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Morning at Harry's Hideaway. Not that you'd know it by the darkened ambiance. The restaurant keeps its mysterious manner, allowing singles and couples to hide away, as the very name of the restaurant suggests, or to mingle as they please. A few of the booths are filled and a few people a scattered throughout the room, even during these morning hours. It's a popular place, day or night.
At the bar, leaning back and sipping on a juice is a ginger-headed, and ginger-bearded, gentleman, gazing about the room. His free hand slips into one of his pockets and pulls out a little seed, which he absently twirls about in his hand.
*
With a simple ding of Harry's bell at the door, in walks yet another patron. With the booths looking relatively full, Kitty cranes her neck to ensure even those at the back are occupied. With a small, somewhat self-deprecating smile, she slides towards the bar and lifts a hand, calling for the waitress's attention when it's to be had.
A nod is given towards those closest to her — always good to greet company — before she slides onto her stool and reaches for a menu from the centre of the bar. Her cheeks puff out with an exhaled breath, "Busy today, huh?"
*
"Yes…yes indeediroony." Binx chuckles, smiling at Kitty, returning the nod. "Everyone loves Harry's." He says softly. "Oh, but it makes sense, doesn't it? The shadowy booths for elusive meetings? The fake palm trees? What more could a guy or a gal want, hmm?" He chuckles again, taking a sip of his juice. "Well, I suppose we could have music. But I think the band's on a bit of a break. A shame, really."
He glances at Kitty, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I just talk and talk." He takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly, and begins to gaze about the room again.
*
Despite the circumstances in which Kitty finds herself, delight tugs at the corners of her lips, and her eyebrows crinkle at the observations, especially the last that her newfound companion talks and talks. "That sounds vaguely familiar," she arches a single eyebrow crosses her arms over her chest.
At that moment, thanks to being a regular around here these days, the waitress sets a coffee cup in front of Kitty wordlessly and then goes back about her business, prompting a lopsided, rather cheeky grin from Miss Pryde. "Music is what everyone wants," Kitty agrees whole-heartedly. "But then I'm guessing no one would ever leave…"
*
Giving a little smile to the woman next to him, Binx shrugs a little. "I'm glad I'm not alone, then." He tilts his head slightly. "I met a person once who had a unique perspective on those who talk a lot. He said, 'Those who talk too much have souls that yearn to listen.'" He pauses and shakes his head. "I liked the thought, I suppose."
A little smirk crosses his lips at her words. "No, I suppose they wouldn't. And then this place would get much too crowded, wouldn't it?" He chuckles. "Though I wouldn't mind it being crowded. I'd just listen away, happy to hear the sweet sound of music."
*
Kitty's fingers curl around her mug and she rather meekly issues him a one shouldered shrug. "Sounds like your friend had some depth. I have a friend with a great deal of depth but I suspect that someone who is deep seems to deny its depth because to be deep means not recognizing depth because depth only keeps going — " She finally draws the cup to her lips and takes a long languid drink, allowing the hot fluid to linger over her taste buds. Her eyes blink owlishly and she rather pensively allows her head to cant to the side. "Does your soul yearn to listen?" There's a strange vulnerability in the words, but their punctuation with a half-dimpled smile deters, particularly as Miss Pryde shakes her head. "Sorry." She smirks again as fatigue creeps into her expression, "I tend to chatter when I explain things."
She shrugs and then shoots him a toothy grin, "Well you could make music all your own and then see if the crowds gather or dissipate." There's a sparkle of mischief in her gaze overlaying that still-there fatigue.
It's only then that she removes her shoulder bag from across her body, hanging it on the back of her chair, and plucks a couple of manilla file folders from it to set on the bar.
*
"One might argue that to know depth is to know that you really know nothing." Binx responds in kind. "Afterall, I do believe it was Shakespeare who wrote, 'A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.' Or something close to that." He finishes off his drink and waves to the server to, indicating that he'd like another. He gives Kitty a curious look when she asks him about listening. He takes a deep breath in and leans back a little more, appearing to really think about that question in ernest. "I would say that my soul does yearn to listen, yes. It yearns to hear what others have to say." He smiles kindly, tilting his head inquisitively. "And I bet you have plenty to say that my soul would love to listen to." He speaks softly, kindly, his tone warm and inviting. "There's no need to apologize. Chattering can sometimes indicate that someone is passionate about something."
He lets out a little laugh at the mention of music. "Well, I could make music. But I'm afraid I left my guitar at my office, and I don't fancy myself singing here without an instrument." The file folders, of course, catch his attention, but he doesn't ask about them. Not just yet, anyway.
*
"So… wisdom and foolishness are the same?" Kitty lifts a single eyebrow in response. "Because if you think you know nothing," her eyes raise to the ceiling as she works this out, "then do you know nothing? Or is it that in nothing you find depth?" She actually chuckles and shakes her head. "This seems circular. Feels like something my teachers would want to pick up on and outside what I do or don't know." She issues him another shake of her head.
Her eyes narrow into slits and she hmms about what her new companion's soul would want to hear. If Binx takes the time to study her, he can easily notice the dark circles under her eyes, the stiffness in her shoulders, and the tightness in posture. "I'm not sure I have much to say anyone would want to listen to," her eyebrows draw together slightly and her lips turn downwards slightly into a frown. "But," she forces a tight smile, "I appreciate the support. Especially from a stranger at diner." But then, all friends were once strangers. Her eyes flit towards him and she extends her hand, "Kitty." Pause. "That's my name. I'm not calling you a kitty," she squints, "my name is Kitty."
*
"I think it just comes to knowing that we always have more to learn. And, maybe, knowing that our lives and our experiences are not the same as another's. Everyone, everything, is unique in their own ways. We can never truly know everything about everything, or about everyone." Binx sighs and raises both eyebrows. "But I suppose I'm just rambling now." He says with a chuckle.
As his new glass of juice arrives, he thanks the waitress and takes a sip, looking back over to Kitty. Taking the time to properly look her over as she talks, he chuckles softly. "Sometimes a stranger at a diner is just that…a stranger. But sometimes that stranger is exactly who a person needs. If that makes sense." He murmurs. "Especially when you've…you've been having trouble sleeping, and you've been under a great deal of stress lately." He pauses, though, to extend his own hand. "Binx. Or Binxy. It's nice to meet you, Kitty." He wiggles an eyebrow in a silly fashion and says, "Don't worry, I won't start meowing. Unless you actually call me a cat."
*
Binx's assessment of Kitty's appearance earns a hum of appreciation. Observation seems to be something this stranger is good at. "Binx then," she offers with a small nod. "And no, I won't call you a cat. Unless you do meow. Then we'd be in another logic circle and lost, probably. All would be lost."
Her lips purse as her eyes glance down to the files. She swallows hard. "A few of my friends have gone…" her lips twist to the side, "…missing." Finally her eyes tick up to the man she's just met. "It's been a trying few weeks." This is punctuated by a sad twitch of her lips, "I… feel helpless, I guess. I'm doing what I can, but - " she frowns.
*
"Well, I can't have us being caught up in another logic circle, can I? That would just be very uncool of me." Binx says with a firm nod, though a smirk does tug at his lips. The mention of her friends, however, brings a very serious look upon his face. "That's terrible! I'm so sorry." He frowns, glancing at the files as well. "Have you…have the police got any leads?" Not knowing much about them, he can only assume the police are involved.
"It's…" He stops himself. He was about to tell her that it was natural to feel helpless. Which is true, but he's sure it wouldn't help her much at all. "I know we've only just met, Kitty. You don't know me from a stranger on the street, aside from my name, but is there anything I can do to help?"
*
Kitty eyes the man for several beats before finally issuing him another shake of her head. "No. Nothing obvious." It's too complicated to explain, and she wouldn't offer her status as a mutant to a stranger. "But, I have hope they'll be recovered soon." She shoots him a wearied smile.
She swallows hard and shakes her head. "It's not something a person should have brought up with a stranger, and I'm sorry. I Shouldn't have said anything. It's just been wearing on my thoughts. And then the people that know me well also know them and talking about it becomes counter productive because we just push ourselves into a spiral of worry that we could potentially fall out if like a giant tornado like Dorothy in OZ… maybe that's all that story was. An analogy for trouble." she presses her lips together. "That would make you the Scarecrow, I think." Her eyebrows lift to punctuate the point.
*
"I'm sure they'll be found. Sooner rather than later, too." Of course, Binx isn't sure, but he's in the business of trying to make people feel better. Even if it's just offering a small comfort with a few words.
"Hey now, I'm not just any stranger. I'm Binx, the guy with the juice!" He lifts up his glass and offers a silly, lopsided grin. "If you can't confide in me, I mean, who can you confide in!" His grin fades, however, downgrading to a sympathetic smile. "Grief is a tricky thing. If affects us all in various ways. One thing is certain, however. When those you care about are missing, you do nothing but worry and sometimes talking just helps. Even if it's with a stranger." He offers.
He chuckles softly at the Wizard of Oz analogy. "Well, if I'm the Scarecrow, you must be Dorothy. We just need to find you a Toto, and get us a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion. Once we've got them, we just have to find our way to Oz to see the Wizard. He'll be sure to help us on our quest!"
*
Understanding drifts over Kitty's eyes and she allows her chin to drop in a small nod. "Binx. The guy with the juice," she repeats with a lilt of humour in her tone. "It's hard and confusing to confide in anyone," she admits softly. "Have you ever felt like you had no control over your life anymore? Like every time you find some semblance of it, it gets sucked away from you?" She shoots him a tight smile. "It just seems like every time I find my land legs I'm spinning in the air again. Sucked right up into that tornado once more."
There's a flicker of a smile at the last. "Well, I think my boyfriend would make an appropriate Tin Man. The biggest heart you'd ever see." She squints and considers, "But I'm not sure I know a Cowardly Lion who is secretly brave." She rubs her head and hmmms quietly. "It'll take a long journey down a yellow brick road to find the wizard, I'm sure."
*
"The world is a confusing place in general." Binx softly responds, taking a sip of his juice. "When we can't even seem to trust our own neighbours, how can we trust anyone?" He smiles. "Sometimes you just have to follow your instincts, if that makes sense." He listens carefully to her words, being sure not to miss a thing. "When you find yourself in those times…when you can't seem to get control of anything, that's when you need to examine you life and find one thing, even something small, that you know you can control. And then focus on that. It doesn't matter how small it is. It's yours to control and it can make all the difference."
He smiles a little wider at the continuation of the Wizard of Oz talk. "Well, you see? You've got me, and you've got your boyfriend the Tin Man. We've just got to take a journey to find our Cowardly Lion and we'll be set to find the wizard!"
*
There's a lot of quiet following Binx's thoughts. But it's obvious something sinks in when Kitty issues the redhead a twitch of a smile. "See, I knew you were the Scarecrow," Kitty says triumphantly with another nod of acknowledgment. "And Piotr," pause, "he's Russian and has this giant heart…. He's definitely the Tin Man. My friend Keith could maybe be the Cowardly Lion who is actually brave all along. He's sort of feline-like, and super brave." She issues Binx another flicker of a smile.
There's a smirk at the thought of the wizard, but Kitty doesn't bother saying anything more about it. Her eyes twitch towards the clock, "Sorry. I gotta run. I'm having a planned phone call with… my parents." She shoots him another grin. "But I'm around here a lot. So is Piotr. He's very large, Russian… accented… you should say hi if you see him." Her hand retreats into her pocket and leaves a few bills on the bar before reaching over to give Binx's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll see you around, Binxy." She twists on the stool.
*
"Ah, Russian! I like Russians. Some of them, anyway." Binx, afterall, has Russian grandparents. "Well, I think we've got our party set! Unless you need to find a Toto. I might be able to get you a dog. I can borrow one from a friend." He says with a wide smile. When Kitty starts getting ready to leave, he nods a little. "Prijatno poznakomit'sja!" He offers in Russian. "Which means, 'Nice to meet you'. I do hope you find your friends." He tells her. "And hopefully I'll see you again some day!" He waves to her as she leaves, turning back to watching the room as he sips his drink.
*