Logs:False Negative

False Negative
Dramatis Personae Jax, Kyinha, Kitty, digitally Shane and Marinov
In Absentia	2020-08-12 "Have you seen Kurt Wagner?"
Location <XAV> Teachers' Lounge - Xs Basement
Running a school for mutant teenagers just taking control of their powers is not an easy job, and the teachers at Xavier's deserve a place to come and relax. This lounge is their place to come and de-stress, and it does not skimp for relaxation. The room is elegant and luxurious, plush couches making up the seating in the lounge and a glossy glassy bar wrapping around one wall, well-stocked with alcohol (and perpetually fresh-brewed coffee, for those so inclined.) A large-screen high-def television hangs on one wall, stocked with about as many movies and games as the childrens' rec room upstairs. High bookshelves hold a wealth of books. The fridge here is always well stocked, and the cook is always willing to make deliveries down to this level. Far in the back, a hot tub is submerged into the floor, for still more unwinding. More days than not, there's some variety of snacks to be found on perched on an end of the bar -- quite often in the form of fresh-baked desserts. 'NOTE: Students are not allowed in the Teachers' Lounge at ANY time.' Early morning and the school isn't quite awake yet; breakfast not ready upstairs, many choosing to sleep in with the more laid-back summer scheduling. Jax has been here a little while, and even freshly out of a shower there's still a faint lingering undertone of chlorine tang about him to tell where he's just been. Where he is now, though, is curled up in a corner of a couch, a coffee-chocolate-chip muffin and large cup of overly-sweetened black coffee in front of him. Dressed in pale lightweight linen trousers, short-sleeved button down, a slim-cut vest in a subtly metallic silver with very unsubtly iridescent marbled purple lining, he has his laptop in his lap and a sheaf of charcoal drawn portraits in front of him of wildly varying skill. Brow slightly furrowed as he studies one (it might, perhaps, have been intended to be Hank) and types up his commentary, the click of his nails (holographic purple-pink polish, today) on the keys broken up by brief breaks to gulp at the still steaming-hot coffee. Kyinha is usually out at the lake this time of morning, but here he is, hastening into the lounge and making a beeline for Jax. He's wearing only a blue sarong with rainbow fish motifs and a white quick-dry t-shirt with a graphic of a rainforest ecosystem depicted inside a massive water droplet, no shoes. To baseline human eyesight, a faint fiery halo surrounds his blacker-than-black body, but to Jax it is a dazzling many-layered corona, evidence of the time he's been spending in the sun. He makes a beeline for his teammate as soon as he enters. "I think something is very wrong," he says urgently. Whatever is so urgent, though, does not stop him eyeing Jax's muffin, then the plate of them on the counter -- a gesture that wouldn't be visible to most, with his eyes brightly backlit in almost white-hot glow. "Have you seen Kurt Wagner since Monday? The new kid -- blue, German, shy?" There's a hint of relief in Jax's face as he glances up from his work. "Oh! Kyinha, maybe you can help me --" This trails off, relief quickly giving way to a confused frown. Creased brow aside, he has yet to adopt any of Kyinha's urgency, tipping his coffee cup slightly towards the plate on the counter. "I just baked 'em before my swim, they're good n fresh." He takes another sip of his coffee, shakes his head slowly. "Far as I've noticed so far, Kurt's gone out his way to make sure nobody sees him much. Don't see as I should intrude on that." Kyinha follows Jax's gesture, heat blooming just a touch hotter on his cheeks. "Oh, right -- I haven't..." He doesn't finish this, but goes to fetch his own muffin on a plate, and a cup of coffee, as well. When he returns he takes a seat next to Jax, waves of heat palpably rolling off of him. "He had been coming out into the common spaces more and more, though." He sounds less panicked and slightly sheepish now. "I was worried someone might have upset him so I asked around, and none of the students I talked to saw him at all yesterday." Takes a bite of his muffin and nods his immediate appreciation. Gulps down some coffee. "This is so good -- as always. Thank you." "Mmn. M'sure it's rough, you gotta adjust to a whole new country on top of whole new school." Jax chews at his lower lip, and even if there's no panic there is certainly a growing concern in his tone. "You think somethin' happened to send him back into hiding? Could you email him? Possibly less intimidating than coming out his room." Kitty enters the lounge, workout bag on her shoulder and reusable Columbia coffee cup in her hand. At first, she just gives Jax and Kyinha a nod of acknowledgement - it's early. She drops her bag under the bar and refills her coffee cup, then rummages in the fridge for an apple. Her earbuds are in, but at some point she reaches up to pause whatever is playing to listen. Frowning, she turns around, leaning against the bar as she speaks. "This is the blue kid, yeah? I could check on him. Bring him breakfast or whatever." She takes a bite of the apple, a little furrow in her brow betraying her concern. "It never hurts to check, right?" Kyinha nods slowly as Jax speaks, sipping his coffee. He's about to reply when Kitty enters, and waves at her in greeting. "Yeah, Kurt. I am worried someone may have been cruel to him. He has been so jumpy from the start, that I feared he might run off, but perhaps it is more likely he's just back in hiding." Hesitates, his eyes flicking to Jax, though the glance is likely invisible to Kitty. "I think Jax has a point about giving him some space, though. Sending him a message is probably better than going to him in person if he is hiding, and it will reach him even if he's fled, provided he has regular Zoomer habits about phones." "Very possible. People can sometimes be -- less than kind." A fleeting frown crosses Jax's face. He shakes his head quickly. Plucks a chocolate chip out of his muffin to nibble at it. "Well, I'm glad you're keepin' an eye out, at least. I know it was real rough on the pups when they started here and they weren't even dealing with --" Here he hesitates, nose wrinkling. "Well, I guess it was culture shock, just a whole different kind." He looks to Kitty's apple. Regards the muffin on his plate with less appetite than he'd had before. "Y'think he's skipped many meals? Any idea what he likes? If he is holed up in there someone," his glace to Kyinha is brief, "might could make sure he's not going hungry." Kitty shrugs, takes another bite of her apple and a sip of coffee. "If I was a angsty teen and having a rough time, I'd sulk in my room and not eat, but that's me." She straightens up, walks a little closer to the men. "Kyinha, what do you think? I can just drop something in his room before I go train if you think that would be good." She wiggles a hand. "Kid doesn't even have to see me, yknow?" Kyinha shakes his head. "Hard to say, with his teleporting. He really likes cheeseburgers?" He gives a helpless shrug. "I don't know that it's -- teen angst. It's not easy to look like he does anywhere and here is worse in some ways. I don't think invading his space is the best idea, even if he doesn't see. That would upset me and I'm -- not a frightened teenager. But if he doesn't answer..." His eyes narrow thoughtfully. "I really have no idea if or when we should tell the administration. Maybe check around and see if he's missed any classes?" "We can ask his teachers for sure. He have any friends you could check in with if he don't pop back up? Shane mentioned a bit back that Marinov made a point of introducin' themself." Jax is closing his laptop, now, setting it aside on the coffeetable to turn and better face the others. He picks his mug back up, not actually drinking from it and just absently tracing the lettering on the mug (quite clearly picked from the mismatched assortment in the teacher's lounge cabinets, this one is white with plain black text reading 'Being a teacher is easy. It's like riding a bike except the bike is on fire. You are on fire. Everything is on fire.') "Any rate another kid checkin' in to make sure he gets a meal now'n then might be less intimidating." "Hm." Kitty finishes her apple and holds the coffee with both hands, looking up to one side as she thinks. "Probably a better first move." She grabs her bag from under the bar - this was clearly meant to be a shorter stop. "I'm not driving back to the city until late, if you change your mind about a through-the-door meal dropoff." Kitty walks back, leans against the door. "And if either of you are free before lunch, I could use a sparring partner." She pauses. "Ooooooor I'll just do the robot Danger Room sim. Again." "Oh, that's a good idea -- to ask Marinov." Kyinha bobs his head in his slightly exaggerated way. "I'll talk to them after I email him." He smiles a slightly lopsided smile, "I'll let him know delivery is on offer, anyway -- it's a different matter if he agrees to it." He lifts his coffee mug in a sort of salute to Kitty. "I missed my workout this morning, so I'll take you up on that once my breakfast and errands are done. Turning back to Jax with a guilty duck of his head, "You helped me out, maybe I can help you out with whatever you were going to ask when I barged in?" "Oh goodness that one creeps me out way more than it used to before the Sentinels hit the streets." There's a shimmer, a shift; for a brief moment, Jax's colorfully-makeupped face is replaced by the neutral-white Aggressively Inoffensive visage of one of the more humanoid Sentinel models. It fades in thankfully short order. Jax flashes Kyinha a relieved smile, picking up the unruly-mass-of-maybe-Hank-scribbles that had been in front of him. "Thank you, I um -- I'm not sure the best way to give constructive feedback on this that ain't just," his cheeks flush deep red as he holds the picture out to Kyinha. "Like maybe -- someone should be sticking to the types of faces they know while they're practicing but also I don't want to tell kids not to draw --" He waggles the paper towards Kyinha's entire -- face. Self. Everything. Kitty laughs, slightly nervously, at Jax’s transformation. “It’s more cathartic now, though. But it’ll be good for a change of pace.” She throws up a peace sign. “See you in a bit then. Later, Jax.” She leans back more, all the way through the door, and then she’s gone, soft footsteps heading off to the gym. Kyinha actually leans away from Jax when his face transforms. "And those are meant to be the reasurring, friendly ones!" He shakes his head, waving as Kitty melts through the door. Sucks in a deep breath, studying the sketch in Jax's hands. "Well, I'm no artist, but if a student had drawn me like this, I'd first get the laughing out of the way..." --- from: Roberto da Costa <kyinha@xaviers.edu> to: <faculty@xaviers.edu>, <staff@xaviers.edu>, <xmen@xaviers.edu> date: Aug 12, 2020, 12:54 PM subject: Student whereabouts? Has anyone seen Kurt Wagner or Taylor Marinov today? I cannot find either of them, and none of the students I asked know where they are. I do not want to raise too much alarm, they might well just be playing hooky down in Salem Center, but the new student especially has been having a difficult time and I worry he may have taken off. Kyinha some time in the early afternoon wednesday: (Shane --> Marinov): Yo, you alive? (Marinov --> Shane): hey yeah i'm alive (Shane --> Marinov): Cool, just checking. Kyinha was worrying cuz he can't find you or Kurt. (Shane --> Marinov): If he's with you please tell me you are helping him get some comfier clothes. (Marinov --> Shane): working on it (Marinov --> Shane): i cannot abide a restricted tail (Shane --> Marinov): You're doing the Lord's work. from: Shane Holland <sholland@xaviers.edu> to: <faculty@xaviers.edu>, <staff@xaviers.edu>, <xmen@xaviers.edu> date: Aug 12, 2020, 13:32 PM subject: Student whereabouts? Haven't been on campus but I texted Marinov. Kurt's with them they're fine. Probably got important fashion business happening like on GOD we need to start giving the new freaks a better wardrobe than "here's seven pairs of XS sweatsuits" -SH