Central Park, Mutant Park [Matt & Leo]

DID THIS POOR WOUNDED STAG GROW UP UNDER A ROCK!? Survey said yes when a bit of dark confusion showed on Matthew's face after Leo made his comment about them being perverts. Survey then said 'hell yes' when he said the word 'bro' like it fell out of a vending machine. It was absolutely bewildering. Leo had never felt so out of his depth before.

But they were in need of sitting. Sitting was good goal for now. But a bench just would not do.

"O-okay. Yeah. Uhm, actually, my exit strategy was this way. The Coffee Tree, the place where the guy grows the... yeah, you're just going to have to see it, actually." The most important part was that it was a known mutant-friendly establishment since the owner was 'out' as it were and he was way cool with mutant shop talk and the potential need for privacy. It was hard to explain all that, though. Better to show it.

Leo hefted his bag to re-seat his journal inside and then indicated the way with his head. They could walk and talk.

"It was a joke. I- The nose thing- It's... Do you know what anime is? Or... the internet?" What would Leo do if this guy did not know what the internet was!? Okay. Deep breath. He could teach this guy what memes were. No sweat.

"Clearly you have a lot on your plate. I've just never met somebody so—" Leo shrugged apologetically as he cast about for the right words. Out of touch? New? "—sheltered. I hardly know where to start to get you up to speed." Matthew was formal and stiff and, God, what if he'd been one of those kids raised in his parents' basement watching only Golden Girls or something like that?

Leo's eyebrows bunched as he stepped over a fence that was meant to keep walkers on the path. It was a short cut, not a legitimate park entrance or exit.

Well. Leo decided, at last. Then that basement at least had a gym in it. Either way he's here now.

"Okay. I got it. We start with your powers and real world crap can wait. You need to know your strengths and your limits." He wished he had his video camera. This would be fascinating to document. "Sorta like a goal at the gym, right?" He had to be familiar with that given his physique. "You write down how many reps you can comfortably do so that next time you can try to do one more, right? So what do you know about what you can do, exactly?"

There. Yeah. They just had to start with what he knew and go from there.

Leo pointed to their destination as soon as they pushed their way through a mess of undergrowth. They just had to cross a street to get there.

"Thar she blows." The building was three stories high, which was short for the area, and sported a bit of green peeking out each window and a bit at the top. "It's a coffee tree. They guy is a plant manip. or something. The thing gets berries and goes through leaf cycles and stuff. It's awesome and it smells amazing." Also the tree was giant and each branch held enormous, waxy leaves that drooped to serve as great dividers between tables. There wasn't a lot that was quiet or private in New York, but a booth at The Coffee Tree came pretty close.