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A sunny day in New York with few clouds in the sky passing over the bright daystar of death, Jay barely waited a day before invading Kaleb's privacy. The young man is out on that balcony that Kaleb is so insistant on keeping, though he wouldn't recall Jay actually walking through his room to get there. Sitting on the concrete crosslegged, his back to Kaleb's window, Jay is bowed over a notebook in his lap and seems to be stripped to the waist at first glance; giant red wings are held slightly away from his torso, flanking him on either side with a strip of pale skin visible down the center of his back. A breeze sweeps by and feathers shiver and stretch slowly, reaching out automatically to try to catch the wind.
Kaleb waded back into his room where the winged one was poking through the hundreds of albums that Kaleb was still moving into their new home. Kaleb came back expecting to see him there and he was not but… yup. There was the balcony. Sure his privacy was invaded, but his privacy didn't seem very valuable to him. It was almost a conundrum what was and wasn't. He had a plate with an omlette on it that he was carrying around. His blue eyes turned vaguely curious watching for a moment but eventually went back to his plate. His tone was conversational and aloof as it ever was; guess he had no feelings againt Jay making use of the balcony patio. He did. Who wouldn't want to? "I keep thinking I need to pay my family's cook to come here. He makes the MOST amazing crepes, but then I remember Alonso cannot keep his mouth shut to save his life."
Jay turns when he hears Kaleb's voice, slipping his pencil between pages and slowly closing the book up, a bashful smile curving his mouth—he may have invaded the room, but that didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with it just yet. Twisting around to look back at the twin, it turns out that Jay is in fact still wearing a faded forest green tee-shirt, but he's cut the back out to accomodate his wings, leaving a small strip around the bottom and the collar. "Yeah, sorry. It'd be pretty easy to explain the three of you, but…" Feathered wings stretch and lift slightly on his back in gesture. "Ah'm a little harder. Oh, an yer brother an' Vic. Hey, congratulations on bein' the most normal one in th' apartment." Jay offers a lopsided smile. "Yer family must've been pretty well off, huh?"
Kaleb had a weird way of putting people at ease through complete indifference like some things just don't even hit his radar. It was a weird and backwards way of not making a big deal of anything really that might otherwise make the situation more strange. At being called the the most normal one he asked curiouly, "You know I'm Kaleb, right?" And eyebrow went up and right now the eyepatch was off. His scalara was just shot red like the caoularies in his eye exploded and were still healing. He blinked and went back to his omelette certain he did but still processing how to absorb that perception of him. "I dunno. Maybe." He pointed with a form to teh skyline Manhattan ways. "You see that building over there Kinda squarish and had buttresses around the capitol done up top?" It wa one of the skyscrapers that made up the horizon skyline. "That's one of my dad's."
A spark of amusement draws Jay's lips upward slightly when Kaleb makes sure Jay knows who he is. "Ah may not be able t'tell you two apart just yet, but y'give yerself away real easy most of the time, Kaleb. You are. Yer not a homo, an' y'look perfectly human. Makes you th' most normal one." Accidentally insensitive, Jay doesn't seem to mean a whole lot by it. He's still learning. Looking out over the skyline, trying to find the building that Kaleb pointed to. Whether he finds it or not, Jay sounds surprised. "What? Really? Yer dad makes those monsters?"
Kaleb cracked a wry grin of amusement noting, "Which is funny because as the clotheshorse of the two of us? I would have honestly thought I'd come into question before Kellan did. But iI suppose by that margin burying my personal lifeI suppose I am. I'll give you that." Apparently offense not taken though he did give the observation a studious amount of thought. At the question of 'made' he shrrugged. "I dunno about made. Owns. I mean it's one of the few in the city he's got. I dunno what exactly he does though. He might just own what other people wnat and let them lease it/ might own the company. I honestly have only a vague idea. He'd have to be in the same room with us for longer than dinner to actually have a conversation first." He paused and looked to Jay quiet for a moment stonefaced finally saying, "He's a very busy man." He blinked and pointed to the plate with some interest back in his tone, "Ya know for a two week old? Vic's skills in the kitchen are getting better."
Jay's eyes squint a little bit as his smile expands, eyes shining with humor when Kaleb analyzes between himself and his brother. "Y'dress sharp." He shrugs gently and wings shift slightly on his back. "Don't mean nothin' when it comes t'who you sleep with." Though, something does occur to the young man, tilting his head slightly to one side. "Ah…you should let me introduce ya to someone, Kaleb." Jay, already full of bad ideas, trying to play matchmaker.
Looking back toward the building, thoughtfully while Kaleb explains his mysterious father. "That sounds complicated." Not really certain what to make of all of that. "Really complicated. T'not even know what it is yer old man does. Wow. Ah can't even imagine somethin' like that. Mah family's really close. Daddy worked hard but he always tried t'make time for us a little bit…" Though his words sound distant, detatched from himself somehow. Staring at the building for a little while longer, thoughtful. "Yeah? Vic an' Ah had a nice chat last night when everyone went t'bed. Ah like him. Seems like a solid fellah."
Kaleb cracked a bit of a grin and gallantly took the compliment, "Thank you." Well he wasn't entirely devoid of manners it seemed. Then again he was a prep school grad. He took a seat parking himself on one of the chairs to pick at his omlette. The idea got a chuckle out of him and it amused the hell out of him. "HAve we formally met, Jay? If you haven't noticed I do not do well with people. Though yeah. Vic's…odd… but he's alright."
"Formally? No, Ah don't think so," Jay smiles to Kaleb, eyes shining warmly. "Mostly jus' informally. But c'mon, you'll like her. She's a singer at a fancy club up the way." Sliding the notebook off of his lap and beside him onto the balcony, Jay pins it there with his knee. "She's one of the finest looking ladies Ah've seen. Ah took her out one night but Ah think she's a little out of my league." Jay admits with a helpless loft of his brows, scooping a hand through his hair a few times.
Kaleb paused and looked up to Jay wide-eyed. He blinked and just looked bewildered. Finally he asked, "Why would you do this to her?" Okay he knew he was an asshole at least. "So she's a singer? Was her take on mutants the deal breaker?" He wasn't judging but he was blunt and harsh enough to know that it often was. He blinked and said "Jay I'm going to ask you earnestly here, Why are you doing this?" Which was the curious part of it. The late breakfast was finished and was set on the patio table for… someone to get? Did we still have people for that?
That wasn't the reaction that Jay was honestly expecting and he exchanged disbelieving looks with Kaleb for a moment from his lower sitting place, wings shivering and stretching out slightly as another breeze rolled through the balcony. "Wh-what? No. Honestly, Ah like her just fine. There's nothin' wrong with her. Ah mean, she agreed t'go out with me an' it's not like Ah can pass fer anythin' aside from what Ah am, unless someone's rollin' on a lotta acid an' thinks they're havin' a religious vision." Jay rolls his eyes, as if that's actually happened to him before. "Why'm Ah tryin' to introduce you to someone Ah think you'll like?" He asks as if the very question is ridiculous.
Kaleb watched Jay and slouched in his chair and observed. Man the kid was just emotionally cold wasn't he?What happensduring prep school to do this to a person by 18 who knows. He had a hundred questions as the twins always do. "Why aren't you going out with her again then? Is she a mutant? I want to know why a woman of such…" He looked for a word to describe it and got abit judicious, "meritous calibre risk media and social backlash consorting openly with our kind." He really was an us/them sort wasn't he? And he could pass easy as human. Maybe he was just accutely attuned to the social prejudice from high atop privilage mountain.
Jay lifts his hands up, palm out to kaleb, to try to stave off some of his skepticism. "Whoa now, yer startin' to really dig out yer dollar words, Kale. Why're you so suspicious? Hasn't anyone ever tried to set you up with someone before? Ah'm not even tryin' to set you up on a blind date or nothin', Ah'm just sayin' Ah wanna introduce you because y'might get along. If you don't wanna, that's fine, just chill out." He smiles softly, amused at Kaleb's reaction. "It ain't polite t'out people, either, but, yeah…she's a mutant, though you wouldn't guess it. She hid fer a long time, but she said she wants t'meet other mutants. Find her community."
Kaleb was guarded like a finaly dressed assault turret. Sill answers started coming that answered question after question and he answered matter-of-factly, "Because I have seen the true face of people, Jay. And yeeeees, oh yes People set me up a lot growing up until Kellan would finally make a double to pretend to be me so I didn't have to go." He took a deep breath but when Jay outed her as a mutant the 'fight' went out of his blood. Both eyebrows arched and his demeanor went from cold to tepid, "She shouldn't have to hide. That's not fair to her. NAh, I'll meet her. What kinda music she into?" Now there was a curiosity.
Something about Kaleb's explanation makes Jay look a little on the sad side, even though the way he explains it is very matter-of-fact. "What do you mean the true face of people? People are just…people. Even the bad ones, they're all just people." His brows twitch together slightly, trying to understand what his friend is talking about. "Ah agree, she shouldn't have t'hide. None of us should have t'hide, but those of us who can, do, and those of us who can't…well…" Jay arches his brows and shrugs gently. Sighing softly. "You don't seem so certain you wanna meet her at all. She's a friend, though, Ah'm sure we'll run into her some time, how about that? Ah won't try to press anythin'. An' the only reason Ah haven't gone out with her again is because Ah've been kind of a mess since the whole thing with my last roommate happened and she's sort of a … fancy lady. Ah didn't want her seein' me like that."
Kaleb grew quiet and shrugged. There was a shadow of emotion for a moment before he found some dismissive facts to put on the table to explain. He tried not to be unkind about this part, but he wasn't going to be one to proverbally pour sunshine on a rock and wait for it to grow either. He warmed a half grin, "Jay you know all those fancy dinner parties like you see in the movies? Women in long satin dresses swooshing down stairs and men in dinner jackets and tuxedos sitting around wondering what sort of monster doesn't chill their salad forks before setting them? The people in the cities that have power of the city itself and you know what is in their lips? 'Thank god we're not them.' and 'how can we make the problem go away'. Every time they smile? They are all liars. And it's just the way society has made the world. They sleep at night with distain for our kind and only because of our people protecting them so they can sleep peacefully on the broken backs of every mutant that's tried to save this city. For every one thanked they throw another of us in a lab somewhere like a rat." He squint both his good and his bad eye shut. There were few things he cared about deeply and mutant rights cut deep.
Kaleb opened his eyes to Jay trying, sincerely to understand, I don't want to see another kid get dragged out of their school for being like us. And I'm not going to invite people into my business where it's all a big bullshit act. Those people are not worth that much of my energy, Jay. If you thought I was wrong you wouldn't cover up all the time." An eyebrow arched. Eventually he felt point was made and he worked on quietly getting his hancles down and smiled faintly to Jay finally. "They're pretty terrific. And yes, I'd like to meet your friend. Trust me, it's hard to be fancy and genetically at the same time. What's her name? We have anything she's done?"
The impassioned speech that Kaleb gives is listened to, but more than that, Jay listens and tries to really hear the guy. Verdant eyes soft and attentive, unflinching as he stares up at the other mutant sitting on the chair above him, his expression open and receptive. The topic is uncomfortable, however, and not something Jay can relate to simply on a cultural level. Slowly, a thin veil of sinking sorrow finds his eyes, brows slowly coming together while he peers into Kaleb. Once he finishes, the winged mutant stays silent for several seconds. The warmth of the summer sun beating down on his fair back, he's begging for a bright red sunburn any second now, but the wind and sunlight feels good on his wings. Listening to the city below, Icarus chews on the inside of one cheek, making it hollow a little bit. "What happened to you, Kale?" He asks, softly. "Nobody feels that strongly about any one thing without somethin' happenin' t'make them feel that way."
The young red-head explains himself. "Everyone assumes Ah cover up fer safety. Have y'seen me in public? Anyone with eyes knows what Ah am. Ah stay covered 'cause Ah've always been covered an' mah wings are really sensitive. People always wanna touch them, which gets somewhat embarrasin'. This…" Giant feathered wings lift on cue with a flourish and lower again. "Feels like runnin' around mostly naked t'me. It's indecent fer public. Coverin' up doesn't gotta do with shame or fear fer me, Kaleb."
Kaleb sat very, very still while his lips pursed together in thought. In true Kaleb fashion though he went back to things skirting the questions of his past. Thoughtfully he offered, "What happened to any of us, Jay? Born as part of a natural evolation to be hated by the very people that birthed us? The wings though? Tat's actually interesting. They hold you up and stuff? Can you actually fly or just glide? Ad you shouldn't," He paused uncertain how to phrase it, "You shouldn't cover them up unless you want to. Like Kellan and Vic? Why do you have to hide at home? Society's…messed up."
Jay's lips press together gently while Kaleb avoids his question, a hint of disappointment in his guileless eyes, but mostly just sadness as he stares up at the caustic man. I see what you did there. But he lets the subject shift to something more comfortable for Kaleb and more uncomfortable for Jay. "Ah can fly, yes. Ah can carry a person with me, too, though since Ah don't fly much, Ah'm kinda rough sometimes. Like Ah said, havin' 'em out like this is like bein' partially naked fer me, which ain't a big thing in some situations, but Ah ain't used to it. An' maybe that's…jus' somethin' ah gotta get used to. If yer a mimic, do you got a syrinx like Ah do, so you can make more than one sound at a time, or are yer vocal cords normal?" The man then pauses and smiles gently at the haughty man. "Kale, Ah'm southern and got six sisters who're all real good at talkin' round things. If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have t'try to side-step me like that."
Kaleb was hurting and seemed allergic from getting that close to his own frailties. He wasn't a sociopath, he was just an asshole. At being called out hihead hung. Busted. He respected Jay, weird as that might seem, or perhaps he didn't know how respect was supposef to work and just sucked at it. He finally answered, "If it's something I'm ever willing to get into we'll talk if itis at all topical. And I dunno. My doctor golfs with my father. I didn't ask because he can not find out. It's be bad for mevery bad for Kellan. I won't do that to him, but I can arrest several waves at a time And yeah I can split octaves. I dunno if it's my anatomy that doe it or ability faking it? I need to explore it more I guess. Really super hard to do when your family believes mutants should wear warning labels."
Kaleb smiled though and added, "Maybe we'll take a vacation Go upstate or to that temple we found or Fiji? Billy can take us. We can practice. be safer than Washington Park. I might have some more words if they tried shootin at you guys again."