Esmeralda dances to the rhythm of the tambourine (changewillcome) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-07-06 18:52:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, esmeralda, kitty pryde (shadowcat) |
Who: Esmeralda and Kitty
What: Meeting up for coffee
When: 6 July 2016
Where: Around
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
Kitty ended up flipping a coin, heads for the motorcycle and tails her new car. Tails won, which was probably a good thing, since it was easier to talk to someone in the car rather than on the motorcycle. Even if the motorcycle was a bit more showy. It was just coffee anyway. While Kitty was certainly crushing a little, she wasn’t going to make any assumptions. Just getting out and talking to people outside her normal circle was a good thing in her book.
She’d traded her pick-up in for something a lot smaller. An appropriately blue Dodge Charger with more engine in it than sense. It had been a hard choice between that and a Japanese speed demon, but her Chicago roots won out a little bit.
She just hoped it wasn’t too much. But she liked it and that was that.
If there was one thing Esmeralda was good at, it was talking to people. Sure, there were always those who would look at her suspiciously because she was foreign, had no real roots. People always judged those they didn’t think belonged, but it didn’t seem to stop her from making conversation where she could. While she had a handful of things she did during the days, soup kitchens or shelters, really anywhere she could help as there were always those who had it worse, it was also easy to make time to meet up with people for coffee.
Besides, she was still learning this place and while she loved Grantaire dearly as a friend, he was also new to the area, and getting to know those more familiar would be beneficial both in just knowing who and where to avoid, as well as the peculiarities that seemed to be from this place.
She had gotten some more reading done on the network, a lot of it about dreams. Madeline would love it, really. However, Esmeralda was intrigued. And she just enjoyed good conversation. Besides, who turned down coffee? For now she was at one of the tables as the Court of Miracles was currently closed.
The whole being judged thing was something that Kitty could understand, on a variety of levels. But she liked to make an effort to help people feel welcome, especially those that might be a little outcast.
Kitty pulled up to the court and got out of the car. She’d dressed casually, but left her hair hanging loose. She walked up and peered inside, trying to see if Esmeralda was there, while also hoping she didn’t look like an idiot. Granted, it was easy enough to look like an idiot.
Esmerelda may be an outcast, but she wasn’t one to let that keep her down. Like everything else, she did her best to take it in stride. She had spent her whole life as one anyway, so she’d rather help those like her than dwell on the things she herself didn’t have or the different stresses that came with her way of life.
Lucky enough for Kitty, Esmeralda had been facing the window and so noticed her looking through the window.
“I’m heading out, Clopin, I’ll be back in time for the evening rush.”
Even if he wasn’t in charge of her, in his own way he was the ‘king’ of the establishment, and more to the point, the group of them who had travelled from Paris to Orange County. So it was more habit and a matter of keeping tabs on everyone. That done, Esmeralda grabbed her bag and headed to outside with a smile.
“Hello.”
“Hey,” Kitty said, her smile wide and genuine. “Hope I wasn’t late, had to wrangle a cat before I could leave.” She gestured towards the car. “My car is right there. That I just drove up in and you probably saw that, okay.”
The foot in mouth was starting early, at least Logan and Laura weren’t here to witness it this time.
“Not at all.” Wrangling a cat sounded interesting, but if it was a pet and tried to get out, well, she could understand the need to wrangle it so as to keep it safe. Not that Esmeralda really minded. One, Kitty wasn’t late, and two, it wasn’t like she had anywhere to be for another good few hours so a few minutes late had she been? Really not that horrible.
“Well lead the way.” If she noticed the foot in mouth situation, no comment was made on it. Some people tended to ramble, especially when still just getting to know someone as there wasn’t much basis yet for random conversations.
“I just got this,” Kitty explained, as she got in the car. “It was time for a change.” She wouldn’t get into the pickup situation, which was tied in large part to people in her past and her own coming out. In ways that were profoundly personal, too much so for a beginning conversation, anyway. “I, uhm. Like to go fast.”
She flashed a grin at Esmeralda.
A brow was quirked as she noticed the car.
“Well that’s impressive.” Not that she knew much about cars. Though she did nod at the comment on going fast. “Nothing wrong with that.” In theory. True there was danger to it, but what was life without a bit of danger?
“Buckle up, it’s the law,” Kitty said. It was a light tone, like she was mimicing someone she used to know. As the crow flies, it wasn’t far to the coffee shop of choice, but due to traffic and the streets it would still be a bit of a drive. Kitty wrung her hands on the wheel. “Other than demons, has anyone been bothering you?”
Amused, Esmeralda did just as she was told and buckled in. She was more used to walking or taking public transportation but that didn’t mean she didn’t know the laws when it came to riding in a car. Though the question did give her pause.
“I’m still coming to terms that there were really demons.” Oh sure, she knew how things could be and did her best not to decry something as impossible. But demons. It was a lot to take in, even for someone who went along with things for the most part. “But no, no one has been bothering me.”
Nothing of note at any rate. There would always be those who would make snide remarks, tell her to go back to where she came from (which given she was Romani was always ironic) or things of that nature. But she had never been threatened or felt scared and let the comments that happened sometimes go.
"I've been here long enough to be a little jaded by it," Kitty admitted, glancing at Esmeralda out of the corner of her eyes. "Wouldn't be the first time that I've lived in a place that feels like it has a target painted on it! That's good though."
Because she'd probably hit someone.
“Sounds like it will certainly be an adventure then.” And there was Esmeralda’s patented optimism and bright outlook. Would a day come where she found herself jaded by such things, or the cruelty that could exist within people and their need to shun those who were different? It was hard to say but she didn’t see it happening even as she was called naive. It simply was who she was.
“If you want adventure I know a few things.” Kitty grinned again. The dreams might be 75% crapsack, but they had gifted her the fastest jet in the world. But Esmeralda’s upbeat attitude was catching a little. Kitty had forgotten what it was like to be around someone like that, and she desperately prayed that dreams or the OC didn’t put a damper on it.
“Is that so? Color me intrigued.” Of course she was. Even though they were attempting to set down roots here, Esmeralda had a wanderer’s spirit and heart. Being in one area alone would grow tiresome and so things like adventures were always welcome. So long as she never became trapped, for that would be unbearable.
True, she was curious about the dreams she often saw mentioned, but she figured it would be something she would learn about in due time. What they would bring, should they bring anything though? Who could tell.
"There's a lot to do here. Rock climbing, surfing or diving. Flying." Kitty stretched a little at a light, then took a left. "I do martial arts, too. So I spend every morning doing training before work."
The name of the place was "Steaming Hotties" and Kitty always grinned whenever she saw the sign.
“That was one of the selling points here, the variety of things to do.” That and just getting away from Paris for as much as it was home, there were always issues there. But that was life and those issues would exist anywhere. “You sound very active.”
Seeing the sign made Esmeralda quirk a brow in amusement though.
“Nice play on words.”
“If I ever open up a store, its going to have a pun in the title. I don’t know what I’d sell.” Kitty parked. “But the pun, that’s what’s important.”
She was still nervous and a little giddy, but again forced herself to breath. “I might not do ballet any more, but I’ve still got to put that energy somewhere, right? A good fight is like it’s own kind of dance. A ballet of violence. As long as it’s for a good reason, anyway.”
“As well you should.” For shops and selling of things, puns seemed a good way to get attention and then make sales. “Exactly, and I’m sure you would figure that out once you had your product.”
There was no reaction to the nervousness or giddy. She could read people for who they were in a way, even if she missed the signs. Or she just thought nothing of it, or both. Instead she listened and nodded. “That makes sense. The reason is always important. One can have noble reasoning or beliefs but be twisted by them. It’s a balancing act.”
“I’m happy with my current job.” And her side work, though her side work was generally heroics and underground fighting rings. Kitty held the door to the shop open for Esmeralda. “You’re right. The road to hell and all of that. I’ve seen some of that happen, to people I cared about.” Extremism was a common theme in her dreams. Just look at Magneto.
“And that’s always important.” Were there other ways Esmeralda could make a living? Probably. But she enjoyed the dancing, she enjoyed the family of the Court. Going ‘legitimate’ before had always been complicated because of their status, but they were able to have some illusion of legitimacy now. While remaining true to who they were. Smiling in thanks, Esmeralda stepped into the cafe and looked around, giving a nod at Kitty’s comment. “It really is not as uncommon as people might wish to believe,” Easy answers were the things people tended to go towards, it was easier that way. Simple. “Though I’m sorry to hear that you’ve seen it happen to those you care about.”
Esmeralda seemed to enjoy her job, and she was honestly a joy to watch. And Kitty wasn't thinking that from any 'oh no she's hot' perspective, either. She let the door close behind her and looked up at the menu. "I've watched good people get so consumed by their righteous anger that they lost sight of the goal." She glanced at Esmeralda. "I'm Jewish, and I've been there, sometimes, with that anger. The fear too. You need a good reason to fight, but you also need a reason to not lose yourself at the same time." She still respected Magneto. There was too much history between them for her not to. So she could see his perspective, even if she didn’t agree with the methods.
Esmeralda nodded thoughtfully. She thankfully had seen none of her own go that way, but she also understood that anger. “I can understand the anger and fear. All of us who work at the Court of Miracles are Romani, we’ve been travelling together as our own family for years.” Especially with how things in France were, where it got to the point of the European Committee of Social Rights found France in violation of the European Social Charter in how the government treated its Romani population. Or the attempts at forced deportation which had made them move camps far more often. “But there are always others who have it worse. We had one another and survived.”
Kitty nodded. It was easy enough to find reason to emphasize with the Romani. Both their peoples had been subject to persecution for centuries. France had been occasionally terrifying in recent years. She smiled. “Just because someone has it worse doesn’t mean your hardships aren’t valid.”
They got to the front of the line and Kitty ordered herself something positively decadent, with scones to match. She knew what it was like to hang out with someone and feel awkward because they had a better drink or something, so she winked at Esmeralda. “Get what you want, my treat.”
“Fair enough, I just try not to dwell on it.” Really that was all there was to it for Esmeralda. She would sooner try to find a way to help others than seek help for herself. She was the one to convince Clopin that Gringoire could be trusted even if he’d been caught stalking her. And now he was family as well.
“If you insist.” With a small smile, Esmeralda turned her attention to the menu before making her own order. Not nearly as decadent as she didn’t have the taste for it, but neither did she purposefully choose the cheapest options either as she might have otherwise.
“Try one of the scones,” Kitty suggested, feeling suddenly and oddly flustered. She just hoped she didn’t trip over words the rest of the afternoon, but Esmeralda was obviously very intelligent and passionate and gorgeous and that was a Problem.