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How Nancy found this place was anyone's guess.
No doubt a friend of a friend of a friend mentioned it - it was no doubt popular amongst Xavier's circles. And although Nancy was frequenting the club in Mutant Town, there were times where she wanted to hang around more than mutants, at least, that was anyone's guess. As it was, Nancy was clinging to the spectre of familiarity in the vein of… there was an obvious physical mutant at the bar, and Nancy had nonchalantly laid her arms on the bar about a couple stools down from her.
And in spite of herself… she felt out of place. This was obvious, from the bit lower lip, to her eyes ranging more upon the ceiling than they were the other patrons… and perhaps even her clothing. She was dressed a tad on the youthful side, with her hair held back by a plain white hairband, and her modest dress had an air of the 1930's about it.
The only appeal to modernity she wore were her boots, go-go types of a bright pink fashion. Which might have made her style even worse in the moment. Sipping on a soda that someone had bought her, and she didn't think anything of it, the mutant sighs a bit, and lays her head on her arms before her.
A suit, a tie, a good pair of shoes- Armando steps into The Black Cat with a quiet smile. He's familiar with the place, and surprised to see Nancy at the bar. "Hey, Nancy!" he says, instantly recognizing his fellow mutant. He approaches, coming to the bar where the clearly 'off' bartender gives a smile as he comes to see what Armando wants. "Hey there!" he offers to the tender, "Armando, honey, you're lookin' good. That new job is treat'in you right." he offers, "Manhattan?" Armando nods, "Yeah, thanks, that be just perfect."
Armando looks over to Nancy and smiles, "Great to see you, Nancy."
The alternative air to the place had been missed. But… Nancy still felt that vein of solidarity here. Even if the entire place felt a bit off to her senses. A handful of moments now, and she wraps the leather of her thick glove around her drink, and lifts it to indicate the other with a grin. "Hey, Armando. Long time no see, I mean…" she glances to the bartender.
"You remember the last time I saw you," she says.
The woman had taken on a fairly grim demeanor since… well, a little before that night, but there was that tinge to her demeanor now. Seen now in her eyes, flickering across the room before settling on Armando. "Are you still working with Warren?" she asks. "How is he? Still groovy?" she asks.
"Yeah. That was pretty wacky. I'm glad we all got out." Armando says, shaking his head. "Bad times we live in. I could have handled it better- thanks again, by the way. I always get a little fighty when people pick on kind-hearted crippled women. Moira is like a mother to me, you know?" The grey-skinned mutant says, as his manhattan arrives.
"Thanks." Armando offers to the bartender. He pays his tab with a tip immediately. "YEah, I still work for Warren. I don't need to be there everyday." He wants to tell Nancy about the other thing- the Avengers- but he really can't. "Its good work- and my coworkers have really started to accept me after the whole Chinese robot thing."
"Not sure I did the right thing," says Nancy. "But I did something," she adds, tapping fingertips against the edge of her glass, nostrils flaring - bringing up her hand to massage the side of her head. Eyes draw low - search the top of the bar - and soon lift up again. "You were right to do what you did, I hope you don't feel I was passing judgement on that - what they were doing was wrong," she says, gesturing with a finger at the other man.
The obvious mutant had moved on, replaced by a man in a business suit - perhaps coming in after his work. He glances to the two - but turns his attention forward soon enough.
"I… didn't hear about the Chinese robot thing. Would it be alright to ask about it?" she asks, canting her head just a touch to one side.
"It was all over the news. A bunch of robotic Chinese soldiers marching through the finance district, where I work." Armando explains. "They were attacking- so, I ran outside to defend the building." he continues, "I fought them- and then a giant robot attacked. It was going for the Statue of Liberty.. so, I fought that, too." he explains with a smile to Nancy.
Armando looks towards the man glances towards himself and Nancy- just lifting his drink in a quiet, friendly way. Most people here aren't the sorts to judge based on appearance. He turns his attention back towards Nancy. "I've been doing that sort of thing a lot, recently. Trying to help people."
The man wasn't judgy. Just that Nancy's groovy gauntlets (and her look, truly) and Armando's look might have garnered a second glance. As it was, the man was here to drink. And perhaps do other things, it's a mystery. As Armando tells his story, Nancy crinkles her nose. "Huh. I must have been studying," she says. "Or just thought the others had some strange action movie on," she says, bringing up a hand to flick a lock of her hair out of her eyes.
"Is it working? I've kinda been keeping to myself - not certain if that is the best action either, but it is mine," she says. "Things have gone quiet at the mansion, and that can be a good thing."
"I don't know if its working." Armando admits. "I was in the paper after a bus exploded around me. They called me a hero for pulling people out of that disaster. A bunch of busses got attacked." He's been busy, it seems. "I don't think we should withdraw." he says, "And certainly not you. You're a beautiful woman, Nancy. You're lovely, all around." he says, quietly. "Smart, pretty face, and you saved my ass." he says with a little smile.
"So, what have you been up to, if you're just keeping to yourself?"
So here they were - Nancy and Armando at the bar of the Black Cat. While Nancy was dressed - well, in a manner that was a bit childish all told - a dress that hearkened back to the 1930's. Armando, for his part, /always/ dressed like a classy cat. Nancy purses her lips - frowning after he tells her of the aftermath of the Chinese robot invasion. Lifting her eyes back up to the ceiling, they draw back down towards him proper. "You /have/ been busy," Nancy affirms.
A few moments more at what he says.
"I think you would have been fine - I'm sure if they threw you in jail you would have just evolved a skill at lawyering," she says with a grin. "And thank you for so many compliments - you do me honor with them, and I appreciate each one," she says, bringing up a hand - covered with leather gloves, to fiddle with the necklace she wears.
A sip of the soda that a woman graciously bought her here.
"So what is next for you? In life? In love? In school?"
"Well. I've got a pretty full plate, to be honest," Armando says. "And those compliments are true, Nancy." he says, before taking a moment to think. "I'll keep working, I'm sure. I'll help tutor people at the school, substitute teach when I'm needed." ARmando continues. "Love though… that's a big question." he says, smiling quietly, "I've always been lonely in that regard. I guess I never thought of myself as desirable. Not like… well.. anyone who looks normal, I guess. Not like someone like you, Nancy."
Armando pauses again, before he switches to Japanese, a poem composed by Emperor Sanjo of Japan:
"Though it is not what's in my heart,
if in this world of pain
I should linger, then
no doubt I shall remember fondly
the bright moon of this dark night."
If only Keith had better clothes to rely on, he could be considered an actual classy cat. Leather jacket and pants and a black tee underneath are all he currently has to his name.
He saunters into the club with typical feline confidence, which is to say the kind of attitude that says he believes he's perfectly attired for the occasion and it's everybody else who has got it wrong.
He walks towards the bar, hands in his jacket pocket and a grin aimed at no-one in particular. "Love what you've done with the place," he says smoothly to the bartender, sliding onto one of the nearby stools. "Goat's Delight for me, if you will." He is rather fond of that Prohibition-era drink.
It's probably the cream.
Once he settles in, he looks at the patrons sitting along the bar and gives them a friendly nod, clearly in a good mood.
"Well, one could turn those compliments around, as well," says Nancy, "You have a very dashing demeanor, you're obviously intelligent and you dress impeccably," she says, holding up her hand in a thumbs up fashion. "I know one of my friends said that you helped him a lot for a math test, with that tutoring bit," she adds. "Loneliness will not last for you, Armando - I am certain of it - for those things I just mentioned. You simply must find someone who is willing to look past them," she says, leaning towards him a bit with a smile.
A beat, and the smile fades as he switches to Japanese. She was almost embarrassed looking - sheepish - glancing around the bar as he breaks into that language. That man from before - glances to them, and then decides to move. "Did you write that?" she asks afterwards, her jaw a bit tight. "It's lovely poetry," and…
Well, who should draw her eyes but Vorpal? In fact, the cat probably drew more than just her gaze for sure - his appearance and confident demeanor no doubt had the eye of a great many here. A handful of moments, and Nancy leans his way, offering him a hand - her fist was covered with a thick leather glove, and her forearms had plastic casings over a series of wires on them. "Hello there - new to the club? I'm Nancy, and this is Armando. I don't think I've seen you around before, at least."
"No. After you spoke Japanese to me, I started looking for books in the language. I found a book of poetry." Armando admits. "I thought you might like it." he says as he looks to Nancy, frowning a bit at how she reacts to it. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would embarrass you." he offers to her quietly, "Its from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu." A classical Japanese book of poems. "I found a copy in a small store in Chinatown. Owned by a nice Japanese man."
"You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are, Nancy." Armando says quietly. "But… I won't pretend to know what it was like for you." he continues, before turning his attention to Keith. He raises his Manhattan with a smile, taking a slow sip. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Nancy, Armando," Keith acknowledges them. He's toying with one of the stirring sticks he pilfered from the bar with a quick swipe. "Name's Keith, pleased to meetcha both." He shakes Nancy's hand with the hand that is currently not using the little stick as a baton.
"You could say I'm new 'round here. Came in from outta town a few weeks ago, didn't know this place was around until yesterday, though."
He takes a look around, "Pretty classy joint, too. 'cause the cat's color is wrong, it oughta be purple, but what can you do about it?"
He returns his gaze to the other two people, "You both from 'round here, then?"
Nancy pauses a handful of moments, her lips pursed tightly at what he says at first. "I suppose it sounded familiar now that you mentioned it," she says. "It was a beautiful poem, and I thank you for sharing it with me," she adds. "I think I studied a little out of the hundred poems, but I didn't study that one in particular," she says, kinda relaxing her jaw a bit. Most of the Japanese in New York were expariates - and they tended to settle in a portion of New York together, forming Little Tokyo. No doubt this shop in particular had bled through into the Chinese area.
"In Chinatown?" she asks, though, tilting her head to one side a bit, her lips pursed.
Another moment. She casts his last statement aside for now. "Have you… seen any decent films recently?" she asks. And it is Keith's turn for attention. Nancy's grip was light - and the woman bows over the handshake. "I know it!" she enthuses to the man. "It is classy, but… I do feel I am a little underdressed for it. But they haven't kicked me out yet, so…" A beat. "I am - I'm studying at an academy up to the northeast a bit," says Nancy. And while her English was good, she hadn't quite shaken the steady Japanese cadence of speaking, or the accent teasing at the edges of her tone. "It's a good place - people were talking about it at the academy for people like… well, us. So I wanted to see for myself. Armando here, however," she says, spinning her stool around and kinda indicating the man with a sweep of her hand. "He knows the city very well, and all of the clubs. He would be an excellent friend to make if you were coming from out of town."
"Born and bred New Yorker." Armando says, with a smile. He nods towards Nancy, "Yeah. The bookstore has books from all over the Orient. Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean." he explains.
"I've told a few people about this club at the school- I tutor the students there." Armando offers, lifting his mixed drink to Keith. "A pleasure to meet you, Keith." he says next. "This is a great bar all around, as long as you're polite. The people here don't judge based on appearances."
He returns his attention to Nancy, "You know, if you need some new clothes I'd be happy to help, Nancy." he says with a smile.
"You don't say?" Keith remarks to Nancy's promoting of Armando. "A rather handy fellow to have around, then. I wouldn't mind a tour of the city at some point."
He grins as the Goat's Delight arrives, he raises an eyebrow, "Hmm, I rather like that dress. Very elegant. A bit of the Belle Epoque touch to it… but if you'd rather change, I'm sure there are many places to find something truly spiffy. You could have two helpers," he gestures to Armando and himself with his cocktail, "Two fairy godmothers, so to speak. Except I'm not good at the wand stuff."
The cocktail stirrer in his other hand becomes a rather lengthy wand in white ivory. He gives it a few shakes and a few sparkles come out of it. And that's it…"See what I mean?"
"A little bit of everything from that part of the world," says Nancy, with a bit of wryness to her voice. A beat. "I bet you are the source of the rumor that this was the place to be, then!" she says with a grin. "As filtered through Jane, then Mary, then Gertrude," she adds, that grin bounding into a laugh. "I like the one in mutant town as well, but sometimes the police go through there, and it is… unpleasant," she says.
At the last thing offered - Nancy looks to Armando.
"I might take you up on that. I have a little bit of a stipend, and I'd like to buy… one good dress before I graduate. Just… for special occasions, and things, you know?" she offers. A beat, and she flicks her eyes towards Vorpal as he offers as well - although delight triggers on her face at his trick. "I am still impressed!" she says. "That's a better wand than I can do - so it's a date, then?" she asks, glancing between the three.
"A little bit of everything from that part of the world," says Nancy, with a bit of wryness to her voice. A beat. "I bet you are the source of the rumor that this was the place to be, then!" she says with a grin. "As filtered through Jane, then Mary, then Gertrude," she adds, that grin bounding into a laugh. "I like the one in mutant town as well, but sometimes the police go through there, and it is… unpleasant," she says.
At the last thing offered - Nancy looks to Armando.
"I might take you up on that. I have a little bit of a stipend, and I'd like to buy… one good dress before I graduate. Just… for special occasions, and things, you know?" she offers. A beat, and she flicks her eyes towards Vorpal as he offers as well - although delight triggers on her face at his trick. "I am still impressed!" she says. "That's a better wand than I can do - so it's a date, then?" she asks, glancing between the three.
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