ArchivedLogs:Snowverlords

Snowverlords
Dramatis Personae Flicker, Jack, Jax
In Absentia	2015-01-26 '
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. It's long since grown late. Outside the snow is piling higher and higher against the glass panes of the conservatory. A frigid wintry backdrop upon which the actual warmth feels oddly dissonant. It's quiet right now. Dimly lit and all but empty -- just one solitary figure tucked onto a bench beneath an orange tree. Flicker has his laptop out, its screen glow noticeable in the otherwise dark room. He's dressed in jeans, a tee with a design of Coyote from Gunnerkrigg Court, his X-Man jacket discarded on the bench beside him. His eyes are fixed a bit blankly on his screen, finger hovering above the mousepad but not scrolling, a thermos on the bench next to him tucked into his mechanical hand. Jax brings light /with/ him, quite noticeable too in the otherwise-dark. There's a few lantern-like orbs floating nearby his head, small lizardcreatures trapped inside, each lizard wreathed in flames. The light from these glows his way as he skirts through the paths and stops by Flicker, offering out a bowl of chickpeas-and-kale-and-mushrooms in peanut sauce on rice. He is dressed -- bright as ever. Purple skinny jeans, very chunky black and silver-buckled boots, a bell-sleeved shirt with peacock-feather designs down its sleeves, glittering green-and-purple makeup, /chrome/ streaks in his blue hair. Sunglasses, despite the dark. "Didn't see you at dinner." Explains the bowl of food. Its all the glowing and light that draws Jack's attention to the otherwise dark area. Thinking someone just left a light or something on, he's not expecting to run into anyone. He's dressed in what could be considered normal for him, jeans and an Xavier hoodie. He's quiet as he walks, hands stuffed in his sweatshirt pocket, hood up, and a book on origami borrowed from the library under one arm. When he spots some familiar faces ahead and hears Jax speak, Jack's a little surprised but still smiles. "Hello," he chimes in greeting, hoping he hasn't interrupted anything. "Wasn't /at/ dinner." Flicker's tone is a little bristly-sharp. Gruff and a good deal more /snappish/ than usual. He pulls in a slow breath, cheeks flushing dark. Rubs his eyes with his knuckles, dropping his hand back to circle fist against chest. "I -- didn't mean. Thanks." He looks tired as he closes the laptop, scooting to pick up his jacket and make room for Jax on the bench. His cheeks are still red when he takes the bowl. "From dinner?" He nods towards the bowl in indication. Looks up afterward to stamp a quick smile onto his face when Jack appears. "Hey." Jax holds up his hands like a gesture of surrender. "Just figured you for maybe-hungry is all." He does take the seat when Flicker offers it -- a little more /tentative/ than he might otherwise have been, given the snappishness, about the arm that he offers up in hug. "You aright, honey-honey? You seem pretty --" This sentence breaks off with Jack's arrival. "Oh, hey, Jack. How goes?" He shakes his head at Flicker's question. "Naw. I jus' whipped it up for a snack." Jack watches the two for a moment after hearing the way Jax breaks off whatever he was saying. "It's going okay I guess. Glad I'm in here and not out there," he tilts his head towards the snowy outdoors. "Is your night going okay?" he asks. A moment later he finally takes notice of just what is making that light and stares at the firelizards in the orbs. "Whoa." Flicker doesn't answer, first. He /does/ lean into the hug, closing his eyes, briefly resting his temple against Jax's colorful hair. Finally all he says: "Long day." He holds the bowl in his lap, spooning up a mouthful of food. "I'm always amazed at the deliciousness you 'just whip up' like no-big-deal." He glances back towards the window, smiling just a little bit brighter. "I was out there. Pretty. There's some kind of snow-person battle being staged on the lawn." Jax's arm curls tighter around Flicker, squeezing close. He presses a kiss to the other man's temple before releasing. "This really ain't a big deal, the sauce takes all of five minutes to --" His cheeks darken, to. "Whip up. Are we talkin' like an actual war reenactment kinda battle staged in snow or is this jus' some new. Snow armies. Initiatin' hostilities." He tips his head in mild puzzlement after this, looking back to Jack with a lift of pierced eyebrows. "Whoa?" "I meant I'm glad I have here to stay and I'm not out there sleeping in that," Jack explains with a little chuckle. "There was a fun snowball fight out there earlier though," he adds. He's a little confused by the mention of a snow army but stays quiet on that subject until he hears the answer to Jax's question. "Oh," Jack rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry. Just noticed the lights. They're really cool looking." "I don't think it's a historically accurate snow war." Though Flicker doesn't sound entirely certain. "Just some kinda new snow uprising. -- Five minutes of fifty, any meal I made wouldn't be --" His grin is a little crooked. A little sheepish. "Well, /edible/. Much less delicious. So /I'm/ sticking with impressed." He looks briefly towards the salamander-lights, too. "Cool looking is pretty much how Jax rolls." "I support the snowpeople's right to self-determination." Jax sounds slightly amused, looking back out towards the storm. His legs pull up onto the bench so that he is sitting cross-legged, and his blush only deepens at the further compliments. He turns up a hand, one of the salamander-lanterns floating down to rest in his palm. The lizards inside shift colours, their flames turning yellow, then green, then purple. The flames themselves start to shift shapes, tiny licks of flame breaking off to spark new life -- small sharp-toothed razor-clawed faery-creatures with shimmering lights in their tattered leathery wings. "I just don't like the dark." "What're they rising against? Rock salt?" Jack asks with a little chuckle. "I'm not good at cooking either," he admits after Flicker mentions his lack of cooking skills. Attention returns to the salamander-lanterns and Jack watches them curiously. "The dark can be kinda...messed up sometimes..." he trails off quietly. "Cool is a great way to roll though." "Wouldn't you? You just want to be free to live your life and then the salt comes to melt the /flesh/ right off you. Dissolve your children before they even have a chance to grow. I'd be pissed. The revolution's way overdue." Flicker's eyes stay on the lanterns as they shift and change. A small smile on his face as he eats. "The dark is just fine. If you're not a photokinetic," he adds, nudging Jax with an elbow. "It's the things /in/ it that can get kind of -- messed up." "When you put it that way I suddenly want to start the Society for the Promotion of Snowman Welfare." Jax's lanterns lift higher, spinning around each other and merging into one larger lantern. One larger creature inside, a /bigger/ faery-thing, pitch-black eyes and twisted melting-wax features, unhinged jaw overloaded with far too many sharp teeth, multiply-segmented arms tipped in long hooked black claws. Wings still trailing glowing purple fire-light. "Nah. Things that'll hurt you in the dark? They were /already/ messed up things even in the daytime. They were just waiting for their opportunity." "Errr," Jack rubs the back of his neck again. "Yeah...that sounds pretty bad. I just hope the snow-revolution doesn't come after us for like...being allied with the rock salts," the invisible teen remarks. As the lanterns merge and the faery-creature appears, Jack blinks a few times and his head tilts to the side again. "Yeah...the stuff that's actually in the dark isn't as bad. Its the way the dark messes with your mind and makes you...imagine things that's not good."" "Something," Flicker comments, as Jax's lantern re-forms, "is wrong in your brain, why are all your faeries so -- messed up?" His teeth flash, a smallbright grin with the echo of this descriptor. "I don't think you need help imagining not-good-things." He takes another bite of food. Licks his lips clean. "Are you kidding? We've historically been the primary backers of the rock salt in their snow-genocide. I don't think we're getting a pass." "Uh, have you read any faery tales? Is why." The lantern disappears altogether, the winged creature diving straight /at/ Flicker with a gnashing of teeth straight into his face. The faery vanishes upon impact, though -- though the /light/ doesn't disappear. More diffuse, now, an illumination in the air around them without coming from any single source. "'sides, I've /had/ plenty of help." His head tips to the side, resting against Flicker's shoulder. "At least when snowmageddon comes, it'll be because of a good reason." "Some of the creatures in fairy tales are kinda messed up. When you read the like...really old ones before they got changed into cartoons," Jack agrees. He's spent a lot of time in libraries. He jumps when the light-fairy divebombs Flicker, startled by that. He blinks a few times and shakes his head before nodding. "Well, I guess we'll have to hope the sun comes to back us up then. Or atleast...settle the battles down." "... fair." The point about faeries earns a quiet chuckle. Flicker curls his arm up, wrapping slowly around Jax's shoulders. There's a tension in /his/ shoulder, muscles more clenched than a casual conversation should require. "I got a feeling the sun'll be on our side." "Betcher bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun --" It's quietly sung, as Jax leans into the half-hug. His cheek presses to Flicker's shoulder a moment more. Then lifts abruptly to study the other man's face. "/I'm/ feeling a little stir-crazy all this -- getting snowed in. Come down t'the basement with me? Help work it off? Could use a sparrin' partner." Jack smiles at the quiet singing, humming a few seconds of the song after Jax finishes singing. He actually knows that one. "Maybe with the sun's help we'll reach a peaceful solution to the snow revolution," he chuckles. The invisible teen is a little surprised by Jax suddenly rising like that but he relaxes quickly enough. He falls silent as Jax asks Flicker to spar though, glancing Flicker's way to see what he says. "Well, if not, I, for one, welcome our new snowman overlords." Flicker's eyes turn down to his bowl -- only touched a few bites, so far. A smile touches his lips at the song. He lifts his head quickly at Jax's suggestion. It comes with a soft (relieved?) exhale. Brighter smile, sudden restless jitter of more animated energy as he starts to move. "Actually, that sounds great. I've been a little -- yeah." He sets the bowl briefly aside. Freeing up his hand to rub briefly at his shoulder on the side with the prosthetic arm before he shrugs back into his X-jacket. "You want to set something up while I grab some water?" The light brightens around them, briefly, a warmer glow as Jax leans in to dot a light kiss to Flicker's forehead. "Good. Thanks. Fantastic." The light coalesces back into one solid ball, a glowing sphere hovering over Jax's shoulder. "Y'have a good night, yeah?" He bobs his head in a small nod to Jack. "The last living snowpeople we had was all real friendly so prob'ly the fears of an uprisin' is gettin' blowed out of proportion." He lifts his hand, curling glittery-nailed fingers in a wave before he trots off -- leaving the room pretty /dark/ in his wake. "There were seriously snow-people? Like...mutants or Frosty?" Jack's confused. He lets it go then, waving a sleeve as Jax goes. "Have a good night, Professor," he offers. The invisible teen hums a moment before looking out at the snow again. "I should probably hit the showers sometime tonight before bed..." he trails off. "Good luck with your match down there," he says in Flicker's direction, starting to head off as well. "Like Frosty, I guess. Talking snow-people. Yeah. There really were." Flicker lifts his bowl in a salute. Then vanishes, just a ghostly shiver of motion in the darkness as he disappears.