ArchivedLogs:A Preoccupation with Explosions

A Preoccupation with Explosions
Dramatis Personae Kisha, Rasa
In Absentia	2013-02-24 '
Location <XS> Rec Room - FL2
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. When it comes to students relaxing in the Rec Room few, if any, people would expect to find one with an improvised portable drafting table set up by the window. But that's exactly what Kisha has done and from the pile of empty candy wrappers she's been here quite some time. "Now the question is how do I convince the staff to let me build the molds..." she muses out loud, drumming her fingers against the windowsill. "I could always try and hide it out in the woods..." Rasa is a bit of a shy and quiet individual, despite the volume in which ze is dressing at today. Gold leggings with black shorts and mesh gloves up the arm with fabric covering the hands underneath contrast wildly with the very somber yet playful image of the Mona Lisa printed on hir white tee shirt. She has been in the rec room for a while, but ze is growing ever closer to Kisha just to see what she is drawing at her table. Ze lifts hir gaze with Kisha to peek out side, but when the girl speaks, Rasa replies. "Molds of what?" Kisha yelps. "How on Earth did I not notice you come in?" she glances at the tablet computer on her lap, then back to the drawing. "Shit I've been here hours... Erm.. molds of a history project..." Because if the excuse works for an espresso machine then why not for this?" Of a... how to put it..." With close inspection Rasa can see the drawings of a large tubular device. "Technically it's a cannon. A /replica/ cannon I mean..." "It's a Saturday night in the rec room. The place is full of people coming and going." Rasa replies factually, hir hands clasping behind hir back. "You're going to cast a cannon and shoot it on school property?" Hir eyes grow wider as ze leans in to get a better look at Kisha's work. "What century are you working on?" "Not right this minute?" Kisha replies innocently. "And I didn't say anything about firing it because that would involve making gunpowder and from the wikipedia article I was looking at it indicated I'd need 'the urine of a wine drinking priest'." She grins. "And I doubt they'd let me buy it online. Not when we're banned from even having a microwave in our dorm rooms." The final question gets a puzzled look. "What century? As in what style of cannon?" "Well, yes. That's the crux of it. There are several types of cannons throughout each century, but asking which century narrows it down considerably." Rasa's flesh takes on a more ivory color as peachish words scrawl down one arm, debating quietly within hirself the flammability of a drunk's urine and if the religious order in question would provide a more or less alcohol rich waste product. The text is small and hard to read between the crisses of the mesh on hir arm. Kisha doesn't exactly stare at the text, but her eyes do flick to the side and her brow furrows. "It's called a falconet. Fifteenth century I think? But anyway.... You do know your skin is going a most unhealthy colour right?" she wonders. "I don't mean to be rude, it's just if that isn't a normal part of your mutation you probably need to find a doctor..." "I am healthy and this is normal," Rasa replies stiffly, hir stature shrinking a little. The white almost appears glossy now, the words disappearing completely. Kisha tilts her head, then waves her hand. "Fair enough... I just wanted to be sure because the last time I saw anyone go really pale they blacked out. I wasn't trying to be rude, this whole mutant thing is a little new to me. I haven't even been here a full week yet..." She coughs. "Sorry I forget to say, I'm Kisha. Nice to meet you." "Rasa." The awkward teen rubs at hir arms as ze stands back a little. "I guess this is all very strange to take in. Were you the only one in your community to be different?" Ze turns to look at the drawing. "Why a cannon if you can't fire it? I'm pretty sure that with the right teacher as your aid, it could be managed, though. They do let us do weird things here. Explosions are ... well, some people's gift." There is a moment while Kisha chews at her lip, considering the question. "I suppose there were other mutants around, Detroit is a pretty big place after all, but my neighborhood wasn't the sort where mutants would willingly go to live. Too bad to be safe, not bad enough to be the last resort. As for why a cannon... why not? It's to see if I can." "I see. Good luck with that." Rasa steps back again. Ze turns to look outside again. "Do you find the school to be welcoming to you?" "I guess? No-one has been actively unpleasant as yet although some of the dorm rules are draconian," Kisha informs, one of her hands reaching for a pencil and idly resuming work on the drawing. "I doubt they'll let me even try. Given the quantity of bronze I'm going to need and the facilities I'd have to build from scratch... I'd do better to build a modern UAV. Easier to improve parts out of remote control aircraft. But I'm saving that sort of stuff for later when class work gets boring again." "Yeah... I really am unsure where you are going to cast bronze." Rasa fidgets a little. "I don't doubt they would be willing to do it, but at the same time, it's a bit of an expense just to create a single school project. It is a school project, right?" Kisha blinks, then blinks again. "Well we're in a school and it's a project..." she says evasively. "I had planned on building a big mold out in the grounds. You basically get /roughly/ the right shape, pour the bronze in and then you drill and lathe the shape you want. Technically it's a very simple process once you get past the weight and volume of liquid bronze you need to handle. But uhm anyway enough about me and my projects... Have you been here long? Do you like the school and that sort of thing?" "I have been here since December. I am relatively new myself." Rasa blinks at Kisha's explanation and nods, solemnly. "The school is nice and very good about helping a person learn what learning means to them." "What does that actually mean?" Kisha asks curiously. "Learn what learning means, surely learning means the same to everyone. It's simply what they want to learn which varies and the vigour with which they persue those interests?" "Learning means different things to different people. Some people just want book learning from here. Others just want to protect themselves. Others just need to become less... messed up. To heal." Rasa shrugs and glances back at Kisha. "Some people are very proprietary about what they say 'learning' is. It's hard to let go of some of their definitions." Kisha pauses and then changes the sheet of paper she's working on for a blank piece. "I suppose I should come up with some other back up projects," she notes largely to herself. "So you've been here about two and a half months? You must have seen some really crazy things in all that time. Is everyone really as friendly as they make out? I mean I find it hard to imagine a school which doesn't have bullies or cliche-y jerks. But if we've all got super powers, however ineffective, then I guess it makes it harder for someone to decide who they're going to pick on?" "No, you just find it hard to pick on people when the staff has telepaths." Rasa is nothing if not blunt. "And I wouldn't say that the school is filled with ineffectual mutants. Sometimes, the ones that can't control themselves are actually the most dangerous to be around. The staff is really good though, so you don't really have to worry too much. We're also all used to being freaks. Few turn that around on others." "I didn't say ineffectual mutants. I said ineffectual powers. Big difference. Like for example my mutation means I don't sleep, but there is no outward indication that I don't have something more terrifying. Like death ray eyes. As for control issues I'm well aware of what poor control can do," Kisha notes dryly, holding her arms out for inspection. Each of which is a mess of burn scars criss-crossed with lines of deeper scars from the wrists up. "Would you be offended if I asked what your power actually is? Some kind of biological control perhaps...?" "I don't actually want to talk about it." Rasa shakes hir head. "I am sorry for your attack. Are you okay now?" Her skin turns a silver color now, burnishing gold in places and turning to bronze. Kisha laughs. "Attack? Oh no, I was caught in an explosion. No-one attacked me," Kisha explains with a slight smile. "But it was a result of poor control. I'm mostly fine, my skins still pretty sore, but that'll get better in time. I'm lucky in a way that the gloves I was wearing protected my hands otherwise I could have lost a lot of manual dexterity." "An explosion? here? I must have missed it." Rasa frowns, one hand reaching up to scritch at the back of hir neck and into hir hair. "I am glad you did not lose your manual dexterity." "Uhm. No before I came here," Kisha explains cautiously. "You seem awfully calm about a potential explosion, do things blow up around this place a lot? Or is it more that people try blow the students up from time to time?" One of her hands brushes against the touchpad computer and then makes a few keystrokes." Her eyes flick between following Rasa's shifting colours and back down to her new drawing. "I get the feeling New York isn't very safe lately." "One can be pretty calm about explosions when one hasn't been involved in one." Rasa shrugs and leans against a wall, looking Kisha over. "It's not, but it's probably not just New York. All of the new kids that have come in have lots of stories to tell. Some of them aren't very reassuring, but I haven't been blown up yet." Kisha tilts her head. "My advice is try avoid it," she opines. "The one advantage is it hurts enough you generally black out. But New York seems worse somehow, with all the stuff which happened in Central park recently. The fines for public power use are especially troubling." "Yeah. I don't know what happens when one cannot pay." Rasa pushes away from the wall and looks at Kisha. "I'm going to snag something to eat. Did you want to come with?" Kisha hrms. "I would imagine they'd impose some short trip to prison," she suggests. "I'm not especially hungry right at this moment and I've got my work to finish. But thank you for the offer, it's been nice speaking with you and I hope you don't take any offense from my questions about your mutation. Everyone seems to have a different idea of what is an appropriate level of disclosure." "Yes, yes they do. I'll see you later." Rasa lifts a hand and turns and walks away, hir stomach growling audibly.