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Sawyer would say she knows this city like the back of her hand but she actually isn't that familiar with the back of her hand. She's seen it in glimpses, but on the rare occasions that she gets to flirt with vision, that's not what she's looking at. She's taking on the brightness of the sky, the faces of the people around her, the lights, connecting the sounds of tires on the road to the cars they sit on top of, everything but the back of her own hand. She's far more familiar with the city than she is familiar with herself. Far more familiar with it, she'd hazard a guess, than anyone else is.
Central Park is her favorite. Most people like it for the fountain, the great pictures they can take there, the tourists drink in the sights like their eyes have never seen beauty before. Sawyer likes it for all the sounds. It feels like thousands of voices, mixed with the breeze through the trees, the sound of the water in the fountain, the occasional plop of someone throwing a quarter in to make a wish for a good job interview, a succesful first date, to meet the parents and not mess it all up or maybe just to pass their driving test. All of that made for the perfect background music.
Now, Sawyer's not homeless, but a beat up bowler hat does sit upside down by her feet. There's never any harm in making a couple tips for doing what she loves right? A sweater clings to her lithe body, clad otherwise in only tights, a small skirt. She doesn't feel the wind, doesn't feel the bite of the cold as she spins and spins and spins to the sound of this beat. The beat of life.
Reno flapped and landed on the bench near by. There was a pretty gal dancing and this? This entertained Cuervo to no end. The sound of a ruffle of feathers and sharp nails on the wood backrest. There was following a trill and a raaaaawk rrrrup? With a tilts of his head. He flew down to teh ground, and while it was cold he was watching her feet. The tap ta p tap of nails on pavement to… her steps? Was there a bird dancing with her? There was definiately a bird.
Sawyer is mostly lost in the soundtrack around her, but then there's a new beat to it, a new element, percussion takes form in the sound of tiny claws hitting the pavement below her. It throws her off but not in a bad way. She smiles and then changes the pattern of her steps, trying to see if the sound of the talons will follow her lead. She spins left instead of right, listening intently as she presses up on one toe to do so.
There was a sound of a scraaaaaaape and then a *tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap* of tiny feet trying to keep up turning in a circle. A trilling squak amid the rustle of feathers. There were coins on occasion for the gal and her dancing bird because, well, that was a super novelty in itself. It was the sound of a minah bird maybe that answered her, "Should try a cha-cha." Was hte bird giving requests?!
Did the bird just talk to her? A bird? She catches her breath and squats down towards the pavement, pushing her hair back from her face. She holds her palm out, aiming it towards the ground for the bird to hop up on, but her aim is a little off, coming a bit too far right. "I need a partner for that." Is she talking to the bird? She's talking to the bird.
Reno wasn't going to fault her. Agesture was a gesture was an effort. The bird falpped and flew up to land, heavier than one might plan. He was no parakeet and weighed… well a whole pound. Yeah, that was prolly all those bagels. Yeeeeah. Hey, some birds talked though! He was careful to do that, making contact as a psychometrist was often a mixed bag and that wasnt' something someone jsut turned on and of. "Not always. More fun when one does. Troo troo." The bird… was having a conversation.
The bird was heavier than she had imagined he might be but her arms are plenty strong. She also thinks that this may not be a bird. "Now if I kiss you, do you turn into a charming prince? Or a dance partner? Because that's what this sounds like." She teases as she slips her other hand under him. She does raise him to her face. Brown eyes are pale, the pupil nearly invisible in them. She's long since stopped hiding them. This was what she looked like, the world could take it.
The bird stammered with a thoughtful "Craaaa." Finally he said, "That's a hell of an offer." There was a rustle of feathers as wings fwipped for balance as he tried ardently not to dig talons into her hand. That was worlds of no fun, he know. "If I did I guess that'd be kinda weird… though really I guess a talking bird is too?" His voice inflected withthe observation. His head tilted shifting his weight slighly. "You're a good dancer ya know that? Not to be, you know, that guy, but is nice to see other people enjoy it. Mi mama? She would say you can tell a happy person if they dance in their kitchen."
"If you transformed into Prince Charming if I kissed you, that would be weird? I think talking birds are a little more common than birds that turn into dance partners." She rocks him into one hand as she tries to pet the top of his head with her finger, it takes some locating first, she has to glide her finger up his back first to locate his head. "Why thank you, kind bird. I dance everywhere, the world is always playing a song if you listen hard enough."
Was he preening? He was preening. He was a preening preener who preens! He didn't mind as she was careful and didn't yank his feathers. His head tilted up and nuzzled her finger. "Ooooh I dunno. I'm no prince, but I got this cousin Fernando? He lives in Queens. I don't think that counts though. I mean if it did the whole justice system would get confusing I guess. Taxes would be a mess." WHat did a bird know of taxes!??
Sawyer smiles when he nuzzles her finger, the smile growing wide across her face. "No, you can't be a prince, in the fairy tales, they're always jerks, have to deal with being an animal to make them become human. You're already sweet, so you must be just a regular guy, which in my opinion is so much better. I'd hate to have to marry a prince just because I kissed a sweet little bird." She teases as she takes her finger away from his head to try and draw him to her cheek. "I would much rather, take the cute, regular guy with a gorgeous accent out with me for milkshakes instead."
Reno was a bit floored by that. He looked around and peeeeered. Strange was involved in this. He knew it. But oh hey! Lady was talking again. Hullo, yes he's listening! Hi! Hullooooo! The crow blinked and was hesitant on that answer sooooo he guessed? "I… You meet a lot of transformative birds?" Bruised bird walked carefully on that one. "Eh, at least you got good taste. You got a name?" Yes, the bird could intelligibly converse here it seems.
"No, you're the first. I met a few men who could transform into demons when you tell them no you won't go on a date with them though. Plenty of those in New York." She teases and giggles a little when she's told she has good taste. "Sawyer." She answers, moving that finger back over his little head again. "And yours? Or do you prefer 'Cute Bird'?"
Wanda goes home.
Birds can't snicker. It's one thing they do not do well among many. Not talk is the other. "You kiddin? Pretty certain that's always better than my name any day. Really though, most call me Reno. Means 'Reindeer' which I don't get cause I ain't seen a reindeer in no Spanish Speaking coutry I ever heard off. Why they do that? I dunno. Why you in the middle of the park? It's cold. I mean safer than dancing in the subway gratned."
"I want to be seen, this is the closest to a spotlight I can get without a stage, can't feel the cold if you move fast enough." She says and guides Reno to her shoulder, pulling the sweater off of her shoulder to try and tuck it around him, like a tiny parka, to keep him warm as well. "You're also not a reindeer. Shoulda named you Loro, or Cuervo? Means Parrot, the first, second, Crow but I think you knew that, huh? Sawyer means 'person who saws wood" and I've never touched a saw in my life." She bends to find her hat full of coins and dollars, tucking it under her arm.
Reno had to give her that one, "Ain't that the truth. I'll tell you though you get high enough up? It's as much problem as solition. In the winter? Yeah wind jsut sucks for everyone I think. Except for owls. hey cheat." Feet lifted fron hand to shoulder and sweet sweatery refuge. The upshot? Reno was everyone's friend. The downside? While he is unkillable as a bird he can be totally disarmed by any villian with a sweater or a bagel. It didn't even have to be both! Or a particularly nefarious bit of bread! "Heeey tu espanol es muy bueno, bonita!"Yes, that he knew hte translations of. "Cuervo. I ain' good lookin enough to be no parrot. Trus' me. Not doggin or nothin but Crows? We's like the Johnny cash of birds. Parrots is more like the Mardi Gras, though I gotta ask somtimes what they wan' all that attention for?"
"You just called me pretty, you're a flirty little bird. /Cuervo/, black feathers, right? I've seen one once. I like them better. Parrots are too much color, too bright when I do get to see them, blinding. I'll bet you're plenty good looking, to me, it doesn't matter, can't see you anyway, not right now, anyway. To me, you're already beautiful." She says and then makes sure that he's all tucked in before she starts to walk with him, she moves her fingers through the coins, eyes forward. "Well, it looks here like I have enough for two hot chocolates. Can birds have hot chocolate? Or will I need to kiss you to turn you into a boy?"
Reno wobbled his birdie head and hopped off her shoulder with a flap and a moment after there was a scuffle, leather soles on concrete. The same voice though, "Eeeeh for bird is hard but I can. I think I just scared some lil ol lady though. That can't be good for her blood pressure." He squint watching for a moment and offered back, "You are taking this real well, lemme tell you."
She jumps for a moment when she feels him hop off her shoulder. When she hears shoes instead of talons and a voice much louder but the same as the birds, she smiles, unseeing eyes looking somewhere just past his head. "Well, you see, honey, I can't see you to be shocked by what you just did, but since you tried to show me yours, I can show you mine if you take my hand." She offers out her hand, a little too far left. "I want to see my dance partner."
Reno was reluctant there. There was a hesitation, and a hint of almost apology though he didn't offer up what or why, "Well, just cause you might not be lookin doesn't mean I think you're not payin attention. My buddy Matt? Legally blind and stuff, he doesn't miss a thing, and I didn't wanna like, you know, assume? And like offend you? Cause you seem pretty super groovy an' all, buuuuut I can try?" He paused and offered coming clean, "Sometime, I touch people and bad stuff happens. Sorta." He paused, "I'm doin a whole lotta talkin and a whole lotta not makin sense I know." Fingers snapped. Real fingers? Real fingers. Well, people fingers. "I would, actually like to get hot cocoa, aaaaand I'm pretty groovy on the dancin."
"Most people make assumptions about me, that my mama did drugs while I was in the womb, or that this blindness came as something from gang wars because I'm obviously a black girl. So I appreciate, that you didn't decide you knew all there was to know about me already." She pulls her hand back when Reno seems reluctant. "If you touch me, I see the world the way you do, but only while you're touching me. If you ever wanted someone to see the things you do, I'm your girl." She doesn't seem to be hurt by Reno's reluctance though, and offers him her sweatered arm, "This is safe, no skin to skin contact. I'll take you to my favorite hot chocolate place. What kind of bad things happen?"
Reno bemoaned with a sigh, "Yeaaaaaah I know how that goes. Hey, I grew up Latino in Harlem. You don' gotta tell me twice. Some people though?" He took a slow deep breath thinking back on when he and Jeb were not buying bar stools from some people. His head hung. The tone was quiet and he offered, "That's a really beautiful gift, Sawyer. The things I see? Ain't so pretty. Ain't their fault though, ya know, but scary things I don't like to put on no one." It was a slightly saddened note and from teh core of him, he had a hard enough time sleeping with the things he saw. That wa snot a thing to put on someone peeking into the world making something beautiful tained. Optimistically he countered with, "Not to, ya know, sound like a creep or nothin you are super legit a good dancer. SO… take that like… as you will and stuff. Buuut…" He asks tentivly, "Did you still maybe want to do hot chocolate?" He wiated for her to be like sure sure.
"Ah, so my sweet birdy dance partner does have that latino fire in him. You weren't just speaking spanish to woo a girl." Sawyer says, wrapping her arm around his since he seems so hesitant to touch her at all. It does take her a second try though. "It's really only beneficial to me, I've been blind since I was born, then my mother died, and well, you know how mutations work, wait for a moment of high stress and then they show up." She pauses for a moment when he talks about the ugliness of the world he sees. "I do still want to do hot chocolate, Reno, and I'm still paying. I think, I would still like to see your world. Sometimes the world I see isn't pretty either."
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