After Work Meeting

[Wanda Maximoff]

Wanda was getting out of a gig in the early evening, and she was hungry. She had had multiple gigs today, and while it meant a nice paycheck, she was tired. Not looking where she was going, she bumped straight into a man walking by. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said, mortified.

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::Karl had been walking down the street after a long, hopeless assessment session which had led nowhere. He was tired and a bit irritated, and then someone slammed into him instead of watching where she was going. She was apologetic, which was a start, and she also did not immediately remark upon the fact that he was green, which was also a point in her favor. Stepping back, he noticed that she was a magician, or at least dressed that way; perhaps she was a call girl.:: "It's all right."

[Wanda Maximoff]

"Are you all right?" She asked, concerned. "I hope I didn't hurt you or anything." Even though he was bigger than she was, she was bony... She saw that he was green, so he was a mutant.

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::She was the first person that Karl had seen in a while who had any sense of decency when it came to streetwise mistakes. He stepped back, giving her some room.:: "No, I'm not hurt. Are you?"

[Wanda Maximoff]

"Oh, no, not at all," Wanda assured him. "I've just been out of it because of the gigs I had to work today," she admitted. "I'm a magician's assistant." Her dress made it kind of obvious, but she felt that he might confuse her for some...kinky call girl or something.

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::That explained the outfit; so she wasn't a call girl after all. Karl nodded slightly.:: "At the club down the street?"

[Wanda Maximoff]

Wanda nodded at that. "Yeah, we had three gigs tonight," she admitted. "It's a long day's work." It was a long day spent under hot lights and helping Max with the show, but she enjoyed it. "I'm Wanda, by the way." She held out her hand to introduce herself, thinking it best to be polite.

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::Karl reached out and took her hand with his large green one. His fingernails had been growing out, and so he was careful not to scratch her.:: "I'm Karl."

[Wanda Maximoff]

"It's nice to meet you, Karl," Wanda said. "Even if I had to bump into you first." And that was true; his mutation looked very interesting. When she touched his hand, it was somewhat coarse.

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::After a brief shake, Karl pulled his hand back. Remembering his manners, he said,:: "It's nice to meet you too."

[Wanda Maximoff]

"What an interesting mutation you have," Wanda remarked, stating the obvious. "I have a family member named Raven whose mutation is similar. Only her eyes are yellow, and her skin is dark blue."

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::Karl managed not to make a noise of irritation, but his nostrils flared. He didn't need to be told that there were other mutants out there with physical mutations; he was already aware, and he did not need his appearance used as a conversation piece.:: "Look, I'm sure you're trying to be nice, but I don't need anyone remarking on what I look like or how I might remind them of family members or people they went to school with."

[Wanda Maximoff]

"I'm sorry," Wanda said, flushing. "I was going to say that mine's not so obvious, but it comes in handy for my job. I really meant no offense by that, Karl, I'm sorry."

[Doctor Karl Lykos]

::She apologized and stepped back from the remark, which was more than most of the population; Karl decided that she was more self-aware than most other people and appreciated that. She also mentioned that she was a mutant, which earned her a nod.:: "It's fine."

[Wanda Maximoff]

"Karl, would you like to go get a cup of coffee down the street with me?" Wanda asked, wanting to talk to him more, but not wanting to hold him up on the street like this. "I don't mean to be forward or anything, but I'd like to keep talking to you, and I need a cup of coffee or two before I can drive home."