Gawain walked out of the men's bathroom and looked around. Of course the kid was gone from the booth. So was his beer. Bummer. All right, so he coldn't really expect him to stick around; if a girl ran out on him like that, he'd het the hint too.
And now he was Gawain, and he had a chance to continue partying, not having to worry about the kid spotting him again.

But, seriously, where was that kid?...

Oh, he was right there, wathing the crowd with a sour face, and hoding the beer in his hand. Well well. Gawain smirked as he waled over to him to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are ya really supposed to be drinking that?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "What happened to the chick who left it there?"

The guy put a hand on Jude's shoulder. That earned him a zillion gajillion points because he did not put it on Jude's head to ruffle his hair. Because his hair was artfully crafted to look like he had just rolled out of bed. This effect was, of course, aided by the fact that he had, in fact, hidden under the sheets until lights out and he could successfully sneak off of the Mansion Grounds.

"I don't usually drink beer, but it seem a waste if itze only alcohol I get today." The kid raised his eyebrows artfully like he knew just how high to crank them up to look smarmy. Then he tipped the bottle back and chugged.

"Besides." He gasped and wiped his lips on his sleeve. "Iz an indirect kiss. Ze only kind I get besides granny puckers." He shuddered. Yes. He had gotten his fair share of granny puckers, the slimy, doily-laden kiss of death for any libido.

>>"I don't usually drink beer, but it seem a waste if itze only alcohol I get today. Besides. Iz an indirect kiss. Ze only kind I get besides granny puckers."

Gawain turned slightly green. Indirect kissing that French brat was so wrong in so many levels... urgh.

"Ya can't get a decent drink without and ID, huh" he smirked at him "That's gotta suck." he nodded towards the booth "Be right back."

And he was, with two bottles of beer and a grin.

"So, how did ya end up here anyway? Are you a mutant?"

Better start all from scratch. He'll have to know where to drag the kid home to.

Beer. Ugh. But it was free beer. He accepted it gratefully... and tried not to be jealous. Honest.

> "So, how did ya end up here anyway? Are you a mutant?"

Jude stood near one of the standing tables. They were meant for taller folk. You know, people actually old enough and tall enough to drink? He practically fit under the table surface where others would normally set their drinks down so that they could elaborate with their hands.

"I ended up 'ere because I wanted to be 'ere. Here is where ze people I know and love live." True story. There was nothing for him in an orphanage in France. "I wouldn't be in here if I wasn't a mutant. Club Evo doesn't go easy on humans, I hear." So what if he was a soon-to-be mutant? He knew deep down that he was one. A strong telepath, but.. he couldn't say he was a telepath. What if the guy would want him to prove it? He was confident that if they tested him for x-gene-itis that he would have it.

He accepted his beer and took a dutiful swig. "Why do you like zis stuff? Iz so inelegant." Wine versus beer was like the difference between carving a stone into a statue and bashing your head against a rock.

"And you? You 'ave a sob story to be drinking alone wis a man-child."

>>"I ended up 'ere because I wanted to be 'ere. Here is where ze people I know and love live. I wouldn't be in here if I wasn't a mutant. Club Evo doesn't go easy on humans, I hear."

Gawain arched an eyebrow. He just wanted to know how he got past the bouncers... but it looked like the kid just got here from France. Wow. How did he get past the passport check?
Maybe he really was a grown-up. Sometimes. As a person who changed genders every night, it was not that hard to believe.

>>"Why do you like zis stuff? Iz so inelegant."

"Yeah well, if you want elegant, you're in the wrong place here" he grinned. CLub Evo was a lot of things; maybe even elegant sometimes. Gawain didn't really care for that. Not when he was alone.

>>"And you? You 'ave a sob story to be drinking alone wis a man-child."

"Yeah." he nodded, before he went on "... I'm drinkin' alone with a man-child."

It really was a sob story in itself.
Gawain chuckled, and shrugged.

"I come here to meet people. Mutants all all kinds of interesting, and they all know somethin' I don't. Not a dull moment around here." he explained "So... what did ya say your name was?... met any girls you like?"

Maybe that was his whole problem. "Maybe you are right. Zis is no place for elegance. Zis is America. Land of depravity, celebrity. And beer. I should embrace unsophistication. And embrace ze beer! Swig time!"

Aaaaand cringe time. Jude's face scrunched up. Egh. "Getting pumped does nosing for ze taste." But on the bright side... "Maybe zis will put hair on my chest." He giggled at the guy who'd bought him his beer. "You sink it's sad to drink alone wis a man-child, try being zat man-shild." His accent was getting sloppy. He might not have even weighed 100 pounds and yet he was making incredible headway thought his inelegant beer.

> "So... what did ya say your name was?

"Jude." Hm. He had let a stranger hand him beer and he realized he did not even know the guy's name. "Erum. Your name was Jake?" Maybe? Erm. Maybe that was someone else?

> "Met any girls you like?"

He tapped the brown glass and leaned against the near table. He felt like his cheeks went red all the way up to his hairline. "I told you. All ze sings I love are here."

He held the bottle with both hands now. Like it was safe territory. "Maybe you should share some bar wizdom. For love zat cannot be."

>> "Zis is no place for elegance. Zis is America. Land of depravity, celebrity. And beer. I should embrace unsophistication. And embrace ze beer! Swig time!... Getting pumped does nosing for ze taste. Maybe zis will put hair on my chest."

"No it won't" Gawain smirked "It's just beer." It was not even particularly strong. Good thing they were not doing shots.

>>"You sink it's sad to drink alone wis a man-child, try being zat man-shild."

"Point taken" he nodded, and took a swig from his beer. He could not argue with that. Being a gender-shifter was probably better than being an age shifter. Unlike ages, genders both had their advantages...

>>"Jude. Erum. Your name was Jake?"

"Gawain" he chuckled. Kid was drinking like a fish, and he obviously had problems holding his liquor. With the body mass of a ten-year-old, it was not that surprising. "Nice to meet ya, Jude."

>> "I told you. All ze sings I love are here."

So that was a no to girls. Thank God. It would have been a mess if he had to talk Jude out of hitting on Maya...

>>"Maybe you should share some bar wizdom. For love zat cannot be."

"Oh, you'd be surprised how many kinds of love can be." he grinned "Especially among mutants." he mused, glancing around "The most important rule is, always check out a girl's ability before you hit on her."

That was a very useful rule for survival. Indeed.

Jude pursed his lips at Gawain. Because his name was Gawain and not Jake. Really. He looked WAY more like a Jake.

"Zere are only a few kinds of love I am willing to share." Which was a rather grownup concept. He seemed to know what he was hinting at in a very specific way. "But maybe my mind iz small. What mutant love iz better?" The mutants that he dealt with most in the future had been normal looking. A few of the weather manips had some strangeness going on, but all the psychics at least were normal looking.

"I don't date psychics." He added hastily as he surveyed the crowed with fresh eyes. Fresh eyes behind beer goggles at least. "We look normal az normal people do, but your brain iz non safe." So that left outward showing mutations... "Zere is a girl wiz four arms. Outward mutation iz safer, non?" Maybe he could go talk to her? He took a swig for courage. And... and then another.

>>"Zere are only a few kinds of love I am willing to share."

Smart kid.

>>"But maybe my mind iz small. What mutant love iz better?"

Drunk smart kid.

>>"I don't date psychics. We look normal az normal people do, but your brain iz non safe."

Drunk smart kid with a spark of wisdom.

>>"Zere is a girl wiz four arms. Outward mutation iz safer, non?"

"It certainly has its advantages" Gawain grinned, looking at the girl, musing about that staement for a moment "... it probably also means four punches if ya're not good enough. It ain't really about the nature of the mutation... I guess it's about the personality the mutation comes with."

The kid looked positively drunk.

"Maybe ya shouldn' drink more."

Jude Parroted the words right back to Gawain even attempting the same inflections and accent. He failed. "Maybe YOU shouldn' drunk more." To be honest, the more he drank, the better this stuff was tasting. He could probably take in a whole bottle now and not even cringe. "Zis is not so orrible az waz at first."

As for personality, "Why should we worry of personality? I would not want to keep her I don't sink." Just... you know... could he even really do anything at this age anyway? A little smooch maybe, but even open minded Frenchmen had to draw the age-line somewhere. "Maybe az I am older again."

And thus the bottle went back tossing more liquid down his gullet until finally there was no more. He pulled the bottle back and eyeballed the interior. It might be holding some hostage in a secret place because there was no way he had drunk the whole thing already, right?

>> "Maybe YOU shouldn' drunk more. Zis is not so orrible az waz at first."

Good lord, the kid was wasted. Gawain remembered those early days when wandering into bars and getting drunk was pretty much the idea of fun. Sometimes s/he did it alone, other times, with a few 'frineds'... the results were always the same. A morning when you wake up and feel like... well, you feel like how the Jude kid looked right now.

>>"Why should we worry of personality? I would not want to keep her I don't sink."

"'cause a werewolf who likes you ain't as bad as a chameleon who beats yer ass into next week if you hit on her." Gawain declared another ultimate truth, before he shook his head "Keep her, huh. Ya really have a lot to learn about women."

But not right now. The kid could barely stand.

"So, Jude. Out of curiosity, where do you live?..."

Werewolf? Chameleon? He was missing something. Jude squinted one eye at Gawain as if that would help him hear better. "You get beat up by girls?" He was more concerned about a chameleon girl than the werewolf. He knew what werewolves were supposed to look like. Big muscles and tails and fur. But a chameleon girl?

"Don' their eyes move different from each other?" And Chameleons were usually green. And had like two toes... that was one ugly girl.

But then Jake wanted to know where Jude lived. Jude was no fool. He may accept drinks from strangers but he certainly wouldn't tell them where he lived.

"I live in many place." He yawned and leaned against the bar table, cradling the empty bottle to his chest as if it were something softer. It was true. He went between the Mansion and Ghost and Sebastian's apartment depending on how much homework he had or extra curricular needs on either party's end. "Where do you living?"

>>"You get beat up by girls?"

"All the time" Gawain grinned. Some girls were just better than he was. It was a fact of life.

>>"Don' their eyes move different from each other?"

"Ummm... no." Gawain blinked. That was a disturbing image. He really hoped Twyla would not evolve in that direction... even though he'd love her no mattwr what, but still...

>>"I live in many place. Where do you living?"

Gawan sighed. The kid was wasted. And he had no idea where to take him...

First option: find out where he lives. Nah. He probably has parents, and Gawain was not exactly sober either. Not to mention a complete stanger.

Second: take him to the Mansion. But... same thing. Mama and Sam did not really approve of having drunk minors around...

Third: the usual cure for being drunk. Sleep it off on Rupert's couch.

"Come on, I know a couch ya can throw up on." he smirked, gently grabbing the kid by the shoulder. Looking towards the entrance, he saw the bouncer. Nope, not that way. He started towards the bathroom instead.

"I don' want to srow up." He whined at the guy who was now dragging him by his clothes toward the bathroom. "Zere is no women in ze basroom eiser." Jude tried to pull away by walking in a different direction.

Somewhere along the way, he forgot to keep her arms folded cooly against his chest. Those arms had been hugging the bottle to himself. Now the bottle fell with a thick tink of glass. They were built to be dropped without shattering. It wasn't like Jude was the first drunk ever to drop a bottle.

That thought stopped him. He wasn't drunk. After just one bottle? He leaned down delicately to pick up the bottle and kept leaning. And leeeeeeeeaning. He giggled as the floor approached.

>>"I don' want to srow up. Zere is no women in ze basroom eiser."

"Damn right there are not" Gawain muttered. That was the kind of sharp thinking that proved that the kid looked his exact age.
Oh great, I just got a toddler drunk.

Jude dropped the bottle; thank God it was drunk proof. The kid - not so much. Gawain managed to catch him in the last minute before he hit the floor, and held him up with one arm around his shoulders - now Jude's feel barely touched the ground. The thought about just throwing him over his shoulder - but he could imagine that would not be the only kind of throwing done. So.

"Back to business." he muttered as he made his way to the bathroom. Lucky enough, it was momentarily empty; Gawain reached out to touch the neared mirror. "Hold on kid, here we go through the looking glass..."