[EP] A Bored Smartass - OTA

[st_x5_494]

Alec was bored and so he decided to test the waters with the various creepy Inn workers. He started by walking up to the man at the desk. He plopped the towels down on the counter. Some were ripped, others had blood on them. "This is really unacceptable. How's a guy supposed to enjoy his time here at the Madonna Inn when these towels are dirty and destroyed? I thought this was a fine establishment, but I guess I was mistaken." The man behind the counter apologized, though there didn't seem to be any actual regret in his voice.

"Take this down. I want blue towels. They should smell like Lavender. And folded like various animals on my bed." There was a nod from the man, but how much would actually be followed through it would be hard to tell. Alec ended their interaction by tossing one of the towel's on the man's head.


His next destination was the kitchen. The chef was there preparing something chicken, as always. Alec stood next to the oven, watching. When the chef turned to get an ingredient, Alec flung a few shrimp into the dish. He watched with vague amusement as the chef came back, discovered the shrimp, and threw out the contents of the dish before starting over again. Alec repeated this a few times, the last two times being blatant about it and not getting much of a response from the chef at all.


Hours later Alec ran into the housekeeper. He spent a good hour walking behind her littering with small pieces of paper. Each time she'd stop and pick up or vacuum the mess. At one point he walked up looking earnest. "Oh here, let me help you." He grabbed the vacuum cleaner and 'accidentally' emptied its contents on the ground. The woman didn't even blink, but started to sweep the mess up.


After a while, Alec got bored of even this and ended up flopping down onto one of the couches in the lounge and exhaled.

(ooc: Feel free to find him at any point in his journey)

Comments

[st_ackeddeck]

"It's not all bad. I like the ritual of it." She always had. "But I'm a really bad Catholic, and after my grandmother died, I had no reason to stay." Not to mention, there'd been no school to have school in for a while, after Katrina.

"So I ran away and joined a carnival. Found my home with the outcasts and the freaks."

[st_x5_494]

"Freaks and outcasts, huh?" He looked her over for a second. "Not really seeing either of those, unless you mean in the bed." He smirked, then winked to say he wasn't exactly being serious.

[st_ackeddeck]

With her attention on the pan she was stirring, Emma missed the wink, but even if she'd seen it, her reaction would have been the same. Her eyes widened then lowered, focusing very intently on her roux, as her skin ignited blushing so hard.

She couldn't do anything about that reaction, but when she'd had a few seconds, she took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly. Turning off the heat, she moved the pan to a cold burner, still stirring. "Stir this for me?" she asked, keeping her gaze on the roux. "You need to keep all of it from sitting too long, even the edges.

Then more quietly, "I meant because I'm a mutant."

[st_x5_494]

He always liked it when he could make a girl blush and he grinned. When she asked for his help, he moved over and obliged. Alec stirred, trying to make sure he wasn't missing the edges. Somehow he was worried he was going to stir it wrong, out of all the things he had done so far.

Alec looked up and over to her, though he kept stirring. "You're a mutant?" More interest than surprise. "Like, you have special abilities and stuff?"

[st_ackeddeck]

"Precog with psionic projections," from where she'd gone to get some things from the fridge. Gumbo obviously wasn't going to happen. Not if she couldn't get a decent dark roux, and she didn't trust she'd be able to do that now. A good Creole-style étouffée was a better choice.

When she came back, she looked at the color of the roux, put a hand above it to feel the temperature. "That's probably okay now," she told him, reaching for a bowl to transfer the hot paste to so it wouldn't continue to cook.

[st_x5_494]

Alec was pretty proud he hadn't fucked up the roux, but he was still focused on her explanation. "Psionic projections?" He thought. "Can you make people see things?"

[st_ackeddeck]

"It's a little more than that." A kitchen was not the place for a pegasus, but showing was much better than telling. Reaching into the pocket of her sweater, Emma pulled out a single card, flipping it through her fingers before glancing at it while looking down and away from Alec. Maybe he wouldn't see the way the color vanished from her eyes, leaving them solid white. Especially when a dark-haired young woman, in plus-fours and tail coat, with goggles perched on her head and a contraption on one arm, carrying a cane in the other appeared next to them. The woman bowed to Alec, then offered her hand. If he shook it, he'd find it as solid as Emma's would have been.

"The technical explanation is, I manifest two-dimensional images as three-dimensional, tangible constructs of psi energy, I can then manipulate."

[st_x5_494]

Alec definitely tried to shake her hand and looked amazed when he could actually do it. "That's - that's the coolest thing I've ever seen." And he had seen a lot. His nature was to think about all the tactical uses her powers would give her in a fight. "So you could make someone appear and do something for you without you having to even get your hands dirty? Amazing."

[st_ackeddeck]

"As long as it makes sense for the image or its interpretation. I couldn't have her stir a roux – not that I'd want to – but she could fight off an attacker to give me time to put distance between us." It was easier when Emma thought of her projections as real. Little things, like referring to the page as 'she' or treating her pegasus like she would a horse made her connection to them stronger and easier to maintain.

"I'm still the one responsible, though." I can kill you with my brain, she thought, but didn't say.

She let the projection go, the green and pupil returning to her eyes as the page disappeared.

[st_x5_494]

Alec could think of so many practical applications... And then his mind wandered to less practical and more bedroom fun stuff and he smiled as he pictured it briefly before remembering he was standing there still.

"Well that's awesome. I wish I had that ability"

[st_ackeddeck]

Emma dipped her head, a lock of hair that had come loose from the quick bun she'd twisted it into earlier falling over her eye. Her projections could be pretty useful or fun sometimes, but it was different someone else saying so. Other than Pyro, who always insisted it was awesome, and encouraged her to find the joy in being a mutant.

"Some of it's pretty cool," she admitted. "Flying was so worth all the practice."

[st_x5_494]

"Wait, wait, wait. You can fly too?" Alec looked behind her as if he would find wings, then back at her again. "Do you sprout wings too?"

[st_ackeddeck]

With the back of her hand, Emma nudged the opposite sleeve up her arm to reveal the tattoo on her inner arm. "I carry my ride with me."

[st_x5_494]

Alec took a step forward even though he could see perfectly well where he was, then looked back up at Emma. "No. Way." She had a flying horse? How cool was that?

[st_ackeddeck]

"I'm not going to bring a knight and pegasus into the kitchen just to prove a point. But I don't exactly sneak around when I take it exploring either." He could see for himself if he was paying attention.

"He's a favorite, and useful. Offense, defense, and egress all in one card. In case of emergencies."

[st_x5_494]

He nodded. It made sense not to bring a horse here even if he wanted to see one pretty badly.

"If you did, could... Anyone ride it?" Like a curious man named Alec?

[st_ackeddeck]

Emma laughed to herself and murmured, "No wonder I drew the Page."

But Alec had asked, so she owed him an answer. "If I let them." She eyed him a moment. "Something I'm not likely to do for someone who goes around tormenting people who can't defend themselves or wasting food in the name of fun."

[st_x5_494]

He put up his hands. "Alright, alright. I can get a hint." He smiled back though, a bit playful. "Incentives are always a good way to keep me in line." He winked.

[st_ackeddeck]

"Okay..." she answered hesitantly. He couldn't be flirting with her, but it didn't seem like he was making fun either. So she was really not sure how to take it. But if it kept him from bugging the hotel chef, she was all right with it.

[st_x5_494]

For once, Alec was literally just excited he might be able to ride a flying horse.

"So... you need anything else from me?" He looked around the room, but the kitchen was pretty foreign to him.

[st_ackeddeck]

"No, I think I can handle it from here." She was a little surprised he'd asked, but she had kind of put him to work without asking if he minded first. And he'd done it.

"There will be étouffée in about an hour, if you decide you're hungry."

[st_x5_494]

"Alright." Alec gave a nod. "Maybe I'll come try out some of my handy work." He grinned, then with a hand up, stationary wave and then turned to go.