|
  |
It's a Sunday afternoon in Mutant Town and people are going about their business. There are some folks making their way in and out of the community center, to take advantage of the clinic and the other programs provided. Daire had been helping out in the soup kitchen, serving up lunch to those who had come to eat. But now, he comes outside to settle on the steps nearby, off to one side so that he's out of the way, with a cup of coffee. Here in Mutant Town, he doesn't bother to hide the horns, or the fangs, or the unnatural green of his eyes.
Kai certain doesn't get up early on Sundays. Churches don't get visits from his sort. He's warm in his beatnik clothes, and in the back of his mind, he's glad the fashions are changing. Here he is though in a black turtleneck with a crimson scarf at his throat, a beret atop his head and sunglasses on. He's got his sketch pad and is sitting not far from the clinic, watching people come and go. When he spies Daire, he flashes him a smile and says, "Do you mind if I draw you?"
Daire lifts up his cup of coffee and takes a sip from it. At first he doesn't realize that Kai is talking to him, but then he glances around and it seems the most likely, since most others have moved on. He studies the blonde beatnik for a moment, considering, and then he says "Sure, why not." He then pauses before asking, "Do I need to do anything? Or just.. sit here?" He's never had anyone draw him before.
"Just sit there and be your beautiful self," Kai says. He starts sketching on his pad. His fingers are already grey with smudges of black from sketching. As he works, he says, "I'm doing an art installation at some point featuring mutants. I won't display anyone without permission, since it is exposure and not everyone digs that, man. I just think, like, there needs to be something to show the squares they don't own the market on humanity."
Daire smiles a little curiously and then chuckles, shaking his head. He's still getting used to people actually liking the way that he looks, though the more people who seem to appreciate it, the little bit more confidence it gives him. He nods a little bit when Kai explains what it is that he's working on, "We're still human. We're just human.. with something added, sometimes something taken away. But we're still people."
"Exactly," Kai says. "I want to show the beauty and humanity the squares don't see, that you never read about in the papers. I want to calligraphy stories, like, normal stuff. Family stuff, community stuff. It's going to make some people blow their top, but other people are going to see, dig it? But I'm asking people if they want to be portrayed. You don't exist for the square gaze. I'm not a mutant, it's not my call."
"It's good that there are people out there, people who aren't mutants, who can see us as people, who can understand that we're not like others, but that doesn't mean that we're not just trying to live as close to normal human lives as we can. There are good people, and bad people, and all kinds of people in between.. but we're just people," Daire says with a slight rise and fall of his shoulders. He glances over at the Community Center and says, "There's some really good folks out there, just trying to make a difference." He then looks back over to Kai and says, "I'm Daire, by the way."
"Exactly," Kai says. "It's like every other oppressed people. If one mutant commits a crime, mutants are criminals, but if some white guy commits a crime, it's just him, you dig me?" He sketches more lines, then starts shading. "I'm Kai. It's good to meet you, Daire." He glances toward the clinic briefly. "You volunteer there?"
Daire nods and says, "Yeah. I do what I can, help out with the soup kitchen, take deliveries and donations at night. Sometimes I give guitar lessons. I mean, basic needs are important, but you need a little food for the heart every so often, too." He smiles a little bit and rests his elbows on his knees, cupping his mug in front of him. "Nice to meet you, to.. wait.. Kai?" There's a moment where he just blinks, and then it's like light dawns on marble head. "Jay's Kai?"
"Truer words, my friend," Kai says. "Food for the soul." He looks up from his work when Daire mentions Jay. He blinks a few times in surprise, then grins. "Yeah, I guess I am. You know Jay? Cool, what a small world. Yeah, Jay's a good friend. One of the best, really. He's totally in my galaxy."
"Yeah," Daire says, "He's one of the closest people in my life. He's a really good friend." He smiles a little and says, "Glad to see you're okay. I saw some of your art.. when I went over to help him clean up and put the apartment back together after.." Well, after Loki exploded it and Kai was dead. "You're really talented."
Kai's smile broadens until there are dimples. Shameless dimples. His eyes are bright with pleasure and, if one were to look closely, the highlights in the blue are flecks of silver, like moonlight on water. "Thank you! Yeah, he took care of my place while I was away. I'm afraid one of my friends didn't take well to me being gone."
"Yeah, I'm really glad to see that you're back. He was.. kind of a wreck about it," Daire says, smile warm, and seeming to have a bit of relief there. "It's really cool to finally meet you after having heard about you for so long." He lifts his cup of coffee a little and says "Can I get you something? There's coffee inside, water, nothing fancy but.. while you draw?"
Kai's expression dims, and his gaze lowers to his sketch. "Yeah, it was… you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it was bad. I need to do something really nice for him to make up for how hard it was on him." He looks up again, then shakes his head and says, "I'd take a coffee, sure." He's not too proud to get free stuff.
"I'd believe it," Daire says quietly, but then he offers a warm smile and says, "Yeah, I think he'd like that." He gets up then from the steps and heads back into the community center for a couple of minutes. He picks up a refill for his own coffee and brings a mug out to Kai, coming down the steps and heading over before extending the mug in the man's direction.
Kai takes the mug and says, "Ta, mate." Once the mug is taken, he sets it carefully beside him on the ground, then offers his hand to shake. "It's good to meet you, Daire. I'm glad Jay has friends looking out for him, considering how much he looked after me when I needed it. He took care of my dog. I love that little guy, and he made sure he was fed and walked."
Daire takes the offered hand and gives ita friendly shake, smiling before he sits down on the steps near Kai. He takes a sip from his coffee and says, "Staying up in the mornings nand afternoons is kind of rough." He chuckles. "I'm more of a night person." Then he nods and says, "Yeah, Kevin. We've met once or twice." He grins.
Kai angles his sketchbook so Daire can see. It's a good likeness, and in the artistic license, somehow Daire's //persosnness/ comes through. Little things, like the quirk of his expression, the look in his eyes. "Kevin's great," Kai says. "He's with Serrure at the book store today. Serrure really likes him." He peers up at the sun, then nods as he says, "I'm more of a night owl, myself. I'd much rather look at the moon than the sun."
Daire looks over at the sketchbook when Kai angles it in his direction and he studies the image on the page. He grins a little at the artistic license taken, studying the expression in his own features on the page before he looks back up and over toward Kai. "It's really good. I wonder.. do you do drawings on commission at all? I mean.. if I wanted you to draw something for me.. would you? I'd be willing to pay for it, of course." He then smiles and says, "Yeah, I've always been more of a night person, myself. But, I have some friends who like to walk beneath the day star. And if I want to hang out with them, I have to try and do it too sometimes."
"Sure," Kai says. "It's what I do for a living now that I'm not waiting tables anymore." He digs around in his satchel til he comes up with a piece of scrap paper, and he writes a number on it, then offers it to Daire. "You can reach me there most of the time. "Aren't diurnal people an inconvenience? I'm pretty lucky with the nocturnality of my friends, but some days it's too hot to sleep and I end up out here meeting groovy cats like you."
Daire reaches over to take the scrap of paper from him and glances down at it before he tucks it away into his pocket and grins, "Thanks." Then he says, "Yeah, I work at the Eight Ball most nights that I'm not here, so I'm used to being up at night and then passing out. So it takes a little doing to get up in the morning. The things we do for our friends." He grins a bit and then nods toward the drawing, "If you want to put up a drawing of me, you can. I don't mind. I'm trying to.. get used to more people seeing me.. as I am."
"Groovy," Kai says with a broad, warm grin. When he smiles, it's like everything in the universe is the happiest thing ever. "I'll let you know when the exhibit is. It'll run for as long as the pigs don't shut us down, man." He glances at the drawing, then back at Daire. "You're a good looking cat, man. Flaunt it. To hell with what the squares think."