“Come on! Of course I’m old enough I just forgot my ID. You know I can drink so just give me the beer.” She was getting nowhere with this hard ass. Christ all she’d wanted was a drink and and a place to relax after getting into the city, but of course this weird country thought 21 was a good age for a drinking limit. It was maddening being here sometimes, even if she was finally free from her grandmother, there were so many more stupid rules she had to follow

“No dice kid. No ID, no drink. It’s not worth my job and frankly, you’re not cute enough to bend the rules.” God save her from creeps, like it would make her feel better to knowing the guy wasn’t serving her because he didn’t want to get into her pants. Who the hell said that kind of thing anyway?

Sighing and moving away from the bar, maybe she could get out of his eyesight and get one of the ‘fine’ patrons here to get here a drink if she played the fawning, giggly girl. God she hated that, sucking up to the drunks just so she could get a beer especially when they got handsy. If only there was a group of tipsy ladies willing to take in a stray. They were always fun.

Couldn’t she just find someone fun to hang out with? One who didn’t quite care about stupid things like her being ‘too young’ to drink.

After a rather interesting meeting at one of the local clubs Aleksandr had decided it might be wise to start investigating some of the other bars in the area even if at the end of the night he didn't manage to find anything other than a few drinks.

Or pouting teenagers, as the case might be.

From where he'd curled up at one side of the bar Aleksandr had been quietly watching the exchange between a young girl and the bartender. He could agree that the American drinking age seemed a bit excessive, especially for anyone coming from outside the country. It could be a difficult adjustment for some. Fortunately for him he'd been of-age when he'd moved to New York. Some others were obviously not so lucky.

He flagged down the bartender under the pretense of ordering himself a beer, even though the drink he already had wasn't quite finished. Even so there usually weren't any questions asked when someone over the legal age placed an order. He paid for the beer when it came and lingered at the bar a few more minutes before taking both drinks and heading in the general direction he'd seen the girl disappear in.

"Is best not to make scene if you are going to stay and beg for drinks," he offered in lieu of a greeting when he finally found her. The blue hair had helped. She looked a lot smaller up close, but then a number of people did when compared to his impressive size. He wondered how old she really was.

Aleksandr took a sip from his cocktail and held out the beer as an offering. She'd want to be less conspicuous if she was going to be drinking otherwise she'd need to try her luck at a different bar.

Raising an eyebrow at the comment and turning ready to give the guy a piece of her mind she was confronted by, well a snake man. A big snake man with, were they snake tails for hair? This was so, cool! Taking the beer with a quick "Thanks," she just had to had to stare at him for a bit. He was damn impressive and looked like he'd walked, or maybe slithered, right out of a game.

"I'll remember that for next time. I'm Alice by the way, nice to meet you." Well, she'd been looking for someone fun and frankly this guy was the most interesting person in the room. Oh and he had drinks.

She's not met many mutants so far with mutations as, drastic as this. Well, expect Big Chiefs, but she was something else! This guy though, he looked like a, was it a naga? Half man, half snake and 100% beautiful to top it off.

Interest finally won out over politeness, "I have to say man, you look amazing! How long have you been like this?" OK girl, play it cool. At least get to know him a bit before you start nerding out over his stats and powers. Building the perfect party can wait.

Taking a deep swig of the beer, finally getting a taste of the cool refreshing flavour for the first time since she'd gotten her. Yeah this guy was good in her book.

"Aleksandr," he replied, tipping his glass in cheers and then tipping it back and downing the remainder of its contents. He relinquished the offered drink when taken, pleased that it was satisfactory enough. Though really, who could complain about a free drink? He only hoped she didn't drink it too quickly. Ordering too many more drinks in too short a time might gain them some unwanted attention.

He chuckled at her sudden enthusiasm, equal parts amused and flattered. He did cut an impressive figure, didn't he? She had good taste to admire him so. "Is maybe nine... ten years now?" he answered after a moment of thought. Aleksandr been a bit of a late bloomer in the X-Gene department, but he'd say he made up for lost time with sheer beauty.

"You are mutant also? Or just ordinary troublemaker for bartenders?" It seemed like a safe assumption to make. There were more and more mutants cropping up in New York, or so it seemed. It felt like he couldn't swing his tail without hitting several more of them. Not that he was complaining. No one appreciated mutation quite like other mutants.

Wow, ten years? That was way longer than she'd have guessed, unless he was really young when it happened. Hers had only been been, what, four years? "Bet that was an interesting process, going from ordinary person to pure awesomeness." So she liked snakes, who could blame her. If only he was less well, a guy, she'd be hitting on a pretty snake person so much. Why were all the best guys always....guys.

Taking smaller sips now than she had before and still kind of fan girling a little in her head, she considered the question for a few seconds. There wasn't really any reason to lie to him, after all Alexsandr had gotten her a drink without needed to, but she was still cagey about telling just anyone she was a mutant. So far the only ones who knew were people at the mansion, and Serena of course. Then again, it wasn't like of all the people she'd met, he would judge her for being one.

Adopting a cheeky grin, "Can't I be both? They two can certainly go hand in hand." Alice had needed this, a place to destress since she'd gotten here and someone less uptight to chat too. "But yes I am, for what it's worth. It's, hard to describe to most people but have you played much video games at all?"

"Oh yes, was very painful," he replied in a tone much too cheerful to do the statement any justice. It had been a living nightmare at the time, but the years separating the process and the present had made him much less bitter about it. "Was a long time before I could do normal things again, but I think is a fair trade for the scales." And the awesomeness, as she had put it.

He couldn't help but laugh at her cheeky statement. "This is true." She certainly had a point. There were probably quite a few people that would call him a troublemaker as well simply by being as bold as he was while looking the way he did. But really, what fun would it be if he passed up every opportunity to make some people uncomfortable or exasperated?

So she was a mutant after all. It certainly made sense. What ordinary person would be quite so appreciative of Aleksandr's appearance? They were often impressed, but it wasn't quite the same. "I have played some games, yes. I like the shooting ones." He had found that the first person perspective offered much more opportunities for an adrenaline rush, which he liked. He wasn't so sure what it could have to do with a mutation, though. "Your mutation is video games?" he asked, puzzled but intrigued by the possibility.

Oh, she'd never considered it might have hurt, although it made sense now. Good job Alice, make someone remember a pretty painful part of their life, way to make friends. He didn't sound upset with her though though and she had to agree, the scales looked so cool. Black and white was such a good combo!

"It's hard to explain but kind of." Hers was the kind of mutation that didn't really fit into any neat territory or classification and kind of just did, some things. It was pretty useless in her opinion. "You know the health bar and minimaps and stuff? I kind of have them in real life along with some skill lists which just tell me how good I am at something." Most of it was just a hassle to her, it reduced learning something to a game grind. Wheres the fun in that?

"Other than that I can form parties, you know groups of people and I can see their health and stuff, and where they are on my minimap." That bit was pretty cool, although she'd not tested it much since she found out about it.

"What about yours, what can you do, other than the very obvious?" Was he venomous, could he pull himself up things like a snake could? Ooo and how strong was he, or his coils more specifically? She loved how snakes moved, having a person able to do that was great.

Aleksandr nodded along as the young woman did her best to explain what her mutation was. He didn't play video games all that often, but he could remember the common details like the health bar that she had mentioned. It was certainly one of the more passive mutations that he'd run into, but it was still very interesting all the same.

"That is one I have not heard of before," he commented, having noted somewhere along the way that certain more wide spread mutations seemed to have a common theme among them. He had run into a decent amount of elemental influencers and a wide variety of physical mutations, but he couldn't say that he'd discovered a video game mutant yet. "It is on all the time? Is it not hard to see with so many things to look at?"

She wanted to know more about him, too. That was perfectly fine. Aleksandr rarely ever passed up an opportunity to talk about himself or to show off. "I do most things that regular snakes do, but with arms,"he started, "Slither, climb surfaces, smell with tongue, and feel vibration. The tail is good for constricting sometimes and I have venom in the cheeks and teeth."

She was pretty aware how, odd, her power was. Sure there were plenty of people who could do stuff that looked like it had been ripped right out of a game, but not actually have the game as a power. A really lame power. "Yep, can't turn it off ever, and it does limit my field of view and peripheral vision a bit. But I've kind of just gotten used to it. Most of the time I don't notice most of it, expect the mini-map and hunger bar. Those rule my life."

Alice probably had a pretty silly looking grin on her face, but who could really blame her. There was just so much you could do as a snake person, so many possibilities. And no one would mess with you! Most would be too chicken and the other you could just deal with anyways. "That's really cool, your tail must have some really impressive muscles in it to be able to climb with it." Some really, strong gorgeous muscles in it. Damn if only he was a chick. 

"What's it like to smell with your tongue though? It's always something I've wondered and you can't exactly ask a snake." Snakes were just really cool to her. Sure she loved cats but the only reason they'd not had a snake was her mother's fear of them. They were just so cute!

Having something sitting in her vision sounded like it would be very distracting, even if she could tune it out for the most part. Aleksandr wasn't so sure he could ignore something like that. The map did sound useful, though. The hunger bar, on the other hand, did not seem so pleasant. Having a constant reminder of how hungry she felt must have been very annoying. He certainly wouldn't want a visual to accompany his rumbling stomach.

"Is almost all muscle, yes," he answered, absentmindedly running a hand over his closest coil. "Is good for climbing and hunting, but not so good for small spaces. Many places are made for humans, so they do not always accommodate someone my size."

His tongue flickered out, unintentionally, as the question was posed. He didn't think he'd ever tried to explain it to someone before, nor had he ever really tried to understand it at length. It simply was. "Is more like taste. Like when you taste a thing that is very strong it also gets into your nose," he said, trying to put it into words they could both understand. "It was strange thing to have to learn, but I do not notice it so much anymore. Is just what is normal for me now."

Hunting? Did he sometimes hunt his own food. And what was his food anyway? Couldn't be people, right? Nah, that was a stupid thought, missing people got noticed after all, chances are he went into some of the woods around New York for a deer or something. Probably best to not question him about it, ever. Just in case. 

"I'd never really considered that but yeah, that does sound like it sucks. Must make somethings a real hassle." The biggest problem she had was needing to eat every thirty minutes, pretty mild compared to others.

"That makes sense, I guess. Hard to understand without being able to feel it though." She was pretty skeptical that it was something you could ever get used to. Surely it was always there, constantly reminding you......oh wait. That was exactly what she did. Well that made it easier. "Bet it comes in hand though. Especially with the ladies," she added at the end with a light, joking tone. It wasn't something she'd be considering from now on. At all.

"That's all pretty sweet though, sounds like you got a really awesome mutation. I've not heard of many people who get better looking when they change, but, well." It didn't really need to be said, Aleksandr sounded like a guy who was well aware he was the best looking person in a room.  

Aleksandr had to laugh at the ladies comment, equally as amused by the boldness of the statement as he was by the comment itself. He could appreciate it when others were blunt since he tended to be that way as well. It certainly kept conversations interesting. "You are not wrong. Is not so bad with the men, too," he said with a shrug, grin still in place. He did have a bit of a silver tongue, in more ways than one.

"That is also true," he agreed, appreciating the young woman's good  taste. "Is very fortunate for me, but I have not found so many ugly mutants," he continued, absentmindedly rolling his glass between his hands. "Being not so human has changed my perspective on many things. Is much easier to find beauty in the unusual when you are not looking so usual anymore." That was something that had taken him some time to figure out, but he considered himself much better off now that he had.

"You are not from here," he continued, a statement more than a question as he followed after the next thought that entered his mind. Accents tended to be a dead giveaway. "You are here to harass the American bars for their absurd laws, or is there another reason?"

Blushing a little as he took the joke and ran with it, he was right. There were plenty of men that would find a partner like that, interesting. "Ooo, you're a fan of the man as well? More ladies for me then." Not that she was out here to flirt, but if a nice and tipsy girl came along, hey she wasn't about to say no.

That was a good point. One she hadn't really considered herself actually. She was one of the weird people that wasn't bothered by physical mutations, well maybe in fairness she had more than just a passing interest in them. "That's a pretty cool way to look at it. Still surprising to me how many people get freaked out by anyone who doesn't look exactly how they expect. If anything I'm jealous of people like you Aleksandr. As weird as that sounds" It wasn't entirely to do with how they looked, although that did factor in, it was also their powers themselves she liked.

"As much fun as it is to not get drinks no, it's not why I'm here. Came across after a disagreement between me and a family member. Didn't help she hid the fact i had a sister from me as well." that was the nail in the coffin. The marriage stuff she would have just refused, she couldn't be forced after all but hiding her sister from her? That was inexcusable. "Power turned out useful for once and I came to find her, managed to as well. Decided to stay after that."

"What about you, how long have you been here?" 

"I enjoy most people," he said with a shrug. Gender had never really been a determining factor for him when it came to attraction. As a human personality had always seemed like a more pressing thing, and as a mutant there were so many different types of individuals out there that it was even more difficult to keep any of them in a box. The way he saw it Aleksandr had a lot of love to share and to deny anyone the pleasure of getting to know him would be a crime.

He could appreciate her jealousy, too. Who wouldn't be jealous of someone so magnificent? Even those that openly threw hatred his way had to have been jealous on some level, it was just buried underneath the other levels of bad taste. But even bad taste could be corrected with time.

"That is unfortunate," he replied. Family disagreements seemed to be a very common thing among mutants, and far too many of them wound up leaving their homes because of it. It was tragic that so many people refused to see how magnificent mutants were. "But I am glad you were able to find the sister." At least there was a silver lining for her story.

How long had he been in New York? He had to take a moment to think about it. "I think it is seven or eight years I am living here maybe?" Had it really been that long already? Sometimes it still felt like he'd only just left home. He supposed time could fly by when not stuck in what felt like an eternal winter. "I am not so close with my family anymore, either. But it was the cold that I was moving from. Winters in Russia are too long for reptiles."

So was she, her sister was awesome. Sure she'd been a little surprised by some random teenager turning up on her door, claiming to be a sister but then, who wouldn't be. Not only had she taken her in, kept her up in her place for a few days, she'd also gotten her into Xaviers, just like that. "Yeah, so glad to meet a family member I never even knew existed and she's so cool. Best long lost sister a girl would ask for." 

Wow, that was a fair few years, he must have a good idea of the city and how it worked by now, although It must suck he didn't get to see his family now. "I can imagine, they're bad enough back home, can't imagine what they'd be like there." England was pretty mild all things considered. About the worst thing they got was rain. So much rain. "Thank god New York gets a bit of variety, I love winter but it's nice to actually get sun during summer, better than overcast skies for six weeks in a row at least."

Since he'd been here so long, he must at least like the city itself, although, what job did he do? Surely there were ones that were kind of, difficult to do given his size. Would he even fit in an office cubicle? "Stop me if you think I'm prying too much, but what do you do for a living? Always good to know which establishments in the city are mutant friendly." Alice wasn't one to willingly spend money at any place that discriminated agaisnt them, how could she support that kind of stuff? Easiest way to make a company change is to vote with your wallet.