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Lindon could afford better than this. There's no reason he ever need come to a slum like Hell's Kitchen, save for one important thing he can't get anywhere else: the best noodles in town. There's a sidewalk noodle place with cheap, excellent food, and Lindon has come to sit at a bistro table that has to be chained down with a bowl of noodles and a cup of tea. This constitutes getting out more. That's his story and he's sticking to it.
The dark-eyed, mild-mannered librarian even engages in people-watching instead of his usual head-down, stuff-face modus operendi. Of course he avoids eye contact when possible.
*
"Lalala, laaa la. La! La!" A young lady in a white sundress goes by, in Hell's Kitchen of all places, smiling brightly and walking as if the sun on her face is the best thing in the world. She takes a deep breath, pausing as she passes, and goes, "Oh, noodles!" with all the innocence of a kid freed from homework to play in the sun.
Which is when the redheaded lady's smile ends up at the table, with a bowl of noodles, looking to see if there's room for one more. "May I? I'm not being rude am I? I might be."
*
Ahhh the bad part of town. Sure it means wearing her perfectly normal mutant disguise (just a plain summer dress over the top of her alien clothing but not completely covering it) but Starfire still visits. After all you can't learn about a place without knowing the good and the bad. Of course she hardly looks /normal/ with her orange skin but providing she remembers to walk on the ground she just about passes for a mutant.
Kori cheerfully wanders her way down the street pausing to greet a few familiar faces, often in whatever language they natively speak, and even responds to a few ruder comments with polite well wishes. As she gets close to the noodle stand the chef shouts something out and holds out a bag containing some sort of seeds.
*
Lindon looks up, a noodle hanging from his lips. He slurps it up, swallows, and says, "Er, sure." There aren't exactly a lot of tables to choose from. This is the one that hasn't been stolen or destroyed yet. The paint is chipped and one of the legs is bent, but a half-brick props it up. Lindon gestures to one of the empty seats and says, "It's not my table, so I shouldn't, uh, say it's… It's okay to sit here." He smiles a little. "Hi."
His attention is drawn to the orange-skinned woman, and he watches her a little too long. Then there's that dawning that he's being rude, and he snatches up his tea bar any commentary by drinking.
*
"Oh, I won't intrude if it's anything, I don't want to be awful to anyone today." The redheaded chick grins at Lindon, looking about for another place to sit and not finding one. She frowns, holding her noodles, which are getting too hot to hold. And she yelps, kind of half dropping the bowl toward the tabletop where it nearly spills.
*
"Are you okay?" Starfire wonders, breaking away from what seems to be a lengthy exchange of thanks with the store owner to step over to the table with Angelica and Lindon. The bag now clutched in her hands has a label on which says mustard seeds in Mandarin. "I am not trained in American medicine but I could carry you to a nearby hospital if you require."
*
Lindon reaches out to keep the noodles from spilling, and a little of the hot broth splashes on his hand. He winces from the heat, but he insists, "It's fine. I'd hardly call you awful. You seem really nice." He wipes off the pinhead droplet on a napkin. Nearly burned to death!
"I'm all right," he tells Starfire. Nearly. Burned. To. Death. "Are you?" he asks the redhead. "All right, I mean? Hi, I'm Lindon. I'm, uh. Hello."
*
Well! One of the seats is claimed by redhead in dress' bottom, and Angelica adjusts her skirt as she sits. There's room for another, and she looks up at the nurse who's shown up to help. "I didn't really hurt him, I don't think. Did I hurt you? I don't want to burn anyone, really, I just was hoping for some noodles.." She seems to be overreacting to the idea, as if there's something more involved, but she's only biting her lower lip and not freaking out, so there's still room for conversation there.
*
"That is a relief! May I join you both while I eat this snack? I do not wish to intrude of course," Starfire says cheerfully, tearing the corner on the packet and pouring a handful of the mustard seeds. "It is a pleasure to meet you Lindon. I am Koriand'r but people often find it easier to call me Kori. I have recently moved here from Europe, so please forgive me if I misunderstand the local customs!" She frowns, then holds out the bag. "Would either of you care for some mustard seeds? They are very tasty."
*
"I'm fine," Lindon says with a firm nod. "Sure, please join us." His lips twitch, such is his awkward smile. He gestures to the noodles and says, "They're really good. That's why I come here, the best noodles in New York." He regards Starfire for a moment, and his dark eyes are sharp in their regard, the gears in his mind working quickly. Whatever conclusion he reaches, all he says is, "Europe, all right. It's nice to meet you Kori." A beat later, he offers his hand to both of them to shake. "No thank you on the seeds, I'm feeling pretty full."
*
Firestar winds down a little as she's reassured. She doesn't talk for a moment, actually eating some noodles before they get cold, and frowns. They're already partway there, so she's like, what is this, a burn threat or something? Wow, okay. "Um, seeds? I'd love some!" She gives a smile, if a bit distracted, and says, "I'm Angelica. No relation."
*
Starfire pours a handful of completely uncooked mustard seeds into Angelicas hand. Or onto a clean napkin if her hand isn't free. "It is a pleasure to meet you both!" The bag is placed on the table and she reaches out for the ritual shaking of the hands. Which doesn't entirely go to plan. Lindon knowing a lot more languages than your average person. Her eyes cross for a moment and she starts mumbling in a mixture of Latin, Yiddish and Enochian. « Gosh. Seeds very. Tangy? One parsec is the distance at which one astronomical unit subtends an angle of one arcsecond. I feel woozy. »
*
"Angelica," Lindon says. "That's a beautiful name." He manages an actual smile, poor nerdlinger, and he shakes hands with the precision of someone who has studied well an alien social custom. Then Starfire's handle on language goes sideways, and his brow knits as he watches her with a mix of concern and fascination. "Take a deep breath," he tells her, "count as you do, one, two, three, four, five, six, and hold. Then release."
*
Angelica holds her breath, then releases. She knows that Nerdlinger isn't talking to her. I mean, um, shouldn't think of him like that even in your head, he's nice! But the interaction between Lindon and Koriandr is fascinating, and Angelica says, "Only one owner," distractedly, as she tries not to intrude. "What's…going on? If it's okay, I mean, ignore me if it isn't." This is her trying NOT to intrude. She's not exactly the most socialized herself.
*
Starfire blinks a few times. Then says something in Tamaranean. Her thumb tapping each joint of her fingers in turn. Numbers in a sequence perhaps? "I.. that does not usually happen to me. Please forgive me for any alarm I may have caused." She takes a big handful of the mustard seeds and then slugs them back in the same way one would drink neat whiskey. At no point however does she breath. Not in or out. She forces a smile "Would you not agree that the weather has been wonderful lately?"
*
Lindon smiles softly at the orange-skinned woman when she gets back around to English. "There you go, you're all right." Barely competent in polite conversation, but in this? There's a gentle confidence, despite that Starfire hasn't done the breathing he recommended. The fact he did it has calmed him.
He settles back with his tea, and he agrees, "The weather's beautiful." To Angelica, he says, "I'm not sure what that was, but it's all right now. I don't want to ignore you. You're, um, you seem nice, and I'm… we're having a conversation. So! What do you like to do?"
*
Angelica eyes Lindon, and Kori. She looks surprisingly suspicious, then grins suddenly and says, "You two are dating!" all of a sudden, out of the blue. "You're so perfect together, you have to be dating! I'm a genius, don't mind me I'll just finish my cold noodles and get out of your way so you can…"
She trails off, not actually knowing what people do together, and not certain that she's even on track. But it felt right at the time.
*
Starfire tilts her head at Angelica. "I have not met either of you before today," she points out. "I am not currently in a relationship with anyone. Technically I was betrothed back home. But that was to a general and it was an arranged marriage my parents had put in place." She shrugs. "I simply have a gift for language and it… got a little mixed up."
*
Lindon's eyes widen, and he only barely misses sputtering on his tea by seconds. Setting the cup down quickly, he says with a shake of his head, "Oh, no. No, we're not dating." Then he nods to Starfire. "Right, we just met." He arches a brow at what she says about arranged marriages. In Europe, right. "I've studied meditation, that's all." He demonstrates as he explains, "Deep, calm breathing can center you, just in and out, in and out." It certainly seems to be soothing him. His shoulders untense. Then he smiles at Angelica. "You're not in the way. We're just three strangers enjoying a meal."
*
Firestar frowns. "Well. That was embarrassing," she says mostly to herself, blushing as she finishes a noodle. and pops a handful of seeds into her mouth, having forgotten what she was holding.
Then she's coughing, choking almost, and her eyes dilate as she processes pure mustard seeds in half a second.
*
Starfire smiles as Angelica eats some of the seeds. "They are very tasty aren't they?" she asks earnestly. "And please do not feel embarrassed. You both seem very friendly and I do not think I would be offended if someone considered me to be in a relationship with either of you." She shrugs and eats some more seeds. "May I ask what you both do for a vocation? That is an acceptable topic for the talk of the smallness."
*
Lindon winces as Angelica coughs on the seeds. He saw it coming from a mile away. Why didn't he say anything! Because awkward. Awkward is the theme as he pats the woman on the back. "Here," he says as he slides his tea over to her. It's a normal jasmine green, bought along with the noodles. To Starfire, he says, "That is," he says, "an acceptable topic, sure. I'm a librarian." He continues patting Firestar on the back gently. "I archive books."
*
"That is /very/ interesting! I have been spending a lot of my time reading library books. Learning about American history, culture and other topics. It is one of the ways I am trying to better understand my new home," Starfire replies enthusiastically. "I am… I suppose a refugee of sorts. It is hard to explain."
*
Firestar goes on her way, and Lindon reclaims his teacup, taking a drink even though the liquid inside is cold now. Bobbing his head, he says, "Yes, I think it is. Interesting, I mean. It's a good job, I'm glad to have it." He toys with the cup, looking at it as he says in a quiet voice, "I can tell you're really not from around here. It's okay, though. I know what it's like to be a fish out of water, but I know it's not the same."
*
Starfire coughs. Or at least imitates it as best she can without lungs! "I don't understand what you mean," she says quietly. "I am simply a mutant who has lived in Europe for a time. Monaco most recently." She glances around. "It is a very lovely place. Nice and sunny. Unfortunately I do not have an accept because of my… ability to learn languages."
*
Lindon regards Starfire blandly. "All right, you're a mutant who has lived in Europe and Monaco." He half-smiles and leans in to keep his voice down. "I know it won't come up to most people, but your accent come from no European country or Monaco, but most Americans won't know that. That you eat raw mustard seed like candy can probably be written off as a mutant quirk, but you don't breathe, and that's strange; even mutants respirate." He pauses, then admits, "Most people won't notice, but if you work on the accent and pretend to breathe, you'll pass better." He glances this way and that to make sure none of this has been overheard. No one around. Good.
*
"I do speak very good French," Starfire points out, looking down at the table. "And I did /try/ to enter the country legally. But unfortunately this is not easy." She looks sheepishly at the bag of seeds. "They are delightful. As for regular respiration, I am not physically equipped for it."
*
Lindon nods as he listens with avid interest. So little is new to the man, and this? This is something he's never encountered before. Someone, he reminds himself. "It's possible to get forged documents," he says tentatively. Quickly, he adds, "You're doing marvelously. Most people would never notice. I just, um, notice things." He taps his temple, adding lightly, "Always working."
*
Starfire laughs. "I have met many friends who have helped me," she admits. "I am unsure what I would use such documents for? I do not really need to eat and the climate here is so mild I could probably live indefinitely. I do have a library card. I suppose that was not obtained through entirely honest means." She leans in a little. "I imagine you would love to see a library from my home. A thousand years of documents can fit into something smaller than an American newspaper."
*
"I think that might blow up my mind," Lindon says, which isn't to say he doesn't look interested. Oh, he does. Very much. "Though if you don't need to breathe, the environment where you're from doesn't necessarily have oxygen in the environment. I might suffocate before I could crack a book." He sighs wistfully. A librarian can dream.
*
"Oh no the atmosphere is fairly similar," Starfire assures. "Gravity is also roughly the same." She munches on a few more seeds. "Although getting around would be tough for those who can't fly. There are no roads. And there are quite a lot of predatory animals within the jungle which would be quite dangerous to most Americans. Perhaps some mutants would be okay and the people who are empowered by Norse gods."
*
Lindon shakes his head and says, "I'm afraid I'm just a normal human being." He rakes a hand through his hair. "Maybe not normal, but normal for the purposes of getting devoured by jungle animals." He glances off into the middle distance, thinking. "Are your people strong? If someone were willing to carry one…"
*
Starfire blinks a few times. "Carry a jungle animal?" she asks, curiously. "I am not so strong as the Superman, but I could probably still fly while carrying a smaller bus. So it would depend on the animal." She lets out a long sigh. "But that is.. how do you put it… being beside the point? My people were invaded. It would be unsafe to bring anyone to visit." She dabs at her eyes. "I do not think you are quite so ordinary. You are very observant. In several weeks of meeting people you are the second to notice I do not breath."
*
"No, no, no, carry a person," Lindon says. "Saying 'to carry one' implies a person." He shakes his head. "A smaller bus," he echoes. Then his features soften, and he says, "Oh, I'm sorry about your world being invaded. That's terrible. That makes you a refugee. I promise, I won't tell anyone who might try to deport you." He ducks his head, raking a hand over his hair again. "I notice things," he agrees. "I can't help it. I normally don't say anything, but I thought if you were trying to pass, you should know. I only wanted to help."
*
"That is very kind of you to say," Kori says, nodding. "I do not worry about being deported. Where could they deport me to?" She laughs. "The Moon? No, I am more worried about the Governments here. I have heard how the people of Canada carry out experiments on mutants. So I dread to think how I would be treated." Almost reflexively she looks around for people listening in.
"I hope it is not rude of me to ask but is your gift magic? Or a mutation? I met someone who claimed to be a God once. He talked about a magic in the Central Park which made the dead walk. And then I saw such beings with my own eyes… This planet is.. very strange. I wonder if such things existed in secret back home." Starfire glances up at the sky. "I suppose if I return I will have to find out. Perhaps that is a secret my parents would have entrusted to me when the time came to succeed them as Monarch."
*
"That's a good point," Lindon says. "Where is there to go? Still, the governments…" He mimics zipping his lips shut. He too looks for others who might walk by, going quiet when someone does, looking at them rather pointedly, because he's not smooth. But then they keep walking, and he returns his attention to Kori. Her question has him pursing his lips and looking to his teacup. "Uh, it's, um, magical in nature." Laughter trembles in his voice as he adds, "I'm hardly a god. But you! You're a princess?"
*
Starfire nods. "Technically I am next in line to the throne of the planet Tamaran. I suppose my story is… not so different from a Shakespeare play." She bites her lip, then adds "My older sister was removed from the line of succession due to illness. She gave secrets to our enemies and ended a war which had lasted generations. Then I…" Her fingers squeeze the edge of the metal table and it bends like paper. "Things happend and I ended up here. My people did not even know this place had life. There are so many populated worlds in our home system we have never really travelled much further."
Awkwardly Kori tries to flatten the table back using both her hands. "Is magic something anyone can learn? Ever since I saw the dead walk I have been curious if it is something I might study. But all of I have found is legends or simple sleight of hand tricks."
*
Lindon watches the metal origami unfold, eyes sharp and bright as he takes it all in. He sits very still, long fingers curled around his tea mug. "There is so much life in the universe," he says, "and most people on Earth will never know." His gaze darts at the air, moving back and forth like someone reading. "Hmm," he says. His attention returns to Kori, and he blinks a few times. "Oh, gosh. Some people definitely have the gift. I don't practice magic." He rubs the back of his neck and says, so awkward, "I sort of am magic. In nature."
*
Starfire blushes. "This is very embarrasing. I did not mean to damage this table," she admits wryly. "I am usually in a lot better control of myself but.. I do not recommend being on the losing side of a war. Not if those who win are on the side of evil." A shrug. "Life elsewhere is not so different. Not day to day life anyway. Beings enjoy sustenance, families, art and quarrel with each other." It takes a little effort but the table edge is /mostly/ restored to the original shape. "Although I suppose the technology is typically much better elsewhere."
*
"I'll try to keep it in mind," he says, regarding not being on the losing side of a war. "The technology, I can only begin to imagine. We can't even get to the moon, and you're here God-knows-how. We must seem so primitive to you." He glances to the table, adding in a murmur, "Not to mention weaker. But you're right. We enjoy sustenance, art, and we fight with each other, and family means a lot to us. I have a sister. She's my world."
*
"I flew. That is why my people do not breath," Starfire says with a smile and a laugh. "I do not know if it was natural or engineered. But we can fly between worlds as simply as you would walk down the street. Truth be told space is rather boring. And to get anywhere you must travel so fast the interesting things are often a blur. Also your Moon is quite dull, I brought a rock back for a friend, so I would not worry about your people visiting."
*
Lindon's eyes widen. "You flew? But that's got to be hundreds of light years." He shakes his head, amazed. Then he perks up. "You can get Moon rocks?" Of course Nerdlinger would get excited about dull lunar rock. "We're not expecting anything great," he explains. "Not civilizations or jungles or whatever. Sure it's just a big dull rock hurtling around the Earth, but…" Here, he goes dreamy-eyed. "But it's our big dull rock."
*
"I… can't really explain the trick," Starfire says sadly. "To flying those distances. There are treaties I would be breaking." She holds her hands up apologetically. "But I guess I could bring you a moon rock too. If you promised not to say how you got it." She scratches her head. "Do you have somewhere I could deliver it to? I.. do not think you live locally, perhaps the library you work at?"
*
Lindon nods and says, "Of course of course. I don't want you to get in trouble by telling me anything you shouldn't." He looks like a little boy who just got the bike he's always wanted for Christmas. "I would love a lunar rock," he says in a small voice. "There is only one person I'd tell, but he would keep the secret. I know too many of his for him not to." There's also that whole 'love and trust' thing, but this? This is easier. "Er, gosh. Where to drop it off. I work at the Central library. If you bring it there care of Lindon Mills, I'd get it."
*
Starfire moves to stand, then halts. "How big should it be? The last one I got was… roughly the size of your torso. And I think perhaps that was too big for many people. Should I get one that is the size of a baseball? Or is that too small?"
*
Lindon glances down at his torso. "Goodness, not that big," he says. "I don't think I could lift a rock that big." He nods and says, "A baseball. That's about perfect. I can put it in my library among the mementos. No one will have to know. If they ask, I'll tell them it's from back home in Wichita."
*
"Wonderful," Starfire says brightly. "I suppose I will go fetch it soon. Maybe this weekend.. I have been meaning to go somewhere private to exercise and the far side of your Moon is as good a place as any. I wish you a good day friend Lindon." And with that she simply takes a few steps and heads up away into the sky.