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Arlo brings Felix back to the courtyard, walking ahead of him with no physical contact. He's in jeans, a white t-shirt, and a brown bomber jacket, his hair windblown. He tries to tame it, raking his fingers through it, but a lock sweeps in front of his eye anyway. "So back here, we're safe," he tells Felix. "We can be ourselves. So I'm told."
Fel's in a blazer, khakis, polo. Casual, but not as much as some. The narrow eyes are grave. "I've heard the same," he says, quietly. "Even Vice doesn't bother here."
Lambert is out the back, and it is a bit later in the evening. The place is warming up, and all of the flowers have started to open and spread. Even at night, there is the scent of an early star jasmine beginning to spread in the air. Right now, Lambert is out the back with Marcie and Sam - a wedding has just finished their feast inside, and people are leaving. The three of them are working out their tips, and Lambert can be heard saying "You were working pretty hard, three way probably isn't appropriate tonight…why don't we split it four, and put the quarter into a holiday jar for you both for over Christmas? Then you can take some more time off."
Arlo nods toward Lambert and tells Felix in a low tone, "That's the guy who owns the place. He cooks like a dream, man. I never had Greek food before, but it was so good." He smiles a little at Lambert and waves. "We were just, uh, coming to eat." So friendly.
Fel….he looks shy, but lifts a hand. Still, in the way cops have of donning that mask when needed. But the scent of it makes him sniff the air. "Smells great," he opines, voice low.
"I'll get you the menu," says Lambert, rising up and waving as he dismisses the other two back into the kitchen. Sam makes a small noise, and Marcie laughs, and eventually Lambert just says crankily "Head on home, I think. No, no. Out here is different, I can handle it all." And then he turns his head back to Arlo and Felix, and he says "Come and sit down near the fires. There's the rules for behaviour on the inside - did you read them on the way through? And welcome to Saganaki! Let's get you some red wine to start off with."
Arlo nods solemnly and says, "Yeah, I was here before with Elmo. He gave me the rundown, too. We're just here to relax ad have a good time." He talks to Lambert like he's trying to talk down a cop. Nothing suspicious going on Officer Chef. He takes the offered menu and finds a place to sit with a nice view of the greenery. To Felix, he says, "The sampler of lamb is to die for." He pats a seat beside him. This is a safe place, allegedly.
Felix shakes his head. "Sorry," he says, slowly. "Missed 'em." A wary thing - wit hthat build, he's like a greyhound, nosing at the wind.
The waitress and kitchen boy - chef, really, by this point - head off. Inside there is a young elfin man who can help with clearing the tables. There is Greek music trickling out from there, light and twanging, and redolent of Mediterranean summers and heat. The place is beginning to smell of thyme. Lambert lights the candle where Arlo is sitting, and he says to Felix "Anyone can come out here if they want to just relax, and if they behave themselves. Black. White. Mutant. Jew. Sikh. Monster. Christian. I don't care. I will throw troublemakers over the walls. I expect no yelling, no swearing, no nasty comments. This is a place to relax, and enjoy yourself. To be who you are. I am not entirely human."
Arlo nods and says, "Yeah, ain't you not a mutie either?" He skims the menu, but then he gives in and says, "I want the lamb and that fried cheese stuff. What about you, b—man?" This to Felix. He offers a fleeting smile to Lambert and says, "I'll be good. If I'm not, Elmo will give it to me."
"I…..what do you suggest tonight?" Fel's trying not to bristle. To lay aside the cop's mask for now and relax in earnest, in semi-public. It's not like a vice squad is going to come busting in to deal with this den of queer iniquity, right?
"No, I'm not," says Lambert, agreeably enough "I'm part something else, part human. One platter -" Thank God for wedding guests! "And one saganaki. We have some sour cherry sauce, I'd suggest that too." He hands out two wooden bowls of wine, dark and as thick as blood in the dim firelit air. The herby smell of the place intensifies. Lambert then says to Felix "I'm not sure what's got you in a knot, but relax. Drink some wine. Wait. Hang on." He pauses, and adjusts himself, then asks "…are you a cop?"
Arlo takes the wine with a quiet, "L'chaim," and takes a drink. Mmm, wine. He glances at Felix and a grin graces his lips. He might even be starting to warm up a little. He doesn't answer for Felix, but there's a knowing look in his eyes.
"…..yes," Felix says, a hair hangdog. "That's okay here, right? I'm just….out with a friend. Not here to ….not here in any official way." He accepts the wine, and says, softly, "Za vas," before taking his own sip.
"Oh, you are fine," says Lambert cheerily "But if you call the Vice squad, I will not give you any baklava." He adds "That is a tragedy, by the way, as I make the best baklava in the universe." And he adds "You may see ladies who are living with ladies here. I do not want those nice people arrested. They are very nice." Nod nod! And then he slips into the kitchen and he assembles a plate of food.
"Nah, he's happy not being on Vice," Arlo says. He watches Lambert go to the kitchen and says, "He's got a tail." Not shocked, not dismayed. Just hey look, dude with a tail. "Elmo seems to think really highly of him, and I trust Elmo. After all, he thinks I'm pretty keen, too."
That makes Fel stare for a moment. "So he does," he says, a little blankly. Then, to Lamb himself. "No. I'm Homicide. So glad to be out of Vice. And….I don't know if I've ever had baklava, now that you say that."
Lambert arranges plates and knives and forks before them all, and puts down the fresh saganaki and the bright, salty tasting glow of it sends scent into the air. Lambert grins, and he twitches his ears "And very good hearing, as a result of these," he says, pointing to them "Bad eyesight, though. I like Elmo! He is a cool cat, right? I have a friend who would say 'cool cat'." And then he says "Is Vice bad? Isn't Homocide worse? I would be so sad to be around so many sad things."
Arlo's eyes fix upon the Saganaki and oh, does he look stoked. He starts in on it, but only after making sure Felix has his portion. "I got good eyesight," he says. "Good everything. It's my shtick. Anyway, Vice is bad. Busting up places where you know in your heart they didn't do anything wrong."
"Vice…..I didn't like it because I didn't think a lot of the things I had to arrest people for were actually *wrong*," Fel clarifies. "I felt like a hypocrite." He eats with surprising eagerness. "Homicide….it's worth doing. Life is everyone's right."
"That is true! But I don't think that I could do it," admits Lambert, and he laughs at Arlo's look "Do you!" grins Lambert "Then tell me what you see when you look at me - and this young man here." _Young man_. Curiously, Lambert says to Felix "How do you feel about things like me or…Arlo?"
Arlo studies Lambert swiftly, his eyes darting over him. His nostrils flare. "Do you have a horse?" he asks. You… you've got a scent on you, and that's not cologne. His gaze flits here, "Shiv." There, "You believe in the old stuff. Part satyr if I had to guess, if those things even exist."
"Kid, I'm a mutant myself," Fel says, simply. "Not one of the ones where it's obvious, but I am. And….I don't care what someone is. I care if they break the laws in New York City," A cynical little grin, but not entirely bitter.
"Errrr…sort of." says Lambert "I mean. He's. Not a horse. But he has a horse tail. It's complicated. It's temporary! He'll lose the other bits when the magic wears off!" He has actually coloured up, because God does he have to make sure people know that it is _not_ an animal horse, if it guesses. And then he says "Oh, yes, erh. We had a troll problem - and. Yes. Yes I do. And yes I am. Oh, God do we exist. My father's staying in…you know, never mind that!" And then he says to Felix cheerily "You are? Interesting. Oh, well…" his gaze slides to his wine "Er, I am a respectable. Businessman."
Arlo shakes his head. "Magic." He's still wrestling with the concept of it existing. Outside of religious miracles, of course. "A respectable businessman who had a quickie earlier today." He nibbles on some saganaki. "You've got a strand of straight dark hair clinging to your backside." And the scent. Arlo's nostrils do not lie. He shrugs then and says, "It's all good, though. You've got a business, I guess that makes you a businessman."
Felix gives Arlo a faintly scandalized look. "Kid, you gotta nose like a bloodhound. If it wouldn't out you, I'd be tempted to have you in on crime-scenes. Maybe we'll get you a dog costume, tell the other guys on the squad you're a police dog." Fill in your own jokes.
"If you have a nose that good, you better be careful about that scent," warns Lambert, faintly amused "Or it's going to start affecting you. I mean, regardless of orientation. You'll be stuck in cold showers for the rest of the week." Still, the mains are being served out now, and his tail flicks brightly back and forth "The gentleman here is right - you could be super useful. Actually, mister, I wonder if you could just happen to end up with him at scenes sometime? Could be useful!"
Arlo eyes Felix and says, "Baby, you know I'm not that kind of bitch." Oh oh! He's starting to get comfortable being here. That scent is getting to his brain, slowly but surely. "I'll be all right," he says. He takes a drink of his wine, then says, "I'm a janitor. But I'd do it if I could get away with it."
"Yeah, you know, I might have you come by after - see what ou can tell me," Fel says, thoughtfully. Then he stifles laughter, clapping a hand over his mouth. A look to Lambert. "Affect how?" he asks, a little suspicious.
"I'm part satyr," says Lambert "We're creatures of reaction, not. Order. And the friend I've been with is currently a pure satyr. Impossible to resist. Perfect in every way. So if he _wants_ to get all up in all those lovely biochemicals, he can, but he's going to find himself feeling the way we do all the time. Without our…er…my experience in restraining myself." He pauses, then he says "…oh dear. I should phone L…him. And see if he's okay. He doesn't have a chaperone right now." And then he says to Felix "So if you are a mutant, what sort of mutant would you be?"
Arlo nods to Felix and says, "Sure, babe. If you want me to." He flashes him a grin. He then says to Lambert, "He needs a chaperone? I like this guy already." Then he busines himself with food while he lets Felix answer.
"One that isn't a risk to John Q. Public," Fel replies, with a little grin. "Or your patrons, sir. So…" He's apparently got no intention of telling Lamb. Some things are better kept surprises against the hour of needed revelation.
"I…well. He doesn't. But I haven't checked on him in a number of hours, and it's a terrible surprise to suddenly end up temporarially transformed. Even if you're sort of biologically wired to be. More. Relaxed? It has to be worrying. Oh dear." Lambert actually looks a bit ashamed of himself, and hten he turns his head to Felix, and he offers him his hand "My name is Lambert. This is my place. Feel free to relax if you want to…er…" Hand shake or no, he dashes back in briefly to phone the mansion and check on Lindon.
This 'Lindon' fellow appears to be all right. Meanwhile, Arlo tells Felix, "Isn't this place the best? Now you can say you've been served Greek food by a satyr. Part satyr anyway." He picks up a bit of lamb and offers it to Felix to eat. "I should try to pick up extra hours so we can eat here more often."
"Hell, I can pay for us," Fel says, watching Lamb go, a little blankly. "I don't pay a lot in rent. My place isn't a dump, but ….I don't gotta lot to spend stuff on. Work pays me more than I need, I don't own a car…"
A little talking on the phone with Lindon, and Lambert finally relaxes and can come back out. He has a few things to do, after all, candles to light in the dim air, more wine to pour for them all. And he gets his own bowl, and he moves to sit down not far away from them both "So you know Elmo. Excellent. He is a good person. If you want to spend more money here, that would be perfect as far as I am concerned!"
"Then I hereby declare you my sugar daddy," Arlo says as he leans against Felix, flashing him a sugar-sweet smile. Oh yeah, that kid's queer. "Elmo and I are pretty good friends, I think," he says. "It's nice to finally know another Jew. I kinda miss that part of my life, you know?"
Oops, caught. Fel snorts at them both. "All right," he says, rubbing Arlo's arm, gently. No detaching himself from Arlo's embrace. If this is a safe place, well, let's see. "Me, I don't know Elmo. Not yet," he says.
Ah, the wonders of growing up in a farming area…with satyrs "What is a sugar daddy?" asks Lambert with an odd sort of cheerful innocence. And then he says "Ah, you are Jewish, that explains a lot. Wait, I really need to work out how to structure my menu better for people with food restrictions. For whatever reason." After a moment, he puts his own plate on the table, which has saganaki "Ahhh. Interesting," Lambert observes "I do get a lot of same sex couples in here. Hmm. I hope I get a heads up if anyone ever decides to raid." Not that he seems upset! He says "How sweet!"
"It means he pays my way," Arlo says, settling into this idea way too comfortably. "I want to introduce you to Elmo," he says to Felix, draped comfortably on his arm. "I bet Elmo or I could get a list to you, or just read Leviticus. Some of it's up to intepretation. You're not supposed to mix dairy with meat because you mustn't boil a kid in its mother's milk. So what about chicken? What if it's a cheese sauce on a meat that's not from a cow? Ask two Jews, get three answers."
"I'll try and keep an ear to the ground for you," Fel offers, slowly, to Lambert. "I'm not in Vice, now, but I still got friends there. I don't think they've got an eye on you." He grins at Arlo, gently. "I'd be happy to meet him."
"That would be good. I would not like to be raided," admits Lambert, a little uneasily "Mostly since…because I do look a bit different from most people, I imagine it would be a very. Interesting experience being searched. With batons." He then glances at Arlo, taking this all on board, and he says "Er, Leviticus. Hmm. Okay. Except I imagine it probably is not supposed to be read directly? I'm not sure. Does it have anything in it about satyrs?"
"Nah, you can read it," Arlo says. "It doesn't say anything about satyrs that I remember, but…" He considers. Cloven hooves, but does Lambert's family chew the cud? Probably not. "I'm pretty sure they're not kosher. It's just a list of stuff we're allowed and not allowed to do. I'm already breaking at least two rules." Oh! It should be noted that Arlo has a bruised eye and a split lip, well-tended already. Not that it has put a dampenter on his cheer. "You'll like him," he tells Felix. "On Passover we got in a fight."
Fel's sputtering with laughter at the idea of satyrs being kosher. But at the mention of the fight, he's all seriousness again. Like flipping a switch. "Wait, you got in a fight," he echoes. "With whom?"
With those sharp teeth? Probably not. Ruminants need a lot of space, and Lambert probably eats too much meat to rearrange his internals for all that. He raises his eyebrow, then looks at the saganaki and the lamb "Oops," he says, a bit awkwardly "Sorry. You know, I should make a list for vegetarians - a lot of Indians seem to be vegetarians - and maybe one for people who want fish on fridays?" As Felix starts laughing, Lambert cants ears towards him, then back, and then coughs a little, before he says brightly "Was it a _fun_ fight?"
Arlo sits up and sets down his wine so he can talk with his hands, setting the scene with a generous amoung of gesturing. "All right, so Elmo and I are walking around in Mutant Town, minding our own business. These four thugs start calling us queers and muties. Their body language is saying they're going to fight us, so we fight them first." He swings a fist at the air, pow! "Knocked all four of them on their asses. They went crying home to their normie mamas."
Fel pinches the bridges of his nose. But he doesn't seem all that angry, really. "Oh, buddy," hesays. "You gonna do that on the regular, I'mma haveto teach you to box."
"Going to mutant town and looking for a fight sounds rather unwise," observes Lambert quietly "You never know what could happen. I mean…for them. I know quite a lot of mutants who can do things like levitate people…though more who have mutations that no one else really would find interesting? Like talking to one specific type of songbird." He wrinkles his nose, and then he says "Boxing is pretty good. But I'd settle for learning to run."
"Elmo put the zap on them," Arlo says. "I got my licks in." He smiles at Felix, infatuated and not hiding it, not here. "Okay," he tells him. "You can teach me how to box. Because I'm going to get in fights. Those people come into my neighborhood, calling me a filthy mutie…" He sniffs. Not on his watch. To Lambert, he says, "One of the guys was a lefty. I told him he was just a mutie with a dumb power, then punched him in the face."
"Honestly, that's our job," Fel's voice is a little tired. "Shouldn't be yours. I won't argue you that you shouldn't defend yourself. But you shouldn't have to……but I know, I know, the NYPD has a long way to go when it comes to mutant rights."
"Or any rights, really. I mean, sorry, friend, but I don't really wanna be a black man in some places here either." Lambert finishes off his wine, and then he eyes Arlo mildly, before he says to Felix "So what's your view on being a…sugar daddy?"
Arlo tells Felix, "It's all right, baby. Sometimes you just gotta do for yourself. I'm not outside of my neighborhood looking for trouble, but if you step into mine, and you say stuff like that, you're gonna answer for it." He takes a languid drink of his wine. He nods then to Lambert. "Yeah, some folks have to keep their guard up. I bet you get mistaken for a mutant a lot."
Felix lifts his hands. "Fair enough," he admits, on a sigh. But then he brightens, "Well, seems to me my duty's to keep sugar here in style."
"I do," admits Lambert "It does get a bit weird. People tend to think I'm a sheep, and that it makes me placid, because, I think…they haven't ever had to work with real sheep, in the city. I grew up on a farm. Rams are violent to interlopers. So they say 'baa' a lot, and ask if I eat grass. I cannot eat grass. I am, ah, mostly a carnivore. Well, I could also survive on nothing but wine. Anyway. I do not have inhuman anything, exactly." Well, he does not have to explain the poison resistance or carousing here "…so it can be dangerous. But I am very strong, fast, and I can headbutt dangerously." He glances at Felix, and raises an eyebrow, very amused "Ahah! How many do you have room for? I love cooking, but the hours are terrible!"
Arlo slings an arm around Felix's shoulders and says, "And I'll make sure I'm good to you so you never regret it." He kisses Felix on the cheek. This place seems safe, and it's a thrill to try it. Then he slants a look at Lambert. How many? Ooh. He keeps his mouth shut and just listens for Felix's answer nonchalantly.
Room for. He echoes this, silently. "Hell, I don't know if I'll be able to keep even one sugar baby. I'm new to this. 'sides, Arlo here might be jealous." Fel elbowsthe mutant, gently. Teasing.
Lambert laughs, outright, and he reaches out to pour everyone a bit more wine "I am joking. Mostly. I have some very good friends! And they keep me happy. Jealousy is interesting. At some point I must find out how it all works. I am sure it has a useful purpose."
"I'm not sure how it works," Alro says, "but I think about my baby with someone else, and I get this rage boiling up in my belly, and I just know I'd want to pop them one. I don't know why." He shrugs, not really questioning his latent anger and abandonment issues. "I don't get to see as much of him as I want to anyway."
Felix gestures at Arlo. "Also that. Wouldn't be fair -I couldn't treat two equally. And….doesn't seem right to me. I can barely give Arlo the atttention he deserves."
"It sounds like it is how you, you know. Secure a mate," says Lambert brightly "I mean, I've been thinking about this recently, because I've been near another satyr, which means…a lot of headbutting. And rough-housing, and even though I know that I am shorter and not as strong, I still want to win." He shakes his head at the idea, still curious about it all. And then he says to Felix and Arlo, brightly "Well, I will not harass you then! Anyway, the important thing is that you enjoy the food!"