ArchivedLogs:Not Scary

Not Scary
Dramatis Personae Kai, Peter
In Absentia	2013-07-25 ...but maybe. BLEGH.
Location <XS> Boys' Bathroom - FL2
Bright and clean, this bathroom is designed for communal use. Toilets and sinks to one side, showers on the other. The shower stalls are wide, designed with space inside for hanging clothes and changing. The sinks have, by habit, had space claimed by them with people's own personal toiletries, a small basket of goods here, a toothbrush and toothpaste there, a large overflowing basket there, name tags appended to all of them. The biggest wars seem to be over shower space, mornings a constant battle over claiming stalls first. It is late. Late enough that most students who are staying on-campus are either in the process of returning to campus or safely ensconced within the confines of the grounds. Being Thursday, not many are actually in /bed/, although some are in the process of heading that way. People like Kai, for instance. Fresh from the shower, the Korean boy is in the bathroom by himself, dressed in a pair of green plaid sleep shorts and a white tank top, his clothing sticking to those poorly-dried areas of his skin as he pulls a comb through his damp hair. He regards his reflection soberly as he does this, although he's humming to himself, tilting his head to listen to the noise as it echoes. It might be familiar to some as they pass -- a variation on the Super Mario theme. Peter is -- surprisingly? Unsurprisingly? -- not dressed for bed. At least it doesn't /appear/ so. It actually looks like... he's dressed for halloween. Just a little. The suit he wears looks a little like a you'd expect a full-bodied LEOTARD to look, except not /quite/ that tight -- maybe more like. A motorcycle suit? Dark red, with an unusual hexacomb pattern on the surface, it goes all the way up to his throat -- to his wrists -- and his ankles. It has an unusual /thickness/ to it; it's also got a zipper that runs down the front, hidden behind a seam. There are also two black /plates/ sitting on his shoulders, poking up from the suit. When Peter enters, it's with this suit on -- along with -- what appear to be a towel, a toothbrush, toothpaste -- and a bottle of MOUTHWASH tucked under one arm. Ambling toward the sink next to Kai. "Hi, Kai," Peter says, right before he lays out the tools of the trade on the sink, neatly ordered. Plucking up the toothpaste, the toothbrush -- /peering/ at them. As if trying to remember precisely how these things go together. Humming ceases when Peter enters the bathroom, and Kai watches the older boy in the mirror with no shift in his sober expression. "Hello, Peter," he says, his eyes tracking along the lines of the bodysuit, as if assessing it. "That is a very handsome suit." His hair combed, he puts the comb in his little plastic basket, fishing out his own toothbrush. "Is that what you were working on for Mister Stark?" Peter's confusion gets a small furrow of his brow, and he holds up his toothbrush in silent demonstration, squeezing a bit of his own minty toothpaste onto the bristles. See? Like this. "Hnh--oh. /Oh/," Peter says, pausing, /staring/ at his suit as Kai mentions it. As if he just realized he was still wearing it! He grins, sheepishly, toward Kai: "--yeah this is. Actually." A pair of fingers move down to pinch the suit, giving it a tug; it is actually! Not very /pinchable/. "The suit." He watches Kai's demonstration of toothpaste for a moment, as if /LEARNING/. Before turning back to his own toothbrush, and... squeeze! Successfully /pasted/. "S'plates are -- Peltier plates? They're little cooling machines, and..." Peter's tone fades off, just kind of /gesturing/ back at his chest. "S'actually. Armor, too." Kai nods at the explanation of the suit, and runs his toothbrush under faucet for a brief second. "It will probably prove very useful," he says. "Did it help you against the soldiers in the sewers?" This is a serious question, and the Korean boy brushes his teeth for a moment, watching Peter's face intently. "It must have," he says around a mouthful of toothpaste bubbles. "For you are not hurt." He smiles, the expression not /quite/ reaching his eyes. "This is very good." He bends then, to spit out some toothpaste before looking back at Peter. "Did Mister Stark like it, as you hoped he would?" "--soldiers in the. You heard about that? I--yeah," Peter says, without putting the toothbrush /in/ his mouth. Just. Staring at it, instead. "--it. Helped in the sewers. Actually it helped a /lot/ in the sewers. I might," Peter adds, then, and it's hard to tell if he's /joking/ or not, "stop leaving the school for the rest of the summer." But then, even softer: "Did you hear about it in the news? They were after -- a lady. I met, way back. She, um. They're saying they were down there, looking for her." The bit about Stark -- Peter does not even seem to remember the question! He seems very /intent/ in his stare at that toothbrush. Kai nods. "Ross told me about it," he says. Then he wrinkles his nose. "I do not think she is a very stable person," he confesses. "But Rasa said it was a true thing. I did not know about the lady, though, until I saw the news. They said she was the one who killed that police man." He brushes his teeth a bit longer, only to blow toothpaste at the mirror in a snort/laugh when Peter says he's staying put. "/That/ is not going to happen," he says with a roll of his eyes. "You will probably be off the campus by the end of the weekend." His gaze is a bit flat as he delivers this prediction, and he lifts a shoulder. "It is just the way you are." Peter's checked-out state gets a deeper furrow of Kai's brow, and he leans to nudge the older boy in the elbow. "Peter. Are you hearing me?" "--yeah," Peter comments, and for a moment, it might be unclear whether he /did/ hear Kai; he seems completely /absorbed/ by that toothbrush. But then the nudge, and: "Yeah," he repeats, glancing back down to Kai. "She's -- she was screaming the whole time. Throwing stuff. I had to web her mouth and just. Carry her out of there. Kai, I don't..." Peter's voice trails off. He turns back to the toothbrush. /Staring/ at it. "--want. This. I used to think I did but this isn't..." His nose wrinkles. "--we were trying to help Anole. Lizardy kid? He was at the dance, I don't know if you saw him. He's coming next Fall. /If/ he survives till then." Kai frowns, and tips his head. "I do not understand why Ross was even /there/," he says. "She is very fragile; I do not understand why she would go into the sewers." He falls silent, having nothing more immediate to offer as Peter continues. So, brushing teeth seems to be the best thing to do. But something about the way Peter speaks stops it again, and Kai spits out his mouthful and rinses before he speaks. "You do not want what?" he says, lifting his eyebrows. "To be like Superman, or for bad things to be happening in the world?" He frowns, considering that. "I do not think either one is completely avoidable." The mention of Anole gets a small coloring of the younger teen's ears, and he ducks his head. "I did not stay at the dance long," he reminds Peter gently. "And I was not watching everyone when I was there. But he must be nice, if you wished to help him." "I don't even know how she /got/ there, yeah. Ran away, I think? Or something," Peter comments, before: "--don't want. To keep nearly getting killed. Keep being in danger. I just wanted to -- we were there to talk with Anole, maybe make sure he was okay, and then everything went /nuts/, and. And. And Anole's really nice. He's got scales." With this, Peter /shoves/ the toothbrush into his mouth. As if violently intent on making sure his teeth get brushed. BRUSH BRUSH BRUSH. So hard. He will teach those teeth a /lesson/. Kai nods solemnly, and slowly reaches out to pat Peter on the arm. "It is a hard thing, I imagine," he says, his mouth pulling into a sympathetic frown. "It is a bad time in the city. It is perhaps wiser to stay here until things have settled down." His frown pulls a bit tighter. "I know it would make me feel better," he murmurs, withdrawing his hand as the older boy scrubs at his teeth. The revelation of Anole's scales gets a lift of his eyebrows, and Kai leans heavily against his sink. "He is green, and he has scales?" he confirms, furrowing his brow in an odd sort of expression. "All of the time?" This, clearly, is an amazing sort of fact to him, and he rubs at his mouth thoughtfully. "It is good that you his friend," he says. "I will be glad to meet him." "Mmmphmmph," is Peter's response to -- Kai pat! And mentioning staying here until things settle down. It /sounds/ like an affirmative grunt, at least. The brushing continues for several seconds, before -- SPIT! Right into the sink. And then some more brushing, for a bit, as Kai asks about the scales, and... SPIT! A second time. Peter leans forward to slurp some water underneath the spigot, swishing and spitting out /more/ toothpaste. "--yeah, green all the time. And scales. And his tongue does this thwippy thing? Like he can shoot it out and /thwip/ things with it. He actually--" Peter pauses, before saying, much more quietly: "He saved. Us. Thwipped a gun out of a soldier's hands. When we ran." Kai's eyes widen as Peter describes Anole, and his lips disappear as he sucks them in to chew on them. "He sounds very interesting," he offers, and wrinkles his nose. "And like a very good friend, if he saved you." He rinses his toothbrush, drying it on his towel before dropping it back in his basket. He pokes through the basket, finding his floss and studying the box for a long moment. "Peter, may I ask you a thing?" he says in a low voice. "You may say no, if you wish. It is just a thing that I wonder." "You can ask," Peter responds, "/all/ the things." The toothbrush is getting rinsed. Shoved under the spigot! Hot water flushes across it. The mouthwash is gripped with his other hand, the cap twisted deftly with his fingers; the toothbrush set aside, and now -- Peter is swooshing! And gargling. Swoosh swoosh, gargle gargle. SPIT. Rinse, gargle, SPIT. "--s'pretty cool guy yeah you can meet him. If he lives long enough to get here." That last bit is probably meant as a joke! Probably. Peter's grinning as he says it. But there's a little bit of a manic /tenseness/ to the statement, too. Kai watches the mouthwash ritual with interest, almost forgetting he was going to ask a question. Almost. "I am wondering why so many dangerous things happen to the students at this school," he says, rubbing at the scar on his chin. "It seems like there is always someone who is being kidnapped, or being nearly killed, or getting hurt doing a thing." He wrinkles his nose, and there's a shadow of a smile that passes over his lips. "Admittedly, most of these people are /you/, but still it is a thing I wonder. Even Ivan was kidnapped, and that sand man tried to kidnap us when we went to the farm." He furrows his brow. "Is it because -- " his nose wrinkles, and he leans forward just a bit, his expression seriously concerned. "Does the Professor have many enemies?" "--no, I don't think -- anybody outside the school even /knows/ the Professor is a mutant," Peter says. And now he's leaning in front of the sink, /gripping/ it; kind of -- rubbing at his own face with his free hand. Rub, rub, rub. /Peer/. As if for zits. Although Peter doesn't get zits anymore; chitin is remarkably /zitfree/, it seems. "--I think it's because people are just -- weird? People don't like," Peter adds, a little more guardedly, "things that are /different/. I guess. And a lot of us are really --" A flicker of a glance, toward Kai. "--really different." "They would not have to know he was a mutant to be his enemies," Kai says, furrowing his brow. This requires some thought, and he rubs at his chin as he considers this, listening to the rest of the explanation. He blushes a bit as Peter appears to include him in the 'really different' category. "This is true," he says. "It is a thing I know very well. I am sorry that you have had to experience it, though." This is a sincere thought, and the younger boy's face is deeply sympathetic. "At least it is only humans who are scared of you," he offers, and it might be an attempt at humor, given his hard and sudden smile. "So that is a thing." "--are people scared of me?" Peter asks; it sounds less like a challenge, more like a genuine question. He reaches -- with his hand -- hooking a finger into his mouth. PULLING. Exposing a row of teeth as his cheek stretches outward. Then, release! SNAP back in place. "/Am/ I scary? I don't try to be -- I mean -- I guess I've got the /chitin/ that's kind of. Scary. But I'm kind of short and--" He pauses, here, before glancing back to Kai, and. Grinning sheepishly. "--oh. You were kidding." Before: "--have you gotten anywhere with Foom, yet?" "You are always in danger," Kai points out. "So, people must be scared of you, or don't like you." He nods firmly, as if this makes total sense. "I was only half-kidding, though," he confesses. The question gets a small frown, and a lift of shoulders. "The Professor says it will be many years before I will show any real progress," he says in a dejected sort of tone, frowning at his reflection. "I suppose it is because he is so strong of mind. It will probably take that long for me to be strong enough to subdue him without electricity or medicines." He waggles fingers at his temple. "Or the Professor." He sighs. "So I guess it will probably be a long time before people are not scared of /me/." The corners of his mouth lift, briefly. "So do not think short is not /scary/," he teases suddenly. "You know three people who are scary who are smaller than you." "--/I'm/ not scared of you," Peter responds, kind-of-thoughtlessly. "I mean, like -- are people here scared of you?" An edge of something bristling just under those words. Just a hint of Peteranger! Tinyhint. "--giving you a hard time over --? Bluh," Peter finishes, /shoving/ his toothbrush into the towel. Wrapping! Wrap, wrap, wrap. "You're not scary," he repeats, /insistently/. "None of you are there's nobody here at this school who scares me. Except the Professor. Maybe." "I did not say we scared /you/. Just that we are scary. Because we /are/, to other people." Kai just kind of /stares/ at Peter when he flares, and he purses his lips. "Peter. All sorts of people are scared of me." He glances at the door when someone passes by, and then looks back at the older boy. "Sebastian ran away from me the other day," he says. "And the people who came here from the lab with me /still/ hardly speak to me. No one is being /mean/, but I can tell they are scared." He smiles. "Most of them. You and Ivan are not scared, and I do not think Rasa is scared of me." That reminds him of something, and his brow falls back into a deep V as it sidetracks him. "I think Rasa is unhappy about something," he says. "Ze was gray when I saw hir in the Art Room earlier, and ze was doing mostly skin-talking." Peter kind of shirks back when Kai clarifies that it isn't /Peter/ who's scared. "--oh. Yeah, I guess -- oh. That -- makes sense." At the mention of Rasa, Peter frowns: "S'probably -- Jax. He was, in the sewers too. Soldiers -- went after him. He hasn't woken up. We've been -- everybody's been really worried," Peter adds, before looking back to Kai, and. "--you /aren't/ scary, though. You aren't -- gonna go all Foom. People are just -- /blegh/," Peter adds, as if this simply covers the whole problem. In its /entirety/. "Oh, yes. Rasa told me about Mister Jax," Kai says, realization dawning on his face. "Ze likes him very much; I did not put those two things together." He looks a bit chagrined by that, and rubs his head. "I hope that he will get better quickly. He is very nice, and a good teacher of art." Peter's assurance gets an actual smile, and the younger boy rolls his eyes a bit. "I am not going to call Foom," he confirms. "But that does not mean that people do not worry that I will." He wrinkles his nose. "Because they are /blegh/." Which seems entirely appropriate as a descriptor. "I am glad that I have a few friends who are not." "/Blegh/," Peter appends to Kai's final statement, this time with /feeling/. And very serious, narrow eyes. And also a gesture of VOMIT coming out of his mouth. "/Blegh/," Kai confirms, mimicking the gesture. Then he giggles, clapping a hand over his mouth as the noise rings on the tile. His eyes squint over his hand as he smothers his giggles. Then he drops his hand and hops forward to offer Peter a quick hug, wrapping an arm around his waist and squeezing. "I am glad you are my friend, Peter," he says as he releases his squeeze to step back. "And I am glad that you are safe." His eyes crinkle. "I hope you will stay that way for a while." Peter returns the squeeze! A hand dropping to Kai's shoulder; the other around his waist. Hugging back. "--will. Try. Very hard," Peter announces, with a smile.