ArchivedLogs:Less Worry

Less Worry
Dramatis Personae Ivan, Jackson
In Absentia	2013-08-13 '
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. It's early still, and despite the sun having come up a few hours ago by now, the cool air of the preceding night still hangs around the place like a blanket. Another morning, another appearance of Ivan in the gardens of the school. Nothing new there. He's only freshly arrived, sneakers collecting damp droplets off the still slightly wet grass that lies between the common paths and the beehives toward the back, in an open black peacoat and with a raggedy black backpack hanging from one of his shoulders. He's making his way toward his usual early-hours spot - just under a tree - but first, a checkup! Of the hives themselves, though he doesn't touch them so much as just... comes to a stop in front of them, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he stares at the painted white boards that make up the bees' homes. Much like the students, without classes, not many of the bees are out and about yet at this hour. In fact, Ivan himself looks sort of tired, as he /peers/. And then moves, slowly, to brush some leaves off the top of the wooden boxes. What WOULD they do without him. Jackson is quiet as he makes his way out to the garden, a thermos in one hand and his other resting on the flap of his FreakAngels messenger bag. Aside from the black bag, he is brightly colourful, capri pants in peacocky shades of blue and purple and green, a purple t-shirt reading 'let's switch gender roles', green frames on his sunglasses, glittery blue nails. He approaches, though not too close, lingering a short distance from the hives. The smile that spreads across his face is bright. "Miss them?" Though Ivan freezes immediately when he hears the voice, the smile that pops up on his own face makes it immediately clear that his halt in actions was by choice rather than fright. He turns and immediately wanders closer, nodding once, twice, three times. That much missing! For a moment, it looks like a hug might be incoming. Until suddenly-- he stops, inhales sharply, and instead turns his attention to the backpack that he then slides carefully down over his arm. It's unzipped and searched through, and a moment later he holds up, in both hands and toward Jax, a gift! Roughly the size of a soccer ball, though a lot of it feels like padding. And ... for some reason, covered in gold, red and white reindeer-themed giftwrapping paper, despite the season. Ivan looks quite /eager/ to hand it over, his smile still lingering as he holds it out and flatly notes, "A thank you. From my parents. And from me." Even if the hug from Ivan does not manifest, it is difficult to escape Jax without /some/ hugging occurring. He smiles brighter as Ivan nears, and reaches to take the ball in one hand, his other arm reaching for a quick sideways shoulder-squeeze. "S'a lotta missing," he says lightly. "It's good, I think. To go home, get a break from all this. But m'glad to see you back, too." He takes the present in both hands, examining it curiously before he starts to peel off the wrapping. "A thank you?" His smile is still in place, but there is a note of confusion in his voice. "What am I being thanked for?" Ivan is glad to accept the squeeze, if his lack of struggling to get AWAY from it is any indication. He stands sort of awkwardly afterward, as though Jackson's confusion causes a little of his own, in turn. "I am glad to be back. I was- worried, some times." These words prompt him to look Jackson over for a moment, in thought, before he clasps his hands together behind his back and focuses on his advisor's face instead. "But I am very glad. For many things." The gift is apparently mostly bubblewrap at the top! Once peeled away, the contents prove to be more of a bunch of half spheres than anything else. A set of five wooden bowls, black with gold-coloured leaves and bright red fruits decorating the outside. The inside of the bowls is a similar, solid gold colour. A folded up piece of paper in the top bowl reads in friendly, printed letters: TRADITIONAL KHOKHLOMA STYLE BOWLS -- but rather unhelpfully, the paragraph of information below it is in Russian. "For being here. My mother was very grateful when I told her what you have done for me." Ivan says this like he's vaguely surprised the question should even be asked, even if his smile is still there. "My father-" He stops, there, just for a moment. /Thinking/, perhaps, to remember. "He was not happy when he was here. But he was happy to know you helped to bring me back." "Y'enjoy the rest of your break?" Jax is careful in peeling off the wrapper; he's also careful to save his bubble wrap! PROBABLY for later popping, it is a treasure not to be wasted. He rolls it up, and tucks the bubblewrap and crumpled paper beneath an arm as he turns the stack of bowls over in his hands. "Woah! These are real pretty. And they kinda go awesome with the colours in my apartment." This present earns /another/ hug, the same brief squeeze before Jax rocks back on his heels. "Oh! Oh, I --" His cheeks tint faintly pink. "I don't know if I deserve no -- I mean," his head dips, slightly, teeth scraping over his bottom lip to wiggle at his lip rings. "I don't think I handled things anything like I /should/ have. I just -- wanted to get you back here safe." He curls his arm around the bowls, hugging them to his chest. "-- There's somethin'. Someone I --" For a beat he hesitates. "I mean, I emailed you after Sugar -- the dragonfly -- after she come to me. I ain't sure entirely if you want to meet her or not. I mean, /she's/ a sweetheart, but after everything that happened you -- maybe just don't never want to think about none'a that again, I don't know." Though Ivan is quick to nod in answer, his smile fades considerably when the conversation continues. As Jax gains a spot of colour, Ivan's own drains suddenly away. His eyes flit briefly from the sunglasses to one of Jax's shoulders, to his own backpack (now in the grass), and then snaps back up to Jax's face. Fairly unwavering! If a bit forced. Though when his mouth opens for him to say something, it takes a few seconds for something to actually /leave/ it. Quietly, at that, expression fixed. "I did not know she was still with you." Time for the bees to awake properly, it seems. A number of them comes flowing from the hive as though something unexpectedly stirred them from their sleep, though once outside they continue on their way as calm as ever. Jackson tenses, faint and uncomfortable, as he watches Ivan; his head tilts slightly with the additional stirring of the bees. "Yeah. I mean. Her -- person got arrested an' she just showed up. I guess she don't have nowhere else to /go/. And it ain't hardly fair to leave /her/ t'die just 'cuz Thea's --" His jaw tightens. He lifts a hand to skim it over the top of his skull. "I'm sorry," he says. "I know it ain't -- I don't want to bring it up. Except it's kinda important to bring it up. Not -- because of Sugar just because of you. Cuz you left immediately after all that an' -- that's good. That you got home and got /away/ from all this I just -- been worried about you. Cuz'a taking off without ever dealing with --" His brows crease. "Ivan, have you ever talked with Professor Jin?" "I am fine, mister Jackson." This, Ivan /does/ manage to say without pause, though a little monotonously, his gaze now lowering slowly to the bowls while he leans ever so slightly forward onto his toes. "I was worried about you, but you are fine. And you were /hurt/. And Peter was, too. And Kai was stung by the bees, and Rasa- ze was..." He stops, there, eyebrows pushing toward the center of his face as he swallows. When he looks up again, a smile is once more in place, though it's timid and equally fixed as his gaze. "But everyone- is fine." Right? ... Wait. There's something slightly /hesitant/ about Ivan's next question, as though perhaps he suspects he already knows the answer. "Why would I talk with Professor Jin?" "A lot's gone on with other folks, s'true. But that don't mean what happened with you is no less -- important." Jackson's arm curls tighter around the bowls he holds. "She's one of the counsellors here. Everyone's gonna have to talk with them this term /anyway/ but -- it might be good? Just to have a safe place to... work through what happened. That kinda thing sometimes sticks with you." Ivan's face shows few signs of recognising truth in what Jackson's saying. But a few seconds into a contemplative stare, he... simply nods. His hands briefly curl into fists at his sides, but then relax again. Perhaps because he then moves to hoist the backpack onto his shoulder again, or perhaps because he's accepting his new fate. One of those. "I would like to see Sugar, some time," the student adds, then, "but... are you okay, too?" He doesn't actually /look/ at Jax when he says this, focusing instead on a bee that happens (?) to fly by. He sticks out a hand and watches it land on one of his knuckles and proceed to bumble about on his skin. Nectar? No nectar. Bee disappointment. Jackson's brow creases faintly as he watches Ivan, but slowly smoothes out once Ivan speaks again. "Me? I'm --" He quiets for a beat, then just shrugs a shoulder. "Been a heck of a summer," he answers with a quiet laugh. "You don't gotta do nothing that --"He he starts, but then quiets again. "I'll take you. To see her, if y'like." His head tips back, sunglasses focusing up on the sky. "S'everything else in order for the next term? You got your class schedule lined up?" The next breath Ivan draws is deep, but let out in a slow sigh. Followed by another affirmative nod. "I think so. I have missed the classes. It is good to be busy." His eyes stay locked onto the bee that traverses his hand, before it accidentally rolls off of his wrist and takes to the air before managing to hit the grass. But Ivan's hand just sort of-- lingers, hanging where it does. Like he's not sure where to put it now that it's not housing a bee. Staring down at it like it still DOES. Until eventually he moves it just to step forward and attempt to give Jackson a hug. No smile, this time, just an errant twitch of an eyebrow in thinly veiled frustration. Jackson's head turns back down, glasses fixing on the bee on Ivan's hand, too. "Busy," his lips twitch, and across the surface of /his/ hands, little honeybee-tattoos appear, swarming across his knuckles to disappear around beneath his palms. "Yeah. Busy's --" His words break off into a sudden tense of surprise, eyebrows raising above his sunglasses at the hug. He returns it, one-armed, his other occupied still with the stack of bowls. His arm curls around Ivan's shoulders, squeezing tight. "-- good," he finishes. "-- Y'had breakfast yet, hon?" He glances towards the hives thoughtfully. "They producin' much honey?" "I like to wake up the bees first." Ivan mutters, barely above a whisper, pulling back from the hug and immediately straightening. Recomposing. Clearly a necessary thing after a hug. Ahem. "I think they are doing well, for a first year hive. According to my books." He leans to the side, then starts - very slowly - to walk back toward the paths. Slow enough for Jackson to walk with. His tone remains on the timid side, but he does look back up to Jackson with a weak smile that can't /help/ but form at the prospect of /honey/ and its /extraction/. "Maybe- this weekend. I think we should harvest. And afterward, I can visit Sugar." Jackson does follow along, tucking one hand into a pocket, his othet hand staying carefully around his /present/. "Good! Good. Once they're -- doin' good, once /you're/ doin' good /with/ them maybe -- maybe we can get a couple /more/. Maybe." He turns his head just a little bit, glancing over towards Ivan as they walk. "Can I help, maybe? I'd -- be interested in learning, at least. How do you do it. Harvest them. S'pretty fascinating." "We will use the bee keeping suits." Ivan has /decided/, as he walks. "Just in case. So that I do not have to..." He pauses, one hand lifting in a gesture that doesn't really HELP in coveying what he means at all- until suddenly he remembers. "Strain myself. And!" He perks up as he speaks now, though his shoulders /pop/ up too as though he just scared himself with his own voice having been surprisingly and uncharacteristically Not Quiet, though his smile remains. "And then we will have /honey/. And we can taste it /first/." Very important. Jackson smiles, quicker, wider. "That sounds pretty great. What'll you do with it all? If we start gettin' you enough hives you might could make a proper business of it. Do bees --" His head tips to one side, considering uncertainty. "Do hives get -- happy? "... Fuller." Ivan answers. As he walks, a few /gnats/ and little grey moths flit out from nearby greenery to gather on the side of his head and shoulders. A handful only, seeking refuge in his now short hair or his clothes as soon as they land. He doesn't seem particularly aware of it. "More bees means the hive is healthier. There is less /worry/ if it is full." He looks up to Jackson with a moth just making its way across one of his eyebrows, but it does little to get in the way of his suddenly quite /alert/ expression. "I promised Shelby a jar of honey. And I thought, maybe, you, and the kitchens. Or Miss Savita. Or." He continues, gaze flicking down to his feet, but it's under his breath and very much not in English. But it's a potential /list/. Apparently EVERYONE needs to get honey. "Mmm. Good. Y'think hives stay healthier 'round you?" It's an absently thoughtful question, Jax flicking a glance back towards the hives. "I hope so. We got plenty enough worry 'round here already. We could use a bit more sweet. I think pretty much /everyone/'ll appreciate /that/." He glances down to the bowls in his arms, and then to Ivan. "Maybe -- maybe I can put these away an' -- get some breakfast. And then later, if -- y'like. We might could go see Sugar?" The first question gets a thoughtful wrinkling of Ivan's nose as he wanders along. He eventually settles on, "I hope that they do." The second question is much more easily answered, and it is done with a nod! And then two more. Or three! His pace quickens and his smile brightens considerably soon after, following thoughtless enthusiasm. /Yes please/ let's do this thing.