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A bachelor pad above one of the many shops down in Harlem was everything one expects it to be. The cousins that live there have taken good care of the place though odd knick knacks, mechanical parts, and things occasionally on the shelf waiting to be fixed presumably for better resale in the pawn shop stand on the shelves. In the middle of the room a couple card tables are set up with chairs. It's not formal, but hey, it's home.
With libations out on the counter and a ton of food piled up, though most of it cooked nearby as a blend of soul food and tamales, people remain welcome to help themselves. On one side of the room sitting in a chair was a …goat?! Wasn't that goat at Yule? Reno didn't say, but he was there to answer the door with his usual jovial smile. "Heeee, come on in guys!"
What to wear to an occasion like this? Daredevil is already known as one of the guys who is more of the loner type and would maybe not even show up to something like this. At the same time, there's simply no way he can arrive without his mask. He, perhaps oddly, splits the difference. He's wearing a christmas sweater /and/ his cowl. "Merry Christmas." He doesn't mean to sound dour. He just sounds that way a lot.
Kai arrives with the Norse God of Mischief and a fifth of good whiskey. Never let it be said he doesn't know how to party. "The goat!" he says. He one-arm hugs Reno, then passes him the bottle. "What smells delicious? Do you remember Loki? He was at the feast giving everyone wine." When he spies Daredevil, he says, "Hey! Long time no see! It's me, Hjuki." He's in beatnik chic and a Santa hat.
Loki is silent as he arrives at the same time as Kai. There's a watchful and pensive quality about him, like he's observing mortals in their natural habitat, which is full of vice and a little dingey. He's dressed well in a suit, not hiding in the least who he is, his long wavy hair nestled against his shoulder. His coat has a ring of fur about the top. The man in the mask and the sweater gets a raised brow and a quirk of amusement. "It IS the same goat. I…thought he was Thor's pet. Hmm."
Elmo arrives, in his sleek blue suit, because literally any excuse to wear it, it seems. "Hey," he says, tossing Reno a pack of smokes. "Since you didn't have any the other day." He greets Kai and Loki, but gets hung up on Daredevil. "Uh, hi," he offers, nervously, to the guy in the scary mask and festive sweater.
Reno gave Kai a hearty hug and looked surprised at the shared bottle of wine. "Woah for us? Thanks, man. This the same stuff from Yule cause I drank that and a goat followed me home. I… I dunno what that means." He looked back to the goat that was just staring at the gathering. "Don't gimme that look man. You started this." He shooed folks in and grinned broadly to the Lawyer in the mask. "Heeey, Glad you made it." To Elmo mostly he introduced Matt, "This is the one and only Daredevil, defender of the public." As opposed to public defender? Or very publicly known Defender? To be fair he could move that comma around all day and still not be semantically incorrect. That was a good gig. "Elmo man, really glad you could make it. You know Monte and our buddies here, so yeah. We might get a couple more. People doin' crazy things like bein' out on a date and savin' the world and whatnot." He really wishes he was kidding.
"Good to see you, Hjuki. It's been too long," Daredevil says with a grin. "Glad you are doing well." He doesn't respond to the look by Loki, instead focusing on Elmo. "Hello," he replies and gives a wave to everyone.
"It's been ages," Kai says. He sits himself down on the floor, legs crossed. Sure, there are probably other places to sit, bu the's a floor elf. He makes a grabbyhand at Loki to come sit near him. "Elmo, hey man. Glad you made it. Guys, Elmo's really cool. He's a good guy." Then, to Reno, he says, "Are we playing for stakes or is this just an exercise in who can get away with cheating?" He eyes the goat sidelong. Yeah, he's got his eye on Monte.
"The Daredevil," Elmo repeats, eyebrows high. "Kai really /does/ know everyone. Nice to meet ya?" He's not too sure. The cowl really is terrifying. He takes one of the folding chairs.
Danny arrives fashionably late, or at least late. He's dressed down, wearing a pair of jeans and boots with a forest green sweater. He makes his way inside, following the last of the guests. He brings with him a gift basket that contains a variety of holiday snacks and a couple of bottles of good scotch. These, he sets off to one side on a counter once he makes his way in. Looking around the room, he gives a smile to those he recognizes, walking over to Reno to give him a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, thanks for inviting me."
Reno grinned in that way that may have never met a bad day in his life, "Man, Elmo, pretty certain we could discover a new colony of peoples and they'd greet him with fruit and he'd be all like, "Aww it's been a while. How's you' mama's knees doin?'" That was to say, yes, Kai probably did know absolutely everyone. Still waitin on a couple of- Ooooh Danny you brought us the good stuff. This is gettin shared." Things were gathered and to that extent the goat ambled off of his chair and wandered around the room. Someone grab the deck and start shufflin and if anyone makes the cards change suits yous gotta ante again. I never had to have that house rule before but I met some of yous guys." There was all love in that statement.
"Danny," Daredevil says with a solemn nod. Danny may not recognize him. It's because he's wearing his cowl and a Christmas sweater. And he's here, with other actual people and not trying to sit in the shadows. "Glad you could make it."
"Danny!" Kai says, and he waves to Danny. "Neighborino. Elmo, this is Danny Rand." The guy with all the money? Yeah, him. Of course Kai knows him. He sniffs the air, then gets to his feet. "Okay, I have to eat, like, everything made of meat in your food pile." He heads over to where food is piled up ready for self-serving.
Loki seems to be mostly soaking it in. He lets Kai do a lot of the talking, while he meanders closer to the goat. He lifts his fingers to his chin, thoughtful of the rogue Asgardian critter, if that's what it is at all. Maybe its just a goat. He's honestly /not sure/. Green eyes flick to those gathered, those sitting, and eventually he comes back over to have a seat with a subtle grin. "What is this? Fortune telling? Games? Ahhh, yes, what is this? Mattis? Spardam? Gurka?"
"Yeah, we met at the Asgardian party," Elmo says, nodding to Danny. "An' they don't got poker over there, I guess. …Reno, you named the goat Monte? What is /wrong/ with you?"
The one thing that doesn't change with the application of a sweater and a cowl is a voice, and it's a voice that he's known for some time now. So Danny does in fact recognize Matt, and he just smiles and says "Hey, nice sweater." Then there's a grin for Kai, "Heya, Kai. How's it going?" Then Kai is off to eat. He gives wave to Loki and then turns to greet Elmo as well. "Hi, yes we did. Good to see you again."
Late to the party, the door is going to have to open up one more time after a politely rhythmic 'Knock-knock. Knock-knock.' Voices aplenty beyond the door, a head topped with red hair pops itself in with a casual lean inside, followed by the rest of him as Jay quietly slinks inside. Serene smile whispering across his lips to give him a generally pleasant expression, the lagger drifts in casually wearing an excessively ugly holiday sweater and a million-yard scarf wrapped multiple times around his neck, hanging in loose loops across his 'Christmas Threw Up On Me' sweater. His wings held close to his back, those enormous feathered appendages still loom high over his shoulders as he glances around those accumulated, fiddling idly with the paper bag rolled up in his hand. A few familiar faces putting him at ease.
Jay lifts a hand toward Reno, trying to catch the man's eye quietly just as his eyes glance over the goat and something in Jay's head tweaks slightly. 'Huh?' coming visibly over his face.
Reno looked to Elmo, hands out, one holding a plate witha tamale on it, "He beat me at 3 card Monte all night long, amigo, what else you call a goat like that? What is wrong with me? Apparently I'm a guy that attracts goat. I don't even know if that's a good thing, but hey, I can say we got gouda covered for gatherings." He looked to the goat and back to them handing the deck to Matt to shuffle them out. "Yeah, Dee'" Says he to Daredevil, because if he wanted to come out in Lawyer mode he would have, "It is a sharp sweater just don't let Monte chew on it or you'll lose it." He got a drink, made sure folks had theirs and paused looking to Danny then back to Matt, "See, and that from a guy with good taste. He sat and left room for his cards and that before looking to Loki, "You know Gurka? Lil guy? Tiny glasses? Bites?" How does Reno meet people? It's a wonder. Speaking of which there was jsut warmth that was ever there, when his fellow bird showed up. "Jay, man, Really glad you could make it. That's Daredevil, over there DannY Rand, that's Loki god of Goat-giving, That's Kai who you prolly like know cause Kai know everyone, our buddy Elmo, and that's Monte." As he gestures to the goat. There was a goat. in teh apartment. IN central Harlem.
"Thanks, I picked it out myself," Daredevil jokes with Danny a bit as the newcomer gets ingratiated. As Jay enters, he cannot remember having met the man…that doesn't mean he hasn't—he's met quite a few people in the past few years. He gives the mutant a nod, but for the most part stays quiet. Can take the devil out of the kitchen but can't take the k…You know what I mean. "Fair warning," he replies to Reno.
"Hey, Jay," Kai calls from over by the food. He brings out an armload of tamales and starts handing them around. "Think fast," he says to Daredevil before tossing one his way. He brings the biggest tamale to Loki, just incidentally. "I can't eat when on one else is eating," he explains. "Here, Elmo, I don't think this one's pig."
Loki glances to Jay when he hears Kai call out the mutant's name. A faint smile plays across his face. He knows Danny, their neighbor, of course, but its Daredevil he keeps going back to. He's wearing a cowl, after all, and that is very interesting. Disguising oneself just makes the naturally curious Prince all the more curious to rip it off his face and see what's under there. Maybe scars! He's not sure but its bound to be exciting! Thankfully, he does not impulsively do that, but instead he just…stares with the edges of his thin lips curled up. Stares at the one guy who won't be bothered.
"Secretly, Jews all love pork," Elmo says, catching the tamale neatly. "But don't tell anybody I told you. The Illuminati will get mad." Jay comes in and he lights up (metaphorically). "Jay, hi!"
Danny chuckles when Kai mentions no one else eating and wanders into the kitchen to go get himself some food. He makes himself a plate, taking a bit of everything so that when he's done it's kind of a heaping mound of precariously balanced foodstuffs before he returns and finds a seat at the table. There, he begins to dig in. He grins at Daredevil and says, "Nice job," with not a hint of irony. "I picked out mine, too."
Jay remains somewhat in a daze when Reno introduces everone to him. A hand slowly sticks out in a daze as he draws further into the crowded space, for a handshake or a low-five, then forms into a hand to point at the goat just as Reno answers. "Okay, good. Ah was worried Ah ran into somethin' real toxic an' was seeing things. As long as the goat's real, Ah'm okay." Resetting himself, Jay seems able to look away from the farm animal and hold the brown bag out to Reno. "Yeah, Ah actually know just about everyone but Danny over there." Said-Danny over yonder gets an emphatic nod that just drips with 'howdy'-like qualities. See, not nearly as bad as he thought! A shiver of motion overtakes his feathers in a muted ripple. His easy smile slid around to the group at large, the corners pulling a titch higher for familiar friends like Kai, and maybe a little savy when he notes Loki. Like he's got the trickster's number, but in a fond fashion. Handing the bag to Reno. "Here, man. Have a fruitcake. We got way too many of 'em at the apartment. Elmo, hey! It'a mah own personal hero. It's good to see you." And it is most genuinely true, though Jay sticks to the outskirts of the gathering, physically, so Elmo doesn't need to endure assault. A fair hand plucking at the loops of his scarf until it slithers around and relaxes like a multi-colored knit snake draped over his shoulders. "Good t'see all y'all."
Reno looked at the bag and blinked with surprise though looked back to Jay sympathetically, "Awww ain't nice to call your roommates that. Still smells good, and yeah most the meat is carne- umm… beef? Soyou should be good man. I asked Tio Rico to consider that when he was puttin stuff together. Not that you're the first guy who said that to me. There's this cat named Hersch that sees me for a haircut from time to time cause his family got a business not far? Anyways," Man that crow could talk for-ev-er, "He said if you put the bacon under the eggs god can't see and it's okay. I dunno if that's true, but s'what I heard. A hand patted Matt on the shoulder, "Is ok, you don't gotta warn me man." Now was the time where cards got delt and hte goat kept creeping closer to the table.
Daredevil catches the tamale out of the sky nonchalantly and gives a nod in Kai's general direction. Loki's glances are, again, not returned or acted upon, oddly. Maybe he's too busy shrugging at his friend Danny, "I'm pretty proud of it."
"I did not know that," Kai tells Elmo with utter sincerity. "Why do you forbid it if you love it?" He looks to Loki as if to say 'these Midgardians.' He shakes his head. With tamales passed out, he finds a place to sit near Loki. "The goat's from the Asgardian Feast," he tells Jay. "The Yule Goat. I'm glad to see he ended up somewhere nice." To Danny, he says, "I got some great shots for the exhibit at the Mutant town Christmas thing. I developed them today, and I think we're good on pieces now."
"Its unhealthy, that's why." Loki winks. He reaches out to claim some chips, or…to fork over some cash. Since Daredevil has left, he returns his focus to the game. "But, their 'god' is unavailable for commentary on changing things now that they've invented the refridgerator." He chuckles and then waves his hand. "Sorry, sorry, I am not supposed to comment on modern religion."
"/We/ don't forbid it," Elmo says. "God does. You gotta ask him. He's got a lotta dumb rules like that." He points at Loki. "See, you got it." When Jay calls him his hero, he colors and tries to find anything else to look at, but keeps looking back at Jay, or perhaps it's at the other mutant's spectacular wings. "Aw, c'mon," he mumbles.
Danny raises his glass in answer to Jay's nod in his direction. "Nice to meet you," he says amicably, seeming in a good mood, relaxed. He leans back in his chair comfortably, watching with amusement as Daredevil catches the tamale out of mid-air. Then he nods to Kai and says, "Great. We need to sit down and talk about locales. I have a couple of ideas and I want you to come see them. Then we can get your space set up and make this thing happen." He seems all about it.
Jay holds on Elmo, a flash of a wider smile over the modest behavior. "You c'mon an' stop bein' so modest. You ain't in the right room fer it." Jay teases lightly then stares at Reno, lost for a moment over the chastisement. Call his roommates…what? Confusion flashes over his expression once more, losing his grip on the moment for the second time in as many minutes. "Call mah roommates—?" Understanding blooms suddenly over his face, shocking his expression wide open, verdant eyes completely round and heat hitting his ears. "Ohhhh, Reno-no-no-no," A hollow breath puffed straight from his chest means to be a laugh but doesn't quite make it there while his wings fwip behind him. "M'momma literally sent us too many fruitcakes. Not like, uh, fruity people." More heat and color pours into Jay's winter-pinked cheeks. Someone. Anyone. Help. Turning his head on a swivel toward Kai and the explanation of a yule goat, Jay coughs and nods a couple of times, his wings whispering behind him in time to those stifled sounds. Uncomfortable. Overhearing the rest. "Shots? Y'doin' a photograph exhibit of mutants? Or is this the same thing we thought up last spring?" His attention dances to Loki, then back to Kai for the fate of that idea.
Reno held the fruitcake which NOW has Monte's attnetion, "Monte, no!" Looking back to Jay he arched an eyebrow and nodded with a sage understanding, "Before you leave I'm a give you some seeds so you can put em in that hole you diggin man. It'll taste great come spring tho." Did he mean it? Nah, though he was now trying to keep the goat from eating the fruitcake as he was trying to walk to the kitchen with it. "Monte can you just- Stop the- can I get a hand here?" He sighed looking back to teh goat, "See you do this and this is why 'Berto says we cannot keep you here." Cuervo jsut shook his head, "GOtta find some place for you to live where we don't gotta be afraid of you winding up on a gyro. I'd have you like with mi mama if I could. She'd love you. Prolly knit you a lil hat and everything." Looking up to Kai he grinned giving Monte a pat on the head. "Awww you went to that thing? You got the pictures developed yet? I been meaning to ask you if you'd be willing to do like a couple nice shots of our buddy's bar for him since, ya know, people keep tryin to wreck it by like… shootin it or just having a super powered meltdown in it. But don't get me wrong, is a nice place, but I think Luke'd wanna have a picture of it while it's nice. Take pride in it. Point nad go 'hey, buddy, make it look like this again' when we gotta rebuild it the umteenth time." Practical and thoughtful.
Kai nods to Danny and says, "Sure, I'll come knocking." Then he tells Jay brightly, "I've got sketches and paintings, and I've got snapshots now. I got a really nice camera. It's a multi-media thing. After seeing how many children there are, I'm going to donate the proceeds to the center." He looks to Loki, wide-eyed. "They climbed all over me, so many tiny humans." Little apex predators. He then says to Reno, "Sure, I'll take some pictures for you." Elmo gets a sidelong glance as he looks everywhere at Jay, then at Jay, and the elf looks decidedly amused.
Jay dips his head at Reno, and follows him visually with a sinuous lean and pivot about with his head leading, casting bright hair across his cheeks. "Have a nice harvest of 'awkwar-cados' an' 'shame-atoes'?" His smile peaks in spite of himself and quickly ebbs again. "You know what Ah meant, man. Let me give ya a hand, Reno. Unless goats are trained, they're mostly jus' lead around by their noses. Hey-hey! Goat-goat-goat." Jay strolls toward the kitchen and pushes on the Monte's back flank a couple times, chatting at him to get his attention. "Goat-goat. C'mere, buddy." He seems to have some vague idea of what he's doing as he straddles a leg on each side of the goat and hooks a hand under Monte's chin to keep him in place. It came with the accent?
Popping his head up while he manhandles the goat around, he tosses a small smile to Kai. Soft. "Ah'm just glad to hear yer keepin' on with the project, Kai. The idea of it is somethin' Ah talk about all the time to folks. Tell them to seek you out if they're into it. Ah buddy of mine is interested, but he looks real human. Asked me to schmooze ya a bit to see if he could get a sneak peek." Glancing between Reno and Kai briefly. "Yaknow…if you timed it right, do you think that fancy camera of yers could catch Reno transformin'? That would be incredible." He seems rather oblivious to the darting back and forth looks Elmo gives him, but fond of the declared hero.
