Kiva frowned at the mention of money. Her own job paid decently, and she wasn't one to treat herself too much, so she generally wasn't too short to do something when the mood did strike her. In fact, the idea came to her to treat her new acquaintance, but she found herself unsure of voicing it. Offers like that didn't always tend to be received very well.

So, she went with the next idea. "Well, a walk in the park doesn't cost anything," she commented. She had mentioned 'green spaces' in there, after all. "And it can be pretty relaxing. I sometimes like to take my sketchbook out there and draw the trees. Or the people..."

Trees and people. Kiva suddenly found herself tilting her head to one side and looking at Paige. Studying her. The artist in her had suddenly taken the driver's seat of her brain, and while her subjects of her artwork tended to be mythical figures, she often used real life for inspiration. "Huh," she murmured quietly, then realized she must look ridiculous and hastily glanced away; the dragon mutant wasn't capable of visibly blushing, but she still felt a bit of heat rush to her face in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I've been working on this painting of these forest sprites and I realized you look like how I wanted one of them to look and sometimes that part of my brain sorta hijacks my train of thought and I'm rambling now..." She coughed a little into a bronze fist. "But, yeah, nature's good for unwinding, and I know some nice spots."

Paige nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah, that's true. And I can leave the park with my ego in tact." She gave a light shrug, though that statement was more serious than joking. Then, Kiva said something about painting, and forest sprites. Hm...that could be fun.

"Oh, so you want to use me for inspiration? That's different, but not necessarily a bad thing. Either way I could definitely use some time to relax."

Kiva made a noise that was somewhere between another awkward cough and a small laugh. "I was more trying to explain why I was staring at you, but, uh..." She cracked a smile and held up her hands in that 'box with her pointer fingers and thumb' way for a couple of seconds before she just couldn't keep from chuckling and dropped them. "If you don't mind me lugging a sketchbook around in the park and occasionally asking you to strike a pose when I find a cool tree to use as a background or something..."

She shrugged, and finally folded her wings again when she was sure they weren't going to cramp up on her. She slipped her coat back on over them. "But, I'm sure you wanna go home and change clothes." She flicked a claw toward the uniform Paige was wearing. "And I've gotta feed my cat and get said sketchbook, so..."

She plucked a pen out of the front pocket of her dark jeans and pulled a piece of paper out of her coat pocket. She rapidly scribbled a set of numbers down and held out the paper for Paige. "Toss me a call, and we can meet up and head out?"

Well, this had certainly been a surreal few minutes, she realized as she was holding her hand out. She'd found a random utensil on the ground while heading home that turned out to be a shape-changing mutant, who also wasn't originally from New York either, thought Kiva's dragon-like appearance was cool, and didn't mind the idea of being in her artwork. And now they were making plans to visit a park together.

Lesson of the day: If you want to make new friends, be nice to random sporks.

Paige blushed slightly. "I honestly didn't notice you were staring. Then again, as much as I've been gawked at today I guess I'm getting used to it. Though honestly...who'd be desperate enough to want to hit on someone who's serving them coffee? In this tacky getup, even?" She shook her head slightly at her own ramblings, taking the number from her new friend.

"Sounds like fun, actually." Smiling, she bid her farewells and turned, heading home rather briskly now.

Heading to her building, she hurried up to the fifth floor, to apartment 555. After a long shower, the shifter changed into a black long-sleeved top, that was semi-low cut, a pair of black jeans, and matching boots. Throwing on her fur-lined leather jacket, she pulled out her cell-phone.

Sure, it'd been an hour, but it was enough time to unwind. Dialing the number on the paper, she let it ring.

"Hey, it's Paige. Where and when do you want to meet up?"

Kiva kept her mouth shut regarding the topic of getting hit on, mostly because nothing that sprung to mind to say seemed like a good idea. Mostly because a lot of it was akin to 'I wouldn't know.' The last thing she wanted to do was sound like she was fishing for pity. The rest...was also under the category of 'not helping,' since pointing out that Paige was very pretty could be taken as something other than her 'big sister' instinct kicking in. And she'd already found herself backpedaling once in this conversation.

"Talk to you later, then." She waved as Paige turned and left, lingering for a moment of two before she, too, started to head for home.

The walk to her building was fairly quiet, and the ascent to her floor was as well. She offered a wave to one of her neighbours as she opened her door, and the man seemed to shrink down a little before tentatively waving back. Kiva snorted once she was inside; you'd think after the first few months in the building they'd get over the fact that there was a dragon down the hall.

A sleek, black cat bounding over and rearing up to paw at her leg chased away those thoughts, and Kiva grinned as she knelt down to scoop Clover up into her arms. "Well, hello there, bestest friend! Are you hungry?" The tone of the meow she received seemed to say 'heck yeah,' and she chuckled deeply. "Okay, okay. One bowl full of cat food coming up."

Roughly an hour later, the dragon mutant was on her coach flipping through a sketchbook full of trees, flowers, and the occasional humanoid as Clover lay contently sprawled across her lap. Her head snapped up when the phone started ringing, and she gently shifted her feline friend aside--to only a token mew of protest--so that she could answer it. She picked up the cordless phone, noting that she didn't recognize the number on the display, and hit the 'talk' button.

She smiled at the voice on the other end. "Hey." As for the question, she thought about it for a second, and suddenly an idea came to her. "Well...that depends." A hint of almost-mischief entered her tone. "...Are you opposed to a motorcycle ride to the park? I don't use the thing for work, but, well, I've got an extra helmet..."

She wouldn't be bothered much by a 'no,' but it had been a while since she'd broken out The Manticore.

Paige's eyes lit up at the mention of a motorcycle. She'd never been on one, but it sounded like alot of fun. To her, it always had, but it was one of the few things her parents wouldn't let her do in a million years. "Heh...Sounds like a blast, actually," she replied brightly, thinking over everything.

Today actually looked to be brightening. "So, I meant to ask you earlier, before we go. What exactly is your line of work? Ya know, out of curiosity," she asked. "So, if you want we can meet up in the alley we met in soon, and just go from there."

Paige wouldn't be able to see the grin that crossed Kiva's face when she agreed to the ride, but it was there. As for the rest, she chuckled. "Right, I never did mention that. I'm a tattoo artist." Allowing a faint pause to let that sink in, and chuckled again and added, "I'd have a few of my own but, y'know, scales. Doesn't quite work." Despite the irony, she really did love her job. Heck, it was at the tattoo parlor that her nickname really started catching on.

"...I didn't tell you my birth name, either, did I?" she realized. It tended to come up eventually, but Paige had shared both a real name and a nickname when they were first introducing themselves, so it was only fair, really. "It's Kiva." She shrugged, despite the lack of visibility. "But I do go by Drake more." Even it was a guy's name, it just...seemed to fit better.

"But, yeah, that works for a meet-up place. I'll get my bike and sketchbook and head out there." And helmets. Paige was not getting on her motorcycle without a helmet. No negotiations. She didn't hang up quite yet, just in case Paige had anything else to say--the fact that Clover had strolled up and Kiva was petting her with her free hand may also have been a factor--but she was genuinely excited. It felt good to just go and hang out with somebody for a change.

Paige listened, somewhat in awe at what she said she did. That was actually really cool. "Whoa, really? That's awesome! Sucks about not being able to get one though. But...I might have to come see you sometime, depending," she replied, her cheer probably radiating in her voice.

"That's cool. I like either. Most people here call me Paige. Thing was something my friends in California called me. I sorta want that to continue here, ya know? Yeah, I'll be there as quick as I can. See you then~" With that, Paige hung up, and began the long trek outside back to the alley.

Kiva chuckled a bit over Paige's response to her job, mentally logging away the comment about coming to see her. She looked forward to it if that did happen.

"See you then," she echoed right before Paige hung up, and then she put the phone down and looked at the black cat rubbing against her arm. She gently scratched Clover under the chin. "Sorry, kitty, but I have plans today..."

---

Some days, there was nothing more relaxing than the roar of that engine, and The Manticore was a big bike with a big engine. Every inch of it was solid, jet black, a custom paint job that may not have been very original or flashy, but that she adored and found more than worth the money.

It didn't take long for her to find the alleyway, and she pulled over by it to stop and wait. She didn't bother getting off the bike, just sitting there with the pack slung over her shoulder that held her art supplies. She glanced around, remembering what direction Paige had gone in while heading home and focusing her attention there.

For a while, it was just her and her motorcycle, and she found herself lightly humming to herself to pass the time, tapping her claws on her handlebars. She wasn't looking for anything to make the wait more exciting...but it seemed like she was going to get it anyway.

"Hey, freak!" Kiva heard the shout, and decided that, unless there was another visible outside of her peripherial vision, it was being aimed at her. She ignored it entirely. "Mutie!" Also ignored; her tapping claws went from subconscious response to the music in her head to impatient habit in record time. Lord have mercy, she hoped Paige showed up soon.

Those two slurs, along with some rather inept and repetitive streams of profanity, continued to be hurled in her direction, but she largely tuned it out. After a while of this, however, she was aware of movement in her direction out of the corner of her eye.

"You f****** deaf, you fre--" Kiva whipped her head around and glared daggers at scrawny, pathetic excuse for a young man who had gotten too close to The Manticore for her liking. She was human in her facial shape save for her jaw spikes; no snout, no fangs, no inhuman eyes, but her features were naturally harsh and she'd long perfected a glare that made one surprised no holes were left behind in their target.

"One, I have a g****** name, you a******," she snarled, "Two, get the h*** away from my bike. This is a custom paint job and stupid is corrosive."

Her growling, baritone voice and expression clearly caused a bit of caution to flicker to life between his ears, but, unfortunately, self-preservation seemed in no hurry to come back from its coffee break regardless and the flicker extinguished nearly instantly. "Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, freak!"

Oh, joy, he was increasing in volume. People were no doubt staring at them, now. At least none of them were cheering him on. "Your mother know you're out here being harassing people twice your size?" she asked.

The response she got was more profanity; there were other words mixed in there, but at this point she really didn't give a care what he was saying, even less so than she had before. Which was an accomplishment. This would normally be the point where she'd just ride away, but, well, she was here for a reason.

Of course Paige wasn't exactly on time to the meeting place, because she had to walk. Luckily however, she exercised regularly so the walking was no real problem. But when she did make it to their meeting point, she felt her blood boil. She'd heard the yelling awhile away, but didn't realize the source of it. But now that she did, she was furious.

Paige didn't say a word, she just briskly made her way over to the jerk who was giving her new friend a hard time. Grabbing him by the shoulder, she spun him around, she clenched her right fist and socked him in the nose just as hard as she could.

"One," Paige hissed. "Be careful who you decide to screw with. Two. Who's the freak now, Mister Got His Nose Bent Sideways By a Girl?" She shot Drake a concerned glance.

Kiva just stared as the raving jackass got a punch to the face from her new friend. Her eyes flicked from Paige to the guy, now clutching his nose, and she got off her bike, not sure what to do or say.

Her decision of action was made for her, however, when she saw him raise his fist at Paige. "Mutie-loving bi--"

"Bad idea." Kiva grabbed his arm from behind and yanked him backward, upsetting his balance. Her voice dipped in pitch, sounding much deeper than Paige would have been exposed to before. "I've been nice, but if you make this a fight, it will be two-on-one, and you will end up with more broken than your nose." She tightened her grip, and her claws dug into his skin, not enough to draw blood but, hopefully, enough to get the point across.

She let go of him--or, rather, she threw his arm away from her body, causing him to nearly fall on his already-injured face--and, when he didn't immediately make another attempt to hit Paige, she pulled herself back onto the Manticore. "Now, unless you want an encore of what she just did courtesy of my front wheel...Piss. Off."

He bolted. He didn't stop yelling, but he was still clutching his face and putting distance between them at a decent pace, so Kiva just gave an irritated snort once he was out of sight. "Well...that was unpleasant." Her mouth twitched into a weak smile as she added, "Remind me to never get on your bad side, by the way."

"I am a mutant you little--" Paige started, but Drake took it from there right as the blonde got into her fighting stance. She'd taken on tougher punks back in high school, though she was rather pleased at Kiva's help.

Then he bolted, though Paige half wished he'd have stuck around so she could have kicked his ass a little more.

"Eh, you've seen one jackass, you've seen them all," Paige commented, smiling lightly at her new friend. "What do ya say we blaze a trail outta here before a crowd forms or something?"

Kiva chuckled a little at Paige's comment. She was pretty sure if that lone angry idiot had had any friends, they would have showed up already, but she had no desire to stick around anyway. "Yeah, good idea. Catch." She gave her extra helmet a light underhand toss in her friend's direction, then waited for her to put it on and get on the bike.

"Hang on," she warned. The Manticore's engine roared to life, and another of its owner's rumbling chuckles joined the sound as she sped off. Nothing over the speed limit, of course, but definitely trail-blazing velocity. If anyone stopped to stare at the big black motorcycle with its scaly rider and blonde passenger, she officially did not notice or give a single care.

Now, to find the nearest little patch of green and relax. Though, the feeling of just riding her motorcycle was effective on that front, too, even with a passenger. She smiled. "So," she hollered over the engine. "You ever take self-defense, or are you just naturally that good at throwing a punch?"

Paige caught the helmet, putting it on her head. Heh...it matched her outfit perfectly. Not that she was going for the 'biker-chick' look, but....she couldn't help but think it looked good on her. Paige climbed on, holding on tightly as they sped off.

"I took self defence," he yelled back. "But I was giving black eyes before then. I think my parents just wanted to make sure I was doing it right." She giggled slightly, relaxing as they blazed a trail through the city.

Kiva laughed. "Well, I'd say they succeeded!" She really was legitimately impressed. Sure, the other woman could have done just as much, or more, damage if she'd taken the swing herself, but breaking faces was easy when you were five foot ten and practically made of scales and muscle.

She soon found herself in the area she wanted as she hung a left, and she sped down the street she had turned onto until she caught sight of the gates of a park...and, more importantly, a place to park her bike. She slowed to a stop and turned off the engine, and waited for Paige to get off before she herself did and pulled off her helmet.

Kiva then slid off the bag she had slung across her shoulder and casually pulled some chain and a very sturdy-looking lock out of it. It wasn't all art supplies that she kept in there, and she spent a moment ensuring that The Manticore was chained up enough that someone would have to have to be very determined or very stupid to try to steal it.

"There." She flashed a grin and brushed off her jeans when she was done. "If someone wants to cut this Gordian Knot, they're going to need one heck of a sword." Kiva didn't know if Paige would get the reference or not, and she didn't dwell on it as she grabbed up her now-lighter bag. "Shall we?"