Networking

[Josephine Pierce]

Knitting her eyebrows, Josephine nodded. "Seiji? Yeah, I know him," she said and nodded once more. She didn't elaborate though, as Elsa started walking towards one of the tables. What dealings could Elsa have had with the adorableness that made up her good friend? Ah, well, it probably didn't matter and it was quite honestly none of Jo's business.

As they reached the table, Josephine sat down and folded her hands over it, "Seiji is one of my closest friends at the academy," she explained. She probably didn't have to talk about the movie nights and the sleepovers. She doubted Elsa was interested in hearing about that. Like, at all. "We've been friends for quite some time now, and as you can imagine, we share the same passion." She smiled a little at that. "We study side-effects and stuff together, and I'm going to steal him for when I take over the family business," she laughed and used her hand to brush off a few strands of stray hair from her face.

"Well, passion might be stretching it, but yeah. He studies side-effects, and as do I. Kind of. I study genetic mutation and DNA research, but whatever. Tomato, tomatho right?" She figured that was why Elsa had asked, because Jo had brought up the whole lab thing. Though, she had already assumed she knew, but from the look of things, maybe she didn't? That was odd though, as she couldn't really imagine why else they had been more or less pushed together to meet.

Well, whatever questions Elsa had about the lab, Jo would be happy to dish out. It wasn't like they did any top secret (from other mutants) research or anything, as far as she was concerned.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"Small world," muttered Elsa, laughing dryly. Strange that Jo followed up painting a slightly different picture of Seiji then the man Elsa had experienced. Then again, she'd pretty well put the other young man on guard the whole time, what with it being a business meeting and all. She did have to pause and wonder why she wasn't doing that now.

Closest friends: Elsa nodded to that, not wanting to interrupt Jo. She certainly did like to talk, didn't she? The mention of taking over the family business though.. that caught Elsa's attention. She hid it well: not even an eyebrow twitched as Jo casually mentioned it. It did make sense: most esteemed families had at least one child poised to take over the family dynasty. Since Jo was the only one, it therefore made even more sense.

"the two are closely interlinked," agreed Elsa, again nodding slightly. She didn't know much more about the whole situation, seeing as she wasn't anything close to an expert in the field. That's why she had people like Seiji. "I have to admit that I'm more than a little interested in such projects myself. I recently came onto a set of writings put together by one of our old staff members. The woman was something of a prodigy, but actually antisocial. She wrote quite a few hypotheses regarding side effects," Elsa paused for a moment, meeting Jo's eyes. "Seiji was also apparently the only friend she had in the area, so he has the notes."

Elsa paused for a moment, wanting to let the set in. She studied Jo a little more seriously. The blonde just didn't look like the scholarly sort, and the giggly, bubbly personality didn't mesh well. Then again, Elsa supposed she should know better than to judge based on appearance...

[Josephine Pierce]

Hypotheses on side-effects? That brought somewhat of an eyebrow raise from the blonde. Now, they were walking onto the theory Josephine knew best; Side effects, genetic mutations and DNA. "I've never heard about any notes," she nodded slowly, her face suddenly carrying a more professional demeanor from what it had previously. "Did Seiji agree on these theories, or have you not had him look them over yet?" she added and interlocked her fingers before pushing her chin forward. No, she couldn't remember Seiji ever mentioning those notes, but she had to admit, it did capture her attention and interest.

Well, at least for now. For all Josephine knew, those documents, or files, or whatever they were, could prove to be nothing more than the talkings of a mad woman. Not that Josephine was in any position to judge without proof, but still. Mutations and everything surrounding it was a touchy subject, one she adored to discuss.

Cocking her head to the side, Josephine smiled again, "I assume there's a reason as to why you're telling me this?" she asked. At least, she might not have been the brightest bulb or even remotely close to being traditionally smart, but at least she was observant and knew the field she had been playing on for her entire life. This was practically what she had been raised upon. The foundation of everything her family stood for, yadda, yadda, yadda.

And no, Josephine couldn't remember hearing about the woman, though, that wasn't all that weird, really. She had only been a college student for about a year or two, and she usually did her projects alone as opposed to with other people.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

So Seiji hadn't shared the notes with Jo yet. He might not think he was allowed to, considering that they were somewhat confidential. It was also entirely possible that he'd forgotten about them: they only bothered Elsa on occasion. She hesitated before answering the rest of the question though:

"He hadn't told me his opinions on it. He seemed open to whatever McLisk had to say, but he also knew that she was a bit... eccentric," which was actually putting it somewhat mildly, all things considered. Elsa still wasn't entirely sure that Jo's other opinion wasn't correct, that they weren't just the ravings of a near madwoman who didn't like the rest of the world. There was just... a lot of intelligence in there. The school had already gotten the funding McLisk had arranged too. They often said that if someone was mad, they were consistent. McLisk... wasn't.

"You'll find there's a reason I say pretty well everything," said Elsa, mildly amused. Before she could expound further, they called the girls' number. Elsa raised up to go and fetch the food, which she knew would be served in a pair of baskets. She figured that Jo might very well follow, figuring that she should carry her own or grab some napkins or something. They wouldn't need sauce, what with the gyros coming with their own, but Elsa did find napkins to be fairly essential.

Only food this good wouldn't irritate Elsa when it interrupted a conversation.

[Josephine Pierce]

"Do you want me to take a look at them?" she asked then and narrowed her eyes, watching the brunette. "I could be wrong, but I assume you brought them up for a reason, and well, I do the same thing as Seiji, with perhaps a little more experience; Not that I'm better than him, mind, but I have a whole network of contacts." Which was probably one of the few things she loved the most about her family's business. Mind, she didn't have any bad feelings against her parents, despite their disappointment when it came to her gender. She had worked hard to getting where she was, and she actually found the whole interesting.

Standing up, Josephine followed the brunette. Walking up to the desk, the blonde fetched her own basket and waited for Elsa to do the same before she walked over to the table where they had all the accessories. Grabbing a few napkins, she placed them on top of her basket before gathering a few packages of sauce, and then some packets of salt. Turning to Elsa, she offered her something of a smile before she headed back towards their booth.

Sitting back down again, Josephine put the packets and the napkins in a neat pile and looked down at the food, "This really does look really good," she said, acknowledging what Elsa had told her prior to their earlier conversation.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded. "I'm beginning to think that would be a good idea, though I'm not one hundred percent certain quite yet. I need to make sure they end up with someone I can trust," she hesitated for a moment there, "and while you do come recommended, we have only just met. even if we are forging the sacred bond that comes from sharing a gyro together."

Elsa paused the conversation to fetch the food, actually closing her eyes and inhaling as she drew the warm Greek sandwich toward her. She could feel her stomach churning just drawing it forth, and the smell alone brought back several memories. She and Erika had eaten here a few times, after all, and at least once after a breakup, which meant gorging. Elsa's stomach remembered that all too well.

"They're twice as good as they look and at least as good as they smell,' replied Elsa quickly. She finished gathering the napkins, then nodded to Jo. Elsa followed by gesturing with her basket and then headed back to their seats. "In fact, you'll have to forgive me, but I think we should probably pause the conversation for the first few bites. I'm mostly going to be moaning in a manner that may get a few of the perverted males to stare," she nearly salivated over her food, well aware that its presence was starting to make her act and sound just a little bit more like her matching sibling.

[Josephine Pierce]

"That's a fair point," Josephine agreed. It wasn't something she could argue with either. She might have had the knowledge needed, but she could easily understand how Elsa wanted to make sure. In a world such as this, and in the position Elsa was in, holding said papers, one could never be too sure. Of course, Josephine loved the academy with all her heart and would never do anything to harm the school, but that didn't really matter, and no matter how many times she told the brunette, she still had to actually convince her.

Laughing at the brunette's crude comment, Josephine nodded, "Alright, that sounds fair," she replied with a shrug. Putting her focus on the food, she started nibbling on it, at first, carefully, but as the taste started filling her mouth, a smile spread over her lips. "Man, this really is delicious," she said and chuckled.

Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Josephine pursed her lips, "They should serve this at the school," she pointed out and nodded towards the food. "Like, once a month or something. I think it would be quite popular." Man, and the lines... Jesus.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Fairness all around, and the repetition of the word had Elsa smiling slightly. The smile only grew as she took a bite of her food, enjoying the explosion of flavor that went off in her mouth. As she expected, she ended up moaning in pleasure at it, and, also as she predicted, a few people looked, but only for a moment. They had food of their own, after all, and it wasn't as though Elsa were the only one making quasi-inappropriate noises in public.

Elsa dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and nodded slightly. "I've considered it. Gyros are actually something that could effectively be mass produced, with the meat and all. I hadn't the pull to actually do anything about it till now..."

And now, staring at the food, Elsa actually considered it. Wouldn't it be nice to enact a change in the school that didn't have to do with some secret agenda or protecting the school or doing something else? Sometimes Elsa really did wish she were a simple teenager and could focus on stuff like that. So much so that she got distracted just thinking about it now.

[Josephine Pierce]

Nodding eagerly, Josephine beamed, "You really should," she said, chuckling. "Imagine how pleased the masses would be." And herself, of course, because dear god, it felt like her tongue was orgasming. It was such a foreign sensation and she'd hate to come down here every damn time her tongue craved a refill. Sighing, she shrugged the thoughts away. She really did hope Elsa would go through with it, but she wasn't going to beg...yet.

How incredibly interesting, going from such a interesting topic of conversation to something so casual. It peaked her interest in more ways than one, and it struck her just how complicated the Bellefonte twin really was. Underestimated, clearly, but still extremely complicated in a very simple way. She didn't know how else to describe it, but Josephine enjoyed her blunt personality. At least, to some degree.

"Being a headmistress at the age of eighteen," she then mused, shaking her head. "Your sister really dragged you into it, huh," she laughed then, shaking her head again. "Though, it seems like you thrive in your role. Much more than what your sister does. She seems... Awkward and clumsy?" Josephine narrowed her eyes at that. Despite her sometimes blunt and outspoken personality, she was well aware that she might have been stepping out onto a field with mines with this. "Or... Insecure, perhaps." Not that Josephine was one to speak, but at least she had a lot of confidence with what she did. It was just everything else that made her feel queazy.

"While you seem to be in your right element. It's quite the interesting observation."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa smiled, thinking about it. Yes, she supposed the masses would certainly love this food. She looked over, again wondering if perhaps she shouldn't try. Maybe if she made more gestures like that, at least showed that she really did care for the student body... maybe she could suggest it to her sister, see what Erika thought.

Almost as if she were the mind reader, Josephine brought up the job and the sister. Elsa frowned slightly at the comments. Yes, it matched what she thought to a degree, but she was Erika's sister, she was allowed to make those comments. Had she been too friendly with Josephine? Led her to think that she could simply make offhand comments about Erika like that?

"Well, she asked, and I agreed," Elsa replied evenly, her voice several degrees colder. "Since we both thought that we needed a little more preparation for the job. She never really trained for it, and I always had, so it was easiest for us to just slide into roles. she's still a good deal more official then me, and she has several plans for us moving forward." Elsa took a bite of her food.

"And I always thought my elements was the shadows, personally. Matches my dark personality better." Another bite, perhaps a little vicious. Though Elsa had to fight back a groan: The food still proved heavenly, after all.