A Normal Lunch Where Nothing Will Happen

[Will Stanton]

Will had led Naku and Thrax down, through the portal, into Mutant Town proper, walking through the ~omnipresent teleportation device~ like it was no big thing.

He seemed to know about practically every shop and shopowner as they walked downtown, pointing them out and waving as the trio walked.

"...and Mr. Fairweather there runs the furniture store; not a lot fits in the dorms but you never know; and there's Raven's Magic and Spiritual Store, and Joanie's thrift shop, good deals in there...we're just around the corner from the Thai place, trust me."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Sniffing the air, his sensitive nose picked up a curious array of spices from around said corner. It was enough to make his mouth water in anticipation. He may have just eaten but he definitely still hungry.

"I met Raven at the street fair while I was doing your scavenger hunt. Usually anyone claiming to be a fortune teller is trying to scam you—not that precognitives don't exist—but she was surprisingly insightful. She didn't outright figure out what I am but she got that I was from very, very far away. Guess she could have just thought a distant country, though. Still, she was helpful."

[Naku Futomi]

Each shop they went by, Naku greeted those that were pointed out. He was polite as usual while he took in downtown Maldon. It was amazing seeing all the different people there, especially knowing most were mutants themselves. It made the portal over here pale in comparison.

"You should work as a tour guide," he mentioned before also sniffing the air. The spices weren't overpowering, but his nose was able to pick up some at least. "We'll have to wander around more. Maybe before? I dunno how much room i've left in me," he mentioned before patting his stomach.

The trio had eaten chili not too long ago. Perhaps more time was needed to pass before their bellies could handle more. Then again, only one of the three was human. Who knew the limitations the others had?

[Will Stanton]

"I'm game for wandering around a bit -- as I said, I've got nowhere I need to be," Will nodded.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax was a little disappointed but he was one to go with the flow. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you need more time to digest. I probably do too, on account I'd eat myself sick if left to my own devices. You won't be surprised to know I have impulse control issues."

"Aaanyway, what's there to see around here while we wander? Gotta be something fun besides the axe-throwing place."

[Naku Futomi]

Laying eyes on the place nearly made Naku drool. There was always the case that they needed more time to digest. "Don't they have Thai bubbletea drinks here? We can at least get that while we wander. Come back afterwards," he suggested.

"Far as where we go after, I'd be interested in seeing a music place. There must be a place that sells instruments around here," he pondered aloud. "If there's a place that also holds concerts, I'd like to check that out also."

[Will Stanton]

"Instruments, huh? Yeah, follow me; there's a place down the alley over here," Will gestured. "Actual clubs for live music aren't going to be hopping much mid-day, I'm afraid; more of a nightlife scene."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax followed, anxious to see more Earth instruments than the guitar. Earthlings had a wonderful variety of sounds to work with and he wanted to hear it all. Maybe he'd even get to try something out!

"Ooh! Yes, an instrument store is a fantastic idea!" he said with an excited grin. Frowning slightly, he added, "It'd be even better if I had enough money to actually, you know, buy anything, but it still sounds fun."

"I wish there was a way to convert the cash I do have to pounds. But that's not happening. Say Will, are there jobs on campus or even Mutant Town you think I could do?"

[Naku Futomi]

"Understandable,Naku mentioned about the nightlife. He then listened to Thrax, taking into account the money he himself owned as he did. There was probably enough for one or two, but that'd be all his money.

"I'd be for getting a job late r on. Who knows, maybe the instrument shop is hiring," he thought out loud as they made their way to the location. "Either way, we'll have to see what its like at night time, too. Will has me all curious," he added with a small smile to the green haired man.

[Will Stanton]

"For that, we'll have to stay out until night. But I'm sure we can find something you'd be interested in," Will grinned.

"There's always odd-jobs that need doing, Thrax," Will thought. "Sometimes, there's a need for last minute, irregular help from whoever is around at the time. Someone who needs a bunch of boxes hauled around and will pay in cash, few questions asked..."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"I mean, yeah, I guess that's not that different than what I've been doing the past few years," he admitted. "Was kind of hoping for something more reliable for once but I'll take what I can get. And there's always busking, though outside of a street fair I don't know if Mutant Town gets enough traffic with disposable income for that to be worth it."

He frowned, realizing he was making everything about himself again. "But enough about me. Seeing the local nightlife sounds fun, Naku. I'm down for it. And for getting this bubble tea you speak of while we wander."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, there's all kinds of paperwork and stuff with getting a job normally, you know how it is. I think I may technically be still classified as university property..."

A pause.

"A long story. Anyway, yeah, busking, performing -- there's lots of stuff you can do to get some money. Just gotta figure out the right way to put your skills to use."

[Naku Futomi]

It would be several hours until nighttime. Naku wondered if coming by a different night would be best for that. Still, he lead the way to the Thai place as they spoke. Placing an order in the meantime to get three. The smell of the food was enough to get him wanting food now, but a drink would be best.

He made it back when Thrax turned to him. "Should be along in a moment," he commented before Will spoke. "....Property?" he had to ask during the pause. They continued on in speech.

"Speaking of... I'm not too certain of staying til night time. The plane ride took a lot out of me. Surprised I had enough energy to set up my room. Maybe we can come by another time," he suggested.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"Boo. I didn't think of that," he said with a disappointed sigh, having briefly forgotten that getting tired was a thing. But he was good at going with the flow so he was happy to go along with whatever the others decided. Besides, he'd likely forget all about it with the next shiny idea that came along. "Another day, then. Count on it."

[Will Stanton]

"....Property?" he had to ask during the pause

"A long story, which I'm more than happy to tell when you have some time to sit and listen to it. The shortened version is that I wasn't...all quite there when I first arrived here at the university. In fact, scratch that -- I wasn't all put together when I was discovered in the Antarctic. It took them a while to figure out just what I am, and then it took me longer to figure out just who I am. The University, in their ongoing quest to investigate strange phenomena and help mutants everywhere, managed to acquire me and give me the time and space to figure myself out. 'Ts one reason I stick around, y'know? I owe them a bunch, especially the headmistress.

Though don't let her know I phrased it like that."

"Speaking of... I'm not too certain of staying til night time. The plane ride took a lot out of me. Surprised I had enough energy to set up my room. Maybe we can come by another time," he suggested.

[/quote]

"Well, if that's what you want, I'm sure I can find something any time you're rested and ready. I know a few places around -- though it depends what kind of stuff you're into. But I totally get not wanting too much excitement right off the bat," Will nodded.

The Thai place was decently crowded, at least for the middle of the day -- probably a good sign that the food here was pretty good, or at least cheap enough for college students. Most of them were enjoying lunch, or a bubble tea, and for anyone not used to being in a place with a bunch of mutants, it was certainly an interesting sight -- wings, horns, scales, unusual skin and horn colors. And THAT was just the one guy in the back corner! Physical mutations abounded, and even the ones more standard-human-passing showed signs of mutation -- a woman's tea boiling in her hands as she reheated it, another one frosting over as a man blew on his, and so forth.

[Naku Futomi]

He gave a nod to Thrax, appreciating the offer with a small apology that he couldn't do it that day. The blue haired man had no issues with looking around. It was nice to see so many out in the open about this. "There are so many mutants here... I've seen a lot in school, but that was a High School. This is another level," he said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking around.

"Honestly, I'm looking forward to more. Hearing more, seeing more..." dare he say feeling more? The time wasn't right perhaps. "I'm really looking forward to studying. And getting to know the school and classmates like you two."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax looked at Naku like he had grown a second head. Sure, he was going to be there to learn but actually looking forward to the studying part was a near thoroughly alien concept to the, well, alien. Others at the monastery were like that but he certainly wasn't. "You... you look forward to that part? Seriously? I mean, you do you, but I zone out after reading a while. I just don't learn well that way."

[Will Stanton]

"Not one for putting your nose to the grindstone, then?"

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax blinked and raised an eyebrow, not understanding the idiom. "Why would I want to do that? That sounds painful."

[Naku Futomi]

When the bubble tea was ready, Naku was one to grab it and bring it to the others. He had no problem with it thankfully and found it easy to slid back into the conversation.

"Well, studying as a mutant mainly means learning about our own powers as well as others. Sure there are studies that have nothing to do with it, but learning how to better utilize what I can do? And having the space to practice that I need? Yeah, I'm all for it," he said before taking a sip of his drink. Instantly he got a few tapioca pearls and chewed at it with glee. He debated warning Thrax of the dark balls at the bottom, but he should be able to see them. Surely he'd ask about it.

[Will Stanton]

"Absolutely," Will agreed. "We've been blessed with these gifts; it's best to know as much about them as possible."

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"I thought I knew everything about my gift but imagine my sur—" he began, trailing off abruptly as his eyes landed on the little balls in his drink.

"Are there... supposed to be eggs in these?" he asked, perplexed.

[Naku Futomi]

That got a laugh out of Naku. "No. They're called Tapioca pearls. They're like gummies. It's... an acquired taste. I an get you one without them if you really don't like them," he suggested before drinking more.

[Will Stanton]

Will, on the other hand, didn't seem to be having any problem with the pearls -- was the man a garbage dump? Anything that went into his gullet seemed to go down without complaints.

"They're really quite good," Will pointed out. "And you don't get the full experience without them. Worth the shot!"

One of the back booths was getting a little noisy -- nothing inherently to be concerned about, mind you, but perhaps a little rowdier than expected. This is just a regular narrative drop, certainly nothing that will come to fruition in a couple posts, nope.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"What's a gum—forget it, I'm just gonna try it." As it wasn't really in his nature to hesitate, he boldly sucked a pearl up through his straw and rolled it around in his mouth before chewing. Grinning, he exclaimed, "I like it! It's kinda weird but in a good way."

"Also, I'm sure I've had way weirder from your perspective. Storm, from mine too. There could be tiny live cephalopods in it." He shuddered at the memory of swallowing wriggling tentacles.

[Naku Futomi]

Naku made a face at the idea of something wiggly in his drink. "Yeah, I'll take your word for it," he said before looking around. He noticed the noise a bit, but paid it no mind considering how many people were there. Still, it was a good reason to test his skills.

Try as he might, he attempted to gauge the room. The only thing he could feel was how dense emotions were compared to everyone else. There was no visual aid gauging who was feeling what, even when he looked at them individually. Still he could feel something, it just wasn't at the forefront of his mind cause hanging with the guys was.

"Getting a bit packed here. We still gonna hit up that music store?" he wondered lightly.

[Narrator]

The emotions emanating from the back table were tense, and rising -- anger, frustration, nervousness. Quite at odds with the relatively calm atmosphere of the rest of the place.

"Yeah that seems like a good id..." Will started, only to be interrupted by a slamming sound as one of the larger guys at the table in the back shoved one of his...buddies?... up against the wall.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax looked in the direction of the commotion. "Judging from the vibe of the rest of the place, I'm assuming this isn't the kind of rowdy establishment I frequent. So... maybe we ought to take a look? Yeah, I'm gonna take a look."

He walked that direction until he could see what was going on. Maybe there was a fight? No, he shouldn't hope for that. This wasn't some lawless station where he could freely burn off some steam with a barfight.

[Naku Futomi]

Naku's eyes went wide. of course Thrax was going to take a look. Naku followed, not feeling bad about wanting to flee just yet. he was more concerned about not letting anything happen to the establishment nor his friends. He just had to get in range....

Five feet was a short distance. Shorter than he'd like. Still, he tried to move close enough to both of them, attempting to influence their energy to a more neutral state. Everyone within 5 feet of him would feel the effects. May cooler heads prevail.

"Hey, don't think the wall can take much more of that. Y'all good?" He asked, trying to invoke that calm as smoothly as possible. Gradual as it was meant to be, he was ready to adjust it if needed. The only down side was that they likely would feel a surge of anger again unless coaxed through it. Such was his ability. There was just one thing to do for now: get them to not kill each other.

[Narrator]

Naku's power spread out, and you could see the calmer vibes ripping through the crowd around them, incidentally -- conversations that were, at one point, excited and energetic cooling down, that sort of thing.

The anger of the two, ahem, gentlemen who were getting well-acquainted with the structural integrity of the walls was hotter. The man doing most of the shoving had a sort of near-righteous fury that Naku had to tamp down, while the shoveee was more of a sense of panicked fight-or-flight type response. A gradual cooldown would, well, cool things down gradually, but it at least stopped a punch from being thrown immediately -- perhaps an opportunity to slow things down before they got too far out of hand?

"Yeah," the man doing the shoving growled. "Things will be just fine. We're just having a lil' disagreement, aren't we, Dave?" he said, pressing the other guy -- Dave? -- into the wall. "Nothing that won't be fixed if Dave sees the light, right?"

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax felt unusually tranquil as he cleared his throat, hoping his intimidating size would discourage the aggressor from escalating or lashing out at them. "If it's so little, surely violence isn't necessary. I'm sure it's none of our business but perhaps we can help you resolve things without further disturbing the other patrons. We can start with you releasing Dave her, provided he stays to hear you out."

[Narrator]

"When Davey here gives me my money back, or what else he owes me, then he can get his feet back on the ground, can't he?"

"Chaz, damn it," the other guy managed to spit out.

[Naku Futomi]

Oh, this was not going to end well. Grateful that others were a bit more calm, Naku knew if he tried to make either Dave or Chaz calmer faster, it would only ramp up both previous emotions even more. Gradual, gradual, bit by bit to make it long and lasting, he told himself.

"Hard for him to reach his pockets at the moment, I take it. He might not have it on him in the first place, but we can talk about it. Find some other solution," Naku tried to reason.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax had his doubts that reason was going to work on the guy but they had to try. "Now, is this closer to a friends fighting over money situation or a his bones are collateral for a loan situation?" he asked. It didn't feel like the former but a loan shark would have told them to get lost by now. He assumed.

[Narrator]

"It's a 'buyers beware' situation. You make a deal, you expect the other side to follow through, don't ye Davey boy? You don't expect to get tugged around by the short hairs. It just isn't good business, now is it?" Chaz asked, emphasizing his point by pressing his elbow further into Davey's sternum.

[Naku Futomi]

Naku froze before he looked around to the other patrons. Everyone within his range was decent, but still, others were getting antsy. He looked around to see where Will was also.

Eventually he looked to Thrax. "What do we do? Call the cops?" he wondered quietly, unsure the proper protocol in this country.

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

"Yeah, I don't think calling the cops is something people in Mutant Town do," Thrax whispered back.

To Chaz, he said, "He definitely can't pay you back if he has to pay medical bills on top of what he owes you. So it's in your best interest not to break anything, yeah?"

[Naku Futomi]

Naku spoke up once more. "It's best to let him down, and leave him be. Please," he added on, adding to the serene nature of his power. It was a gamble, but one he felt the need to take. The only bad thing was how it might affect Thrax.

Nakus attention turned to his alien friend. "Sorry in advance. You'll likely need to restrain Mr. Chaz, here. You up for that?" he whispered, knowing the dulling motion might slow his companion down. "If we lead him outside the building, it'll be best for everyone," he suggested.

[Narrator]

Naku could feel Chaz's anger pushing back against his power, and would have to focus to keep him calm, but he seemed to be winning out, as Chaz lowered Dave bit by bit by bit...

[Thraxion Ord'Rakar]

Thrax nodded. The fight might not be in him as usual thanks to Naku's influence but he could do that. As Chaz lowered the target of his rage, the ex-initiate watched for the signal to act. He idly wondered if Will was hanging back to see how the pair handled the situation. One of them was interested in joining the X-men, after all.