Always thinking of how to make credits, units, money, that one. Yes, it's a raccoon-like creature in an orange jumpsuit, walking upright. Too real to be puppetry. Could be animatronics, but it's a /very/ good effort if so. And, given the angles and heights, not to mention people around, others at more of a distance will see Groot long before they spot Rocket. "Now what's the best food to get around here?" the shorter one wants to know.
Groot	The huge tree waves and smiles to lots of people. Stooping down to a toddler girl, he waves with his fingers. She doesn't know how to handle it, frozen in place. Her mother scoops her up and takes a step back, in awe, but still wary of the unknown tree thing. "I am Groot," Groot explains, standing back up to his full height. He scoops up Rocket, a practiced gesture that the other will have the skill to take full advantage of. Raising his wooden hand up high, he lets Rocket scan from twice the height of the tallest human in the crowd, rather than ground level. "I am Groot?" he asks, curious.
Madison Evans	Still carrying her smoothie with her, Madison moves through the crowds towards the unusual pair. A walking tree... and an intelligent, bipedal raccoon. That's something you, uhh, don't see everyday. "Were you guys made using magic or something?" she asks bluntly. It's the most logical explination. "Or! Ooo! Are you from Wonderla- oh, no, probably not, huh?" She looks thoughtful for a moment, then abruptly turns and points towards a food stall.     "If you like sweets, funnel cakes are the //best.// The absolute best. You should try them!"
Rocket	As the mother holds her child, Rocket transitions to scaling Groot the rest of the way once a woody hand up is offered. It results in him perched at the giant's shoulder, a hand wrapped around a knot in Groot's head to help further steady himself, which gives him a better opportunity to look around - and down - at their surroundings. Multiple phones are in hand, the whole thing being recorded, sent to social media accounts. Yes, it is the creature from the Cameo video..nobody has apparently watched yet. "That's Groot greeting ya," he says, not lying for once or twisting it around to his benefit. Yet. "It ain't like he said he's gonna eat your kid." He scents the air, looking all around at the different food stalls and more dedicated buildings, the rides, and more. And then, someone particular is speaking up. "What? Magic? No. We're as real as it gets. The realest. We're from way up there." He points skyward, staring at Madison. "Tell us more about these 'funnel cakes.'"
Groot	Groot looks at Madison, one of the few talking TO Groot and Rocket, and not just ABOUT Groot and Rocket. "I am Groot," he says to Rocket. He then looks at Madison. He offers a wave and a kind smile (the only kind Groot knows). "I am Groot," he says, greeting her.
Madison Evans	"Umm, hi Groot. I am Madison," the teen offers in reply - her brow furrowing slightly. I mean - why did he tell her his name twice?     Whatever.     "Okay, so, funnel cakes - they're great! They make this thin, sweet batter - and then they put it in a funnel. You know, //funnel cakes.// And they use the funnel to pour a thin stream of batter into frying oil and they swirl it around, and criss-cross it back and forth, and make this fried, umm, lattice of sweet dough. And, you know, flip it to cook on both sides. And then they top it off with powdered sugar - or you can put fruit, or jam, or chocolate on top - they usually have different sorts of toppings. Maybe even a sprinkle of sliced almonds or something? Anyways. It's just like... sooooooo good, and if you like sweets you should try it! But if yo don't like sweets, then, well... maybe don't try it. I dunno. But who //doesn't// like sweets?" The girl talks fast, and exciteably, and hardly seems to stop for air.     In short - she's a lot.
Rocket	"That's right," Rocket tells Groot, sticking a little closer to him with the crowd gathering. Not that he's /afraid/ of anybody here..but being of smaller size and stature makes accidents more likely. Mostly, he hears variations of things involving 'raccoons,' which never ceases to annoy him if the twitch of ears and muzzle is any sign, not to mention that ringed tail of his. "Okay, okay, lady. I don't care how they make them. All I care about is what they taste like. I ain't used a funnel to make food before. That's for scut like fuel, but I'll try anything once," he explains. The stuff sounds sugary and tasty and the sort of thing that might go well with someone like him, so he gestures again. "Show us the way. Just point."
Groot	Groot steps forward and offers a hand to the young lady. It is not a handshake gesture. For one, it's his left hand. For two, it's palm up. Perhaps he wants to be led to the funnel cakes. "I am Groot," he says to her, that gentle smile still on his face.
Madison Evans	"Umm. Hi Groot," Madison replies, looking from the large tree man, to the racoon, and back once more. "Do you, uhh, eat food too?" she asks Groot uncertainly.     "Anyways, it's over here."     She puts her own, comparitively tiny hand on top of Groot's, and starts leading the pair towards the indicated booth - with its bright banners, and signs declaring 'Funnel Cake' and advertising the various toppings and costs.     "So, like, if you're from outer space - what're you doing on Earth? And how come an alien looks like a racoon, anyways? My biology teacher was talking about 'convergent evolution' but like - convergent evolution with //space aliens//? That's //wild//!"
Rocket	Rocket's eyes narrow. By now they're in range of the funnel cake booth, so the sights and smells are much clearer. People are still filming, even taking selfies with the pair in the background, now including Madison as well. "First of all, I ain't a raccoon. B, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe you've heard of us. We're pretty big among the seven systems and beyond. Thirdly, you're flarkin' right I'm wild. And last, Groot wanted to know if you were coming with us." It's just that he said that part well after they were already approaching the stand. From here, he leaps off of Groot's shoulder to land atop the counter, hands at his hips. "All right. We want funnel cakes, and we want different ones with different things so we know which ones are the best. You can do that for us, right? Whatever you take here is no issue to us. You can bill this guy. He said it's okay." From somewhere within a pocket of the jumpsuit, he produces a business card of Peter Quill, otherwise known as Star-Lord, complete with contact information. That will work, surely.
Groot	Once they're there, Groot grows a little flower from the palm of the hand Madison was just holding. He plucks it and offers it to her. "I am Groot," he says, inscrutibly.     Behind the counter, meanwhile, the guy looks surprised at first at a talking animal, but weirder things have happened lately, so he takes the offered business card. "Hey, man," he says, "I just work here. If I can't put this in the chip reader thing, I can't give you funnel cake."
Madison Evans	"Guardians of the Galaxy?" Madison repeats without comprehension. No - apparently she hasn't. "What seven systems? The Alderaan System?" she asks a bit cheekily.     "Is that all he can say?" she asks with puzzlement a moment later, as she takes the flower and sniffs at it curiously.     Possibly she shouldn't be sniffing at alien flowers that grow out of the bodies of talking aliens, but that doesn't seem to occur to her.     "Err- I mean, thank you for the flower. It's lovely!"     "Well. What if we call this Quill guy up and see if he can give a credit card number over the phone?" Madison suggests reasonably. "I mean. That'd work - wouldn't it?"
Rocket	"All of them," Rocket informs Madison, though the way he looks at her when she mentions Alderaan suggests he might be doubting something about what she's said. Possibly. Eyes shift upward at the offering from Groot to her. "He's saying a lot of stuff. I, with my infinite intelligence, can tell you exactly what he's saying. He said you should put that in your hair so everyone knows you're an ally. Go ahead, Groot. Tell her something else." It's the conflict brewing from the poor worker who's just trying to do his job that gets Rocket to focus more of his attention that way. "Fine. Go ahead." It's just a plain card, so there will be nothing for a chip reader to...read. "And no, we aren't calling him."
Groot	Groot huffs just a little bit at Rocket, flashing him just the slightest warning glare before turning back to Madison, that smile returning to his features. "I am Groot," he says, simply, letting Rocket translate for him.     The employee looks over the card again and again for a chip. He tries every possible orientation in the card reader multiple times, tries swiping every orientation he can, then finally interrupts, saying, "Hey, man, is this an RFID thing?" Poor guy's trying, anyway.
Madison Evans	"Oh, uhh - really? Do people recognize this flower? Does it like - stay fresh for a long time, too?" Madison asks uncertainly - before tucking the thing into place over one ear. Doesn't it mean something, which ear it goes on?     Well. It's over her right ear. Hopefully that's the one she wants.     "How does he say lots of different stuff if he's just saying 'I am Groot?'" she asks, looking up at the tall tree man before she adds, "No offense meant, of course."
Rocket	Rocket snaps at Groot, his nose wrinkling in defiance. "I am not! And I'm not telling her that, either! Just the part where you think she's..feh..pretty! But not the rest of it!" Fine, let the big flora colossus express his thoughts on the Humie's appearance. What does it matter? He explains to Madison, "To you, that's what it sounds like. I already said I can understand him because I know what to listen for. Nobody's just gonna understand right away." He grows more flustered at the failure to produce anything useful from the card itself. RFID? "What did you just call me?" His eyes narrow. "What the flark...fine. I will barter with you for your allegedly tasty treats. This right here?" He digs around in another pocket, coming up with a prosthetic eye. "Very valuable. Worth at least ten of your cakes. If you ever lose an eye, you have an immediate replacement, and I don't part with these easily. Do we have a deal?"
Groot	Groot smirks. He clearly got Rocket good...somehow. "I am Groot," he says to Madison with a smile. He then turns to look at Rocket on his shoulder and says, "I am Groot," a lot more gently than before.     The man behind the counter immediately recoils from the disembodied eye. "Dude!" he protests. He then gets close out of curiosity when it's clear it's not just a human eye ripped out of someone's head. "Dude!" he repeats, this time in awe. Yeah, intonation does make a lot of difference. He looks over the eye for a few moments, then back up to Rocket's face. He blinks a few times, holding off on asking if it's real, given what's offering it. "Uh," he says. He wipes his hands on his apron, opening his mouth a few times, then closing it. I mean...he just works here. How would he put that into the computer? He'd have to buy them. But...super cool alien prosthetic eye. He does ask, "Like, if I lose my eye, I just put this on the socket, and it auto-attaches?"
Madison Evans	"He thinks I'm pretty?" Madison repeats - blinking in surprise. Why would a giant tree man think she's pretty? "Uhhh... thank you. That's very nice. Um - his name //is// Groot, right? Or is groot his species? Like - I'm Madison. But I //am// human and all, so-" Honestly, it could go either way.     She turns her attention to studying the prosthetic eye, curiosity and bafflement on her features. "Is it just supposed to //look// like a real eye? Or does it like- actually make it so you can see? Because that would be soooooo cool. Could you give that eye to a blind person and make them see?" she asks.
Rocket	Rocket looks over a shoulder back toward Madison, then he shrugs and still appears annoyed at having to explain something like this. "What he's saying is from his perspective, compared to what most Humies look like, he thinks you are nicer to look at than a lot of the ones we've seen. Yes, Groot is his name. To ones like you, that's all you hear: 'I am Groot. I am Groot.' But he says a lot. Too much, at times." A scoff toward Groot is the answer to his next few words, and he's back to giving the vendor a grin that doesn't look sinister at all. All right, it does, but with his animal appearance it's tough for all the human expressions to translate properly. "..yeah. It has a scanner and everything. I ain't recommending you take your own eye out and pop this one in, but you could trade it for something else down the line." Madison's line of questioning leaves him frowning for a moment. "Maybe," he determines. "I ain't exactly had someone to try it on." Anyone close enough to hear all of this..it'll make for quite the conversations later on.
Groot	Groot stands quite pleasantly, not making Rocket translate any more just now. There are times, quite often in fact, where the flora colossus just stands quietly and listens. However, the guy behind the counter isn't really passive just now. "Dude," he repeats, grabbing for the eye. "I'll take it!"
Madison Evans	"You should like sell it to Richards or Stark or someone," Madison says solemnly to the man trying to snatch up the eye. "I mean, if it's got tech we don't know about here on Earth, we should learn about it! To help people!" The kid has a good heart, obviously. "I mean - if we can cure //blindness// how awesome would //that// be?" She beams at the funnel cake employee, the totally-not-a-raccoon-I-swear, and the tree - optimism oozing from every pore.     "Oh, umm, I'll have a funnel cake too. With chocolate sauce, and strawberries. The eye should cover that too, yeah?" Apparently she's at least partially an opportunist, though, as she beams at the employee, and takes another sip of her fruit smoothie.
Rocket	Rocket keeps a watchful eye on Groot, suspicion lingering. With him, though, there is almost always suspicion of some kind, as if he doesn't fully trust anyone or everyone. When the eye is reached for, he pulls his hand back and makes sure the deal is done first. "Who are they?" he does ask of Richards and Stark, before pointing a finger at the vendor. "One eye for ten of your funnel cakes, in different ways." Madison's optimism does not translate. He knows the eye is..just a fake eye. Does it have value? Sure, some. On the level she's imagining? Well, no. "And she can pay for her.." A look toward Groot and he heaves out an exaggerated sigh. "Whatever. One for her, too. Because I'm such a nice guy." Only upon agreement will he hand the eye over.
Groot	"Yeah yeah!" the guy says, already excited at the prospect of auctioning off the alien artifact. He'll be set for life. Forget this funnel cake job! Maybe it won't cure blindness for the planet, but even sitting on his shelf, it's worth the $30-$50 or however much eleven funnel cakes cost right now. He holds out his hand expectantly.     Meanwhile, Groot looks back at Rocket. "I am Groot?" he asks. "I am Groot," he continues, gesturing toward Madison.
Madison Evans	"Oh, umm, Richards and Stark are like - total genius science inventor types, you know?" Madison explains. "They've built space ships, and AI systems, and high tech mechanical suits, and robots, and all kinds of stuff. Plus - I think they're both rich? I mean. Stark is definitely rich." Is Richards rich? Hrm. She looks thoughtful - though that expression changes to a broad grin as Rocket agrees to get her her funnel cake.     "Thanks!" She adds brightly. "I love funnel cakes."     And her mom doesn't need to know she ate anything so unhealthy.
Rocket	"Bah. I've done all that stuff," Rocket claims. "Not only am I an expert pilot, I can make just about anything I can think of." Rich, though? None of them can claim to really be rich. To Groot, he glares. "The deal is with him, not her. She gets one of these, and that's enough. I /was/ gonna give you one too, but maybe I should eat the rest myself." No telling what kind of effect that many funnel cakes with various toppings could have on him later. The deal is sealed, the eye dropped in the excited man's hand. "Now don't lose it." He also watches how they are made. Closely.
Groot	Groot has said his peace, and he doesn't push the issue. Rocket is a force of nature, and once he's made up his mind, it takes a lot to change his course. The man excitedly takes the eye and looks at it up close and personal with wide eyed wonder. He soon shoves it in his pocket under his apron and starts making funnel cakes. They're actually pretty simplistic. Fried dough made just like Madison had described prior. Almost all the toppings were just some variation of 'more sugar'.
Madison Evans	"My friend Victor and I," yes, she's already decided Victor Stone is her 'friend' - nevermind he's ten years older than her, "are inventing real lightsabers." Madison pauses briefly. "I mean. ...he's inventing them. But I'm helping as much as I can! I don't think either of us are rich, though. Well. I know //I'm// not rich."     Madison excitedly takes her funnel cake when it's offered, nodding towards a table. "We could go eat over there - here, I'll help you carry some of yours. I mean, that's a //lot// of food - can you really eat that much? I mean - you're not that big. Groot is, but-" Raccoons are small. Even space alien raccoons.
Rocket	"Those aren't real," Rocket explains bluntly to Madison. "Yeah, I've heard of them. Quill goes on about them sometimes." He scoffs, a sound escaping his mouth. "I mean, lasers are real, and things like that /can/ be made, but that's about it." He's waiting on his food, and when the first one with the dusting of powdered sugar is handed over, he wastes no time in devouring it following a cursory nibble, finding it to be worth going for. There is a brief sneeze that sends powdered sugar dust up in a puff around him, but he leaves nothing behind and it only takes a matter of seconds before he slams a small fist down. "More!" That is, hopefully, a good sign. "Do not doubt my appetite for tasty food, even Humie food." He glances in the direction of the table, but does not appear inclined to go over there. "You go ahead, Groot. You two can talk more."
Groot	Groot's brow furrows. He looks at Rocket and pauses as his friend hastily noms fried dough. "I am Groot?" he asks. "I am Groot," he starts. He then concludes with a weighty, "I am Groot." Clearly, he is an eloquent and intellectual poet of grandest form.
Madison Evans	"Once we invent them, they're real!" Madison insists brightly. "And a Jedi needs to have a lightsaber. It's a rule."     As Rocket digs into the funnel cakes she adds in a cheerful voice, "Told you they were good! These have always been my favorite." Though her mother never lets her get one - they're too unhealthy. And if a 'funnel cake' had shown up on her credit card statement - woooooo.     She looks curiously between Groot and Rocket - waiting for a translation, when there's a noise from her pocket. Pulling it out, she looks it over and says, "OH! My friends are here. I better go," she declares as she starts to move away.
Rocket	One thing is for certain: Rocket does not eat all that cleanly. If the appearance wasn't enough, he has those animal mannerisms that make it difficult to forget when factoring in his ability to walk upright, talk, and do so much more. This means the second funnel cake, coated in chocolate as well, ends up with a fair amount of that on his hands. This then leads to excited licking to clean it off. "I can talk and eat at the same time, Groot! Do not underestimate me! And there's no reason to think that Victor is one of the Titans! Not everyone on this planet knows them!" His beady eyes dart between the two. The sugar is already taking effect. "Right?!"
Groot	Groot shrugs. "I am Groot," he agrees, conceding the point. He waves to Madison as she walks away. "I am Groot," he says to her as the funnel cake man keeps churning out fried dough for Rocket. So...just so much fried dough...
Madison Evans	"Oh, umm, yeah. Victor Stone! We're friends. I'm friends with Irie, see, and she introduced me to all her friends - so I go to the Tower and we play board games, and umm - you know them too?" Madison asks, looking between the two. "You should join use for board games! Next game is Friday night - I think someone's bringing Zombicide?"     She looks like she wants to stay, but she nods over her shoulder as she adds, "I'm supposed to go, though, so umm... Bye!" And with that, the enthusiastic teen starts to move off - funnel cake in hand.
Rocket	Rocket rubs the side of his face as she does, in fact, confirm she knows the Titans. "Flark me.." With chocolate still on that hand, he smears it where he's touched. "Flark me!" This causes him to go through a bout of self-grooming, which very much involves hand-licking and wiping, and there is no answer to the invitation before Madison has made her way off. Groot would probably love it, though. There are many more funnel cakes to be eaten, all for a completely useless false eye. He came out ahead in this one.