Mariusz led the way into the large common room and looked around. He tended to not spend a whole lot of time in this area if for no other reason than most of the students tended to congregate here and he preferred to keep company with somewhat more mature people. But, for the moment the room was empty, so Mariusz set his mug down on an end table and then dropped onto the couch with a flop in a most uncharacteristic manner, patting the spot next to him and holding up a few remotes for Evelyn.

"Come on babysitter, right here. I need someone that knows how to work this thing and I imagine your mutant abilities will be useful in that regard," he said, indicating the remotes by shaking them a little and then the TV with a sweep of a feathered arm. Sitting back up on the couch he snatched up his mug of tea, somehow managing to not spill a drop of it, and then took a sip.

"Hot!," he declared in a loud voice, scowling at the mug. Then scowling into the mug. Then taking another sip anyway and repeating the process a second time.

Evelyn was starting to regret not turning tail and running before Talon dragged her to be his babysitter. Sure, he saved her life and all that, but she had no idea what it would be like once he took his medication. For all she knew, he could be awkward and clingy, or overly happy, or just plain weird. She didn't have the social skills to survive that, but she managed to force herself to sit on the couch next to him, and scan her eyes over the remotes. "Honestly, I really haven't ever watched much T.V., but I'll see what I can do..." Buttons buttons, there were a lot of buttons.... The echoes finally pointed out the important ones though and she clicked the T.V. on, and then eventually got the satellite to work.

"What do you want to watch? There are cartoons, nature shows, storage locker auctions..." She flipped through the channels, careful where the station lingered. Two seconds of the wrong show and the images were branded in her head for life. She took a sip of her tea while she waited for Talon to choose something, but she had lightly blown on the surface first so her lips weren't immediately scalded. From the sounds of it, Talon didn't quite thing to do the same.

"I do not care," Mariusz said cheerily, still peering into his mug of tea as if it were some sort of magical scrying glass. Why was this liquid too hot to drink? That made no sense.

I never make drinks that are too hot to drink, making drinks to hot to drink defeats the purpose of making a hot drink to drink in the first place when I want to drink a hot drink! Mariusz thought to himself, scowling into the mug once more then taking another drink.

"Too hot!" he declared once more before looking around at Evelyn. "If you are here you must have mutant powers like me," he began, nodding sagely. "Do you have ice powers? Make my drink not too hot... but also not too cold. Cold Earl Grey tea is nasty." He held out the mug of tea to Evelyn with both hands, giving her a piercing look that clearly said he had every confidence in her ability to make the drink an acceptable temperature.

Evelyn stared momentarily at Talon, the station stopping on storage locker auctions. Apparently, the medicine had kicked in because he was starting to behave strangely. The echoes caught it first, and noted his behavior towards the cup of tea, then he held it out to her and demanded she make the tea colder. She set the remote down slowly and exhaled through her nose.

"Talon, I can't do anything with your tea. That's not what my powers do." What on earth did Doc give him? Did he take too much? Did he just respond to pain medication oddly? She couldn't recall these sorts of side effects, just the usual sleepiness and slight disorientation. Then again, they didn't know each other particularly well, he could just be having a temporary lapse of memory.

"Just blow on the tea a little to let it cool. Don't drink it so fast." She started looking around hopefully for someone to rescue her from the bird man. This was not in her skill set at all.

Mariusz blew loudly on the tea and then sipped it. That was much better. He repeated the process over and over until the mug was empty. In an effort to keep drinking tea from the empty mug he leaned over more and more and more until he finally fell over on his side with his head coming to rest in Evelyn's lap. Almost lazily he wrapped both of his feathered arms around her waist while also holding the empty mug so she could see into it.

"Empty," he said in a sigh, shaking the mug a little to show what it was that he meant. "All gone, empty, an abyss... like so many other things," he continued, his mood turning somber and depressive as he snuggled his head into Evelyn's lap, releasing his grip with one arm just long enough to drop the mug to the floor before latching on to his baby sitter again. Little did she know how loopy vicodin made him, of course before taking the pills he had known perfectly well what was going to happen. Had he been sober he might have felt somewhat guilty. But, then again, he had saved her. That made him something of a hero.

THE HERO ALWAYS GETS THE GIRL! his drug addled mind screamed at him.

He supposed this qualified as 'getting the girl'. Besides, popular cinema made it quite clear that this was how things worked. Of course, cinema indicated things were supposed to go a good deal farther but Mariusz had no strong desire to do much more than what he was currently doing. After all, other such things were for married people.

Hmm... married people, he thought to himself, that idea had merit.

"Will you marry me," he blurted out, not making any effort to release his hold on Evelyn.

Evelyn's brain functioned much like a computer would. There were lots of files of information, storage containers stacked high and piled into different areas of her mind. Then there were the echoes scurrying to and fro trying to find things and process other information. In their little control center, they watched the drugged bird mutant's decline, and started flashing maydays. The maydays turned to alarms, screamed for attention---

And then his head was in her lap and everything short circuited.

What was he--why ways--...The teacup was held up to her vision but it didn't seem to process. She blinked once, twice, and then her face turned crimson and she tried to scoot away. She apparently wasn't going anywhere without depositing him on the couch with an rude thunk, which could only make him feel more pain tomorrow. But she couldn't just let him cuddle--

The echoes short circuited again.

"Talon, you need to sit up, you have to--- I know the teacup is empty, but I'm not a pillow I--" And now he was depressed. She wasn't sure whether to comfort him or flee. She looked at the door, begging for someone to walk in, anyone. Then she caught his drug induced request and spun her head to stare at him.

"I've never even dated anyone! Why would I get married?!" She squeaked, feeling sudden panic. She had to leave, now. She wriggled as close to the edge of the couch as she could get, trying to discreetly pry him loose.

"No can do," the feathered man said in a sing song tone when Evelyn asked him to sit up. "World too tilty," he continued. He couldn't understand why she was complaining about being a pillow. He thought she made a perfectly acceptable pillow. He suited action to thought by kicking his feet up onto the couch too and reclining even more.

"And you suppose I have," he asked in reference to Evelyn's protestations about not dating anyone. "Look at me, I have everything women want... money, honesty, honor, money, trustworthiness, loyalty, money, manners, cooking skills, and money," he continued, rambling off a list of traits and things he had, apparently not noticing that he listed one of them several times.

"I am just like Hugh Grant," he continued, peering up at Evelyn and squinting a bit. "Except, you know, with feathers. Oh, and wings. And talons." He held up a taloned hand and examined his razor sharp talons. "And I am Czech," he added belatedly. "And I. Am. Delightful. So, after all the riots die down want to go get dinner some time," he asked, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable he was making her.

Evelyn was glancing around the living room, trying to find some form of pillow she could put under Mariusz' head to help get away. The nearest one was the next couch over, and she was debating whether or not she could reach it. Meanwhile, Talon was ranting about his many distinguishing features. Mostly his money.

"I've already got enough money... and I'm just not looking to date right now, especially not while you're all drug induced and delusional. Why don't you watch television? There are lots of things to watch, let's just you know, not have this conversation now." She was as far over as she could get on the couch, but he was still managing to use her as a pillow. This was hopeless.

And he didn't stop there.

"I'm sure you are delightful, but you know, last time I went to dinner with someone Jensen took them to the shooting range and I never saw them again. I just hope he scared them and not....hey look, a cooking show!" She shoved the remote against his chest, face burning red. She felt like a candy cane. She tried hard to reach the pillow but it was a good foot or so beyond how far she could stretch.

Mariusz made a snort of derision and the remark about someone named Jensen. He'd just fought a cat woman thing to protect the blonde. Ok, so the fight had been a little while back. Still, that made him the hero and the hero got the girl. Pop culture was very clear about this. Similar thoughts continued zooming around his head as his thinking circled back around to where it had been moments before.

"I am not scared of this Jensen of whom you speak," he said, waggling a finger at Evelyn from his position using her lap as his pillow. "I just protected you from the horrible cat... woman... thing gone wrong. She was like a trained ape. But without the training!" He looked up at her with a cross-eyed gaze for a moment before his eyes returned to normal focus and he continued. "What was I saying?... Right, I saved you. That makes me a hero and the hero gets the girl. I propose dinner on Friday... and something on Broadway... or maybe a museum... or the Statue of Liberty, I want to see that... maybe Ellis Island?"

"Surely this Jensen is not a boyfriend, you have never dated anyone. Therefore his feelings on the matter are inconsequential and... oh look! Iron Chef!" Mariusz was distracted from his rambling monologue as he focused on the show and watched the chairman character reveal squid as the secret ingredient.

"Squid is tasty," he said, turning his attention back to Evelyn and forgetting, for the time being, the debate on a date. "Even better, once you rip out the guts you can turn them into very amusing hand puppets!" He held up a hand and mimed moving it in a puppet-like manner.

Well, he had a point. He did save her. And that was exactly what got her into this mes. Suddenly she was starting to think that saving her had created more problems, and he should have just let WereCat tear her to pieces. "Jensen isn't my boyfriend, he was my handler. Like, a bodyguard you know..." Not that anything would probably stick in Talon's mind right now. She wasn't sure why she was trying...

Still, as he continued talking about the date she tried her best to turn him away from the idea. "I just don't really know if I really want to date anyone right now..." Broadway was nice, but she'd rather actually get to know someone before dating them, and not be asked out on a date because someone was drugged...

"Just watch the squid..." She said, quickly leaning over and snatching the pillow from the other couch, looking for a sneaky way to get it under Talon's head.

"You do not need a bodyguard, you have me," Mariusz said cheerily, flopping onto his stomach and wrapping both his arms around Evelyn's waist. "There, no you cannot escape," he said, grabbing each of his wrists to strengthen his grip. "So, there is no need to worry about wandering off and getting into trouble now!"

He turned his attention back to the screen and watched Morimoto do something with squid. He'd never remember what it was though, he was too doped up. "Now, we can watch Iron Chef together..." he continued, trailing off and yawning loudly. "Getting sleepy... you are a good pillow, good thing I rescued you. Because I am a hero. And they get the girl." He yawned again and snuggled against the blonde woman.

Before she could properly execute her escape, the feathered mutant had flopped down, grabbed her by the waist and locked his wrists together. The situation was starting to feel like an invasion of her personal space, but she had creating this problem and needed a way to solve it. Since running was once again, not an option, she tried to think of some strategic distraction. Maybe he would behave like a small child and she could just give him something shiny to entertain him until he passed out...

And then he was snuggling. She suddenly wished she had picked a shirt that was baggier...the bruises on her body prickled slightly with pain at all the movement, and her arms were scabbing which made her want to pick at the cuts. That would create a scar though, and she didn't need that. "Yes well... thank you for rescuing me, but I really am not big on all the hugging and cuddling stuff... Here! Hug the pillow!" She plopped the fluffy object in front of him, trying to get it close enough to his head he would accept it. Something had to work....

Mariusz blinked at the pillow in a disgusted way. Why would he want a pillow when he already had a much better pillow? A much prettier pillow? That didn't make any sense at all. Come to think of it, he should probably explain that to Evelyn.

"Why would I want a pillow when I have you," he asked, then he headbutted the pillow. "I am happy right where I am at," he continued in a sulky sounding voice. Why was this such an issue? He was a hero. Heroes got the girl. He dimly remembered having already explained this once, but maybe it needed explaining again.

"See, I am a hero because I saved you from that fearsome... uh... beast. Therefore I get the girl. You know, sort of like to the victor go the spoils. I also got a big owchie saving you," he said, making a pouty face and giving Evelyn the biggest saddest eyes possible, tilting his head ever so slightly to one side, like a puppy.

"And then I made you dinner too," he continued, punctuating the remark with his stomach rumbling. "Besides all that my feathers are lovely and soft and warm... just like you, my pillow. See?" He flopped over on his back, gently grabbed one of her hands and, still lounging in her lap, pressed it to his chest.

"See? Lovely and soft, just like a kitten. Only better because I do not shed fur everywhere and claw up the furniture."

Ok, the pillow wasn't working. Evelyn was running out of options and---was he pouting? He was sulking with giant puppy dog eyes, and now he was pulling the guilt card. That was low, that was mean...

And incredibly effective.

"Listen, I'm soooorrrryy the mean cat threw you and punched you. But I am not really one of those girls, I ....just watch television." Exasperated, she gave up arguing with him and flipped the channel back to the storage lockers. The old man was trying to climb through a giant pile of stuff and antiques were falling everywhere. And then he had her hand and was comparing himself to a kitten.

The echoes short circuited. What was he...

A kitten. Really?

"Yes your feathers are lovely." She stared at the television, focusing the echoes on critiquing the characters actions. It was obviously staged, and she could tell where stuff was planted even before the characters got there. Television was so boring and predictable...

Convinced that he had made his point Mariusz fell silent and settled in. The drugs had taken hold enough that he didn't even notice that she had changed the channel from Iron Chef back to Storage Wars. He rolled back onto his stomach, he wasn't a big fan of laying on his back because of the wings. Settling himself again he wrapped his arms back around Evelyn's waist again.

"Yes," he declared, my feather's are lovely and soft and warm," he said, yawning loudly in he middle of the remark. He turned his attention on the television and yawned again, making sure to keep ahold of Evelyn. He wanted to be sure that when he woke up his pillow was still there in the morning.