He was a fan! Ha... she, wished she knew more about the guy. All she knew was that he has hit on a few nursed and didn't seem very interested in talking to her while she bandaged him up. She could recall Saph complaining about him a few times but never really put any thought into the matter. She had't exactly thought that she would ever be important enough to meet him in person herself.

She laughed instead, nursing her warm cup to her and she got cozy in the cushions of her chair. "I know a few nurses who got autographs from him. Me being me just didn't have the time to even think of such a thing. I probably should have, I could have given it away to a fan I suppose."

When he commented on her life and how interesting it was, she was momentarily distracted by the thousand watt smile he aimed at her, blushing slightly in return, before her mind drifted back through the years to all of the things she had done.

Being homeless for a few days, ticking off half a stadium at a baseball game, Saph punching a zoo animal and Aurum. The sanctuary... Aura... Getting her snakes for the first time. Losing a few of them in a lion-man attack. Nearly killing someone in self defense in a park for attacking her, taking Saph home to meet her parents... the wedding. Getting kidnapped way to many times. Tall, attractive Irish men, all of the horrible things she saw while on the job. Finding out she could heal people to a ridiculous degree with her blood. Saved a child, loved him, and lost him. Murdered the love of her life in a dream and become everything she had always been terrified of becoming.

And now she saved lives on a daily basis.

She'd gone a little glassy eyed while staring off into the space in front of her. Snapping herself out of it with a sip of her drink, she aimed a full-toothed merry smile back at him, sharp teeth and all.

"Oh, I wouldn't say it is terribly interesting per-say. I see a lot of sickness and injury, but nothing terribly unexpected."

How did one put into words all of the things she had lived through... the good and the bad? It was obvious by the scars that marred her skin in a few places that she wasn't an untouched flower never to see the light, but at the same time she tried her hardest to come to terms with a lot of it and put it out of mind.

She was only now able to walk at night without jumping at every sound.

"I have certainly seen some strange things in my time. Why, my first year here the city was attacked by a giant clay monster."

She regaled him with the tale as best she could. About the knight on his white horse and all of the other people that stepped forward to become heroes.

She told him about the Boogeyman she had met at the school, who had snuck in looking for food. How they sort-of bonded over a late night meal.

She told him bits and pieces from the dream the whole city had shared, leaving out her own involvement in the story.

She finished it all off by spinning a story about the rift that had opened up and all of of the chaos that had ensued because of it.

"One of my lead nurses stayed over here when it closed. She told me that on the other side mutants weren't as free as we are here. She has more freedom to choose what she wants to do now."

Just as she finished up, their food was on it's way over. She beamed. "Enjoy! Annisa set their plates down, winked mischievously, and hurried away again. Ooh, what a brat!

"Well... I do hope I haven't driven you to boredom with my tales. I am afraid I was never very gifted in story telling."

Akshay was all smiles as he spoke to Andrea. He felt a little silly after what he had just said, knowing it could easily be taken as a bit of a come on. He wasn’t opposed to the idea, of course, she was an attractive woman, but they had literally just met and while that kind of thing worked in the movies and in the media, he wanted a better gauge of her before he would even consider such an idea.

Besides, there was more he wanted to know about her. She certainly seemed like an interesting sort, they were in a coffee shop, they had time to talk, why not learn more about this woman living in the city he hoped to gain inspiration from?

In all fairness, he held it together fairly well. As she told him her story, he was utterly enraptured. Every word, every syllable, he completely soaked up. His mind went wild as he pictured her in each scene as she described them, marveled by the impossible odds and grinning at her own tenacious will to keep going. Anyone else would have crumbled if they faced what she did, but it seemed that she had this unbelievable strength that she constantly pulled from.

It was...inspiring. The only thing that really broke the spell of her words was the sudden intrusion of another party. He blinked and shook off the fog, turning to see a nice woman bringing them the food they had ordered. It was then that Akshay realized that he had been holding onto his cup of coffee the whole time. He set it down, offered the woman a warm smile, and set his warm hand into his other.

He pulled his chocolate croissant in front of him, his eyes settling on Andrea again as she chuckled about hoping that she hadn’t had bored him. Really? REALLY? God he was already geeking out but he knew better than to unleash that all at once. Instead he just shook his head as he smiled at her.

”Wow...just...wow…” he said. Chuckling he ran his hands through his long hair and looked at her again. ”I...I don’t even know where to begin. You are in no way boring, Ms. Andrea. Far from it.”

Shaking his head, still smiling, he cut off a small piece of his chocolate croissant and popped it into his mouth with a nibble.

”Just the fact that you are still standing here after all of that,” He swallowed and watched her. ”It’s just...inspiring. How did you do it? How did you make it through all that?” he eyed the snake that was peering from her hair again and waved. ”Also, if I may ask, do they have names?” he asked, referring to the snakes that writhed in her hair.

That little 'Wow' he let off and the words he added in after had an instant effect on her. Her blush deepened and she fought back the urge to argue with him that she wasn't at all interesting, she was simply a bookworm who tended to end up in the wrong place at the right time.

"Please, no Ms. Just Andrea if you will." She busied herself with swooping in to gather up her own food.

"I..." She paused. How had she made it through? Well.. "I had a lot of good people that had my back, really. I almost fled with my tail tucked between my knees a few times, but there are so many people here that simply wouldn't let me cower away." She smiled fondly.

"I am blessed really, with all the friendships I have made." She took a small bite of her snack, still mulling the question over in her head. Would she really be here if so many people hadn't been there to support her the whole time?

"Hmm?" She glanced down at what he was talking about and spotted the snout protruding from her hair. They were certainly tired if they hadn't started unwinding from her hair yet. "Oh, of course! How rude of me." Setting her plate down, she pulled her braid to the front and stared carefully unwinding it to let her snakes free.

Six slim black snakes the length of her arms slid free, all yawning and in various stages of stretching. Sloth, who was mostly always free, stretched up to lounge on the back of her cushion in a bundle. All of the smaller black snakes that typically went unnoticed wriggled for a moment to stretch themselves out, before laying mostly flat again in her slowly waving hair.

She pulled her biggest six black ones to the front and pointed them out in turn. "This is Lust. This is Gula. This is Ira, no don't hiss. This is Avarice, and Hubris, and this one is Vanagloria." All black, orange eyes snakes focused on him for a moment, tongue tasting the air until they seemed satisfied. The little muzzles they all had on seemed to rein in their attitudes quite well.

She gestured to the large white one, who had slithered a bit closer. "And this is Sloth."

Gently rubbing the large scales on the constrictor, she smiled shyly back to Akshay. "I was fairly young when then popped up, so the first thing I thought of I named them, and it stuck. Suits their personalities just fine though."

It was difficult to tell when Andrea was blushing but his eyes caught the slightly darkening color of her cheeks. She really was adorable when she blushed, and clearly so modest. After everything she went through, he could see that she wanted to argue about her interest but instead settled for admonishing him for adding a ‘Miss’ in front of his name. Akshay smirked, dipped his head in apology, and then lifted his cup of coffee to take a well-deserved sip.

It was as good as Andrea made it sound on their way over here.

He listened intently as she further explained her apparent luck. She survived all these ordeals because of the friends that she had developed. People whom she trusted who would dive into the lion’s den after her. Certainly sounded like she had a tight-knit group of people she could rely on. That was something that, as sad as it sounded, he knew he lacked.

Hollywood was good on the career, but poor in helping to make any lasting friendships. That was why he came back to New York by himself. There was no one back home he even considered asking to come with him. He had his fair share of boyfriends and girlfriends, but most never lasted more than a month or so due to his work schedule and his fear of getting close to others.

After what he went through, there was a reason that he kept people at arm’s length. But, still, he was a natural charmer and always willing to follow his heart into the bed of another, for however briefly that passion would burn. Admittedly his beliefs made finding a travel companion, who wasn’t hired by him, difficult.

But Andrea certainly made it sound nice. In many ways he was actually pretty jealous. Yes she went through some atrocities but through that it was proven that people she trusted and cared for pulled through. That was a feeling that, well, he hadn’t felt in quite some time.

”Well, I’m glad you have those friendships,” he nodded. ”Otherwise we wouldn’t be here having this amazing coffee and croissant!” He smirked, looking down to his plate and at what was left of his pastry. ”Jeez, never tasted one so fresh.”

Though he didn’t really want to point out anything about her, the writhing movement in her hair made that difficult. But rather than ask in some freaked out, inappropriate way, he asked if her serpentine friends had names. Immediately she apologized for being rude and let her hair loose, pointing out the names for the various snakes. It didn’t take him long to understand the name choices, and he had to smile, especially when she got to the last and largest, Sloth.

Watching those eyes look back at him, he smirked a little at sloth who stared intently at him. Anyone else may have been terrified but Akshay was geeking out a little bit inside. Clash of the Titans, Greek Mythology, he loved that stuff growing up and seeing a real life Gorgon in front of his eyes was just so absolutely awesome. Andrea seeming took all this in stride so he wasn’t going to overly fan out in front of her, but his appreciation shown through nonetheless.

Raising his hand, he gave Sloth, and the rest, a little wave. ”Nice to meet you all.” He then turned to Andrea’s gaze and grinned. ”Fitting name choices. I probably would have been far more lame and named them after Santa’s reindeer. But you had to go the far cooler route,” he smirked. ”Gotta admit, you are one surprise after another. I’d glad I bumped into you today.”

Yes, she was very glad for those friendships as well. She owed them all more than she could ever repay. "They really put a lot of love into their foods, here. Someday you should try one of their meal options! Absolutely fantastic."

Settling her empty plate on the little coffee table next to their chairs, she picked up her cup again while chuckling. "Thank you. At the time I felt terribly dramatic giving them those names."

Each snake seemed to appraise him in their own way, flicking tongues and titing heads until their curiosity had been sated. Sloth was the only one remained curious, other than one small black snake who would have jumped across the space between them for unabashed cuddles if it could have.

"I'm glad we met as well. Though, I do wish it had involved less literal bumping on my part." Another giggle, "I've learned some things I did not know about thanks to you."

Akshay smirked as he listened to Andrea talk. Again she was the pillar of modesty but he didn’t say anything in an attempt to change her mind. He knew people like her before, and they were often hard to convince otherwise. But at least she wasn’t wallowing in self-pity like so many were want to do. She was actually making a difference in this city, working in one of the toughest jobs he could imagine.

But what was most impressive to him was that through everything she went through, she still managed to keep her head together. She had thriving friendships, saw herself and others through hard times, it was all so admirable. And, best of all, he could feel the sparks of his muse coming to life. Maybe Destructica needed to meet a new friend. A fellow, saintly heroine to balance her rage and anger.

He smiled. An idea was forming. However he wouldn’t get too deep into it until he was back in his condo, in his office, either in front of his drawing pad or his computer. But it certainly seemed like he had something here. He just needed to flesh her out a bit more. Something to think on later.

Another sip of his coffee and he smiled to Andrea as she held her own mug between her two hands. She agreed that this was a good meeting but that she would have preferred it without as much...bumping. Back in Hollywood that would have certainly prompted some rather colorful responses from his “friends” about how “bumping” was the ultimate goal. Mentally he rolled his eyes at them, even though they weren’t here. God, he was glad he wasn’t in California right now.

He didn’t make any such racy comment. Instead he took another sip of his coffee before he spoke up. ”I’m happy to help! And I have to admit you are an inspiring individual yourself. I think you’re actually getting my creative juices flowing again,” he chuckled, running his fingers through his hair.

After a second he pulled out a small paper pad from the inside of his jacket, and a pen. He started to sketch a few shapes and connecting lines, looking up at her every few seconds, smiling, then looking back to the paper.

”As we’ve established you’ve never heard of my graphic novels,” he held his heart in faux pain before smirking and going back to his pad. ”Who is your favorite author? Or what is your favorite genre of book?”

Inspiring.

Her cheeks darkened further and she busied herself with her coffee for a moment to digest that. She has never really considered herself as such... she just did what she needed to do to reach the goals she, and others, had laid down. She got the distinct feeling that if she stayed around Akshay too long she would get a bit of an ego.

"Well I am very happy to help with that in anyway I can. I have heard that artists block can be a bit of a pain, no?"

She was curious what he was jotting down on the paper, especially since he kept glancing at her and smiling like that. She didn't want to invade his privacy by trying to sneak a peek, though, so she simply glanced around the cafe a little and fought back her stubborn blush.

He recaptured her attention with a joke, which she giggled at, she turned her full attention back onto him. "I quite like Mary Shelley; I've read quite a few of her books and have them at home. I have not actually read 'The Modern Prometheus', surprisingly enough... though it is still on my list." She pondered what to say about her favorite genre. Thinking about it caused her blush to return. "I tend to favor romantical type stories. 'Pride and prejudice' and such things."

Jeeze, that was embarrassing to admit.

He snorted. ”You have no idea how much of a pain it can be,” he sketched another couple of lines before looking up to her. ”One minute you have all these amazing thoughts that you just want to get out on paper...and the next, it’s like tapping into a dried up well.” Shaking his head he turned back to the paper. ”Definitely not a fun time for artists.” He then paused, gave her another look, and grinned. ”You’re definitely a big help.”

He returned to his sketch and asked her a couple of basic questions. They were getting to know one another, after all, so why not? Who was her favorite author and which books did she enjoy the most? It was probably the most telling question anyone could be asked. It offered a glimpse into them that few can anticipate, therefore it allows the asker to glean a good amount from them.

Mary Shelley and Romances. Those were pretty amazing answers. Though he was surprised to learn that she hadn’t read ‘The Modern Prometheus’ yet. That was like an introduction to that author. Practically everyone reads it in school. Akshay himself had read it, even derived a character from it for his comic book. But there was something endearing about the fact that Andrea hadn’t read that classic yet. And it spurred on more questions.

”I loved ‘Pride and Prejudice’,” he said. ”The romance is amazing but my favorite has to be the dialogue between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Some of the best writing I’ve ever read.” He paused. ”You’ve really never read ‘The Modern Prometheus’? Don’t get me wrong. Not a bad thing, but certainly surprising.”

He started to add a few more dark lines and finishing touches to his sketch. As he did, he began to regal her with his own favorite reading materials. He loved fantasy, especially works by J.R.R. Tolkien. Depending on his mood, ‘The Hobbit’ or ‘The Lord of the Rings’ were his favorites, but his most cherished book was a beat up copy of ‘The Faerie Queene’ by Spencer. And, as if to accent his choice, looked back to up Andrea, smiled shyly and held out the slip of paper he had been drawing on.

It was her. The pen sketch of Andrea was just a basic bust from her midsection and up. She was dressed in flowing, fairy-like robes and there was a serene, peaceful smile on her face. At the bottom was his signature, and the date underneath it.

He smiled, waiting for her to take it and shrugged. ”See? Inspiring.”

She agreed wholeheartedly. "It is definitely one of the best books. I returned to it quite a bit while getting a full grasp on the english language. Many of the stories set around that time." She grinned sheepishly, "I have been told that my spoken mannerisms sometimes reflect georgian era books."

Fiddling with her cup some more, she reflected on why exactly she hadn't read Frankenstein, even to this day. "I suppose at the time all those years ago I more identified with the monster and it was rather painful to try and read a story so tragic. Presently all I lack is time and the urge to pick it back up after all this time."

A simple, yet all together deep and complicated answer.

She liked quite a few of the books he mentioned, as well. The Hobbit in particular had always tickled her with its wording. "Fantasy would probably be my second favorite. I've always liked the 'Dragon Riders of Pern' books."

He flipped the little paper around and her jaw hit the floor. He had been drawing her?!

She took the drawing gently, like she would break it. It was spectacular and beautiful. Eventually she was able to find her voice again. She looked back to him with a smile, while clutching the paper carefully to her chest.

"Wow... thank you. That is one of the nicest things I have ever been given." She pulled it back to look at it again, eyes crinkled in happiness.

"Your work is breathtaking, really it is."

”I get that,” he confirmed with a nod. ”Gotta be comfortable with what you’re reading.” He shrugged. ”I still won’t read any of Stephen King’s books. Don’t get me wrong, I love fantastical horror but…” Shrugging, ”...last thing I want is nightmares.” Visibly shuddering, he smirked and continued with his drawing.

He wasn’t doing it to be impressive. Really, he wasn’t. It was a habit that he had yet to drop in his so many years on this planet. He was a victim to his muse, a puppet for which strings were pulled would force him to draw or sketch or write until that compulsion was satisfied. Especially potent was when he was in the presence of inspiration, which was what he had been referring to Andrea this whole time. There was something about her that just got the juices flowing.

Not in that way. Sicko.

So he sketched, capturing an artistic impression of her (heavily comic book themed) but definitely her. As she spoke the words merely spurred on his pen until he draw that last, heavy line, and slipped it across the table to her. The expression on her face brought a smile to his. Smirking, he slipped his pen back into jacket and merely shrugged his shoulders.

”Thank you. I appreciate that a lot,” he said. He knew there were better artists out there and he was one of those that constantly picked out his own flaws, but when it came to receiving compliments from others, he learned to just close his mouth, smile and nod. A powerful Hollywood lesson right there. ”Like I said, when inspiration strikes gotta strike while the iron is red...”

He slipped. One side effect of being inspired was just how quickly he could lose control of his abilities. The was the one thing he forgot to mention to her...he was a mutant too. Though he wasn’t physically mutated, he powers did have an odd way of manifesting. As soon as he said both the noun and the adjective, it was too late. Above his head, the word “IRON” began to form in bubbly, comic-like letters, and were cast in a ruby color. Feeling that tingle, he looked up and immediately blushed.

”Oops,” he gaze shifted between both her and the word. ”My apologies.” He snatched the word from thin air and held it sheepishly between his hands. ”I...ugh...guess we have more in common than I let on.”

"Oh!"

Like magic, a word had appeared in the air above his head. Almost like one of those cartoon lightbulbs!

Wide eyed and with her lips firly stuck in a little O shape, she openly stared. Which was probably rude, but at the moment she couldn't get herself to really care. "That is amazing as well! How delightful... WHat was that?"[/color] It hardy occured to for a moment that the red colored word had formed from something he had spoken. It took blinking at it a few times before the connection clicked.

Excitement crept into her expression and tone. "How interesting... do you make them consciously?"

After a second she reigned herself back a little, realizing that she might be encroaching on something some people didn't like to talk about.

"Oh, but... only if it's okay to ask, I suppose. I should have asked first before jumping in with questions. I apologize." She had enough shame to blush a little on her own.

Akshay had better control than this. He grew up for a certain part of his life not talking because he was scared of this happening, of his powers revealing themselves in this kind of obnoxious, scary way. Over the years, he earned a bit of control, having a better understanding of how they worked, even so that he could live his life without revealing his gift to, well, anyone. But times like this were what snatched that control away from him.

Scared. Excited. Inspired beyond belief. Those were instances where he knew he needed to be more vigilant. Sometimes the things he said would just appear above his head, crashing down into the earth without warning. They’ve been known to ruin a couple of his favorite work-in-progress drawings or set him back a brand new laptop. In this instance he had enough foresight to look up just in time.

He pulled it from the air, apologizing, and attempting to set it upon his lap. However it wasn’t as if this was something that could easily be missed. Andrea’s eyes were widened, she was looking at the spot where it was, and back at him, and she had to comment. Immediately she began to ask about what she had just seen but, almost thinking better of it, she recoiled, blushing, and added he could answer only if he wanted.

He couldn’t help the smirk on his lips. She really was the sweetest.

”No, no, it’s fine,” he said with a smile. ”Honestly I probably should have warned you before it happened. Sometimes, if I’m not careful, they just...appear. And, it’s exactly what it looks like…” He pulled up the word “IRON” and handed it off to her. ”Sometimes when I say nouns, the word just appears if I’m not careful. Not really harmful or anything, little blunt. But you can hold it if you want. Doesn’t bite.”

The word itself was about the size of a paperback book, but rigid as if it were made of plastic. With a sheen of red across the surface, and the letters scrunched up together, it looked almost diabolic...if it weren’t for how comical it came into being. Akshay sighed. He knew he should count himself lucky in the mutant department. He could be a terrifying, twisted beast, but in the back of his mind, that was still cooler than being a walking, talking speech bubble generator.

”I know,” he said with a snort. ”Kinda lame, right?”

How wondrous! As close to real life thought bubbles as you could get, probably.

Akshay offered to hand it to her and she tried not to look too giddy about it as she gently took it from him.

She couldn't feel it because of her gloves, and didn't want to risk ruining it by taking off said gloves. The fact that he could just conjure up something like that from nothing, with only having to speak the words? Sounded like magic ripped from a fairly tale to her.

"I don't know about that. I would never call such a gift something so disheartening." She was still turning it around in her hands, looking at ever little nook and cranny she could find as if it figure out how it worked.

"Imagine, just as an example, that someone you fancied or a family member was going away or something... You might be able to send with them the very word from your heart." She was smiling, and blushing slightly just from the topic itself. The thought reminded her of something she would find in one of her books. "You could send your devotion, or your fondness with them, and every time they looked at it they would see something intimate and personal from someone they cared for."

She moved to hand the word back. "It is a wonderful gift, and so very unique. Do they simply look like the words you spoke, or do they share aspects as well?"

The marvel with which she looked at the word he created was...infectious to say the least. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked upon her, moving the word between her hands, her gaze slipping over the smooth surface. Akshay always wanted to have a more impressive power: moving buildings with his mind or creating fire with a snap of his fingers. Instead he got creating his own close caption whenever he wanted. When you live your life reading comics, it’s really kind of a let down.

But the way Andrea looked at the product of his mutation -- it honestly felt like the coolest thing in the world. He could only shake his head in appreciation of this woman; no wonder he found her so inspiring.

And the way she spoke about it. He had to grin a bit as she painted lovely, romantic scenarios where he would speak his summed up feeling in a single noun and hand it to the person her cared for most. Whether he was going away, or they were, they could hold onto this word for as long as it would last before dissolving into thin air. It was truly a lovely motif -- and something that he now wanted to use in a movie if he could swing it.

However he blinked those thoughts away when Andrea inquired further after his abilities, questions that he had heard before but didn’t mind answering. He shook his head a little embarrassed.

”Nah, just the word,” he said, then giving her another look. ”Unless I add an adjective to it. Watch…” thinking for a moment he smirked and said, ”Cold ice.”

Sure enough there appeared in the air between them the letters I-C-E, formed together like some Meme in the open space. Plucking the word out, he shuddered a bit before chuckling and handing it off to her. When she touched it, even through her gloves, it would certainly feel as cold as a small bag of ice.

Nouns and adjectives? This was the most literal definition of word play she had ever come across.

She watched as he formed the next word, marveling some more at how it just appeared like that. She had seen a lot of powers in her life, and while she really did like most of them this was right up there with the creative ones.

He handed her the new word, which was cold upon touch. Goose-flesh spread up her arms from the point of contact.

"Oh." She blinked. Ideas were already forming in her head.

A gift like this would be wonderful to have in her field. They would never need ice or heat packs ever again!

Though, that did make her wonder if the cold could wear off. Would there just be a pile of words out back instead of ice packs? She snapped herself out of it, blushing sheepishly for having been caught up in her own thoughts.

"It's really truly amazing that you can create such elements so easily. There surely are so many interesting uses for things like these."

Inspired by his show of power, she decided to give her own a brief glimpse of freedom. She had a few little red fabric poppies in her bag from a drive going on at one of her hospitals. After setting the cold Ice word down on the table, she fished one of the little wire flowers from her bag and showed it to him with a smile.

With her teeth she freed one hand from a glove, and delicately ran her fingers across the fake petals in a caress. It started to lose it's vibrant red color instantly, turning a darker grey color as the petals fixed in whatever place they had been.

Before she handed it to him after the process was over, she made sure to slip her glove back on.

"A little show of my power."

The little flower was hard as stone from the tips of the petals, to the bottom of the stem.