Sleep was a wonderful thing.

When he managed to catch it.

Catching it wasn't so easy when when it got really cold at night and all you had to sleep in was a pair of coveralls you couldn't even put on all the way and a pair of old boots. And slept on a bench in a park and hoped no cops would come make you move. Benches had space for his wings if he faced the back.

Except his foot gradually became aware that there was some sort of external pressure against it, and drowsily reported this to the rest of him. He tried to ignore it, but the pressure stuck around, and he eventually dragged a scratchy eyelid open. Mmmmpph.

... Was there a girl sitting on his feet?

... With snakes in her hair? And green skin?

Okay, mutant. Check. Cool. Now, why was she sitting on him? He blinked at her, still really wishing he could have stayed asleep. "Can we help you?" he asked, voice a little raspy with tiredness and limited use. He wiggled his feet a little to satisfy their feeling of squishiness.

She was sitting on his feet... aaand, he woke up before she could remove herself.

Well, that plan hadn't worked very well.

Andrea blinked at the man, face darkening in color every minute that ticked by. Could he (we?) help her? No, not likely. She often felt beyond help at this stage in her life. Though, if offered she would gladly take back the last ten minutes or so when she'd decided that trying to nudge his feet out of the way with her butt was a brilliant idea.

Then again, her hands were full with two steaming cups of something. Coffee for herself, tea in the other. Still at a loss for words to explain herself with, she sheepishly held one of them out towards him. "Do you like tea, perhaps?"

Well, he'd never seen someone with green skin turn brown before. Okay. He tried to sit up a bit - awkwardly, and without knocking the snake-girl over or knocking his wings against the bench - and blinked at her again.

And then stared at the steaming cup in her hand. Tea? Actual hot tea?

"Love it," he said with feeling. Hey, his feet were actually a bit warmer underneath her. Okay, twisting so he could see her and drink was worth the discomfort. He managed to get one wing braced against the bench to support him, and he cradled the hot cop in his hands. It was so warm...

"Thanks." He could actually feel his fingers properly again. "Um... if you don't mind our asking... why?" His confusion was honest, but he was mostly sleepy. And kind of drifting off into dreamland from the warmth.

She smiled at his response and waited patiently for him to take the cup from her. She was so pleased, actually, that she forgot for a moment that she was still technically sitting on him-- which probably made it really very awkward to re-position himself into a sitting position.

Quickly, she adjusted herself so he could move his feet if he wanted to, then sat back down. "Well... you looked cold." Even with gloves, scarf, and her coat on, she wasn't immune to a chill every-now and then.

"And... well, to be honest one of my first favorite experiences in this state was sharing a warm drink with someone. It is a feeling I very much enjoy sharing whenever I can manage." She smiled at him, careful not to expose her teeth, and took a sip of her coffee.

Looked cold? Of course he looked cold. It was cold out and he was wearing backwards coveralls and sleeping on a bench. That would lend things to be cold. But he had hot tea now! And his hands were very nice and happy now.

So... she was just being nice? Cool. He smiled back at her. "In that case, thanks!"

Oooohheavenwarmliquidinhismouthooooohhhyesssowhatifitmadetherestofhimjealous

"Is... is there anyway we can thank you properly? We don't have much, but surely there's something we can do?" He shuffled his feet underneath him once she'd moved off them, trying to keep their new warmth before the chill air stole it all, and, sitting up properly, furled his wings so that they best kept the air off his back.

... There was that pesky 'we' again. Was... was she missing something? Had she inadvertently neglected someone? Behind her glasses she glanced around, but aside from the occasional passerby huffing and hurrying along with hands stuff deep into pockets, she saw no one else.

"You... um." Blinking, she drew herself back and blinked. Oh, was there something he could do for her? "You could join me for lunch, if you would like?" The Greek smiled timidly, aware that asking complete strangers such a thing was still rather taboo... but she'd kind of taken it upon herself to help those who could not help themselves. Er, well, those who at least didn't look like it that is. People sleeping on benches were prime examples of this, in her mind.

"I would enjoy your company very much, I think." Freeing one of hand, she held it out at him glove and all and her smile widened. "My name is Andrea."

He was confusing her, wasn't he? Darn it. Ah, well, it wasn't the first time and it would hardly be the last. He scrubbed at his face a little with a delightfully warm hand. He'd have to explain-

Oh? He'd meant - well - not for her to spend more money on him. But she was smiling so shyly at him... how was he supposed to turn that down? He smiled back. "Can't say our company's spectacular, but we've never been the sort to turn down conversation." He shook her hand lightly. "Crow. Not very creative, we know, but it's hardly inaccurate." He ducked his head a little sheepishly and gave his wings a small flick.

"Oh - We're sorry," he said quickly, trying to reel himself back to the explanatory track. He gestured at himself, trying to point out his different birds. "Each of these is me, so together we make up - well - we." He shrugged. "We know it's confusing, but don't worry about it."

A delightful little jolt up happy ran up her smile, and she went back to cuddling her coffee after they'd shaken hands. "Crow... It is very nice to meet you, Crow."

She eyed him from behind her glasses as he-- er, they?-- explained his/their situation. He was right about it being confusing, especially since she couldn't very well imagine him any different from what he was currently... what they were.

Oh, darnit.

Still, majority of confusion aside, she kind-of understood. "Ah, well, it is nice to meet all of you, in that case." As an afterthought she gestured to Sloth, who had himself curled as elegantly as a snake could manage around her neck and shoulders. "This is Sloth, and these are--" One serpent flicked out and nipped at her pointing finger, earning a startled squeak from her.

After it had retreated, Andrea battled another blush and removed her hand from the danger zone. "--annoying." With a huff, she kicked her feet and glanced back at Crow. "...is there anywhere you would like so go?"

Well, Andrea seemed to be taking his situation better than some people had, so he grinned. His grin only widened when she introduced one of the snakes, a large creature draped quite nicely about her. "It's okay if you refer to us as singular," he assured her. "You needn't worry about it."

One of the snake's individualism earned another open smile. "Aren't they just?" he laughed. "We... have a bit of a habit of pulling each other's feathers when we disagree. It's painfully frequent."

He had to scrub the back of his neck, though. "'Fraid we can't suggest anything," he admitted sheepishly. "We aren't from around here, and haven't been here long. We certainly haven't been in a position to peruse the local delicacies. Left home in a bit of an awkward position and all that." Having your home burnt down while an angry mob rampaged through town could certainly be called awkward.

Her flush calmed, and she relaxed a little. "I can certainly relate, in that case. I had not a which was was up or down when I had first come here." Pursing her lips, she pondered all of the places she'd been within the city, that she considered worthy of dining with a newly acquired acquaintance.

"I know of three places not to far from here... so I suppose it will really depend on what you feel like eating, in that case." She shifted in her seat slightly, "There is a little Pizzeria a block that way- they have huge pizzas there... And there is a Deli over that direction, I think two blocks away- they sell lots of things, up I think everyone always buys French Dips there."

Turning slightly, she pointed in the direction of the last restaurant. "And other that way is my favorite. Though, I have been told that is because I have a bias." With a sheepish half-grin, she turned back to him. "It is a Greek diner, and I am very much Greek." Not that is was her choice at the moment. She was more than happy to pass off that task upon him.

"So, what do you think you would like?"

PIZZA.

Real.

Fresh.

Pizza.

Not out of a dumpster.

Not borrowed from an unattended box.

Real, fresh pizza.

He didn't even hear the other options. Every single one of his bird brains had fixated on the idea of pizza from the moment her lips shaped the word. Piiiizzzzaaaa.

It was probably showing on his face, wasn't it? Yeah, probably. He hid behind his tea for a moment and tried to distract at least a bit of his attention. It didn't work too well, but he did manage to seize on one tidbit. "You're Greek? That's cool! I don't think I've ever met someone from Greece before. If you want Greek, I would be more than happy to oblige." Piiiiizzzzaaaa no be nice to Andrea. Be nice. But pizza! Nice. But pizza...

Eyeing him, she felt her cheeks heat up again. Being Greek was cool? Since when?

No... don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Andrea. Just accept that someone thinks you're cool. Someones.

Ohgod, she'd just called him a horse, hadn't she?

"I... ah, thank you. Have you ever had Greek before? It can be startling sometimes when first encountering it." Or at least it had been for Saph, when she'd made dinner from one of her mothers recipes.

"I am fine with eating basically anything, trust me. The only things stranger than my appearance to most, is my appetite."

It had been quite a while since he'd come across anyone who blushed so much for a simple compliment. Assuming that green turning brown like that was indeed a blush. He rather thought so, but with some mutants it was incredibly difficult to tell.

Greek food was... um... pitas! and salad! ... right? Yeah. That was about all he was coming up with, though. "Probably? Not much interesting food where we're from, although there was considerably more fish than there is here. There's greek salad, isn't there?" He grinned. Pizzapizzapizzapizza he elbowed his right hip. Pizza.

He cocked his head at her and blinked. "Your appearance? Strange?" Honestly, the thought had never occurred to him. "Andrea, our skin is coloured with the crows that make us up. We've known a slug-whisperer who shared a few of their odder characteristics. Like retractable eyestalks." He shrugged. "It's hard to say if anything looks odd to us anymore."

She laughed, light and airy, at his salad comment. "Yes, there is salad. But what would be the point of going, if only to feed you rabbit food?"

Yeesh, he had almost sounded like saph for a moment there. Except instead of 'salad' it would have been 'meat' They have meat there, right? Perfect!

In regards to her comment about looking strange, she dropped her gaze and fidgeted. "Oh, um... sorry. I did not mean to sound like... that." She'd been caught again mumbling her inner thoughts on the outside.

"I have trouble sometimes monitoring what comes out of my mouth. I did not... er, I did not come from background rife with others like me. Sometimes it is still a little strange realizing I am not the only one, no?"

She dearly hoped that made sense and hadn't come out as undecipherable rambling. "Um, but as far as food goes... how about we compromise? The pizzeria does sell some types of specialty sandwiches, as well as a Greek style pizza."

"It was about all we could think of, okay?" He grinned. "We-" He cut himself off when Andrea suddenly dropped her head. "What? No! It's fine, really! We didn't really grow up with any mutants at all around - had barely heard of them, really. We just got caught up with a cool group after these showed up." He spread his wings again. "We understand entirely. People from our islands just tend to be pretty chill." He smiled reassuringly, hoping he'd explained... something.

It was hard to explain coherently when certain parts of him were being converted by his rebellious hip and chanting Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! endlessly. Wait - there was Greek pizza? REALLY. Crow's skin danced with excitement before he convinced everyone to calm down.

"That sounds awesome," he said fervently.