When two Brits meet...

[xp_daytripper]

Shinobi runs into Amanda (literally) and shows her where the food is...



'Fuck, this place is friggin' enormous,' Amanda thinks to herself as she wanders down yet another hallway, following a small blob of bright green light, not much bigger than a firefly. She's pleased the location spell worked - that particular incantation wasn't exactly reliable, and the last time she'd used it, she'd managed to turn her skin green for a week. Not really an issue in Brighton, which had a pretty relaxed attitude about everything, but this is the States and she would like to be able to leave the mansion at some point. Preferably to get some clothes and music.

She's not really concentrating as she walks around the corner, which is probably why she smacks straight into the person coming the other way.

Curiosity at a new face on the journal system had been enough to get Shinobi out of his room, especially since if it was someone Pete knew, it likely meant someone from back home - and maybe around his own age, too. Jono was charming company, but one can never know too many people from the motherland, as far as he's concerned. As he hunts through the halls, he looks down long enough to pick at the front of his shirt. Just long enough to walk into something coming the other way.

"Bloody--!" So much for his dignity - the surprise was enough to send him toppling over backwards with a rather unmanly squeak.

Amanda sits up, muttering something about dopey tosspots who don't look where they're going. She eyes the other person cautiously. "So, who the fuck are you?" she asks in her usual blunt fashion.

Rubbing the side of his head with a slight grimace, Shinobi opens an eye to see who he bumped into, briefly looking a bit confused. The accent and words of choice, however, are as good as a driver's licence - aha. Pete's friend. "Shinobi Shaw," he replies, his own accent thickening a bit when faced with another. "Sorry about that. Was navel-gazing, I'm afraid. You alright?"

"Just dandy," she retorts. Then she cocks her head at him. "Shaw? You're the bloke who was answering me on that computer thingie, right?"

"That's me," he confirms, picking himself up off the floor and offering her a hand up, even if he doesn't really expect to be taken up on it. "Evidence enough that being able to spell big words does not a genius make, this. Rather stupid of me. Hunting for the kitchen, yeah?"

She surprises him by taking the hand that's offered and hauls herself up. Brushing herself down (not that there isn't already enough grubbiness to her clothes), she replies: "Yeah, my belly thinks my throat's been cut, I'm that hungry. Airplane food just doesn't do it for me. Besides, it never hurts to hunt out the food stash, does it? 'Cause you never know when you're gunna need it." Then a look of panic crosses her face. "Oh, bugger..." Before Shinobi can say another word, she pushes him out of the way as a cloud of what looks like neon green fireflies goes zooming past.

Blinking once, Shinobi helpfully pulls her up to her feet, only taking the chance to straighten his own clothes back up once she's gotten her balance. With a grin, he starts to open his mouth to voice his own distaste for airline food before he's shoved, having enough presence of mind to register the panicked look on her face and quickly going intangible, just in case she didn't manage to shove him quite clear of the green whizzing past. Of course, this means his head and shoulder wind up going through the wall for a moment, but he quickly straightens back up, peering in the direction the green went. "I'm hoping that's yours?"

"Let the spell be broken!" Amanda cries, gesturing, and the cloud vanishes. "Bloody fricken unstable location spell..." she grumbles, giving the vanished cloud the finger. Then she looks at Shinobi. "Bloody thing always gives me trouble. I have to concentrate, otherwise it goes out of control. You right?"

Shinobi tries to keep the fascination off his face as he watches the cloud dissipate, looking back to Amanda and nodding once, raking a hand back through his hair. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for the push." He flashes a grin, then pauses, cocking his head to one side. "Think it rather distracted us from introductions, though. Who're you, then?"

"Amanda. Pete's sister sent me here 'cause her coven mates are all too chicken to take me on. So she decided this Xavier geezer might be able to do something." Amanda shrugs, obviously not considering this very likely. "So, you walk through stuff, do you?"

"That, and stop stuff from going through me," Shinobi nods, grinning lopsidedly. "And show folks where the kitchen is, now that I know how to find it meself." He crooks a finger and turns to start along the hall, making sure she's following along before he gets very far. "Forgive me for humouring myself a moment, but... magic? That's just cool. Color me envious."

Amanda grins, unable to help herself. "Isn't it, but? I'm still learning stuff, but I know a few tricks already. Too bad I've got wet blankets like Romany trying to give me guff about 'control' and 'responsibilities' and 'balance' and all that tripe. Still, your thing is pretty cool too. You'd never have to pay cover charge at a club or nothin' - just walk straight in. Sure beats doing an invisibility charm; soddin' thing takes a day to do, and it's not easy finding the ingredients. You ever tried findin' frog's livers in your local chemist?"

Shinobi shakes his head, grinning widely and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Can't say that I have, no. Hate to say it, but up 'til recently, I've been a spot of a stick in the mud meself… no ghosting into clubs for me." He pauses for a moment, making a thoughtful noise. "'Course, I still probably won't, now that my corruption's under way… wouldn't be right to do it if I couldn't sneak me date in with me the same way, and I don't think I can ghost folk with me, unfortunately." With a shrug, he briefly looks to Amanda again, paying more attention to where he's walking now that he's had his plough-into-someone quota filled for the week. "Balance can be a good thing, though, if you look at it from a certain point of view. Just got to have enough good in you that the bad doesn't tip the scales, 'ay?"

She screws her nose up at him, but doesn't tell him to sod off since he still has to show her where the food is. "'Date'?" she asks instead. "Don't tell me my knight in shinin' armour is already taken?" There's something pixie-like in the mischievous expression on her face, almost flirtatious.

"Or enough bad that the good doesn't tip them," Shinobi amends at the girl's expression, grinning wryly and shrugging his shoulders. "Technically, that's balance, innit?" Keeping his grin, he looks forward again, though he does watch out of the corner of his eye as he snorts upon being dubbed a knight in shining armour. "'Fraid I'm spoken for, yeah. Her name's Sarah. Two've you might get along, assuming that was a tonguestud I saw and me eyes aren't just playing tricks on me after the lightshow."

"Got a good set of eyes on you, you do," she replies. "So, this Sarah of yours into the whole bad girl thing? Thought this place would be full of pouncy rich brats."

"The pouncy rich brats are in the minority, actually," Shinobi chuckles, waggling his eyebrows as he unpockets a hand, reaching for the kitchen door. "There's a few of us, though. Sarah's… she's got a penchant for cursing, bloody loud music, nicotine and a bit of the ol' ultraviolence. Gets grounded pretty often. You'd like her." He nudges the door open, gesturing inside. "Behold. The kitchen. Should be something edible in here… could use a snack meself."

Conversation ends briefly as Amanda falls upon the fridge like a shortish punk wolf, pulling out the components for a sandwich Homer Simpson would envy. It's not until she has gulped down a couple of mouthfuls of her construction that she remembers her company. "Looker, this Sarah of yours?" she says indistinctly through a mouthful of sandwich. Considering she's just about put a bit of everything in the fridge on the thing, it's amazing she can fit her mouth around it at all.

Shinobi doesn't mind the break in conversation, taking a rather more leisurely trip into the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of tea while Amanda gets herself fed. He looks over his shoulder when she speaks again, grinning lopsidedly. "I rather think so, though I think she thinks me mad for it," he muses, scooping up his mug and heading towards an empty seat.

"Why would she think you were mad for thinking that? She's not one of those silly bints with an eating disorder or something?" Amanda wipes mayonnaise off her face with her sleeve and continues eating. "Christ, this is good. The stewardess gave me double helpings on the plane 'cause I gave her the whole homeless kid starving to death deal, but those things are so bloody small they wouldn't feed a mouse for a day."

He shakes his head, settling into an empty seat and taking a quick sip of his tea before he responds. "Nah, no eating disorder or anything. Her powers're just a bit on the squick-inducing side, as far as most people are concerned. I'll let her explain it - she does it better than I do." Shinobi grins, watching Amanda thoughtfully a moment before nodding in agreement. "Airline food's rotten. Between it, a trans-Atlantic flight and the movies they show, you'd think they'd at least offer you a bloody tranquilizer as an opt-out at the start of the flight."

She shrugs. "I've seen some pretty bizarre stuff in Brighton. They tend to think you're a bit queer if you're normal-looking, get what I mean? A lot of mutant street kids end up there 'cause of it. Still, as long as she isn't the jealous type, we should get on all right. Besides, I could offer to do a glamour for her, make her look normal. If she wants to, that is." Sandwich finished, Amanda sets about making another, pouring herself a big glass of milk as well. "The flight wasn't that bad - it's the first time I've flown, at least in a plane. And the movie was okay, 'specially since I haven't seen one for a couple of years now. Last time I went was with my last foster family; they were doing this whole 'getting to know each other' outing and took me to see some Disney thing." She pulls a face. "Like I was some kid. Bloody God-botherers - no wonder they freaked when they caught me making love spells in the kitchen."

"Oh, Brighton? Nice." He bobs his head in understanding, listening attentively and taking the opportunity to drink his tea, not quite able to refrain from slouching comfortably in his chair. It's the middle of the night, surely he can let himself slip a little bit then, right? "Well, nobody'll force Disney on you here. The old crowd tends to be a spot oversensitive, though, so if you find your journal the sight of big throw-down fights because you said something they didn't agree with, don't be too shocked. They're a nice bunch, most of them, but they need to remove the flagpoles from their arses, you know?" He pauses for a moment, tilting his head thoughtfully. "I don't think Sarah'd feel need for a glamour.. I can think of a couple people who might, but it'd probably need to get cleared with the powers that be. Protective lot, really."

She snorts as he mentions flagpoles in people's arses, noting his table manners as he drinks his tea. "Well, as long as it's warm and there's food going, I think I can handle it," she says. "What about you? It's pretty fucking obvious you're loaded, so why do you stick around?"

"It's better than home," Shinobi replies sincerely, looking up with a wry smile. "Dad's a right bastard, and I'd probably wind up in intensive care if I went home, at this point… besides, this joint isn't all that bad, once you get used to it." He eyes her thoughtfully for a moment. "Alison Blaire's a bit too poppy for your taste, I'm guessing, right? She lives up the hall from me. Very interesting mish-mash of people here."

"Blaire’s music is shite, but points for having someone famous. I like punk and dance music meself – used to go to raves a bit in Brighton." Sandwich finished, Amanda considers another, but settles for an apple instead, stuffing a couple more in her pockets for later.

"Points for liking punk," Shinobi counters, grinning over his mug as he cradles it in both his hands, briefly considering pointing out that the apples aren't going to go anywhere before thinking better of it. "There are a few famous-types kicking around here.. not too many, though. It's mostly regular folks. You know, middle-class red-white-and-blue types."

"So what you're telling me is that I've walked into a friggin' mutant sit com, right?" Amanda grins. "We could make a bundle if we sold the rights to some wanker like Rupert Murdoch."

"Bit more like an action-drama with the occasional overabundance of angst, but in a nutshell, you've about got it." Shinobi mirrors the grin, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. "You know, you might be on to something there.. don't know if the public's ready for this kind of entertainment, though. Might break their wee heads if they saw half of what goes on around here.. and I'm not even counting the strip poker, there."

"Strip poker? You rebel, you. Just when I thought I was goin' to have to get meself fitted for a wimple."

"We'll take care of you," Shinobi grins, draining the rest of his mug. Tea good. "All the loud music you could ever want, and if you smoke half as much as Pete does, you'll find lots of company out on the front stoop. Decent amount of smokers 'round here." He pauses briefly. "Watch out for Remy, though. Bucket of hormones, that one."

"I can look after myself, but I appreciate the warning - this Remy bloke had better watch himself. And Pete's a lightweight - he's whinging about how I cleaned him out on the drive back from the airport." Amanda shoves her plate away and stretches lazily. "I could go a fag now, only it's too fucking cold out there. And I'd be right in guessing there's some kind of no smoking inside rule?"

"There are some ashtrays stashed around inside… I just smoke outside out of habit. Don't want to get the place smelling any more like smoke than I have to, for the ickle ones, y'know?" Absently, Shinobi pats at his pockets, grumbling under his breath. "Left my pack in my room.. I'll owe you a fag, then, maybe pick you up a carton when I go out to resupply. If you have a fag on you, though, there's an ashtray in the rec room… think Jubilee said something about watching TV in there tonight, so just listen for the noise, 'n you should find it alright." He grins.

Amanda nods. "Yeah, I saw that message before I left my room. Think I'll go rot my brain with bad TV until the jetlag wears off." She gets up, leaving her dishes behind, and pauses. "Thanks for the assist. I'll take you up on that front stoop thing later."

Comments

[x-skin.livejournal.com]

Er, I think something's gone wrong with your LJ-cut. I can't see the log...

[xp_daytripper]

*smacks self in the head* That would be because I forgot to actually put it in. Dope. I blame the jetlag.

All fixed now.

Of Course You Realise...

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

"Watch out for Remy, though. Bucket of hormones, that one."

Ooh, Shinobi, my lad, this means war.

Re: Of Course You Realise...

[x-shinobi.livejournal.com]

Just because it's true doesn't mean you've got to go and get your knickers in a twist. :D

[x-rahne.livejournal.com]

"So what you're telling me is that I've walked into a friggin' mutant sit com, right?" Amanda grins. "We could make a bundle if we sold the rights to some wanker like Rupert Murdoch."

"Bit more like an action-drama with the occasional overabundance of angst, but in a nutshell, you've about got it."

It's a soap opera. I'm telling you.

[x-kitten.livejournal.com]

One of these days I'm going to hunt down that old 'All My Mutant Children' icon that Tine made us.