Current mood:	confused
Entry tags:	caitlin, gideon, ic, iolaus, mortimer

Valentine's Day drugging
Well, that was... weird. Oh well, free chocolates /and/ a science experiment. To say nothing of the 20 bucks worth of candy I'll be picking up when they restock.

Sweet Adeline - Yorkville - Manhattan

Sweet Adeline, the banner behind the counter reads in large pink and yellow letters. It's not cartoonish, but actually graceful cursive script, tastefully floral in nature, and on the candyshop counter to either end are matching vases of fresh pink and yellow mums. Inside the glass cases are rows of truffles, bonbons, caramels, and other sweets, while on shelves and stands there are boxes and jars of candies - heartshaped, white rectangles, even teddybear shaped containers, and jars and bottles of crystallized violets and candied rosepetals, parma violet and crystallized ginger, lemon drops and peppermint ices. There is a separate counter for special orders, and for the display of their homemade varietal fudges.

Gideon shows up at the Chocolate Sampling. Being the rich brat of a major computer tech company has it's advantages after all. His face is all done up with make-up so his facial fungus isen't noticed, but he takes his samples, headed off to a corner to try a few to see if they are good at all.

Standing close to the front of the queue, with a long leather trenchcoat over her somewhat unusually feminine attire, a tall young redhead hunches into the end-of-Winter chill. Every now and then, she glances around over her shoulder as if searching for someone not yet present.... Still, upon the doors opening, she moves inside readily enough, glad to slip into the warmth.

Arriving not quite on time, but still before the 20 person cutoff, Wesley enters, hands deep within his suede jacket, protecting him from the chill. He doesn't recognize his school mate, but his eyes do lock on the back of the redhead's head as he steps forward for his free sample, giving it a considering look.

Gideon looks up to spot Caitlin and Wesley and he smiles, "Caitlin, Wesley!" He waves at them both, waving them over to him. However though he takes a bite out of the white chocolate. His smile gets wider, waving at them both more.

Caitlin's identity is probably quite easy to confirm, as she sets about engaging one of the staff in conversation - starting with some hopeful hand-waving and face-pulling, before swiftly switching to use of a notepad produced from one of the side pockets of her long coat. She starts in surprise upon being addressed, her distraction allowing the staff-member to be grabbed by another customer. Looking around to spot the other youth from the school, the redhead offers a cheery little finger-wave.

Wesley blinks over at the other boy, then his eyes widen. "Oh, hey, Gideon, didn't recognize you," he says warmly, stepping over, shooting Caitlin a smile. "Heya, swim buddy." He considers the chocolate. "Ooo, white chocolate," he says happily, popping one of the samples into his mouth, chewing.

Gideon waves to both Caitlin and Wesley, heading over to them and says, "Hey you guys, I havn't seen you both for awhile." He hugs Caitlin briefly and looks between them and says, "So how's things been?"

Clearly caught by surprise by Gideon's move to embrace her, Caitlin's silent greeting to Wesley is interrupted by a startled look and a marked stiffening. She blinks at the younger boy curiously, before shrugging and mustering a smile.

"Good," Wesley answers with a broad smile, looking between the two as he closes the box, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. "Good chocolate" he remarks, grinning.

Gideon nods to Wesley and says, "Yeah, it is... you tried the white chocolate? It's really good." He smiles at Caitlin and says, "Hey, go on and try some Caitlin, you'll really love it."

Caitlin once again blinks in surprise, then darts a somewhat frustrated glance towards the door, rising onto tiptoes as if searching for someone. She then refocuses on the two young men, offering a grin and a wry shrug.

"Looking for someone?" Wesley asks the redhead. "The mysterious girlfriend, maybe?" he wonders, continuing to rock back and forth on his feet, beaming.

Caitlin laughs silently, glancing back to Wes to nod and blush delicately. She shrugs, offering a rather sheepish grin.

Wesley smiles. "Cool, finally get to meet her, huh?" he beams, bouncing just a little. He pops open the box of free samples again. "Girlfriend probably won't mind if I take one of the dark chocolates," he says, grinning as he plucks it from the box.

Caitlin blinks in surprise, then offers one of her silent chuckles. A bit of juggling of burdens ensues, before she manages to prop her box of chocoloates on one hand and the notepad atop that, to jot down a swift note. 'You've got a gf meeting you here, too?'

Wesley shakes his head. "Naw, she's back at 'the ranch,' was going to surprise her," he explains with a smile, biting into the dark chocolate. "Wow, strong."

Caitlin lifts her brows, cracking a swift, lop-sided grin. 'Not come out much? Or are you meant to be bringing back a good supply of chocolate for her?'

"Busy with her band," Wes explains, his smile turning into a frown. "Pretty much always busy with her band nowadays. Don't see her nearly as much as I used to."

Caitlin blinks, pauses, then cocks her head. 'Band? Are you dating Nikki, or is there another girl there with a band?'

"Another girl," Wes says. "Rather musical group, all told." He frowns down at the box. "Name of Faith." He grabs a milk chocolate, rolling it between his fingers.

Caitlin nods pensively. 'Think I met a Faith, long time back. Dream House, maybe. Certainly knew a couple of people who wound up at the ranch.'

"Dream House?" Wes asks. "Sounds nice," he says with a broad smile.

Caitlin quirks a wry smile. 'Youth centre. Bunch of the ranchers used to hang out there a fair bit. My first big commission was there. Got the younger kids involved, and painted murals.'

"Oh yeah, think I know the place," Wes says with a grin. "Not a bad place, think I saw your mural," he says, still grinning "when my sister dragged me over there to help her friends with some little food drive or something stupid like that," he says, mood souring.

Caitlin lifts a brow, cocking her head and peering rather quizzically at Wes. 'Four murals', she writes. Seasons flowing into each other around the main room. I did the fiddly work and outlines, and the kids got to do a lot of the colouring-in and a few personal details.'

"Why I was at the pool, actually. She called me up and insisted I help her work on a Chinese New Year thing for the school that all but kicked me out," Wesley says with a shake of his head. He reads the notepad, eating the milk chocolate, a small amount sticking to his fingers, only to be licked off. "Oh, that's kind of neat."

Caitlin nods slowly and rather uncertainly. 'You went swimming because she wanted you to help your old school?', she asks on the page, clearly rather confused.

"Why I was in town. Went to meet up with her after I left," Wes explains, the bitterness gone from his tone.

Another slow nod and quizzical look from Caitlin. 'Well, I hope that you had fun at the pool, at least. Don't often see many people there, at that time of day.'

"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Wesley says with a smile. "You really should try these chocolates, they're good," he says, considering the box.

Caitlin shrugs slowly. 'Was hoping to share 'em with V', she writes, casting another dubious glance towards the doorway. 'Didn't want to start without her...'

"Ah... makes sense." He offers his box. "Try one of the white chocolates. It's alright, Faith doesn't like white chocolate much."

Caitlin dithers briefly, then gives in to the temptation of free chocolate, selecting one of the white ones at random. After eyeing it with some interest, she pops it into her mouth and chews thoughtfully, clearly savouring the flavour.

"Good, huh?" Wesley asks with a grin, shutting the box for now. "Nice of them to give out free samples."

Caitlin swallows, nods, and grins. 'Generally wouldn't choose white chocolate, myself - but when it's free....'

"Dark chocolate gal?" Wesley wonders, giving a smile.

Caitlin chuckles, shrugs, and nods. 'Yeah. But don't let me steal any of yours. You and Faith should have those. I'll settle for free white chocolate.'

"You are a crazy fast writer, you know that?" Wesley asks with a smile.

Caitlin blinks, then offers one of her strange, silent laughs. 'Practice', she writes simply, before winking.

Wesley chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you'd get plenty of that," he remarks. "'V' say when she's coming?" Wes wonders.

Caitlin rolls her eyes, then sniggers. 'Sorry. Mind going bad places. Ummm... she SHOULD be here by now, but travelling by public transport's never the most reliable...'

Wesley steals another white chocolate from the box, turning to read the pad. He blinks, rereading the sentence before chuckling. "Later tonight, hopefully?" he wonders with a grin. "Hear this city's got it better than most."

Caitlin blinks, then laughs silently once more, blushing a touch under her make-up. 'We can hope so... and yeah, but it's still not something you want to depend on too much.'

"Kinda want to meet the girl who picked out that swimsuit," Wesley admits with a broad grin.

Caitlin giggles and shrugs, blush deepening a shade. 'Yeah, well... I kinda hoped to have her with me this evening. Seems a kind of appropriate idea, you know?'

"Yeah, definately. Always good to be with your SO for this sort of thing."

Caitlin chuckles, expression rueful, and nods. 'I'd imagine so. Never had a SO on Valentine's Day before.'

"That makes two of us," Wes admits. "Didn't date much before the ranch."

'I slept around a fair amount', writes Caitlin blithely, 'until I came here. Then I was celibate for a couple of years....'

"Wow," Wesley says, reading the sheet. "Cold turkey, just like that?"

Caitlin shrugs slightly. 'Just a matter of willpower, mostly. And other things - like freedom - being more important. There are ways of coping, of course.'

Wesley whistles innocently. No idea what she's talking about, honest.

Caitlin giggles, winking at Wesley before shaking her head at him. 'You need a better innocent act than that...'

"Eh, worth a shot," Wesley says with a grin.

Caitlin giggles silently again, before quirking a broad grin at Wes. 'That's debatable.'

Wesley grins. "Okay, maybe not."

Caitlin laughs once more, then pouts and rises up onto tiptoes to peer towards the door....

Wesley reaches out, attempting to wrap a hand around Caitlin's waist with the intent of lifting her up for a better view.

Caitlin starts in surprise, instinctively flinching away from the contact, stepping forward and part-turning before coming to a halt and shooting Wes a rather curious look, head cocked quizzically.

Wesley gestures towards the door. "Wanted to give you a better view," he says with a smile. "Looking for your girlfriend, right?"

Caitlin nods, expression still a little dubious even as she musters another smile. Her hands shift into the start of some signing, then she pouts once more and settles for jotting down another message. 'I'm hoping she'll make it. Though I dunno if she'll be up to it. Would be kinda nice to share something silly like this with her, though.'

"Yeah, kinda miffed Faith couldn't make it," Wesley says, reading off the little note. "Just have to surprise her with the chocolate later," he says with a grin. "You're taking your freebie back home, yes?"

Caitlin nods quickly, then opts to provide a somewhat more informative answer on the page. 'I figure that we might as well share the fun, if we can? I can buy some more here to suit my own tastes and as a present for V, but we might as well find out what the special Valentine's gift is like together....'

Wesley digs into the box again, pulling out yet another dark chocolate. "I'll repackage them when I get home, so she doesn't notice any missing," he says with a grin. "Maybe find some pink plastic wrap to wrap them individually or something," he muses. He eats the chocolate, chewing it as he savors the flavor.

Apparently satisfied that Wesley's not going to make another grab for her, Caitlin casts her gaze around the shop. Frowning a little as she peers somewhat warily at the increasingly demonstrative displays - both happy and sad - that are starting to be visible among the other customers.

Wesley holds out the tray again. "Sure you don't want some more?" he asks. "Like I said, she hates white chocolate, so feel free to grab some of those."

Caitlin peers quizzically at a young man sniffling morosely over his freebie box, before bringing her gaze back to Wesley. She dithers... then grins, shrugs, and grabs three more of the unwanted chocolates, popping the first into her mouth to chew.

Wesley closes the box, tucking it under his arm, looking at the young man. "What the fuck is his problem?" he whispers somewhat harshly. "Oh, don't tell me some guy's having a 'so ronery' breakdown." He shakes his head. "Single through middle school and most of high school, and you didn't see me bitching."

Caitlin's chewing slows, as she now shoots Wesley a rather warily dubious look, before peeping around at various other individuals and couples. She shrugs pensively, swallowing before delicately biting her next chocolate in half, eyeing the revealed filling.

"Seriously, free chocolate, shouldn't /that/ be enough to cheer the kid up?" Wes shakes his head. "Besides, it's /really/ good chocolate," he says with a small grin.

Caitlin sniffs cautiously at the contents, then shrugs and pops the remaining half of the sweet into her mouth. Pen-hand again free, she jots down a note. 'V-Day can be pretty depressing for many people. Maybe someone was needlessly cruel to him?'

"Yeah, maybe," Wesley says, looking over at the boy. "People in this town can be kinda harsh," he says gently. Turning to Caitlin, he watches her eat the chocolates. "You usually eat them like that?" he wonders with a grin.

Caitlin shakes her head, popping the last of her latest three chocolates into her mouth. 'Only if I'm wondering what's in them.... Heck, maybe he just saw the girl of his dreams with someone else. This sort of event's notorious for throwing up situations like that.'

Wesley winces. "Ouch, yeah, that totally sucks. Oh god, this one job I had, there was this college girl. Gorgeous, you have no idea," he shares. "Don't tell anyone, but in a lot of ways, she's /still/ what I consider my ideal woman as far as looks go. About a month into the job, they hired her boyfriend," he says with a grumble. "If you could really turn green with envy, I'd've been the fucking Jolly Green Giant," he says bitterly.

Caitlin cocks her head, this time combining no small measure of interest with her curious look. 'Ouch. Did you stay there long?', she asks on the page. 'And what was so great about her?'

"Just for the summer," Wesley responds. "Temp job. And... well... everything. Good shape, cute face, good proportions," he says, getting kind of a faraway look in his eye before shaking his head. "Oh well, dating an idiot anyway. You ever seen an Asian try to bleach their hair?" he wonders.

Caitlin blinks, then offers one of her breathily soundless giggles. 'Yeah... you get Asian punks and Goths, though not many. It _can_ look okay....'

Iolaus walks in, his normal labcoat and suit replaced with a rather tight pair of black jeans and an equally tight spandex black shirt, cutoff at the sleeves. There was carefully taped on bits of paper on his hands and a few teflon test tubes hung out of his pockets. His hair was mussed up, and he looked what could only be described as recently-ravished. That was his intent, anyway. He looks around the chocolate shop, before buying a box of the white chocolate, paying for it in cash.

"Bright orange," Wesley explains to Caitlin. "He ended up looking like some sort of anime reject," he shares, shaking his head. "Stupid looking."

Caitlin lifts her brows, chuckling silently - before casting her gaze around the shop once more. She does blink in surprise and again rise up onto tip-toes... but to peer at a rather unusually clad man rather than anyone likely to be her absentee girlfriend. She blinks, cocking her head, expression suggesting that she's not wholly sure of what she's seeing.

Iolaus opens the box of chocolates and tosses one in the air, catching it in his mouth and chewing slowly. "Ahh..." he says to himself, getting out of the line and leaning against the wall. "Just a few more, then we're off, hmm?" he continued, quietly.

"What do girls /see/ in people like that, anyway?" Wes asks bitterly, frowning as he realizes he's being ignored. He follows Caitlin's line of sight, staring at the guy wearing latex, an eyebrow raising. "Somehow I doubt that's your girlfriend," he remarks.

Caitlin starts in surprise, then shoots Wesley an apologetic look. 'Perhaps daring to be different and take a risk counted for something. I dunno', she writes. 'And no - that's not V. I think it might be someone I'm meant to be working for, though.'

Iolaus eyes his hand, carefully, and tracing the edges of the design which were in faint black paint up his arms, spirling up in an almost random pattern until he reached the edge of his shirt. "Perfect." he says to himself, popping another chocolate in his mouth and shivering slightly. He raises an eyebrow, and stares at the box, before shrugging.

"You work at a gay bar?" Wesley wonders.

Caitlin frowns a touch, shooting Wesley a decidedly puzzled look - before laughing and shaking her head. 'No, no. There's a reason I'm surprised to see him looking like that... though I think it IS him. All my work's freelance art, or street performing.'

Iolaus scarfs down another of the chocolates, and looks at them puzzled once more. He was beginning to feel a little fuzzy around the edges. He turns the box over, reading the ingredients carefully. "Weird..." he mutters quietly to himself.

Wesley looks at the latex clad man again, then back to Caitlin. "Okay... Kinda odd, but.. hey, New York, home of the freaks," he muses, sneaking a hand into his box to grab a milk chocolate.

Caitlin shoots Wes a rather amusedly bewildered look. 'Do bear in mind who you're talking to - and who you are', she suggests on the page, before trying to catch Iolaus's eye.

Iolaus walks over towards the counter, the box of chocolates under his arm, before stopping about half way there. "Ahh, what the hell. I'm going to a party." he says, grinning. He pulls the box open again and pops in another white chocolate.

"Yeah yeah," Wes says bitterly, rolling his eyes. "There's more to being a freak than genes," he says, eating the milk chocolate, taking his time to chew it.

Caitlin purses her lips - first at Iolaus, then at Wesley. Another smile almost immediately breaks out, however, and she tries a waving at the latex-clad man.

Iolaus catches someone waving out of the corner of his eye, and turns to peer at who it is. A few moments later, he flushes furiously, and walks over slowly, haltingly. He places the box down on a nearby table so he has both hands free for signing. ~Hello.~ he signs, blushing, but unable to look away lest he miss her reply.

Last he read on his resume, Mortimer was a /car thief/. Not a damn delivery boy. Damn. But when the head of his branch demands a last-minute box of sweets for his latest Sweet, the unfortunate soul who answers their cellphone has to answer the call. That's prettymuch the only reason the black-clad man with an equally black ivy cap tipped over his face has entered Sweet Adeline. Needless to say he's keeping himself as much turned away from others as possible while he drifts around the edges of the store, peering at prices and fingering the roll of bills in the pocket of a jacket he wears. "Such a bloody waste'ah my time," he mumbles and glares at a decorative arrangement.

Caitlin cracks a very broad grin in response to Iolaus's blush - but has to spend a few moments slipping her pen into a pocket of her waistcoat and tucking her notepad under one arm before she signs a response. ~Hi there! Interesting outfit... and no I wouldn't have guessed you'd be part of that sort of scene. I can offer congratulations on how respectable you seem normally.~ As she finishes that last phrase, she wiggles her nose, then sniffs cautiously at the air.

Iolaus runs a hand through his hair, embarrased. ~Hey, it helps me calm down after a lot of work. Once every few months I go to a rave.~ He grins. ~More than that, the p-h-e-n-o-l would probably kill me.~ He raises an eyebrow at her sniffing, then shrugs and goes for another chocolate.

Mortimer continues to glare angrily at the display, as if his gaze could sear through the hat and melt the chocolate into a slow-running river. Fortunately, that's not one of his powers. So after a moment of lingering in an imaginative scenario of that very thing happening, he gravitates closer to the front and tilts his head at some of the more expensive gift boxes. "Kuh, w'o th'fuck pays this for a buncha crap thah' looks like crap, anyway," he grumbles, this time much louder.

Wesley looks between Caitlin and Iolaus, a curious eyebrow climbing his forehead. "He deaf?" the boy asks Caitlin, taking a moment to glance at the cockney voiced malcontent.

Caitlin shoots a disapproving glance towards Mortimer - double-taking briefly before grinning at Iolaus. ~I think that someone might be about to take some of the attention away from you. Though you're making me feel quite conservatively dressed, for a change~, she signs with a rather mischievous wink. Wes in turn receives another grin, as she shakes her head.

Iolaus blushes once more, and looks behind him at the trenchcoated figure. ~Just as well. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand having people who aren't dressed as I am like this, At least I didn't put on the glow yet.~

Mortimer lifts his chin to one of the people behind the counter. "Oi! Wusthmos' expensive thing you got t'make a heifer sop 'er drawers?" He glances sideways at a rather large, heart-shaped box that's pointed out to him, then takes a sizeable roll of cash from his pocket and starts peeling away bills. "Ah'take it. Ring it up so Ah can get th'ell outta 'eah." He blinks, peering down at the chocolate sampler that's set on the counter in front of him. "Wussit, then?"

Wesley looks between the two as they talk past him, sighing a little. "Not talking about me, are you?" he wonders, looking at her hands, as if they might give a more honest answer. He blinks at the marble mouthed individual. "Charming."

~Heh. I'd offer to show you my own clubbing gear, but I doubt you'd be interested~, signs Caitlin teasingly to Iolaus - before blinking, grinning, and shaking her head once more, bringing pad and pen back together to jot down a quick reply for her other companion. 'No. Actually talking about clothes!', she writes, though as she shows the note to Wesley she is also peering dubiously at Mortimer.

Iolaus grins a little bit. ~Sorry. Only if you were male dear. And wearing close to nothing.~ He winks, and chuckles a little bit.

Mortimer continues to stare at the box as if it were going to explode. When it doesn't, he snatches the top off and stares at its contents. More crap that looks like crap. Only some of it's white, like bird crap. He rolls his eyes and reaches for the large heart-shaped box that was rung up for him. Then, as he tips his hat up a bit to get a better view of the world around him, his gaze picks up the display of chocolate liquors. "Oh-ho, a reason t'be in this store after all." He moves across the room, intent on shoving through the signing group to get a better look at the alcohol-filled treats.

"Oh," Wesley says, leaning over to read the note. "Dare I ask?" he wonders, turning to look again towards Mortimer, raising an eyebrow.

Caitlin frowns disapprovingly at Mortimer, then chuckles and shakes her head at her companions. 'Feel free to ask him yourself, if you like! I think I might go and buy some more for V, and take advantage of their special offers....', she writes to Wes, before repeating that last part in sign for Iolaus's benefit. ~Back shortly!~

Iolaus raises an eyebrow at Wesley. "You're gay?" he asked, bluntly. Not usually his style, but what the hell, he was fuzzy!

Wesley jumps back a little at the question. "No!" he answers swiftly and firmly. "Quite happy with girls, thanks," he responds.

Mortimer snatches an eight-pack of miniature champaign bottles, then returns to the counter to pay for them. One might think he'd just run off with them--and he would, except he's got to get the bigger box to a rendezvous point soon, and doesn't have time to bother with being chased. More money is laid on the counter and this time he doesn't stop to wait for change. He's out in a swift stride, already peeling the wrapper off a few chocolate bottles as he heads down the street.

Having approached the counter around the same time as the greasy and foul-mouthed stranger, Caitlin hung back for a few moments before stepping up to make her own selections, purchasing them with rumpled bills withdrawn from an inner pocket of her waistcoat. She accepts the gift-wrapping and long-stemmed rose, bouncing happily as she turns back towards the two males...

Iolaus grins at Weasley, and extends his hands outwards in a gesture of peace. "Hey, she told me to." he says, grinning at Caitlin. "What was I supposed to do?"

Wesley shoots Caitlin a little look. "Funny," he remarks as she walks back over, rolling his eyes, though his voice is without venom.

Caitlin returns, clutching her rose and chocolates, to shoot the two males a rather confused look, clearly silently asking "What'd I do?"

Iolaus signs to her, ~I asked him if he was gay. Then I told him that you told me to.~ he says, winking at her. ~You did, after all.~

Wesley looks between the two, squinting as he's left out of the loop yet again.

Caitlin blinks in surprise - then rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at Iolaus... though her lips are twitching into a smile even as she does so. 'I. Did. Not!', she mouths to Wes.

Iolaus grins and turns to Wes. "She says she did." he says, nodding. "Can't you read sign language? She said so."

"Can't read sign language," Wesley says, shaking his head. "But I'm not so bad with lips," he admits, chuckling. "Besides, even if I was, latex isn't really my thing," he says, stepping a little closer to the mute.

Caitlin looks somewhat relieved as Wes opts to believe her rather than Iolaus - offering the latter a decidedly triumphant look, before smirking and playfully poking out her tongue once more.

Iolaus snorts. "It's lycra, not latex. Exercise clothes? Never heard of them?" he teases, grinning at Caitlin. ~Hey, I had to try, didn't I?~

"He always like this?" Wes asks Caitlin, grinning slightly.

Caitlin cracks a cheery grin, ostentatiously pondering those questions for a few moments before offering both the same reply - a rather dubiously wobbled hand.

"Hey!" Iolaus says, hitting her hand playfully. "I am not always like this. Not at all. When was the last time you've seen me out of a suit or lab coat, huh?" he made a hmphing sound, and crosses his arms.

"Not sure, but she probably won't be forgetting that outfit any time soon," Wesley admits, stepping around behind Caitlin, grinning.

Caitlin somewhat nervously watches Wesley's progress behind her, before again returning her gaze to Iolaus. She wags a cheerfully scolding finger at him, then giggles merrily, albeit near-silently.

Iolaus rolls his eyes. "You want to see what the outfit is really like?" he said, pulling one of the vials out of his pocket and slamming it against the countertop. He shakes it up a little bit, and it starts to glow a vivid green. He uncaps it, and gently paints it on along the lines up his arm, smearing it across the design of paper, up to his neck where it popped back out from under the shirt and traveled up his neck. "That's what its supposed to look like." he says, pocketing the vial.

Wesley chuckles at that. "Wow," he all he can bring himself to say, poking Caitlin in the side gently. "I'm harmless, really," he says with a grin to the woman. "Don't need to act so nervous."

Caitlin wriggles in response to the poke, glancing back over her shoulder to offer Wesley a view of her tongue this time, before looking back to Iolaus and beaming delightedly. She giggles, nodding approvingly.

Iolaus grins slightly. "I've got, uh, bluish green as well. But this should last me about three hours before it starts to fade and I need to put another coat on." he says, winking at Caitlin. "I figure, people already think I'm a mutant because I'm the head of that clinic, even though all the doctors say I'm not. I might as well stir up a little more trouble, eh?"

Wesley shakes his head. "Am I the only well behaved person in this room?" he asks, turning to look at weepy as he suddenly becomes giddy with excitement, stepping a little closer to Caitlin.

Giggling at Iolaus, Caitlin takes a moment or two to notice Wes moving even closer behind her. She doesn't step away, but turns her head to peer over her shoulder at him, lifting an eyebrow quizzically.

Iolaus raises an eyebrow, watching Wesley. "Uh... I don't bite. Unless people ask me to." he grins, cocking his head to the side. "And somehow I don't see you asking me to do that, so you don't have anything to worry about."

Wesley gestures towards weepy, who is now giggling over his nearly empty box of chocolates, the white chocolates gone completely, and the dark chocolates close to gone. Wesley isn't the only one paying the somewhat manic boy close attention, the clerk behind the counter staring at the boy. Around them, other people are also acting somewhat erratic, but weepy's got it the worst.

Caitlin gives the poor lad a rather curious look... then peers somewhat pensively at her own, untouched, box of samples. That done, she lifts a quizzical brow at Iolaus.

Iolaus shrugs, and pops another white chocolate into his mouth, giggling softly. It felt as if he was a little buzzed, but that was really it. "Mmh. God, I need to get me a guy. Hey Cait, want to come to a rave? They're loud enough that you should be able to feel the music."

Weepy quickly reclaims the name, shouting at Wesley. "What're you looking at, huh?!" he cries at Wesley. Farther away, someone shouts. "Hey, what's wrong with these chocolates?!" Wes looks between the other two. "I swear, I used to be able to have /normal/ days in town. Whatever happened to that?" he bemoans.

Caitlin frowns pensively, hastily starting to tuck away her acquisitions in the small backpack she sports, the long-stemmed rose being rather carefully arranged to protect it as best as possible....

Iolaus turns around a little bit, giggling at Weepy. "Wow, that girl has some issues." he says, a little bit too loudly. "And these chocolates are great. I thought I got the non-liqueor, but whatever. I rather like this."

Wesley stands a little closer to Caitlin, rising to his full height, and attempting to take up as much room as possible from a neutral stance. "Yeah!" one amongst the gathered shouts. "Where's your manager?" a woman yells at the clerk, who quickly disappears into the back room. "We might want to keep me between you and them," he whispers towards Caitlin and Iolaus.

Caitlin shoots Wesley a rather incomprehending look, but continues with the process of securing her purchases, darting a rather bouncily amused glance sidelong at Iolaus.

Iolaus eats another chocolate, giggling. "I think I might buy a few more of these..." he says, staring at the piles of them on the counter. "Mm... Yes, I just might. What were you saying?"

"Peachy keen," Wesley says, rolling his eyes a little. The group is shouting at the manager now.

Caitlin shrugs her bag onto her shoulders, freeing up her hands to sign to Iolaus. ~I think that you might've had enough for now~, she gestures to him with a friendly grin. ~But I hope people calm down enough to avoid any nastiness....~

"Look, Cait, if this gets ugly, just... stick close, I can clear a path," he says, his eyes flitting back and forth, sizing up the people around him, particularly between him and the door. The manager yells something, and Wes turns to look at him. "Everyone in the store gets a 20 dollar gift certificate!" he cries, attempting to appease the crowd before things get ugly.

That saves Wesley from being on the receiving end of another disbelieving look from Caitlin - who instead hastily turns her attention towards the distracted Iolaus, taking responsibility for ushering him before her into the lines now starting to form to claim their free chocolate vouchers.... Though some of the customers are still visibly rather more emotional than might be expected, that promise of free supplies has done a good bit to mollify most, with only some of the more argumentative souls opting to harass the manager and staff about what might be in the confectionery....

Wesley hops in line behind Caitlin. "Well, I guess that's something," he says with a grin.

As the crowd calms down, various people find themselves in somewhat similar roles to Caitlin, ushering along individuals who are a little more distracted than themselves.... Still, the promise of free chocolate is a powerful lure, and the gift vouchers are soon enough being distributed without significant problems....
Tainted Chocolates