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Christmas music blared over the speakers in little cafe, and Lorna stood in line to order some hot chocolate. It seemed as if all she did these days was duck in and out of shops and get hot chocolate. The weather had been so cold it stung her eyes in the morning when she stepped out. Still, at least with the still frozen snow on the ground, everything was blanketed in a smooth patina of white. All the lights and decorations glowed and gleamed and shimmered on every surface.
To put it lightly, it was the perfect weather for Christmas time. The kind that songs had been written about. Which was good, considering how badly chaotic the rest of the world had been in the weeks leading up to the Holidays.
Lorna, for her part, was bundled back up with her woolen coat and scarves and mittens. Her hair once more dyed back to the muted brown that allowed her to pass as a normal, non-mutant human. Still, her eyes remained that same vibrant green, and they sparkled with intent to warm herself with more hot chocolate. She ordered, paid and stepped aside, bouncing on her toes as she waited.
*
"Excuse me, are you a magnet?" A pause. "Because I feel so /attracted/ to you." Maximus purrs out the absolutely horrible pick-up line that he can't possibly actually mean, seriously. His steel eyes spark with a sense of mischief. The cold and his hideously huge fur coat kept him and his combed black hair a secret until Lorna was done paying. But it seems the Prince had a craving for something warm as well. Or, he followed her. So, to Julie's vision, she'd see an attractive, mid-30s man trying to pick up a teenager. Classy!
*
Julie sits at one of the little tables cradling a cup of coffee, she's wearing a Santa's Elf hat and a work-jacket from some garage company, despite the holidays, it's still a busy week in New York for anyone with tow trucks, considering matters down in Brooklyn. Dizzy looks up from a plain-green-covered manual of some kind that might be military, because that was really that cheesy of a line. Smirks just a little.
*
Lorna jumped as Maximus came up behind her and she let out a small squeak of surprise. Then promptly, glared at him, her arms crossing over her middle as she took a pointed step back and turned to face him fully. Her nose wrinkled up as she eyed him.
"Geeze louise! Ew!" She made a face as if she'd tasted something terrible.
"You know, bad pick up lines are not likely going to make anyone actually /like/ you, you know?" She arched a brow, leaning back on her heels before her order was up and she moved to collect it. A polite thank you and a smile was offered to the employee. The expression dropping as she looked back to Maximus.
"What /are/ you doing here?"
*
Maximus chuckles as Lorna chastises him, seemingly amused. "Oh, no one likes me anyway. I am the /pariah/ of the family, beloved only by subjects that have been beguiled by a feckless council. Such as it will be though. We should speak. But. Not alone. You need some sort of…chaperone." He glances around the place and his eyes rest on Julie. "What about her?"
*
Julie ahs, there. "Feckless counsels, ain't that just a thing. If it ain't Mister Secret Santa, though, how's the missus?" She gives Lorna a little wave, pretending to know her, in case she needs a social escape route.
*
A flush of irritation dusted her cheeks and she glowered at him. "Well maybe that's your problem." She grumbled, and eyed him as she stepped backwards again.
"What, why do I need a chaperone? I'm an adult!" She spluttered, gaping at him and then she turned to eye Julie and made her way over to the young woman.
Her voice pitched low as she edged closer to the other woman. "Thank you."
*
Maximus follows after Lorna and smiles at Julie. "Oh, hello again. The…missus…is fine." He flicks a grin across his plush lips. "I never introduced myself, the other day. I am Maximus." He offers Julie his hand. "She knows me." He glances over to Lorna, then back to Julie."
*
Julie winks a bit to Lorna, saying, "Maximum something, I'm sure. Like the mouse said, small world after all. Everyone calls me Dizzy." Her accent's an Italian-tinged Brooklyn one that speaks of 'local color.' Says to Lorna, "So how you been, anyhow? Seems everyone's blowing in for the holidays."
*
A look was shot to Maximus as he followed her, and she grumbled under her breath, making sure to be on the otherwise of the table from him rather than being close. She hugged her cup of hot chocolate closer, and sipped at it rather than respond or say anything. The fact that Julie seemed to know Maximus in any form had her eyeing the woman suspiciously.
"Right, well, nice to see you and all. I'll be just going then.."
*
"Oh, no, I just wanted to say hello again before I drive up to Xavier's and try to become your new roommate. I will see you soon…I'm sure." Maximus smiles and then flounces his way out.
**