Scene #2366: Hawkmoth vs the Volcano

Owner	Pose
Entrapta	"Ironically, there's no difference between the beans on a chemical level," the girl is saying to the exhausted lady behind the counter. "I was able to break them down in a simple burner solution without much effort, and after I'd done the tests I got to drink it! It was disgusting, just so you know, but still technically coffee!" The nice kid behind the counter is paid minimum wage plus tips. She, or he, (hard to tell exactly) looks like they'd like to just hand the girl her cocoa and move on. But the girl is a talker. "There were some slight differences in the final totals, but I wasn't able to really get that down to a significant answer between bean types, you would have to really set up a full testing system for that kind of thing, but I know you have more than the necessary quorum amount of beans here, so there's a good minimum of available materials if we want to test!" They look at her, at the line beind, then say, "That really doesn't answer my question though." Pause. "Oh? What was it?" "Did you want anything else?" The line stares, uncertain how to proceed.
Hawkmoth	There is, Hawkmoth believes, a way to change his costume from the original, rather dubiously designed version based off the original user, to something more chic and suited to his sensibilities as a designer... but he certainly hasn't discovered it. Nooroo hasn't offered up the secret either, useless kwami that he is, stating only that the Miraculous users were meant to discover their powers for themselves. That certainly didn't fit with all the moralistic lectures on how the Butterfly wasn't meant to be used for evil, but who was he to complain? (The person who had complained, that was who.) Luckily, Tokyo, like Paris, is a city where people don't bother to ask questions, and when Hawkmoth sweeps to the front of the line at the coffee shop, there shocked glances are only for his ''rudeness'' in jumping the line. "The young scientist prefers single-bite foods. Do you have any snacks to suit that preference?"
Entrapta	Moments later, Gabriel Agreste's powerful mein and demeanor has caused them to be seated, PRIVATELY, with a nice selection of options. Given that this is Japan, there are some options you'd not normally find in a 'coffee shoppe', but the girl is munching away contentedly. The barrista is also looking relieved, the man having clearly saved them from whatever power the girl had over them, and they are back at their post, while Gabriel is free to assume his. "There's a lot of chemistry available in a location like this," the girl says between bites. She seems to have been starving. "I could fix their machinery but they seem to be too observant to let me take it all apart and I don't care to come back after they close. I have other work to take care of at those times. Though I'm fairly certain that the machinery here is less than five percent efficient, it's kind of ridiculous really." She sips cocoa, the puts the cup back down. Then she looks at the man. "Do I know you?"
Hawkmoth	Oh, he's quite certain she could do unspeakable things to the machinery of this building if she wanted to - Entrapta had certainly impressed Hawkmoth with her intelligence, the last time they met, as well as her curiosity. The akuma he had allowed her to depart with had lost contact with him once she'd crossed some threshold on campus, but even that had only been a momentary annoyance. It was valuable, to know that the butterflies could exist on campus at all, even if it were only as the innocent, unempowered variety. "We spoke not so long ago, on the subject of the Miraculous," the masked villain says, offering more patience than he would ever usually. With his Miraculous, he can feel all the negative emotions around him, and the curious vacuum of negativity that is the girl in front of him. "I didn't anticipate meeting you again, but coincidence strikes at mysterious avenues. Is it mere curiosity, that you'd want to take apart and improve their machines, or are you running out of materials to learn from?"
Entrapta	She pauses, cocking her head for a moment. "More inspiration of the moment than anything, really. I look at a tool and it just seems incomplete, and there seems to be a logical progression from the current state to another one that it needs to become." She glances at the 'coffee maker' and bites her lip, then shakes her head. There's a longing, but it's minor. "Really though, I would adore being allowed to really cut loose on some more powerful systems. There's only so much you can accomplish with this stuff. I've tried, and yes, that does teach a person creativity with limited resources, what could a real engineer do with the best?" She's basically drooling. Then she shakes it off, and grins with her right cheek. Mostly. "I recall the conversation, got a lot out of your little moth. The resonances were astounding, I could use more core samples to work with. You don't keep them with you, do you?"
Hawkmoth	In other words, she's always looking for a new project, scanning about for the latest things that pique her interest and then wanting to get to work. It's a good attitude for a professional to have, and despite Enissa's youth, she is ''clearly'' a professional, if one without a particularly good poker face. Especially since she's practically drooling over the thought of advanced resources. "If it's resources you desire," he says simply, without artifice, "Obsidian is the ideal place for you. I'm not typically a recruiter, but I'd be remiss to not make it clear that with your skills and intellect, you could go far. Our access to materials and resources is second to none, and the quality of our labs supposedly some of the best in the world." He offers her a faint, wry smile that doesn't reach his eyes. A show, for someone who doesn't require it. "While I've dabbled in research myself, I'm not one for engineering outside of the occasional dabbling with textile and fabric engineering. I'd be happy to provide you with another moth, to further your research, but you could do even more with direct access to our resources."
Entrapta	Someone who can't even decipher it, the girl's ability with body language is much like that of a stump. Short, and harder than expected to penetrate. "Hm. I've never dabbled in that, but it's certainly a field with potential," she says, misconstruing what he's said to an offer to work in a textiles laboratory. "Tensile strengths are mostly already known, though there's always work to be done in improvements." She rubs the back of her head, taking another bite. Swallowing she says, "I mean, I could fix your equipment right up, certainly, but I'm more into advanced engineering than working on fabric. Or in fabric, I don't know the proper terminology." Pause. "Wait, you work in the arcane," she says, waggling a finger at him. "You have more than just testing elasticity in mind, don't you."
Hawkmoth	There is a moment of puzzlement, at the train of thought Enissa rolls on, before Hawkmoth understands the nature of the miscommunication and is - well. He might be a supervillain, but that's really more of a ''calling'', than a ''profession'', and really, more of a circumstance thrust upon him by necessity than a preferred creative outlet. He's a fashion designer at heart, and the thought of harnessing Enissa's mind to advance his ''actual'' field is - well, it's breathtaking. For a moment he just allows himself to envision the wondrous machines she could create, particularly if casually tossed ideas and challenges - But she's catching on, then, and well, he really and truly does have greater priorities. "Yes, I do," he confirms. "Obsidian does arcane research on a variety of methods. Last year, one of our breakthroughs was combining our magics to create artificial magical artifacts, which could give ordinary civilians the ability to wield magic in combat and remember the existence of magic. Those artifacts were limited in their capacity, and we focused primarily on the goal - I'm certain that someone with your creativity could have done even more - and still could, if you accept the opportunity."
Entrapta	Cut to a year from then, when Enissa is presenting Gabriel Agreste a theoretical model for a completely reworked construction system including the ability to alter models on the fly, and to shift a hue down to the tenth of a degree. But, as said, it's best to move on. Here in the present, the girl is simply listening. Avidly, of course, as she does all things, but her mind is on the tech of the moment. "I'm certain that you have specialists who could do that better than I could, but I could learn from them to start? Honestly the ways i can be of most use right away is in robotics or electronic work, but I am incredibly interested in what your team is working on! That sounds like it could be a gamechanger if it was actually able to work!" She pauses then, interrupting her flow. "I talked to someone about this recently, who was it? Oh whatever, names aren't important. Did you try rearranging the internals of your project artifacts? I find that placement tends to limit the thaumatic flow, and without a proper angle the energy fails rather spectacularly. It's about accessing the energy in the most efficient manner possible, within the constraints of the devices. Let's go." She starts to get up. "What? I need to see them in order to fix the problems they might be having, though sometimes that teaches more than an actual success! This is so exciting! I would love to get my hands on something BIG eventually, this all sounds like fairly secondary to the workings behind it all." "THAT I could sink my teeth into..."
Hawkmoth	Was. Was that supposed to be that easy? No, seriously, Hawkmoth is sitting in his chair, busying himself with drinking some of his black tea, if only to keep from actually asking, out loud, with his mouth, 'are you actually signing on right now? just like that?', because he will certainly ''not'' be jinxing himself. Even if the faintest part of him is atypically uncertain and would like the reassurance. Is this a win? It's a win. He's decided it's a win. He's taking this as a win. "You'll need to sign some agreements," he informs her, standing and leaving money for the bill behind, deciding to hop on the train of her enthusiasm, as it were, and get her wrapped in binding legalese - or at least, presented with binding legalese - before she can change her mind, or worse, elect to think it over with her little friends. "But yes, we'd most certainly be glad to allow you to work with our specialists and learn from them. If you've already spoken to someone within the company, I'm sure they've begun thinking of projects and opportunities we could put in front of you." And if she wants bigger opportunities - well, let's see what she does with what Obsidian has available for the rest to tinker with. If she continues to impress... there's always the matter of the Peacock.
Entrapta	Entrapta, on day one, was breaking into her neighbouring dorm rooms and stealing their things. Entrapta, a week later, was teaching her phone how to hack into government servers so she could download books. Entrapta, a month in, rewriting people's records so they'd stay out of her way when she had a project due, or wanted a tea without interruption. That Entrapta, he wants to tie down with her name, written on a piece of paper. "Sure!" she exclaims, ready to do whatever it takes to get to the new technology! "I was hoping to have a lab, can I have a lab?" She will have a lab, even if it's not technically hers. Probably within a week. Is it weird that aliens don't respect human norms? Naaah, I'm sure it's fine. "I can port my work over from my rooms, you've got storage space right? And I need to access your tunnel network." She means the air ducts. "For a friend." She means Emily. Well, it'll be interesting.