Look Behind You! (Samuel Grayson/Nicole Avifana)

God, he really was just tugging on her heartstrings, wasn't he? She feels her jaw tighten as he explains his living situation, and how he 'avoids' the actual alignment disfiguration she's trying to warn him about. She doesn't push, however, looking to the ground for just a moment. "I-- well." She sighs. "I really don't mind helping you out, if that's why you're hesitating, but, uhm-- sure. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" She tilts her head nervously, wringing her fingers for a moment more before shaking the feeling off. Alright. Just focus on the present.  As he explains more and more, her concern really doesn't cease in the slightest. She, in fact, feels it start to compound on her-- jesus. This is why she can't watch those like sob story commercials on TV. They get her every time, just like this has. Where was he two years ago? Why did he start sleeping on the streets? Was he kicked out? A thousand questions with no answers ran through her head, as she finally just sighs. He's absolutely vehement to the idea, and it's kind of annoying, but then again, having something like this pushed on you all the time could also probably be annoying as well. So, she lets it go for now, looking a glance for a moment.

She does look back towards him, however, as he begins to tell her more about himself. "Ah-- the circus? That's super interesting! Are-- American circus's different from the others? I grew up in the Philippines, and then moved directly here, so-- haven't really seen a circus in the USA. College and, other things." She replies, her ease growing as she goes on a back and forth with this individual. She blinks, thought, still. Nicole finds herself at a loss for words as he says that last part, looking away for just a moment. That hurt her heart, honestly. But she didn't know how to approach it. She'd already done what she could without being rude. The silence seems to settle in for a moment, with her being unable to do much beyond investigate the floor, until he spoke.

"Oh! No, we don't need to get takeout, unless-- are you hungry? I'm sure I have leftovers at home..." She mutters to herself, now finding her brain focused on other things. She's cooked recently, right? And-- oh god, the place is a mess, she's sure-- she didn't expect anyone over. Oof. She puts on a brave face, however, tightening her jaw. A messy, ugly apartment is much better than him staying on the streets. She decides this, quickly, in her head, and starts walking-- presuming the other will follow. "You're fine, I promise. You-- really shouldn't talk about yourself so negatively." She speaks this as she looks out to the city's street signs. "Someone who's chosen to be a hero is already a good person to have around, in my book. The world always needs more good guys, you know?" She comments idly, putting her hands in her jacket pockets.

The walk back to her place is mostly filled with some idle chatter, like her listing off some nice hospice's she knows-- or something that happened back at the lab. She's apparently also a scientist, maybe? She doesn't really explain much beyond these awkward stories to fill the void of silence. Sure, she's a little bit more comfortable, now, but that doesn't change the fact that a little bit more comfortable for Nicole might as well be worried for others. She keeps a constant lookout, but the walk back is surprisingly peaceful-- beyond the loud base of the clubs they pass and the people loudly chatting amongst them-- the streets were alive, for sure, but they were as peaceful as they could be. Nicole kept her head down, for the most part, occasionally looking up to check the cross streets. But the walk was automatic, easy for her-- her quick pace a sure sign of it. Eventually, they'd make their way back to a residential area, and she pulled the keys to the lobby out, fiddling for a moment, and held open the door. "Uhh-- would? Would you mind pressing the elevator up for me? We're on floor 7. Apartment 7D." She states, her voice clear but her mind elsewhere. She hopes she didn't leave laundry out? No, no, she ran to the laundromat's yesterday. She put up her clothes, yea? Yes. Of course she did. She's not a heathen. After he get's through the door, she moseys on in, and moves to press the elevator button out of habit. After presumably seeing that the other probably already pressed the button, like directed, she just gives a sheepish smile. "Uhm... Well. Yea. Sorry." Once their ride came, she found interest looking about the elevator, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She didn't think this through. She really didn't think this through and thinking things through is her thing. However, she doesn't have very much time to concern herself, as the elevator arrives, and she hustles over to open the door before she can freak out much anymore. "Uh-- would you mind waiting a second? I need to see if the place is a mess."

Quickly, without really giving him much time to respond, she slips away and lets the door close. Okay-- hallway. Not awful. She readjusts the shoes at least 3 times, however, before slipping off her own shoes of the evening, and starting the readjusting all over again. She flitters all about the house, moving to fix the smallest details for quite some time, until she makes it to the bathroom and idly checks her phone. Fuck. She left the poor guy out there for 6 minutes. Jogging through the apartment, she makes a quick update text to her roommate: 'Invited someone over on impulse. Sorry!' which got her an emoji in response. It's fine, she knows it's fine, but still. Quickly, she opens the door wide, and gives a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that! Just wanted to make sure the place was clear. Feel free to come on in!" She nods, the hand on the doorknob continually twisting it. "Uh. My roommates in her room, probably, so questions might want to be asked a little quietly. Sorry, if, ahm, this is awkward, or-- anything, also!" She lets the door close behind her, practically pushing the boy around as she ushers him to the little quaint, TV-less livingroom. Admittedly, it looks more like a study lounge, with all the official looking books and the impressive desk facing the window. "Uh, take a seat-- do-- can I get you anything? Oh, oh, shoot, sorry, do you mind taking your shoes off? I'm sorry, I pushed you around there, ah-- we try to keep shoes off around the apartment."

Throughout the walk back to Nicole’s place Sam mainly listened to what she had to say with a bright smile on his face. He’d add in a few comments here and there, showing he was interested in what she had to say, which he really was. He didn’t get to have casual conversations very often and he loved to hear about people’s lives and what they do and what they know. It was interesting! It was fun. He wanted to ask more about the lab, but he could wait until they were back in her apartment for that. He didn’t want to press too much, especially while they were in public. He didn’t accidently say anything that could give away who she was or that she had any sort of ability. He wasn’t sure how the lab tied into that exactly, but you could never be too sure. If he found a chance to talk at all during the walk to her apartment he’d probably note the nice weather, the beautiful day, or make a small joke in regards about one the…stranger looking people that could usually be found in the streets of New York. The leatherjacket wearing mohawk teen, or a large man in a dress, or anything like that they may have passed (I have seen weird things in the streets of New York, I don’t know if you have too). It was a crazy world after all, though…Sam supposed he was probably crazier given his ability.

When they arrived at her apartment Sam happily pressed the button without question. He didn’t ask why she couldn’t or anything of that sort, he was just happy to help. There was probably a good reason for it anyway and he trusted her judgement. She lived here after all, for all he knew this was part of some code or…rule or etiquette he wasn’t aware of. When they arrived at her door all he could only chuckle as she rushed into her home to clean it up for him. He wanted to say there was no need to, but she was already gone. At the very least, he would’ve liked to help her out, he’d just have to repay her some other way. As he waited he just leaned against the wall, looking around and enjoying the scenery. He wasn’t used to places like this, he was used to alleyways and broken-down houses and things like that. This was really nice. As he looked around he noticed he was frowning though, for some reason. He felt…sad, but wasn’t sure why. He shook his head and brought the smile back. He just was caught off guard by Nicole’s kindness and all that, that’s all. It was that simple. With all this…her kindness, her nice home, and just the way she was, Sam was impressed. How did she do it all? How did she manage all of this? For that matter, how did she have a roommate and still be a hero. Wouldn’t the roommate have found out about the powers by now? It was no matter…there was were other more pressing matters at hand.

He adjusted his jacket a bit, trying to flatten it out and make it look nicer. He wanted to try and make a good impression for Nicole. He knew he wasn’t the best dressed person and he didn’t know much about proper etiquette for being invited to someone’s home, he really wasn’t used to it and he…he was nervous. He wasn’t used to this at all. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to neaten it. His pants were fine, no stains on the black pant legs, his blue undershirt was clean. The only thing that really needed attention was his jacket, which was old, and it had shown. He had it for such a long time. What was he doing here? He was not in the right place at all. Though…Nicole was kind and he wanted to stay for her. He wanted to get to know her and, well, be her friend. He needed those.

As Nicole came back out, Sam waved a hand. “Ah! No worries at all! I would’ve helped if you had given me the chance to offer.” He chuckled cheerfully. She was a real funny one, and Sam loved that.  As he was basically pushed in he looked around and was…just blown away by the home. It was pretty! It was really cozy and nice, and despite Nicole’s rapid cleaning job, it was really tidy. Sam had really spent too much time in the alleyways. He wasn’t used to home life. He hadn’t been for some time. This was all so…cordial. He looked over his shoulder at her, a kind and genuine smile on his face. “This is really nice, Nicole. You have a really beautiful home. I can tell you put a lot of work into making this a home.” He went to reply to her offer for her to get him anything, but looked down at his shoes. “Oh shoot! I’m so sorry!” He quickly moved back to the door of the apartment and took of his shoes, leaving his feet in two clean black socks. “I don’t need anything, but thank you so much! Can I do anything for you?” He called back. He made his way back into the main room and smiled at her. Part of him regretted his offer. He was so used to doing that, offering other people stuff. He was pretty sure it was rude as well to offer someone something while in their own house, or maybe not? He wasn’t sure.

Sam made his way over to a seat and say himself down, sitting up straight, trying to look, well…presentable. Proper. He felt like he should put in an effort being in such a nice house. “Sorry.” He chortled. “I know this is your place and you invited me in, but I couldn’t help but try and offer ya something. I am happy to help you however I can though, I owe ya that much for all the kindness you’re giving me.” He folded his hands together, resting them on the table, still trying to seem proper, though it was obvious he wasn’t too familiar with the proper way to…look proper. His home was a dumpster after all. He let out a breath and looked at her. “Say! I did want to ask ya back out there, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good place.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Well…” His voice went down low into a whisper, knowing the roommate was just in the other room. “You said you were a hero, right? Well…I know you were mentioning a lab. Are you a scientist? Is your power related to intelligence or something? I was really curious about it!” He shifted slightly in his seat, trying to get comfortable, but he wasn’t used to not leaning in a chair. It had become a habit for him. “If you’re not comfortable with answering no worries! I have plenty of other questions. Oh!” He hit the side of his head. “Sorry! If you want to know anything about me! Ask away! You can go first! Sorry, I was getting ahead of myself.”

"No, no-- it's fine! You're a guest, you don't need to clean my space. That's beyond rude of me, if I were to even ask it of you, y'know?" She rambles, the energy still bouncing through her as she remains standing. She can't help but laugh a bit when he asks to help. She feels a bit rude, giggling with her hand hiding her mouth. "I-- no-- it's fine-- you don't have to do anything, I promise." She shakes her head as she moves to join him in being seated after looking about the place in a fuss. As he apologizes again, she looks aglance, idly scratching at her wrist. "Well, I mean-- I promise you, it's no big deal. It was nice of you to offer, I'm sorry for making you feel pressured to do something, I guess? Uh-- well." She fidgets now, giving a little sigh as the conversation shifts-- if they kept at this, she has a feeling they'd both be apologizing for years, or something silly like that. "Oh! Uh, well-- I'm a... Head lab assistant, for now-- I'm working my way up! I help directly with dissection and other really cool data processing stuff." She rambles for a bit, before blinking at his question and shaking her head.

"No, no." She speaks softer now, scratching at her wrist. "Uh-- no, not super intelligence, aha. She idly wrings her hands. "So like, uh-- after I finished my bachelors, I was working as an assistant for the same professor I do now, and-- we were going to my home country, the Philippines, to explore the Luzon for some study on rainforest preservation. We were travelling through with our guide, and..." She pauses, seeming to think it through as she reminds herself once more to speak softly. This story is always a weird thing for her, even though she's beyond sure it happened. She idly looks out towards her bookshelves, furrowing her brow. "I got lost? I can't quite remember exactly how I got separated from everyone, but, I did. And, uh-- so I was trying to find my way back, when I saw-- uh-- poachers, I think? And-- and this bird-- which, I, at that time, really just thought it was an unidentified species. To-- to make a long story short, I found a way to temporarily get the poachers stuck, and, uh... The bird, gave me powers?" She chuckles awkwardly, glancing down. "It was, uh-- a bird from Philippine folklore." She explains, her left knee bouncing. She shakes off the strange feeling of retelling that story-- it's not often people ask 'where' she got her abilities from, but more so 'how' they work. She supposes the how is more useful for tactical reasons. "But, uh-- were you born with the ability to make portals, or?" She asks, idly tilting her head.

Sam continued to listen intently as Nicole went on about her knowledge, her work, and the background of her powers! Especially the background of her powers. His eyes lit up as she told him the situation leading up to that. It was incredible! He had known several heroes had gotten their powers through them being granted to the hero, but Sam never actually heard a story about it! It was better than he could've imagined, simple, but it still caught his fancy. He was really into it, and it showed on his face. Most of Sam's reactions and emotions could be read easily, whether that be a good thing or bad thing, he wasn't sure. He probably didn't even know he did it. Either way! By the end of talking he clapped his hands together once, not in an applause sort of way or making a loud sound, a single clap, just pleased with what he heard and then smiled brightly at her.

"That's really amazing Nicole!" He said with that kind and genuine tone he had. "Like...you're the head lab assistant, you're really smart, and ya got all them degrees! Whether you accept or not, you're just really smart and that's...that's..." He thought for a moment trying to put the words together correctly. "Like...I'm special cause I got my portals and everything, right? Well, even without your powers you'd still be amazing. You got that really smart brain of yours, you don't need your powers to be special! Ya got that on your own!" He chuckled a little bit, he wasn't sure why, he just did. "You managed to do all this on your own and become really smart because of you, not because of some power! That's really super cool! If you're not already, you should be proud of yourself!" He smiled fully now, showing off some, surprisingly, white teeth!

However, the smile seemed to lose some of its gusto at her question. He didn't stop smiling, but it lost some speed. Whether she'd be able to pick up on it being her question or not and not just a normal softening, well, that was up to her. He had to think on how put how he got his powers. He only had to explain a few times and it wasn't something he understood, rather...he let out a breath. "Uhhh, my powers sorta...showed up one day. I don't even understand how I got them. The first time I used them it was just an accident." He gave a small shrug. "Ya see, I used to work at circus, not sure if mentioned that, and I was practicing my acrobatics." As he spoke he could picture himself back there, under that big red tent, all the sounds and music playing. "Well...luckily there was only a few people around, no patrons, we were still setting up that day. Well...I was up on the high wire, working on balancing when all of a sudden, the safety net below snapped. Someone didn't tie well enough, but we never found out who and it was never a problem after that. So...I got nervous. I had always had the net under me and I guess I choked and tripped." He laughed, somehow this had been funny to him. "I used to work terribly under pressure, but Boss-Man got that out of me. So anyways, I was falling and all of a sudden a whole opened right to where I was gonna land and instead it launched me towards a stack of loose hay. It was still a rough landing and really hurt my back, but I was okay. After that, well, I learned I had powers and I just worked on them till I got here." He nodded, concluding the story. "It's been an interesting run since then."

He leaned back on his chair, wanting to go on the hind legs of them, but that'd probably be rude so he didn't. "So! With your abilities what can ya do? Do you have a hero name or something? I didn't know I needed one when I started so...well, I am just Samuel Grayson. It's really cool a powerful bird thought you were worthy enough to get powers. especially a bird from a folklore that turned out to be true! You keep getting better and better! Next you're gonna tell me you're part of a group of heroes and fight crime and stuff!" He chuckled knowing there was no such group like that, despite wanting there to be something like that. It would be rad as heck if there was such a group, but alas...there was not. To Sam's knowledge, which turns out isn't that big.

She smiles, giving him the same politeness he did when she spoke. At the compliments, however, she looks a little awkward, her hands wringing as she tries to figure out the exact words to say in response. She's never been good at talking. Or receiving compliments. She surely knows she's smart, yes, but-- acknowledging it? Vocally? It's always a bit nerve wracking. "I, ah-- thank you." She offers awkwardly. It almost reminds her of going back home, on the rare occasions  she gets to fly back. The praise and the not knowing what exactly to do about the praise. She feels her cheeks redden a bit as she looks over to one of the book shelves, suddenly looking through it with particular interest.
"Yeah. Thanks." She repeats again, after trying to take a moment to figure out what exactly to say before the conversation was shifted to his story.

She blinks in interest-- the circus? She has to wonder entirely what the circus in America is like. She'd really never gotten to go whenever she lived in the city for school back home, and most things of the like wouldn't even consider stopping by her hometown, and in NYC there's no way she'd even have the time for something like that. Her eyes spark with a bit of interest, now, as she starts to consider everything that's been laid out for her: one, are his powers naturally triggered in high stress circumstances? And with, mathmatically, just about a near endless point of coordinations to send the other portal to, what part of his brain decided the hay subconsciously? Is it a meta-gene power? Then, of course, there's the question of whether opening portals spikes that same amount of pressure and then the entire side thought of circus training and what that entails-- she takes a moment to let all these questions wash over her, and she instead simply says:
"I don't think I've ever been to the circus. It must take a lot of fortitude, I imagine. Though, uh-- what you just said implies you don't know a lot about the origin or the, ahm-- limits, of your abilities?" She tilts her head in interest. "Sorry, it's just-- as a biologist, the meta gene and the like always interest me a lot. The physiological structure and just simply how it works, you know?" She seems to light up in thought at an idea. "Oh! Next time you're around the city, you should tell me and I'll see if I can reserve some lab space in one of the Meta Power Testing buildings around the city, and we can maybe run some tests? I'd have to figure out exactly what we're doing, and of course I'd run over it with you in full and I could even probably request a physician come in and regulate the work." She looks beyond passionate, a stark contrast to the half empathetic story given about her powers.

When it comes back to her abilities, she blinks. "Oh, well, uhm. Mostly crowd control. Sleep, paralyzation, minor healing. I did, uhm, get a bit of a boost in my athletic skills?" She shrugs. "Nothing too impressive, but if you can do more to help people, you should, you know? There's enough bad guys as it is."

Sam gave a small shake of his head at her question. "I-uh...yeah, don't really know much about my power and how it works or how I got it. Like, I know the moment I got it, but...I just don't get it? It's like...whistling? Or...hmmm..." He thought for a few moments, trying to think of the right words to explain. It wasn't easy, it wasn't something he actually explained a lot. It was a perk of living in a society full of heroes. If you had powers people just assumed you got them somehow or were born special, only a few, at least in Sam's experiences, asked directly about how they came to be. "It's like how you know how to ride a bike. You just get on and start peddling? It's just something I can do without really thinking about it. Besides the exhaustion that comes with it there doesn't seem to be any negative health effects, I don't usually get sick and I don't think I got any mental problems. So, I never really thought of searching for answers myself. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to know, but...well, I'm not really the brightest, so I don't think I'd be able to figure it out."

He shook his head again. "You don't have to be sorry about asking! It's nice to talk about other people's interests! I would love to talk to you more about it. I doubt I'd be able to keep up, but I'd be happy to listen. I would love to stop by your lab and test things out, see how it all works! That would be wonderful!" He smiled brightly at her, a big genuine smile! "It would be nice to actual learn how it works, might be able to improve it and save more people if I do. That'd be nice. Of course, I'd be tired more, but it'd be worth it, ya know?" He rubbed the back of his head, leaning back in his chair.

At least...until she started to talk about her powers. He straightened right up and his eyes seemed to shine with a new life! A big bright flame in his eyes! He hung on every word she spoke as she went over her powers. "That's incredible!" He declared enthusiastically, though made sure to keep it in a quiet tone so her roommate wouldn't here. He didn't want to blow her cover after all. "Is that what ya did to the guy who stole your purse before? I didn't think it was a power at first, but that would explain it! It's awesome that you use that for good, being a hero and everything! You're still amazing without it, but like, you're doubly amazing now! I don't think I'd stand a chance against you in a spar or anything of that sort. How did you get your powers? Some science thing?" He leaned back in his chair, starting to think on her power and the applications of it. It was nonlethal, she could stop villains, she could heal good guys, she was better at athletics, and she was super smart. She was like...the perfect build for a hero! She could easily be one of the strongest heroes in the city. He had no chance of comparing to her, but it was incredible that he could meet her and get to know her like this. "Also!" He started, still grinning wide. "How do you balance hero work with a normal life? I could never really manage both and I've always wanted to know how other heroes do it. I don't think I could live a normal life at this point, but I'm still curious as to how you do it!"