dualislogs | kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

WHO: Open to all residents
WHAT: Your regularly scheduled NAPs event for the month
WHERE: The RoCocoa Cat Cafe
WHEN: Aug. 10-14
WARNINGS: Please use these if applicable!

Look at all of these bright, shining new faces! There’s even a few less bright, less shining faces, but hey, this city welcomes all types. Chances are, if you’ve just arrived, you're seeing some pretty crazy things, unless you're used to an eye-blinding amount of neon, robots, weird-ass technology, magic, and an omnipresent police force...and hey, if you are, congrats, you're gonna settle in juuuuust fine. But for the rest of you, the Head knows this has gotta be pretty overwhelming, right?

Well, since your quaint individual processing units are probably having a hard time, why not link up with another one? By which the Head means...

Hello, new citizens of Dualis,
and welcome to your monthly Network Adjacency Protocol~!

NAPs are a monthly community networking event similar to the Earth concept of speed dating! Two citizens (new arrivals and old hands alike) are placed at a table together with a handy cue card of queries to help break the proverbial ice. Ask queries and receive results, or ignore the card and yeet yourself straight into a brand new friendship! But don't be too shy, you've only got ten minutes together, and if you just sit in silence for the whole ten, the Network Admins are likely to come supervise and try to repair the uplink through a mild shock to the ol' central nervous system. You might find yourself saying all sorts of unintended facts about yourself if that happens...probably better to just make friends, right? Who doesn’t like friends?!

This month’s event is held at the brand new RoCocoa Cat Cafe, a sparkly new establishment that caters to children and the young at heart with iced and hot cocoa drinks of all kinds, delicious pastries, age-appropriate live music, and of course many friendly kitties who love to lounge in laps. The cats are of all shapes, sizes, and colors, including some who may look a little different from what you expect, or may look like an ordinary cat but are actually anything but ordinary underneath that adorable fur coat. All cats in the cafe are adoptable, too, if you meet a new furry friend and just can’t bear to go home without them!

So pull up a chair, get to know your new neighbors, and enjoy a sugary treat or two with the resident furbabies. You might just meet your new two- or four-legged best friend!

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He recognizes her even as he's walking to the table, and it definitely makes Nida hesitate. Chances are, this isn't the Wanda he knows. This isn't the Wanda Billy and Tommy know. This isn't the woman who was family to them and who they needed and who Nida had sat in his room after fucking up his ankle, drinking with the twins to try and provide some degree of comfort before there had been, well, something akin to a cuddle puddle at the end of a very tipsy night.

Chances were this wasn't the woman he'd wanted to go to and ask for advice on how to ask her not-son out, before she'd disappeared. Chances were when he sat down she wouldn't even know him.

Didn't matter, though. He wanted to make a good impression, because sooner or later Billy and Tommy would find her, and what she thought of him mattered.

"This is going to sound like a very strange question, and I know the answer is probably know. But is there any chance I look vaguely familiar to you. Maybe if you imagined a more military hair cut, took off the eye liner, shaved me?"

It's too much to hope for, Nida knows as he sits down. Far too much. But if it is her... oh boy the conversation they need to have. Mostly summarized as 'they're here and they need you'.

An odd disjointed amount of time had passed since she'd lived in the village. When she was first returned to Earth she had forgotten everything. Years had passed, five of which she had no memory of, and battles had been fought. There was finally calm and then she was brought here and the memories flooded back to her. It had hurt at first. Not remembering but realizing that she'd forgotten some of the most important people in her life. She never wanted to forget them ever again.

So when Nida began to ask if he looked familiar, Wanda didn't speak but studied his features. She tried to imagine him younger with the clean military cut that he was describing and like a final piece of a puzzle it all clicked into a larger picture.

"Nida? Is it really you?" Her accent was thinner than it had been before and she looked years older but she knew him. He was friends with her sons.

"Nida." Wanda disregarded the cards and leaned forward, hope and panic twisting equally in her chest. "Are they here too?" She almost didn't want him to answer but she needed to know and Wanda knew that Nida would have the answers.

It was her. Nida doesn't bother to hold back the relieved smile he offers her as he leans forward in his chair. This was good. This was very good. By the time she finishes her question, he's beaming.

"They are. It was bad when Observers took you away. I may have lifted some of Sam's vodka and got some beer from Bull. Sorry about the underaged drinking. We all needed something. Hyne above, Wanda, I wasn't sure how to help, sorta bad at that stuff. Lets see, that was back in February for them, so it was five months there without you. Then about two here. Give or take a little math."

For them being a telling phrase, in its own way. After all, he does look older, doesn't he? Picked up almost two years himself, but he managed, the best he ever could.

"Fuck, I want to text them right now, really. But I'm stealing you for a few minutes first. Better prep you because the old limits or whatever aren't here. They have their powers back, or some of them. So Tommy's always zipping around. Billy... Got to see some of what he does. Your boys are brave, Wanda. And amazing men. I'm privileged to know them."

There is far more, and definitely far more overt fondness in Nida's voice as he talks about the twins. Clearly things have changed since she saw him last.

Edited 2019-08-12 18:29 (UTC)

Her eyebrows furrowed at their center as her expression fell. "It's been that long?" She hadn't had a choice in the matter but she felt awful for leaving them. They might not be from her world but they would always be her sons.

"It's been... three or seven years for me. Depending how you look at it." Wanda ran her fingers through her hair and glanced around as if she was looking for her sons before turning back to Nida. "It's complicated. It's always so complicated." She hated it but that was in the past, all that mattered now was that her sons were here. She had to find them.

Wanda turned to Nida when he talked about stealing her and nodded her head. "Alright." She listened and felt herself smiling when she heard him talking about Tommy and Billy. "I'm happy that you were here for them. I wish I could have been." She closed her eyes and felt the lose of so many people crash against her. "What could I say to them now?" Wanda fought back the sudden urge to cry and steadied her nerves.

"Seven months, and I wasn't there for them."

Three or seven years? Nida doesn't even ask about how it's complicated, because it's not like it's simple for him either. His time has been weird. He's loved, he's lost, he's gained, he's chosen to live. But he's happy to see the force of her feelings, even if he doesn't smile.

"I... There were more there for me," Nida admits after a while. "Things happened, and I don't know that I would have made it through without them. Especially Billy. He's..."

Oh no, he can't help the smitten little smile. No, that isn't important. The important thing is helping her.

"Be there for them now. You couldn't control being taken away. None of us could. You can say you missed them, that you love them. And you could be there for your boys. Family matters."

So much. Nida's come to respect that even more.

"You're right." Wanda watched him with almost a knowing look. She had thought that there was some regard between Nida and Billy back when she'd lived in the village but it had only been an hunch then. Now she was sure that there was something more to it.

"You're very close to them, aren't you?"

Her smiled widened. "Maybe closer to Billy?"

Her expression was softer than it had been, as if her own sadness had been chased away by the thought that Billy, her son, might have found someone who made him happy. All a mother could ask for was that her children were happy. "I'm happy for you both." And she really meant it.

"I know that they're both strong but I bet you had something to do with that too."

She's sharp, and maybe Nida's obvious. He chuckles and nods. "Much closer to Billy. Our six month anniversary is on the fifteenth. Thanks, for... yeah. Sorta in love with him, which is weird because, you know, never experienced anything like that back home. But I had nothing to do with Billy's strength."

Really, he's going to NOT mention what Billy did the day of the explosion here. Because he doesn't want to worry her. Doesn't want to worry himself frankly. But Billy was a badass who didn't need anyone holding him up. Except for his twin, of course.

Wanda shook her head gently from side to side. "I hadn't experienced love when I lived in the village. Not like that." There were moments when Wanda thought she might, people she could have fallen for but the timing wasn't right. "I did feel it afterwards back home. It's a wonderful feeling."

She was really happy for them both.

"I'm just glad that they're okay and I get to see them again." She had no chance of having them in her world now. Vision was gone and Wanda didn't really understand how her alternate universe self had made Billy and Tommy in the first place.

She found love back home? That's good to hear. However, the reminder that going home was a thing makes him almost sad. Though he keeps smiling. There's nothing about home he wants, and he has a bad feeling that if Billy goes home, he'll lose his boyfriend.

"I'm glad you'll get to see them too," Nida answers, chuckling to himself. "Billy works at another coffee shop than this one. This city is full of them, bless. If he doesn't show up for this, send me a message and I'll be sure to send him up to your room to see you."

He will happily give up time with his boyfriend so the man can see his mother. Family comes first, both of them had agreed to that.

"How long have you been here?"

Wanda had loved and lost. Her story wasn't a happy one but she had no intention of placing the weight of that loss on Nida or her sons. It was something she had to come to terms with, just as she had with Pietro's death. Losing people was the hardest part of caring but Wanda now knew that she wanted a life with love, even if it couldn't last forever.

"I will do that but if his powers have returned as well, I think he'll find me." Their powers were similar in many ways and while Billy was from another universe, he was still her son.

"Not long. A few days. It was a surprise." She had needed time after everything that had happened and all the memories that had flooded back to her. "I live on the fifth floor. Room 504." Nida, much like her son's, was always welcome to stop by. She didn't know Nida well but Wanda had seen his effect on her son's even before she'd disappeared from the village and that had endeared him to her as well.

"What about you Nida? You've gotten older. What happened?" Wanda had aged but the biggest change wasn't marked on her skin. It was in the depth of her misty green eyes.

Frankly, Wanda would be surprised to find that Nida might be one of the people here that could most easily sympathize with her. Right down to having to be the one to kill the person they loved. But that's hardly the sort of thing that people share, right?

"I promise not to drop by randomly," Nida assures her. Not through the window or at the door. He knows he doesn't have that right. They hadn't known each other, Nida and Wanda, not really. Imposing on his boyfriend's sorta-mother definitely wasn't something he felt confident enough to manage. But he frowns at the question. Because it's a hard one.

The question brings a similar darkness to his own gaze, and he looks anywhere but at Wanda. When he should have been strong for other people, he'd fallen apart instead. It wasn't great to think about.

"I was home for a while. Gone from the village for less than three full days. A lot happened. It... A lot happened. I developed a great sense of fashion I suppose."

Wanda shook her head. "It's alright if you do. I miss the noise." The Avenger's headquarters had always been noisy and Vision was very bad at using doors. Even when she was on the run there was always a clamor of some sort with Steve or Natasha coming to check up on her. The village had been loud too. Wanda didn't know what she'd do with the silence. She didn't like it and it left her alone with her thoughts.

She smiled but the expression didn't fully reach her eyes. It was difficult after everything that had happened but she was trying her best and that much was obvious.

"You look nice. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two." Wanda always defaulted to wearing the same things.

"How long were you home?"

"Oh I probably can't," Nida grins, shaking his head. "I learned what looks good on me. That doesn't mean I could help a lady of your complexion. But you look good as you are."

Of course home is a mess, and mentioning it again he frowns. Looks down at his hands. "A year and a half. More than eight months of it on assignment, undercover. The fashion update was sort of needed. But I love my hair how it is. And the makeup is nice."

Wanda smiled. "Thank you for saying so." She'd never taken a lot of care in her appearance but she always liked the way she looked. The only time that Wanda had questioned her own self had been shortly after gaining her powers. She tried so hard to help people but failed, over and over again.

She wasn't done failing, that was simply part of living and trying, but she was done questioning her path. She would live, survive and protect those within her influence. She wasn't giving up anymore.

"Under cover as what?" Nida had said he was from a school? Wanda remembered a brief conversation but they hadn't talked about anything really concerning his world. It'd been very superficial and it'd been years ago. She didn't recall the specifics without using her powers to call the memory from her own mind.

"Trust-fund party animal," he admits with a chuckle. "Which, turns out, I really didn't like. Too many people, strange music, flashing lights, and spreading my gil around like I didn't have a care in the world."

None of it was Nida's scene anymore. Pun intended.

"Now I'm nothing more than a simple mechanic. Speaking of, have you gotten a job here yet?"

Was it wrong that he wanted to turn the conversation back on her? To learn more about the sorta-mother of his friends? Or really it was about the woman he'd been starting tot connect with back in the Village.

"I can imagine. Sounds exhausting." She'd heard stories from Avengers and others in the compound about Tony's wild life and ridiculous parties and sometimes just listening to the tale made her tired. In truth, it was too far removed from her own childhood for her to fully understand what it might be like.

It was a bit of a relief to hear that Nida didn't much care for it.

"I haven't but I have asked. There are two that I might take on part time. One involves me being away from the city for a few days but I don't know if I want to do that now that I know that Billy and Tommy are both here." Wanda hadn't decided what she was going to do yet.

"Both positions are protection. One is a government official and the other is protecting minors from cave-ins." Both jobs were relatively simple for Wanda and well within her comfort zone.

A protector? Interesting. Nida considers Wanda for a long moment and then nods. Yes, given what he knows of Billy and Tommy, he absolutely believes it of their mother. But honestly?

"In your position, I'd probably choose the miners. The government has had attacks on it recently, and people... they need looked out for in a different way. If there's a way you can protect people doing a difficult job, do it."

He definitely believes in protecting the weak people. People who couldn't help themselves. Still... it's the one clearly away from town.

"But I think they'd like you here more. It's not a situation I envy you."

"Yes but I want to know what the government is doing and the best way to do that is to be close. I can also work to prevent needless death." At least in theory. "Doing nothing or avoiding it means that nothing will change for the better."

So she'd likely do both, part time.

"I want to be here. For them. But I am glad that you're here for them too." She smiled at Nida just as the bell rang for the stupid game to continue. Wanda sighed suddenly feeling tired. "I'd like to see them. Do you mind if I go?"

That's... a really good point and Nida raises his eyebrows, nodding along to it. Got to give her all the credit there. In fact, he absolutely approves.

"Go, go. We'll catch up later," Nida promises her, grinning. "Enjoy the work. I've got to get myself another drink and continue mingling. It's saving me from a really nasty return client at the shop."

Edited 2019-09-09 02:25 (UTC)

"Thank you. I hope to see you again soon."

Wanda offered him a warm smile before rising and going to look for her son's. It'll be easier to find Billy over Tommy but she makes a note to find them both, first by inspecting those sitting at the table.

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kitty at my foot and i wanna touch it.

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