Owner	Pose
Morrigan MacIntyre	Happy Harbor Community College had been given free passes to the MET. Which honestly was kind of fun for a day out. The passes had been handed out to those that wanted to go and they could go any time of the day that they wanted. Just as long as it is during business hours. No shenanigans with sneaking in during the night. There have been multiple people spotted from the college staff already. There are bright faces there for others to talk to if they need help, otherwise it is just a normal day to take a stroll through the museum. Bonus that they get free food and swag bags from the gift shop!
Corben Kelly	Setting aside that really heavy night when Corben was partially responsible for shaping Clara into some whole new self or the like, there was that time when she delivered that message and left him a card and a 'call me' as she left. So yesterday, he called her - because giving short notice and calling today would have been rude. He conned her into coming to this thing. The Met really is not Corben's scene and the only thing worse than going to something that isn't your scene is showing up alone to it. In he wanders, Clara by his side. "This really is not my first choice of places to be," he asides quietly to the paper doll next to him.
Xiomara Rojas	This was /not/ the sort of thing Crush did. Her idea of art was seriously different from the rest of the world, and usually involved broken bones and blood, but as with all things, there was a reason she had shown up tonight. There was something to be learned about the type of people who attended this sort of thing, and even more to learn about the sort of people who wasted their time painting things. Dressed in a tuxido, the sleeves of the shirt and jacket removed and even hemmed, she'd shined up a pair of boots her combat to wear and called it 'artistic'. No tie, no cumber bun, just the modified tux, she was fancy. Holding her ticket in hand she makes her way to the entrance, not worried about people who might be in her way... they tend to move if they see her coming. There is no mistaking her white skin and black facial marking as anything but alien, though in recent months people have started calling her a KISS fan.
Clara Jennings	Clara was unsure what to wear to the Met. But to her this is a date situation, which means jeans are out. But what if she's too fancy? Jeans might be in. Or, you know, forget it all and split the difference.     That is why Clara is wearing one of her usual, blue dresses. High neck, goes comfortably pass the knees, and with a slender belt about her waist. She looks a librarian. But a cute librarian, hopefully.     "It is interesting, I was here just last night," she says calmly. "Well, on the roof, anyway." She goes in, allowing a small smile, "It is much nicer on the inside, though. It was quite unpleasant last night! But, umm, where else would you rather be, Corben?"
Michael Hannigan	Tuesdays don't tend to be full of performances requests so that gave him some time off. And after so nudging from a particular housemate, Mike found himself outside. So- might as well use of one of the passes today. Arriving by himself, Mike made no effort to dress up and has opted for his tried and true secondhand clothing. as he comes in to the entrance way, he glances to the large lobby area with a slight frown upon his face.
Morrigan MacIntyre	There are a lot of college freshmen that are mingling within the lobby and introducing themselves. There's a lot of space to just move around and get to know faces and names. Plus there is a lot of neat art to look at together. Lots of people to meet! Declan, Delia and Tyler have all been spotted at some point. But the trio was keeping to themselves and wandering from gallery to gallery, looking for the Egyptian Art galleries. Thankfully they had grown since they were in High School, so nothing has gone pear shaped just yet.
Corben Kelly	"Anywhere but here?" he replies. As far as Corben's choice of clothing, it's the same old. That long black trench coat, a pair of black cargos tucked into the tops of his well worn Docs. At least he opted for a decent turtle neck rather than one of his ratted out band t-shirts or worse, one with something lewd written on it. He's even sporting those big round sunglasses with the amber lenses. He makes no move to remove them once inside. He is, however, wearing his cochlear processors, so he's at least making an effort to try to be social rather than just turning everyone off. He scopes out the crowd and spots Mike, another familiar face. Even that doesn't make Corben feel less uncomfortable with the situation. "I mean, I guess not /anywere/ but here. It'd suck more to be in tossed into a lion's den with only a stick." He shrugs his shoulders and that shrug turns into a shudder all the way down his body. After a deep breath, he says, "I don't like crowds." It doesn't even seem to be /that/ crowded - it probably can't even be called a 'crowd' but that's actually the heart of the issue. Corben /is/ an artist, it's not like he doesn't appreciate that. He's also a drummer in a pretty decent metal band, but crowded bars are different, he can actually take his ears off in that situation and just do the music.
Xiomara Rojas	Mingling. Crush doesn't mingle, at least she's not very good at it. She's tried many times to do the 'small talk' thing and found it to be a complete waste of time and effort. Who cares about the weather or sports teams? Making her attempt to mingle consisted of walking to the nearest piece of art and staring at it for exactly thirty seconds. After that she turned to look around the room and spotted Mike, the one and only person present she knew well enough to actually be able to tolerate small talk with. Once more unto the breech, she moves through the crowd toward the man, offering a nod in his direction when she got closer. Upon reaching him a verbal, "'sup Mike." was offered, and small talk could commence.
Clara Jennings	There is a crowd, at that. Clara had braced herself for it, and so long as nobody else talks to her but Corben, she should do well. Still, hands fidget. And once they do, they are in her head. And she again hasn't a clue where to put them. The struggle is real.     "You know, when you put it that way, I'll take the lion's den. Provided I have my briefcase it should prove no issue." It's a kind of joke, see? Or maybe she's serious.     "But um, if you would rather keep things short, that's okay. We could get tea somewhere? Though there is supposed to be an exhibit of Japanese art that might be ... well, not fun, but meaningful?"
Michael Hannigan	Moving over to a kiosk, Mike reaches over to pluck up a pamphlet listing the temporary exhibits. Skimming through it, he pauses to the mention of the Year of the Dragon exhibit. Ok so maybe he can- Hearing a greeting, Mike lowers the paper, turning to look to Tuxedo Crush. Tilting his head up, he gives a weak smile to Crush. "Hey there. How're you doing?"
Corben Kelly	"I should try to be a normal dude for a little bit," Corben replies. "I /should/ be pushing my ASL courses." He really should, for the community, his community, the deaf community. It's just a matter of making himself do it. "It's all the different voices. It's hard in a crowd to focus. I can't always tell where a certain voice is coming from or if someone behind me said something." He waves a hand in the general vicinity of one of the processors and adds, "These help, but they're not perfect." He nudges Clara gently with his elbow and nods in Xiomara's direction. "Hey, maybe if we stand over there, by her, the crowd won't close in on us?" If he was in the crowd, he certainly wouldn't dare crowd /her/. It's Corben logic, sometimes it makes sense.
Clara Jennings	Clara noticed Xiomara earlier. Which is like saying one has noticed a mountain. Kind of hard to miss that one. She arches an eyebrow, looking from Xiomara to Corben. Discomfort!     "Oh, um, that is true. You know, if it helps, even if I can't sight, there are many ways to communicate." She gives Corben an uncertain smile. "But for now, let's stand over there." By... the very big, very scary-looking person.     And off they go. Gulp!
Kyle Rayner	Wearing a dark blue sports jacket, a pair of black jeans and simple white shirt, Kyle shows up late. Not quite fashionably late, but late. A lot lingers on his mind. Odd adventures in space can do that to a guy. Green eyes just take in the sights all about. He'll stop here, there. Just take it all in. He's not rushing in the crowd or toward Xio, because she stands out (pleastantly so). The lingering gives him time to adjust, to build up and shake off a few things before being sociable.
Corben Kelly	"S'up Mike?" Corben asks as they draw closer. He looks uuuuup at Xiomara, "S'up? I'm Corben" He even extends a hand, apparently unafraid that she might Crush it - see what he did there? "I'm offering American Sign Language classes at the college." There! He's pimping his class. "The classes are free if you're interested." Seems his plan worked, there really aren't as many people in Xiomara's orbit as there are elsewhere. "This is Clara," he adds as he nudges the girl a little with his shoulder. Then Corben shoves his hands into his pockets and fiddles with the bottles and vials that are always in there. They make a soft tink-tink noise as they clack together. Corben certainly a different beast here, out of his element, than he was the first night Mike met him.
Clara Jennings	Clara is not used to the nudging so much and gives Corben a curious look. Then back to the others. Oh dear.     So Clara is very short. She cannot help but feel even smaller than usual considering things. "Ohhh, ummm, hi!" She lifts a hand and waves, then reaches out to shake Xiomara's hand, pauses, then finishes the motion. It's not terribly smooth, honestly, but neither is she.     "I am, well, I'm Clara. I do guest lectures at Gotham University. And I also am signed up to learn from Corben!" Did Corben know that? Clara probably didn't say that. It's amazing what you can do with a cell phone and dead time lingering on an icy roof while waiting for looters!     Mike gets, eventually, another awkward wave of her hand. "Hi Mike!"
Xiomara Rojas	Focused on Mike, Crush almost misses the offered hand, but she does not miss someone approaching. Her red eyes shift to look at the man for a moment, then down at his hand, then back up to his face. Social etiquette required a returned hand shake, but that just wasn't her style. Instead she give Corben's hand a gentle 'side five', fingertips across the palm of his hand, then her hands go back into her pocket.. "Name's Crush," she offers, then Clara is offered a nod and the same 'side five' greeting as well. "I'm signed up for that class, gotta learn how ta speak in a language that's silent." This is when her eyes fall on Kyle, and instantly she can tell something is wrong. It doesn't take much, and she's far more observant than she lets on that she is. For now she'll let him make his way around the room and over to her. When he reaches her, he gets a hug... yes, a hug. "Sup Kyle, you alright?" she asks softly. Yes... softly.
Michael Hannigan	Hearing his name again. Mike turns his head to see Corben and Clara coming over. "...Hey." His glance rests on Clara for a few moments before looking back to Corben. "Hey Clara. Hey Corben. Have you met Crush yet? She's been learning drums." It seems odd, the general sense of melancholy across the group. The rocker shakes his head before he adjusts his expression, switching to a more practiced smile. "I might have signed up for the course as well... Along with Italian. Hopefully doing both at the same time won't cause problems."
Corben Kelly	"Of course it is. That makes sense," Corben replies when Xiomara offers her name. He really finds himself wishing that Clara knew ASL. He's not even going to touch on why someone named Crush that's as big as a mountain and scary looking enough to make a mint as a professional wrestler needs to communicate silently. "Sweet, looking forward to seeing you there, Crush." He fingerspells her name when he says it, there first lesson down. "Awesome, Mike." He does the same thing there, fingerspells his name. He's not so much melancholy as he is just a fish out of water. He leans over to whisper something in Clara's ear.
Kyle Rayner	When Kyle makes it to Xio, he does give her a hug. A motion that is practiced and done before. "Hey." Then he whispers, "Coworkers were hurt. Badly." Then he will let go and look out toward people. A simple wave to any nearby him. "Hey," he greets any and all.
Clara Jennings	Clara will learn soon, Corben! But she has her own little surprises, too. The power of sitting on a roof for a few hours and all that. But before she can demonstrate, Corben's whisper makes her grin, not quite laughing, but very close.     With a bit more focus, she turns to Corben and introduces herself in ASL. Someone was watching a lot of videos. "I had some spare time last night, and figured I should at least know this much before class." She wishes she could learn more, and she will! In time.     "So does anyone else care to look at Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art?" Anyone? Anyone? No?     She turns to Kyle and raises her hand in a friendly wave. "Hello!"
Xiomara Rojas	The whisper causes a frown to touch Crush's lips and her eyes to darken slightly. She offers Kyle a nod, that she heard him, then hugs him again a little more tightly. Stepping back, she leaves her hand on his back. "This here's Kyle," she introduces to everyone still lingering in the area. "An if the Japanese stuff is better than this crap, I'm all for seein it."
Michael Hannigan	Pale eyes set upon the hands spelling out the name, the smile fading once again. When Kyle makes mention of hurt coworkers, Mike's jaw clenches. Clara's question about exhibits causes for him to glance up briefly before he brings up his pamplet once more to look to the writeup. Right. Exhibits.
Kyle Rayner	Hugging Crush tightly. He gives a smile and nods. It's a promise of a talk later, but that's for then. Now it's time for something happier. "Hi. I'm Kyle!" He says to Clara who seems friendly and even waves. "I have an art degree. As long as it's not a banana peel stapled to canvas or made by AI, I'll like it!" Kyle speaks up about seeing Japanese artwork. He's all for that.
Corben Kelly	Clara's valiant attempt at signing her own name and such, causes Corben to grin wide. No one that's never been in his shoes can ever understand the difference it makes when someone makes any sort of effort to communicate in /his/ world on their own. It's always the deaf person trying to fit into the hearing world, adapting for the hearing people. Little punks heart swells in that moment and he actually darts in for a quick kiss to her cheek and a soft, "That was awesome." "Japanese art sounds good to me." But he asides to Clara, "One day I'll show you my artwork."
Xiomara Rojas	With her hand still on Kyle's back, Crush offers a nod. "RIght then, let's go see if the Japanese suck less."
Morrigan MacIntyre	Meanwhile in the Egyptian exhibit.... At the Temple of Dendur there is a lot of people oogling the temple. One of those is a tall african american man with a shaved head and a conventionally handsome face. Delia walks over towards him and for a moment he looks to her, a passing of quiet moments like something was said between them, but not a word was spoken. She then looks at the Temple, "You aren't a friend of our Dean, are you?" she asks him. "No, but I know of her." the man replies in a deep, but soothing voice. "I think she's been hanging around the Anubis statue again, it's her favorite." Delia tells the man. He smiles at the information, "Well, if I were looking for her then I would know where to look then." he dips his head to her. Then the man turns to stride off.
Michael Hannigan	Mike looks over to Corben to the mention of artwork. His expression shifting more over to curiousity, which is a fine deal better than before. "...What type of art?" He queries, "I mainly do sketches." Based from the turn of his body, he too has accepted the declared exhibit as the next destination.
Clara Jennings	Clara blushes quite impressively and smiles. She's all shy now! For a change its not her hands that are a-flutter. It's hard to respond to that at first. There are about five or six things she has some confidence of.     She holds an open hand up fingers together, thumb relaxed and out, touching the tip of her middle finger to her chin, then bringing her hand down again. It's almost certainly not perfection, but she is trying.     She doesn't skip to the Japanese exhibit. But she almost does. Along the way she'll keep giving Corben brief glances, then blush if he notices her looking.     "I do hope to see your art someday soon," she says, leaning in close, hoping it makes it a bit easier to notice her voice in the mix.
Corben Kelly	"Uhhh, just lil' back birds," Corben replies to Mike. It anyone knows anything at all about street art in the city or even listens to rumors on the streets about taggers and who's doing what? Lil' Black Bird is a tagger's sign, his works always have a small Raven somewhere in the picture whether it belongs in it or not. To say his work is good would be an understatement, he's the street artist that many in the community want to be. "Oh, you will. In fact, you probably already have," he replies to Clara.
Kyle Rayner	Kyle's hand squeezes Crush's and they walk off together with the group. "So, what does this say to everyone," he nods to the piece he stops at. Then he waits for the resposnes. For a brief second he gets a flashback back toward school. Back in Europe. He does miss those times, but they're gone now. A smile pulls at his lips as he's happy elsewhere. Then he looks about. A brow raises as his artistic sense is tingling. His own interest begins to swirl.
Michael Hannigan	"Oh." Mike smiles, to Coben, "I've done some sketch work of birds. But they don't tend to stick around long to get too detailed. If you get around to showing your pieces, I'd like to see them as well."
Xiomara Rojas	Once they actually reach the Japanese art, Crush seems to perk up a little. It's still not what she knew as art, but it was something she'd never seen before. The first picture has her tilting her head and a brow raising. "I don't know shit bout art," she admits. "But I like that." She shifts her eyes to Kyle and a smile plays at the corners of her mouth. "Earth ta Kyle, whatcha thinkin?"
Clara Jennings	The exhibit that Clara has chosen is full of art that is meant to inspire feelings of worry, discomfort, but also hope. There are statues and many paintings, as well. What draws her attention first and foremost, though, is the Sutra of Past and Present Karma. It is, on its face, rather stressful a scene. A lot of red ink and figures that would haunt the nightmares of children. Or of Clara, most likely.     "Interesting, all this turmoil, yet in the center, peace." And so it is, as in the midst of this temptation and turmoil is Buddha, meditating peacefully. A kind of halo of sorts demonstrates how the peace of the prince is so powerful that it holds the demons at bay.     The girl turns back to Corben, watching his face, curious of his reaction. She has questions, of course, but she waits to let him react first.     "Maybe on the way home you can show me some of your work, then," she suggests hopefully.
Corben Kelly	"I think it's beautiful, but I think I don't care for it," Corben offers to Clara. His jaw is kind of tight when he studies it, it's clear that something about it really bothers him. So he turns his attention back to Mike and he laughs, "Sure, I can show you some of my birds." And honestly, he does have paintings of actual birds, ravens to be exact, hanging in his apartment. "Maybe another night, yeah? I actually have to get up tomorrow and open the shop, pretend to be an adult, my day help has the day off." By day help, he means his only employee that he pays in free potions and hookah time.
Michael Hannigan	"Alright." Mike replies to the suggestion to wait til another night to see artwork. Reaching into his pocket, he fishes out a business card to Shaw Studios, offering the card over to Corben. "For whenever you want to show them. Number's written on the back." He explains.
Clara Jennings	Clara turns away from the art, noting Corben's distress. Art is nice, but that is not really what she is here for. She will look around a bit, but, considering things, she senses it is time to get going soon. Also, there's a little buzz from her pocket. After a quick look at it, she sighs.     "Another night then, Corben. I... kind of have to work on something urgently, as well. I'll text you." Her texts are the stuff of legend. She doesn't type them. She takes pictures of hand written notes and sends them instead.     Clara hesitates a moment, looking at the others, then back to Corben. Hands fidget on a legendary level, and then she dares to give him a quick kiss before darting off. Duty calls and all that. There must be a library-related emergency!