"Oh, I love peanut butter cookies. I could eat a hundred right now." Knockout bends over in front of Flicker and extracts a carton of milk from the cooler. She chugs it, a little bit of milk running out the side of her mouth.

She wipes it away. "Thirsty too. Guh. So uh, hi. Again." She smiles awkwardly. "I've been around novas before but that whole week's a blur."

"A healthy appetite is normal side effect of the nova condition." Just like that he went into clinical terms, and he internally chided himself. Then he noticed the view. Shiiiiiitttttt!!! He figured Flicker could read his gaze, if she wasn't watching what he was, and for a moment he didn't care. Sometimes a man just can't help but look and enjoy the view.

His eyes narrow slightly, their cerulean blue seeming to darken slightly.

"I made some peanutbutter cookies, help yourself to as many as you like, they're over on the table."

Dozer grabbed several more containers of Tiramisu and spoons out of the cooler, stood up and approached Knockout, Jael, and Daniel. "Hello. I'm Dozer. These are for you." He hands the Tramisu containers to Jael, Daniel and knockout, his gaze lingering on Knockout for a few seconds, before he shook his head and blinked several times, trying to clear the thoughts from his head. Damnit, she's way too young... but still... The steel coloration on his cheeks became brighter and developed a reddish tint. He tore his eyes away from Knockout and looked at Daniel. "Enjoy the Tiramisu and the rest of the snacks. "

Nova exchanged a glance with Ryusei, and by the look, it was obvious that they were both thinking the same thing.

"No need to hurry," Nova said, desperately trying to avoid giggling. "I mean, there's lots of time to hang out and meet everyone gradually today."

Despite the fact that it was a guy under that fantastic body, it was still, nonetheless, absolutely awe inspiring. As any man would do, he watched as Knockout bent to get the milk, blocking from his mind temporarily that it was a man in a lady's... fantastic... body.

After a few seconds of, well, being male, Praxis continued to pan his eyes over the group.

"Uhf."

Roxanne shook her head. "Nnf." She sniffed the air, and visibly quivered. "Uh, I've got - I - I'll be right back."

She pads off around the corner, looking visibly shaken.

God, the smells! Everyone - I think that's pheromones - I'm so - Mitch - I want - She rubbed her forehead, trying to reunited her scrambled thoughts.

Dozer looked over at Vixen as she walked away, and turned to the rest of those in attendance, "I'll be right back."

He hurried after Vixen, turning the corner not much after her. "Dr. Richardson... are you okay? Is something wrong? Anything I can help with?" He looked down at Vixen, his eyes seeking hers out. "Is it something you ate? I hope it's not the Tiramisu. That'd be bad."

"It's not the - " She catches herself. "Sorry. Not the Tiramisu, that's great, it's the smells of everyone, they're all getting so..."

I wonder if Mitch would be shocked if I brought someone home with me for a little bit of... no no no. Someone like Praxis, or maybe, haha, maybe Danielle no NO NO. I love my husband very much and I can't blow it with him but GOD all MIGHTY the pheromones are driving me NUTS

"Getting, uh... distracting." She flicks a couple of tails distractedly. "Very distracting. Oh yes." Flicker said she really wanted to NO NO NO she's seventeen for God's sake I have shoes older than her but GOD this is holy moley

Kazuo watches the reaction of the young nova (or is that, young Nova?), his keen eye (literally only one, in his case) noting her response to his proffered cigarette with some surprise. Kazuo’s not a real deep thinker, and while he’s not stupid (supposedly he has an IQ of, like, over 180 or something, but he’s never bothered to find out why this is something he should care about), his intelligence functions on a more subconscious, instinctive level. So it takes him a minute to consciously work out what it is that’s just happened here.
Then it hits him, this little bozu thinks he was offering her a cigarette so he could impress her! What am I? he thinks in fuckin’ high school again? Why the hell would I use a fuckin’ cigarette to impress a woman with? Nice to know you got such a high opinion of me, girl.

This little chica thinks that he, one of the world’s highest paid Elites, a former member of Team Tomorrow, one of Japan’s Most Eligible Bachelors, and one of the richest fuckers in the world is gonna try an’ impress some cancer-powered teenager with a Lucky 7?

That’s some funny shit right there!

Kazuo chuckles and grins as he shrugs and pockets his cigs again, deciding to let the matter go for now. When he was this girl’s age he thought the whole freaking world revolved around him, so he can’t really fault her. Plus, he has to admit that any bitch with an ego that big is either just that - a bitch - or someone who’s worth getting to know a little better. Kazuo decides he definitely likes this girl.

Hmmm he thinks Well, maybe I was trying to impress her then. He shakes his head and mentally laughs at himself. Then he turns and leans back against the railing next to where Nova is sitting, taking a long, satisfied drag on the 7, and pointedly not trying to impress her with superhuman reflexes that would make hers look like those of the gawky teenaged girl she undoubtedly was up until maybe a year or two ago. Then he just stands there and enjoys the same breeze that she’s (presumably) enjoying, not bothering to talk anymore. He never was much good at conversation anyway. Instead he takes a moment to observe the other novas gathered around, figuring that if his new flickering acquaintance wants to talk, then she will.

But she doesn’t, instead she hops off the railing to go and talk to -
Whoah! That is one nice-looking bijin!

Kazuo, who has no idea that Knockout is a guy is just about to go over and say hello, and probably embarrass the hell out of himself within a few short minutes of conversation, but then some girl drops out of the sky right in front of him. Which is pretty distracting. She says her name’s “jail” (Kazuo knew Americans were fucking weird, but he didn’t know they named their kids after places of incarceration), and that she’s got rolls and lemonade. Cool.
Kazuo doesn’t know what kind of rolls they are, but that’s alright, he’s only been dissed and dumped by one teenager today, so he might as well get started with all the others before the day gets old (man, Aušrine didn’t tell him this party was gonna be such a fuckin’ nursery school) and the rolls provide all the excuse he needs.

“Wussup”, he says as he walks up to Jael and reaches for her rolls. “Name’s Kazuo. Nice to meetcha.”

Aušrine had enjoyed the Hall of Fame, but that wasn’t why she’d come, so she’d made the whole trip as short as possible. She wasn’t really surprised when Kazuo opted out, but she was disappointed when he decided to leave all the same. Oh well. She just wished they had more in common sometimes.

Walking back to the gathering place, she’s surprised at how many new faces there are. How many attractive new faces there are! Both male and female. Well, that’s a gathering of novas for you. She homes in on the largest gathering of novas, the group of Flicker (whom she recognizes immediately), Ryusei, Knockout, Jael (whom she does not recognize), Daniel (she’s pretty sure that’s who it is), and (ah, there he is, and look, he’s making a fool out of himself again, isn’t he?) Kazuo.

Still in baseline-but-stunning-all-the-same-disguise Aušrine smiles as she reaches the gathering and says, “Hello there everyone! Sorry for showing up and then vanishing like that, but I’ve always wanted to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I didn’t know when I’d have the chance again.” To those who arrived after she left, she adds, “I am Aušrine Vasiliauskiute, by the way. So nice to meet you!”
Then she looks over at the table full of goodies and asks, “So, what’s good?”

Ryusei smiles warmly as Ausrine returns and joins the group. "Welcome back. This is actually my first time here in the continental United States, I figure I may try for some sightseeing later myself. As for what's good, I'd say just about everything. The Tiramisu is excellent."

Aušrine nods as Ryusei politely and thoroughly answers her questions. He certainly is a polite young man.

She gives the informal head-bow so common in casual conversations between the Nipponese and says, in near-perfect Nipponese, "Thank you, Hideyoshi-san. Speaking of excellent, your English is really very good for such a young man. I am very impressed. What school do you attend in... Tokyo, wasn't it? That is where Kazuo and I live."

"I believe I read that once in one of your posts. I attend Jindai Private Academy along with my eldest sister. As for my fluency in English, my parents saw the utility in teach each of their children English, and I have continued doing so with my siblings."

His Japanese is flawless, with no hint of any reginonal dialect.

"So how do you like Tokyo? The parks are beautiful right about now, with the cherry blossoms blooming and all, though it's nearly the end of that season."

At least I'm not the only one, Alexis sighed to herself. Away from Praxis and next to the harmless Miranda, Alexis was starting to relax. She even managed to taste some terramisu, nodding at the taste.

"How have you been, since Spring Break?" Alexis asked, careful to avoid a direct reference to the lost documentary but leaving it open if the other woman wished to talk.

“Wussup. Name’s Kazuo. Nice to meetcha.”

The voice pulled Jael's attention to the man standing next to her, reaching for the rolls. "Jael. Nice to meet you, too," she said. Since it looked like he was going for the entire bin of rolls, Jael deftly turned the plastic container to make it look like she was being generous, but in reality making it easier to take just one. She didn't have anything against Kazou, but the big, fat roll in the center had been made just for Praxis, and she'd come here prepared to defend the roll until she could hand deliver it to him. All without being apparent about it, of course.

However, she did have something against Kazou the second she saw his reaction to her reaction and she realized that he was better than her. It set her back immediately, and she forced herself to keep up the nice smile. Jael hadn't been around many novas, and she had gotten very used to being faster and better than those around her. Even Charles, despite being a nova, wasn't graced in the physical arts. Kazou was the first person since her eruption to remind her that she wasn't all that.

Jael snatched up a napkin and grabbed the roll that was for Praxis while Kazou was distracted with the roll he had gotten. Another few inches and he would have gotten the special roll, and Jael wasn't going to trust that he wouldn't take it too and put it in the hollow leg that most males had. "I'll be right back," Jael said, eyes scanning the crowd, lighting up when she saw Praxis.

She stepped away, leaving the rest of the rolls to the mercy of Kazou and moving toward Praxis with a smile on her face. When she got within ten feet of him, a distasteful sensation rolled up her spine, and Jael felt her smile falter. He must have an aura that creates an unpleasant area around him, she thought, failing to hide her disappointment well. Still, she’d come prepared and she stopped next to his bench and extended the roll. “I’m Jael. Here,” she said. “My mom’s secret recipe.” Without waiting for a response, she awkwardly said, “Enjoy,” and took off again, heading toward the other treats.

Halfway there, she ran into the same problem Vixen had: the miasma of lust and pheromones hit her and she staggered to a stop, her mind and body responding to the chemical stimulation. Unlike Vixen, she was already dealing with an overload of hormones from being a teenager. Whoa… That smells so good… Yummy. Someone smells yummy. Eyes glazing over, she turned toward the source of the scent, looking a little punch drunk. At the last second, she realized what she must look like, and she turned away, finding a bench and sitting down, trying to regain control.

"Keeping myself busy, mostly. Project's off, but I can use the footage for something else." She rubs her eyes. "Went and visited my mum and pa and my little brother for a bit. I really needed this. I needed to loosen up and Guinness doesn't cut it unless I guzzle a barrel full."

"Oh, Tokyo is very nice!", Aušrine answers, still in Nipponese, "I've lived there since 2002, and I love it. Even after all this time, I still find portions of the city that I've never seen before."

Then she realizes that she's fallen subconsciously into speaking Japanese while standing amidst a group of English speakers. How awkward.
Blushing a little, she looks at Nova and remarks, "Sorry, we did not mean to exclude any of you. You must be Flicker, yes?"
Then she turns and looks at the others gathered (excluding Kazuo, obviously) and says, "I am Aušrine Vasiliauskiute, for those who weren't here earlier when I first arrived, and I am very pleased to meet you all." Looking back at Flicker, she adds, "We've spoken in chat a few times now."

In between partaking of cookies, Knockout remembers that Ryu asked her a question.

"I've been... all right, I guess." She shrugs. "Adjusting. Well, kind of adjusting." She scoops up some wiggling Jello into a plate and eats at it with a spoon. "Mmf. Sorry. School's over and done with. Right now I'm just enjoying the money I had left, and trying to keep my roommate from killing himself, and figuring out what kind of job I want, and, you know. Stuff." She sighs. "Big sister's coming to visit me in a few weeks. That's going to be... fun."

She half-sits, half-collapses into a seat, looking a bit down.

"Sometimes we all go back to the language we know best, or at least enjoy..." He smiles politely and makes his way back to the table and occupies the same place he'd been seated before.

He looks to Knockout and passes the tin with the peanutbutter cookies in it to her. "Enjoy."

Still smiling he continues. "I can understand the sibling sentiment, though I'm the eldest of my family. What about your roomate, why would he want to kill himself?"

Alexis mulled over her thoughts for a moment before murmuring, "Have you considered the private sector? You'd be constrained, but someone like Devries or Layton Enterprises would love to have you on staff."

Kazuo watches Jael's reaction to his reaction to her reaction and (aside from getting a little confused while trying to keep all that straight) is ammused. "Jail" is apparently used to being the big fish in her little pond. Whatever. He just grabs one of the rolls, wonders briefly if it's the one she was trying to protect, and then takes a large bite out of it.

Kazuo can't believe it, another teenager just ditched him! He must be losing his edge or something.

The "quantum-enhanced physical aesthetics" of novas like Jael, Praxis, and his own partner Aušrine have about as much of an effect on Kazuo's mind as the local highway speed limit has on your average Californian driver's tendency to drive really stinking fast. Kazuo sees it, mentally he can acknowledge it's there, he can even appreciate it on a conscious level, but he doesn't have to slow down for it unless he wants to.
So the fact that he's being ditched for the super-fine Quantum Hotness that is Praxis totally escapes him. All Kazuo sees is some moody, pretty boy bishonen aristocrat, trying to look as disinterested as possible while covertly checking out every girl at this little party (not that Kazuo blames him or anything).

"Jail" gives Praxis his own personal roll, Kazuo realizes that he just got ditched a second time so that this girl could go feed her crush, and then "Jail" starts wandering back towards the tables looking simultaneously disturbed and all sexed up. This is a look that Kazuo is more than familiar with, having spent quite a lot of time around Aušrine over the years, so he has an idea of what's going on now.

Still munching on his roll, which is pretty damned good, Kazuo flicks away his used up 7 and strolls over towards the girl. He sits down perfunctorily next to her, and then takes another bite of his roll, not looking at her or even acknowledging that she's there. Kazuo believes in handling one thing at a time whenever possible, and right now he's enjoyin' his roll, dammit.
Swallowing, Kazuo finally turns towards Jael and speaks.

"That look on your face just now, girl... You aint really been around a lotta our kind before, have ya? Hittin' you pretty heavy between the eyes, aint it?"

"Shut. Up," Jael growled, her head in her hands. She was trying to fight back the libido soaring through her. "This has nothing to do with sight. Can't you smell it?

"Fuck it." Jael yanked out her cell phone and called Charles. "Hey, yeah. I need some help," she said when he answered.

"Are you calling me from Cleveland?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Are you alone?"

"No."

He sighed. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"I can smell desire, Knockout is here and I've got a guy hitting on me."

"Praxis or Daniel?"

"Neither. Kudzu."

"That's a plant, dear."

"Um... right." Jael looked at Kazuo. "What's your name again?"

Kazuo sort of leans away from Jael in mock surprise as she snaps at him. Then he holds up her roll, smiles at her, and says, "it was a metaphor. Like if I compared this rapidly disappearing roll you gave me (which is pretty damn good, too) to my chances of leaving this party with someone other than Aušrine, yeah? And no, I can't smell 'it'." Turning to look over the roll and find the perfect spot to bite into he adds, "don' need to smell it to know it's there, though", and then he finds that perfect spot and dives in.

Kazuo stops smiling after Jael's outburst, but he keeps right on munching on his "rapidly disappearing roll", turning it into an "entirely gone roll" right about the time that Jael turns to him and asks his name.

Kazuo turns and looks at her, seeming to consider something, then he says, "you mispronounced it. It's pronounced kuzu, and it's good for gettin' rid of hangovers. Won't do a thing for what you got."

Kazuo then tries to smile winningly at her but, being Kazuo, it probably looks more like a leer or something (that dead eye of his never helps in these situations either), and adds, "my name's Kazuo. Jail."

"It's Ja-EL. Two syllables. You know what syllables are, right?" Jael grunted, turning back to the phone. "He's Ka-zu-oh."

"Huh, don't know him..." She heard computer keys click. "Oh, interesting. An elite and a warper."

"Fascinating," Jael deadpanned. "Now, about what I've got..."

"Oh, yes. Block your nose. This is one of those times I can't help you," Charles replied. "Eat a hot pepper to block the scents. Or something like that. You can figure it out, Jael."

As he hung up, Jael sighed to herself. What he'd been trying to tell her was that he was afraid to help her, afraid that someone would figure out he was a nova. Which left her on her own, needing a way to block the scent of hormonal sex in the air, at a pastry party without a spicy, tongue-numbing dish in sight.

Then she remembered some of the other things that block scent. "Hey, Ka-zu-oh. Can I have a cigarette? Please?" Her tone was much nicer this time.

"I guess I'm pretty easy to recognize," Nova said, not boasting but instead giving voice to the obvious. "Good to meet you too Aušrine." She glanced at the container she'd brought, and saw that the double-chocolate-chip cookies were all eaten.

"Maybe later we can talk where it's quieter?" Nova asked, trying her best to draw as little attention as possible to the question.

"He's not TRYING to, he's just... he's not DUMB? But I don't think he really thinks about death. He's wanted to be a nova since he was twelve. And he hasn't erupted yet, but he hasn't died a stupid death either so he keeps saying he's got mega-won't-die-until-eruption powers. Well, he did, now he thinks he can make other people novas. Ugh, crumbs."

Knockout brushes her hand across her chest. "Anyways, he thinks he can just go 'zap, you're a nova.' Like the thought of someone going around and making people erupt all by themselves is even possible. So now he's trying to use it to get laid with women who are going out with other men. I think the men won't like that much."

"Hmmm. I thought about it, but the contracts sounded intimidating. But tell me, what'd be involved in me doing such a thing? I mean - hold on." Miranda brushes her hand over a wing, loosening a stray feather and holding it out. "There. Here, keep it, I've plenty more. Now where was I... ah yes, what'd be involved? I'd just fly around and... what?"

Okay. Okay. I'm a little further away. I'm okay. Nothing's driving me insane. I don't feel the urge to have sex with anyone here -

A sudden gust of wind made Roxanne wince. OH GOD oh God yes I do dammit I wish the smells would just go away...!

A ripple washed across Roxanne's fur for just a moment. She blinked. "Faded. For just a second. They..."

Another gust, and her eyes shoot wide. C'mon block out the scents block them out just block it block it block it...

Roxanne's face changes shape. Her snout retreats, resolving itself into a normal nose and mouth. Her ears soften and migrate down to the sides of her head. Her fur retreats into her flesh, leaving pales skin behind. And her tails retreat through the hole in the back of her dress. Her hair is still white, her eyes a deep emerald green, but in all other respects, Roxanne looks totally human.



"Ah..." She looks down at herself, clamping both hands over her mouth, then poking at it. "Ah?" She wiggles the toes on her bare feet. "Oh... oh my."

"S'what I said. Jail, neh?" Kazuo gives Jael a look and thinks shit, busu's nose might be somethin' special, but she needs t'clean out her ears.
Realizing that this chic's giving out his name to some stranger on the other end of the phone, Kazuo suddenly becomes much more serious, and makes no bones about the fact that he's listening to what Jael has to say. He's not concerned that anyone's going to find out anything about himself that he doesn't want 'em to know, but it still irks him that this busu is fishing for facts on him right in front of him. Fighting dirty, neh? Fighting dirty.
Kazuo wants to know what this girl's deal is, cos she's got this look on her face while she talks to whoever-it-is on the phone, like an addict trying to get a fix from a suddenly stingy dealer. Seriously unattractive is what it is.

She hangs up the phone, sighs, and then, of all the things she could do or say, asks him (nicely, even!) for a fucking cigarette. Hey! Maybe these goddammed things'll actually get him somewhere afterall! Yeahrighteveniftheydidnthedstillsmokeemanywayssowhatever.

Kazuo pulls out his 7's, hands one to Jael, puts one to his own mouth, then hands her his zippo. Once she gives it back to him, Kazuo flics it lit, brings it up to his cig, and then somehow manages to say, "you know, Ja-EL...", while simultaneously puffing his cigarette to life.

He takes a minute to blow some smoke into the midday air, and then he continues. "...I actually tangled with Totentanz once. Didjer friend tell you that?", he asks rhetorically. "The thing about going up against that guy is, you can't see 'im, you can't hear 'im", Kazuo looks over at Jael to make sure she's listening and throws in, "maybe you could smell 'im, but I couldn't."
"He just comes at you outta nowhere an' all of a sudden you've got this big, cold metal shaft stuck up yer chest an' yer lookin' down atta fuckin' spearhead coming out yer sternum, and a big red stain creepin' down yer 'fiber. Pretty much sucks, lemme tell ya."
"And the whole time this shithead's muttering in fuckin' German too (I don't speak that shit though, so don't ask me what he was sayin'), which is just weird, yeah?"
"Now, I'm sure I don't havta tell ya, I lost. Big T kicked my ass, and then he left me fer dead. I went down like a Thai ladyboy and was bleedin' all over the earth before I even knew what'd happened. But hey, no big deal, right? That's what happens when you go up against Big T; he's the Wolf, the rest of us are just Rabbits, yeah? I should just consider myself lucky to still be alive, right?"

Kazuo gives Jael a hard look for a second, and then he snaps, "Fuck that! He aint no wolf, and I aint no fuckin' rabbit! He's just some shithead who hits you with the lowblow when you aint lookin'."
"And after I got back the fuck up, you know what I didn't do?"
Kazuo doesn't wait for a response, he just continues, "I didn't go runnin' to Mommy or whoever for help, that's what I didn't do! I was a badass motherfucker before I got this cancer in the head", he says, pointing right about where his node would be, "an' I'm still a badass motherfucker now that I do got it! Superpowers don't mean shit, girl, an' I don't need no help to deal with 'em. I warped my carcass around that freaky fucker, got my man out, and I got paid."
"I thought you were the same, Ja-EL. When I saw how you went right for yer man over there", he says, pointing at Praxis, "homed right in on your target - your prey - I thought you were the sort who could work her own shit out. I thought you were a wolf. But now I don't know."
"I asked if you'd spent any time around other novas earlier, cos you just got hit with the lowblow from some shitheads just like Big T, and now you're down fer the count, but you don't seem to realize it yet."
"And what