APOCALYPSE HOW: IC INBOX

[cacophonish]

"...is this thing on?" un: freakscene voice | video | text | action | everything

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[cacophonish]

talk about an upgrade ;)

sure i could get out. not really doing anything but hanging out with a naked cat
well i guess it's not really naked. it's wearing a sweater

[henchgal]

There's a Thai place about a block down from Bonnies that has a selection of Asian beers. Wanna meet up there?

[cacophonish]

oh yeah i know the place! just name the time and i'll be there

>action

[henchgal]

I'll be there in about half an hour.

Due to bus schedules, it's more like 40 minutes before Mere arrives. She's rocking the new haircut, sides shaved, everything gelled back in something not entirely unlike a mohawk, but her outfit's still her usual sort of thing--sweater, skinny jeans, chuck taylor high tops.

She texts Jeff, when she arrives, to see where he's at.

[cacophonish]

Jeff's already got a table, and once he sees Meredith, he hops up and waves her over with a grin. He's still not totally used to the new hair, but it's a good look! Totally suits her. And while hers has gotten shorter, his has gotten longer... because he still hasn't had a haircut in way too long.

So he's totally rocking the 90s grunge look, even more than usual.

"Mere! Hey!" Once she's over, he greets her with a hug and flops back down onto his seat. "I can't believe I beat you here. I'm, like, never on time."

[henchgal]

"Fucking buses, you know how it goes." She laughs, hugging back warmly and plopping into a seat like a bag of flour. "So, before we get into my shit, you heard Malcolm and Neal are now officially an item, right?"

[cacophonish]

Jeff blinks, and it's clearly news to him.

"No, but, uh, hey, that's great." He means it, even if it's just a little awkward, what with... him possibly having been an obstacle to them getting together in the first place. "Good for them. Glad they're not dancing around it anymore."

[henchgal]

"So am I. Fucking Neal, making a thing of it...but I think they'll be happy, in the long run. I actually told Malcolm if we weren't living together, I'd have probably asked him out at some point."

She glances down at the menu to avoid eye contact there.

[cacophonish]

"Yeah, well. He was probably going through his own shit or something." Jeff shrugs. The less focus on Neal, the better. Besides, there's something more important here!

"No shit?" Jeff can't help but grin. "I told him he was a catch."

[henchgal]

"Oh, he's a mess. But a mess with very pretty eyes." She laughs. "Instead, I fell into bed with Ches after doing some office skills training with him. That happened."

[cacophonish]

"Shit yeah!" He lifts his water glass so they can toast to that. "I'd hit it, too, if, uh. You know." If the opportunity arose. But he may be too young for Ches. The over-30 set do have a habit of calling him a kid.

"So was it a one-time thing, or are you guys just hooking up casually, or what?"

[henchgal]

"It was one time, there might be more. I'm not fussed about it. I'll say this, though, big strong werewolf man was gentle enough not to pull me apart." Tease-tease.

She finally settles on what she'd like and flags down the waitress (teenage girl, likely a kid of the owners) to order.

[cacophonish]

Jeff groans, though it's all in good humor. Why bring up his shame, Meredith! "I just didn't know my own strength!" he whines, in his defense. It's a very strong, rugged whine, clearly.

Once the waitress gets to them, Jeff gives his order (Drunken Noodles, chosen solely for the name) and maybe engages in a little bit of light, friendly banter, like he's just a totally normal, well-adjusted dude who can talk to people without spacing out or getting super weird.

Then, when the coast is clear, he leans in closer to Meredith.

"Dude, so what was it like to bang a werewolf!"

[henchgal]

Mere, meanwhile, goes for the pad thai, with tofu.

"About the same as banging a normal guy--it's not like he wolfed out in bed or anything. I haven't seen him wolf out at all, yet, to be honest." She laughs brightly.

[cacophonish]

"Yeah, I guess that'd be, like, the worst time to do it," he concedes with a laugh. "He seems pretty chill for a werewolf, anyway."

A beat.

"I dunno why I said that, it's not like I've ever met a werewolf before. Maybe they're all chill..."

[henchgal]

"I've never met one before either. I'm not sure if they're a thing in my world. You'd think you'd hear about a werewolf hero or villain, if they were."

Because her fucking world, man.

[cacophonish]

There's a long pause as Jeff tries to work his brain around all that, then:

"What... kinds of heroes or villains do you normally hear about?"

[henchgal]

"Oh, god, have I not told you yet? My world's full of superheroes and supervillains. I actually live just outside Hightower, where the Global Guardians are headquartered."

She laughs. "I thought I'd mentioned it to most people by now."

[cacophonish]

The truth is, she might've told Jeff at some point, but he's certainly got a brain like a sieve, so it could have slipped right out.

"Huh." Superheroes and shit. That's something to process. "Right on."

[henchgal]

"I'm not a hero or anything, though. Hell, not even 'normal'."

She shrugs, looking down at her hands. "But I get by, even in that world. Pretty much the same way I do here."

[cacophonish]

"Oh. Who cares about normal? I'm not normal, either."

Unless 'normal' carries some other significance in the context of Meredith's world. Kind of like how 'Gifted' is a huge chunk of his identity, back home, but here? Here it's stripped clean of all weight and significance.

Jeff tilts his head and offers a teasing smile.

"Yeah? By working for shady people for the insurance?" There's no judgment in his voice. In his six months here in Gloucester, Jeff seems to at least have matured enough to move past all that big talk of living free and following dreams. Meredith taught him that's a luxury most people can't afford.

[henchgal]

She considers Jeff a moment. She's told Tim and Malcolm at this point. Who knows how secret her shit will stay?

So she lowers her voice. Looks him in the eye. "Shady's one word for it. I'm hoping Nia Lehrer doesn't turn out to be a literal supervillain, but we'll see."

[cacophonish]

"I bet she is." He has absolutely nothing to base that assertion on, other than his own grudge against the ADI for their anti-magic stance. But... then he looks at Meredith, as she looks at him, and even Jeff isn't too spacey to miss the significance there.

"Wait. Were you, like--" He lowers his voice, all hush hush and... actually a little eager and excited. Like a kid. "--did you work for a supervillain guild or something?"

[henchgal]

"Nothing so dramatic as that. The tech CEO who I was the personal assistant for might have had a costumed identity, though."

His reaction is so very Jeff. Sooooo Jeff.

[cacophonish]

"Whoa."

Okay, that's less dramatic, sure. But it's also kind of cooler in a way, because she's like, what, the right hand of some costumed bigwig. A supervillain's Gal Friday!

(Is that sexist? Fuck, maybe Aelwyn was right, and he still has some things to examine...)

"That's so fucking cool."