Owner	Pose
Susan Sullivan	Getting across country is as easy as taking a flight. Getting across New York City can be as easy as taking a cab, but for someone on a budget and walking, it's important to be in shape. As Susan enters the College campus, her jacket is hanging open, she's glistening (with what is unknown, as women don't sweat), and she seems quite eager to get the Gatorade from the vending machine in the hall. She chugs one down, then gets another.     Walking through campus, she heads toward the machine shops, robotics labs, and other technical what-not. Nobody looks at her, even a little bit--well...maybe glances at her two-week growth eyebrows. She is quite pleased that that's what draws attention, and not looking like a mutant (or, in reality, a Jiangshi or Nosferatu).     She enters the shop outside Mairin's 'office', not having told the other woman she was back. It was going to be a surprise, hopefully one that doesn't startle her...boss?...into passing out.
Mairin Moran	Mairin is, as is typical for her, completely oblivious to anyone that might be entering the fabrication shop. She's focussed completely on the machine in front of her and the complex gear that it is creating. Her arms crossed in front of her over her brown blouse that flows into a long green skirt with swirled triskelion designs embroidered on it, she frowns down at the piece. Whether that's just her resting thinking face, or actual displeasure, only someone who knows her well could tell.
Kaida Connolly	The college is, amongst others, a common place for Kaida to go when she hears about a speaker, lecturer or lecture she wishes to hear. She can't exactly get a degree in biochemistry as it is. She still doubts the ability for the public to accept a truly tiny member of society. They are having issues with mutants still, let alone a mouse that is smarter and tougher than most of 'em! So, she is here today to have listened to a woman speak about the interactions between certain vaccines and the immune system that could lead to new way of quickly devising vaccines. However, after the lecture, she is distracted by a familiar smell. Which is odd because she can't place a face with that smell. "Huh." She says to no one in particular and idly scratches an ear, causing it to flick. "Time to investigate!" She then rushes off with a zip. If one has ever seen a mouse scamper across their floor, they know the speed. Now, multiply that by about eight times and you have Kaida doing it. She moves from hiding spot to hiding spot with such alacrity that most would never even know she was there, even as she enters the fabrication shop.
Susan Sullivan	Susan knows that face. Mairin is not upset, she's just got resting Mairin face. Susan stops about half-way across the floor, however, turning and sniffing at the air. She begins moving to where the mouse is. That qi wasn't there before. That qi isn't human, but it's definitely existant, and it's not exactly something one finds everywhere. She glances around. No students in here. Her feet leave the floor as she floats like she's in microgravity. Her body tilts forward as her head lowers toward the floor. She sniffs almost like a bloodhound as she gets closer and closer to where Kaida is hiding.
Mairin Moran	The machine finishes it's work, and Mairin reaches in to produce the result. A tiny gear about the sizr of her fingertip with three sepreate sets of teeth. She rolls it around in her gloved hand, eyes squinting down at it. And still completely oblivious to the others in the room.     "Hmmm... a slight burr I think on the cam facing..." she mutters to herself. "I'll need to have Dave come in and re-calibrate it. And run this through the cleaner to see if I can get that run down without destroying the tooth."
Kaida Connolly	Ah, that's the smell! She can sense it and she realizes it is coming off of Susan...and Susan is coming closer. She considers this and grins as she waits till Susan gets super close and then there's a blur of movement. Something moves likely far faster than the typical eye can follow, damn near breaking the speed barrier in such a tight space. Kaida then leaps and lands atop a high shelf, peering down at the floating girl as she arrives and casually kneels. "Hey! What ya lookin' for down there?" Calls the voice that sounds sorta small and yet projects like someone with a microphone. She shakes her head, "Silly big people, always looking down!"
Susan Sullivan	Susan's head tracks, but not as fast as the movement. She's already floating upwards by the time Kaida speaks. "Because you were down," Susan says. "I've smelled you before. Your qi." She raises a hand toward her co-worker while still beelining toward Kaida, not taking her eyes, or nose in this case, off of the spot where she last spoke from. "Hey, Mairin," she idly says.
Mairin Moran	Mairin nearly jumps out of her skin at the sudden conversation so close to her. And in the process drops the little gear she'd been examining. "What the.." she starts to ask as she turns to look at Susan, even as the little pindrop sound of the gear hitting the linoleum floor can be heard.     "Demona!?" There's a second of her just being in shock, and then she's rushing over to wrap her friend in a giant hug. The fact that Susan had been speaking to someone else just gets lost in the surprise of seeing her friend alive and well.
Kaida Connolly	"Oh, fast." She grins and looks over Susan as she floats and points at her own nose, "Smelled you first." She grins and then watches as Mairin rushes her friend. Her left ear twitches and she leaps from the shelf and blurs down to the floor to grab the little gear that fell. She picks it up and looks it over, peeking at it from various angles and then whistles, "That's tiny." She states to no one in particular before she is up on Mairin's workstation and setting it down. "You really should be more careful, drop something like this and it's gone forever!" She giggles and then looks over the work station, casually walking over it and peeking at the various items.
Susan Sullivan	"Susan," Susan corrects her. She floats up higher to avoid the hug, at least while she's on the hunt. "I'm trying to meet a GIRL mouse...or something that smells like a mouse that I smelled at GIRL." She moves after Kaida, but she also adds, "I'm about to give up. She's clearly not interested in introductions or being friends."
Mairin Moran	Kaida finds a workstation that is caefully organized with various tiny gears, struts, braces, screws, bolts, and all manner of parts and pieces for what can only be a very small robot.     Mairin sort of stumbles to a stop as Susan floats out of reach. "Oh," she says lamely, watching Susan float around. "I..." She looks back over to her workstation and spots Kaida walking around it. She squints, curious, but says nothing. There's just only so much strange she can absorbe in such a short time. And that's saying something considering what she's been through lately.
Kaida Connolly	A sputtering laughter comes from Kaida and then she waves a hand, "Pfft, as if, Susan." She states and then walks over to the edge of the workstation and leans a little over the edge, "I'm Kaida!" She grins and then looks over at Mairin's workstation again before saying, "And I was here investigating a smell I caught over at GIRL!" She nods her head, "I didn't know you so I had to figure you out, first."
Susan Sullivan	Susan arrives at Kaida and looks at her curiously. "You're adorable," she insists. She extends a finger for Kaida to shake if she so chooses. "I'm Susan. I really want to be friends with you. You can ride around in my backpack and we can do stuff together."
Mairin Moran	Mairin wanders back to her workstation, a little behind Susan and just watching the interaction. She certainly recognizes the use of the term GIRL, but with all she's had going on, actually getting over to their building and introducing herself has sort of slipped down the list of priorities. But, more than the realization that this mouse is talking.. and associated with GIRL, is the growing realization that Demon-- Susan, has obviously already been there. Something she never told Mairin.
Kaida Connolly	Taking the finger, she gives it a shake and then she laughs, "I'm down for bein' friends but would you believe that is the first time I've had this reaction." She snickers and shake sher head, "Don't mind the offer for the occasional ride, I do get hungry and tired from time to time when I'm zipping about." She then looks over at Mairin and peers at her. She waves a small paw like hand. "Hello!" She states, "I know I heard you talking earlier. You seem awfully quiet now."
Susan Sullivan	Susan offers her hand, palm up, for Kaida to step into, should the desire arise. "I wish I had a little place to call my own so I could offer you a dollhouse or something to call your own," she says. "You're beautiful and amazing, and I would totes love having a roomie like you. Sadly," she finishes, "I am kind of homeless at the moment."
Mairin Moran	Mairin waves back, a small smile coming to her face. "Hello, Kaida. I'm Mairin. Thank you very much for rescuing my part."     She looks to Susan. "Are you... back for long?" she asks, hesitently.
Kaida Connolly	"Homeless?" She asks with a blink and leaps up to the hand before casually crossing her arms, "How could you be homeless if you are a part of GIRL?" She tilts her head, "I'm positive there's gotta be a place you can stay at the labs or something!" She nods her head and then smiles at Mairin, "Good to meet you, Mairin!" She then turns again to look at Susan with some concern.
Susan Sullivan	Susan seems to realize she's being insensitive. Her body rotates around her shoulder as her feet move to touch the floor. "I'm sorry, Mairin," she says. "I wasn't thinking. Come. Hug me," she concludes, holding out her free arm for her friend. She lifts her other arm carefully. "Just be careful of my new friend."
Mairin Moran	Mairin smiles to Kaida, the looks at Susan with a mix of confusion and indignation before walking up to give her a quick, stiff, one-armed hug. But she says nothing more, waiting for Susan to respond to Kaida or her previous question... feeling out the situation carefully.
Kaida Connolly	"I'm probably tougher than both of you." She nods and crosses her arms, "No need to be all gentle." She casually leaps up to Susan's shoulder without much of a thought even before looking to Mairin with the hug, "Ya didn't answer me, Susan!" She nods, "I used to be homeless, ya know. Sorta, anyway. Not hard for a mouse to find a home, really but that's not the point. You really ought to see if Nadia had a spot for ya."
Susan Sullivan	Now that she's got both hands free, Susan makes Mairin hug her in a big, tight bear hug of a hug. "I know, Kaida," she says. "I don't mind that. It would give me a chance to get to know the others in there." She doesn't let go of Mairin as she continues, "What about you? What do you do there?"
Mairin Moran	Mairin hugs Susan back for a moment, then politely pushes back to stand a couple feet away, her attention focussed entirely on Kaida. "I wasn't aware that GIRL had their own dorms," she comments. "Though Nadia did mention that they can and have supported people's work in the past. I didn't realize the support was that... extensive."     She's in work mode. And her tone carries that casual professional tone.
Kaida Connolly	"I mean, I don't know for sure if there's a dorm! I sleep mostly at the Titans Tower." She nods her head and then looks at Susan, "But it's a huge place!" She lifts her hands up and opens them wide before nodding her head. "I imagine there's room for at least a cot which is far better than the street!" She nods her head before looking back to Susan with a smile, "I'm a biochemist!"
Susan Sullivan	"Haven't hit the streets, yet," Susan says. She looks at Mairin, then at Kaida. "You guys gonna have beef?" she asks. She looks back at Mairin. "Or are you mad at me?"
Mairin Moran	Her look turns a bit confused, but Mairin shakes her head. "I'm not mad at anyone. It's good to see you again, Demo--" She smiles. "Susan. I'm sorry, that's going to take some getting used to. I hope you had a good trip. I'm sure it was..." She smiles a bit and spreads her hands, "Well I can't even imagine what it was like. I'm surprised they let you out of their sight again."
Kaida Connolly	Looking at Susan with a blink, Kaida looks to Mairin and then back to Susan, "A beef?" She asks and then laughs, "If I was mad, I'd say it!" She nods and leaps down on to the table, "I do not hold back! I'm full speed all the time and I don't know how to stop!" She declares before spinning once around and then sitting Indian style looking up at the pair, "So, like, how long you two known each other?"
Susan Sullivan	"They only did because I'm scouting for a place here. I told them I had a job lined up once I landed and someone, I didn't name names, was helping me. Um...Mairin," she says. She quickly glances at Kaida, then back at her friend. "Is it going to be weird if I ask to crash at your place? I'm happy to curl up on that bean bag chair you made for me for a while. I just have to help my parents find work and a place here, then I'll be out of your hair. New York's as big a production center as Hollywood, so they shouldn't have problems."     Looking at Kaida, Susan explains, "Mairin was the first friend I made after coming back to the states. She means a great deal to me, despite some minor friction we have over self-care." Susan looks knowingly at Mairin. She looks back at Kaida and concludes, "Even if I can't be friends with all of her friends, I wouldn't trade my friendship with Mairin for anything. She's almost like a sister to me."
Mairin Moran	Mairin just watches Susan with a slightly surprised expression. The words quite obviously hitting the woman hard. She blinks a few times, then clears her throat as she walks around both Susan and Kaida to her workstation to move the gear Kaida had recovered into a pile of other parts that need minor alterations or adjustments. This highly important task done, she turns to face Susan again.     "Yes, of course you can stay at my appartment," she says then clears her throat again. "I actually haven't been staying there much since... Well, Nettie had a room made up for me at the Candle so I could take advantage of the wards there. I've been sleeping there. So you'd be welcome to use the bed."     She looks down at Kaida, "Full speed all the time, eh?" she asks. "Sounds exhausting."
Kaida Connolly	"Oh good! I just wanted to be sure you had somewhere to stay!" She nods her head and then seems far more pleased before she looks to Mairin and grins, "Listen! My heart beat is just shy of 300 beats per minute while resting!" She laughs and shakes her head, "I don't do things in slow mo'!" She shakes her head and then grins as she steps about, "I eat, I move fast, and I have fun!" She declares and thne grins, "That and I help people but that's fun, too!"
Susan Sullivan	"It certainly can be," Susan says. She considers for a minute. "Is...what's going on with Gossamer?" she asks Mairin. "You still making that work at your new place?"
Mairin Moran	Mairin just laughs at Kaida and nods. "Yes well I suppose that does make a bit of sense. It still sounds pretty exahusting to me." Like she's one to talk about going non-stop.     "No," she says to Susan. "There was never going to be enough room there for that. I managed to find a small workspace in a warehouse to do the assembly once all of the fabrication is done. But that alone will take some time. I'm looking for the right metal to use, and all of that really depends on the kind of power source and what kind of motors and..." She shrugs. "There is a lot left to figure out. I'm at something of an impasse right now."
Susan Sullivan	Susan nods. "Okay," she says. She runs her hands on her stocking cap. She doesn't have NO hair, but it's very, very short, still. "Well, fabrication is kind of my thing, too. I would like to just point out that psychometric impressions are very important in mysticism, as far as I can tell. Maybe we should consider using something special. I mean...Gossamer is going to be kind of a relic, right? Something magical?"
Mairin Moran	She nods and shrugs at the same time. "More than that, if I can manage it." She sits down at her workstation with a sigh. "It is going to *need* something special. Something strong and lightweight, but also something that takes well to enchantment. And something that can withstand the stresses of use and repair." She shrugs a bit. "I haven't wanted to commit to too much fabrication before I have a ready supply of whatever it is I'm going to use."
Susan Sullivan	Susan considers thoughtfully for a moment before she says, "It sounds like steel made from coin iron isn't going to be enough. Vibranium or Adamantium is going to be likely too expensive, though both would absolutely fit the bill." She looks at Mairin for a moment and says, "Hang on...would it? We got that sphere reactor. I don't have it anymore, but that had some vibranium in it."
Mairin Moran	Mairin shakes her head. "Cold forged iron wont work, and it would take far too much money to buy enough of those reactors to get enough of the metal out of them. I don't think that's feasable." She chuckles. "Any metal that would actually work, is prohibitively expensive. Which, logically, means that we either need to aquire an increadibleamount of funds, a patron with said funds or materials which brings its own set of headaches, or someone willing to trade the materials for something other than money."
Susan Sullivan	Susan considers again. "That is a pickle," she admits. She rubs the back of her neck. "Okay, what are the other pieces?"
Mairin Moran	'Well... Once we have the materials, we need the power source. One that is well suited to the power requirements, is self sustaining, clean, and small enough to be useable. It also needs to be compatible with the magical energies we'll be using." She chuckles. "Easy."     "Once she is built, we'll need to determine how best to make her portable. Or else going anywhere with her would be impractical. And she will need a suitably advanced AI, as well as the proper magic to give her sentience."
Susan Sullivan	"Aren't you going to be using your familiar spirit to do the thinking bit?" Susan asks. "That would likely need an interface layer, not so much a true AI. Still hard to get, though. Maybe harder, I don't know. I'm not a software person." She taps her chin. "I am still working on qi manipulation, but I don't have any theories about using it for power generation, yet. Unless you want all the motive force to be alive, that is. At that point, it would be as much a living thing as a mechanical device." She shrugs. "We can also recreate the orb reactor. I know how to build and use one. I think I might be able to improve them. Just need an optimized piece of Vibranium." She smirks. "I know, easy, right?"
Mairin Moran	Mairin squints at Susan. "I'm not sure what you mean. Ideally, I want to use a fusion of AI and magical energy. I'm not familiar enough yet with the details of how that works to say exactly how it would work. But my intent is no longer to create anything bound to anyone. But a self-determining, living thing. The last thing I want is to create something that is then forced to obey me, or follow me. I couldn't live with that."
Susan Sullivan	Susan furrows her brow. She shakes her head. "No," she says. "That's a terrible idea. That's how all the stories go before heroes have to assemble and destroy the created thing. You can have a familiar spirit and still give it autonomy. For the love of God, Mairin, keep a leash on your creation, even if you never intend to use it!"