ArchivedLogs:Cold

Cold
Dramatis Personae Micah, Melinda, B
In Absentia	26 January 2015 Followed by some talking.
Location <NYC> Harbor Commons - Media Room - Lower East Side
Though this sound-proofed room comes equipped with the same complement of bright airy windows as most of the rest of the rooms around here, it /also/ comes with thick heavy blackout curtains for them, easily drawn to reduce the glare on the myriad screens around the place. The place of honor in the room goes to an enormous flatscreen television mounted on one wall; beneath there are a number of video game consoles hooked up to it and shelving to either side of the television holds an assortment of DVDs on the right and an assortment of video games on the left. There's plentiful seating with views of the television, in the form of wide microsuede couches and enormous squishy beanbags (plenty big enough to share) scattered around the floor. A mini-fridge up here stands beside one cabinet, both often kept stocked with snacks and (generally highly caffeinated) drinks. Across to the other side of the room there are comfortable armchairs and smaller tables, with plenty of outlets available for those who want to plug their computers in and work or play. Four common-use desktops sit on desks against the wall, accessible to any resident with a login. It's /frigid/ and snowing like there's no end in sight outside now that night has fallen. Micah is bundled in a Batsignal hoodie over soft grey sweater over white henley, lined bluejeans, and soot sprite slippers. The couch appears to have grown a blanket-lump that the top half of him sticks out of, wedged into the corner made by the couch's back and arm. He has an e-reader in hand, the glow lighting his face slightly from beneath. A massive thermos of peppermint cocoa is quick at hand on an end table. Melinda makes her way across the courtyard to the media room in the face of the raging blizzard outside. She enters quietly in the back completely bundled, a long scarf wrapped around her head with a hat pulled down. The liberal dusting of snow obscures the colors and textures of her coat, blending them in with her hat and scarf. The fabric is a little crusty as she starts to unwind the scarf, the snow flaking off on the ground. She peeks around when her gaze is slightly less obscured. "Is anyone watching anything yet?" She pulls off the hat and shakes it off by the door, slipping out of her coat and boots a moment later. Underneath, she is wearing a baggy sweat pants and a purple striped sweat shirt. "We got Tola down early, but she's been fussy lately and easy to wake -- and I'm kind of in the mood for something loud." Even with the slight bit of cold that comes in clinging to Mel, Micah burrows a little deeper into his blankets practically on /instinct/ at this point to make up for spending time out in it on purpose earlier in the day. "No, I think folks is mostly settled in at home. Those as ain't stuck somewhere else. S'a good number of 'em snowed in over the school now." Shivering a little, he sets his e-reader aside to take a long drink from his thermos top-cup. "I'm just hidin' here for the warm, m'self. Came over t'the kitchen 'cause I wanted a little peppermint stick t'drop in m'cocoa an' we were out. Couldn't bring m'self t'head back over after. Spence is tucked in doin' homework now so's he don't hafta do it when there's more daylight t'snow in, anyhow." Despite the drink, he shivers again. "Was hard enough convincin' 'im t'come in for dinner once it started gettin' dark t'day. All kindsa fun snowball fightin' but I think the cold's /still/ set in m'bones somewhere an' won't come out. Long bath b'fore bed might be in order." His feet pull in a bit closer to himself to make more room on the couch in case Mel wants to sit there. "I think we should develop a set of interconnecting tunnels under the Commons for winter use. I'm sure we can get Ash on it with Hive's guidance." Melinda heads over and settles onto Micah's couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and rubbing her hands against his upper arms as if to warm him. "Yeah, it's kind of a mess out. I'm not quite sure if I should take the tattertot out into it yet. She can't really walk, so I am not sure how snow balls might go. They don't put that into the baby handbooks." She shrugs a little and tucks her feet underneath her. "You calling the day off tomorrow? I've already issued the email. Montagues is closed tomorrow." B is quiet as ze creeps into the media room. Not actually approaching the others initially so much as just slipping towards a beanbag to settle hirself down. Ze is -- probably not meant to /be/ here but has evidently just come in from the outside -- shivering, teeth chattering, tall chunky boots still crusted with snow, backpack and outer layers icy as ze starts to strip them down. "... can you call my school?" Ze is pulling a phone out from hir jacket before even saying hi, offering it towards Micah. "I can't get back." "I'm sure Ash'd love that just t'have /tunnels/, winter or no," Micah replies with an amused grin, perhaps picturing Ash /burrowing/ and pleased with all the dirt. "I'd take her out long enough t'get some pictures of baby's first blizzard an' then get her warmed right up after she has a second to investigate. If she even wants to. Some babies hate the cold an' just touchin' snow brings on the waterworks." His tone implies that these might be the /sensible/ babies. Bah, cold. "Yeah, there's a likelihood drivin'll continue t'be impossible. An' me gettin' 'round in a fashion that ain't /rollin'/ is becomin' less an' less likely." He chuckles at that...probably another amusing brain-picture. "Oh/gosh/, B, y'look froze. I've got peppermint cocoa if y'want some? An' I'll text Jax, this hour. He's snowed in over there an' can let whoever know that you're stuck here short of chancin' /Spence/ droppin' you off when he goes over, 'til this mess clears." "Yeah, I just wasn't sure if you had any supremely important patients with needs that can't wait. You do medical work. I wasn't sure." Melinda shrugs again and settles into the couch. She mulls over the thought of exposing Tola to the cold, but then looks over at the new comer, her head tilting to one side. "You want to sit with us? We can maybe help warm you up, or we can fix a warm bath." "Tunnels?" B is only now catching up to the conversation that /had/ been going on when she came in. "I texted Pa but he didn't answer. I don't want to get in trouble for missing curfew when I /can't/ get back." Her brow rumples faintly inward. "Flicker and Hive are probably stuck there too, then. -- Why was Hive even there? It's not like he --" She shakes her head, settling back into the beanbag and dumping her kind of sodden winter gear beside her. The offers of coming /over/ there -- for cocoa, for sitting-with, for anything -- just make her eyes open juuust a little wider. Her gills flutter faintly at the side of her neck, and she scrunches down that much more firmly into the beanbag. "Uh -- no. Thank you. I'm fine. Here." "Hive's at the school?" Mel glances between Micah and B, briefly curious before her expression starts to shut down. She exhales and wets her lips. "Not... that you have to discuss... I mean, you know. I don't really have any interaction with the school and that's okay." She makes an effort to brighten, but ends up untucking her legs and moving to see what videos are in the Media Room's collection. "You guys want to watch anything in particular?" "Mmn, nah." Micah's head shakes at the question of how supremely important his position is from a time and safety standpoint. "When they tell people they /can't/ drive, s'only /essential/ medical personnel that get exempted. Nurses an' physicians, usually, that need t'take care of people stuck on inpatient units or havin' emergencies. Things with prosthetics an' equipment can usually wait a day or even a couple, no big. I mean, it means bein' without whatever thing y'needed a day longer, but it's not life-threatinin'. So no point riskin' either the provider or the patient's life gettin' to it." His head switches to nodding at the tunnel question. "Mel thought we should get Ash on makin' tunnels 'tween the buildin's here so folks don't hafta go outside. Kinda half-jokin'." His brow furrows at the lack of answering. "Well, maybe he's in trainin' with Flicker. Hard t'answer when you're gettin' beat on. I think Hive...needed t'talk with another telepath for a bit. Hm. I can message at Hank, instead. Poor guy wins for ev'rybody havin' his number for emergencies." Tugging his own phone free from his pocket (legitimacy in the appropriate phone number!), he quickly explains the situation and waits for an acknowledging ping from Hank. "There we go. S'all good, sugar. You okay? You're lookin' a little wide-eyed?" "Yeah. I didn't see him, I only saw Flicker. But Karrie says Taylor saw him --" B stops, uncertain, "-- or felt him? Maybe? I don't actually know." Shrug. "We're chock-full of telepath." Ze rests hir head down on one arm, shaking hir head at Mel. "No. I just came in here to find Ba. I'm fine. I guess. It was cold outside. -- Thank you," ze adds, politely, once Micah texts Hank. "Yeah, no, don't worry about it." Melinda flashes a small smile and starts reading through the selections. "Tunnels would be neat. One could even have a submersion pool, so you and your brother could dive right into the river. But, I don't know if it'd even be practical. Maybe I'm just enjoying the idea of tunnels." She gnaws on her lip. “Did y'just want me t'call in for you, or were y'lookin' for...me? Like, t'talk or somethin'?” Micah's brow furrows faintly at B's distance and politeness. “I mean, you're welcome t'hang out, too. Ain't interruptin' nothin'. I was just readin'. Mel showed up maybe t'find somethin' t'watch on the TV...” "No, just to call in," B clarifies, with an apologetic dip of head. "Oh -- I didn't -- was I interrupting?" is hir also-apologetic response to -- being told she /isn't/, cheeks flushing slightly darker. "I mean, okay." Hir gills flutter again, face turning slightly in towards the crook of hir arm. "Our pool already /has/ a tunnel straight to the river. But it was built that way. Making tunnels after the fact might be harder? I don't know. Much. About that kind of engineering." "Nope. Not interrupting at all." Melinda reassures her as she smiles over her shoulder. "Oh, hey, I didn't know that. Cool. I mean, it makes perfect sense, which is why it exists already." She grabs a remote and moves back to sit down facing the TV. She doesn't turn on the TV just yet. "Yeah, it's probably a difficult task, it's just a nice notion to think about when it's frigid outside. Also, it might be nice if we started constructing nicer tunnels in case those future dreams come true and then we can stock pile nice things for years so it sucks less." “Okay.” Micah tries not to sound disappointed. He really does. “It was mostly a daydream about not bein' cold. I'm not thinkin' they're /really/ gonna tunnel all over.” His shoulders tense at the future dream talk. “Don't know as puttin' tunnels right where they know we're gonna be would be helpful. Think the...stop that future from happenin's a better application of resources. Hopefully.” "It's convenient. And means Shane doesn't have to run around naked just to --" B trails off with a widening of eyes and a quicker flutter of gills, at the mention of the future-dreams. Her eyes dart towards Micah, muscles tensing. She sits up slowly, swallowing and pressing a palm to her side. "If those future dreams come true --" Her eyes fix downward, fingers curling firmer at her side. She has to pause for a slow breath before continuing: "Tunnels aren't going to make anything suck less." "Pretty much. I apologize for bringing it up. It was a dumb idea. Just you guys are going to be the ones who fix things. I can stock pile supplies, right?" Melinda shrugs and gnaws on her lip. "I'm bringing down the mood. I should probably go." “Yeah, figurin' out ways t'let Shane be in the buff without attractin' unwanted attention is always a bonus,” Micah allows with a slip of a grin that fades quickly with the future dream talk. “I know, sugar. I'd just rather not plan...the nitty-gritty details of a distant future we're hopin' don't happen. When we got things t'try /now/ t'stop 'em from happenin', maybe. That's all. Those dreams is just...rough. T'act like they're inevitably gonna be what is. Y'know?” Micah catches that look from B but doesn't return it with any accusation. Just concern, worry, and whatever love a look can carry. "I'm not going to be the one fixing anything." B's voice has gotten uncharacteristically sharper as ze rises from hir set, edged and snappish. Hir claws have extended as ze starts to gather hir things. "We're not all like /Pa/, we don't just /magically/ --" Hir teeth /click/ back together as hir mouth closes, inner eyelids shuttering and hir muscles still tense. Softer, gentler, back now turned to the others: "Apologies. I didn't. I shouldn't. That was rude. I didn't. {I'm sorry.}" Hir head shakes as ze shoulders hir backpack, gathering hir winter gear into hir arms without putting it on. "No, B. That was honest." Melinda stands still after B's outburst, lips pursing on their own. "Okay, so maybe it was a little rude, but sometimes you have to get stuff off your chest." She glances over at Micah and exhales. "You maybe need an opportunity to say what you're thinking, right?" She looks over at B again. "Please, the outburst is coming from somewhere." "B, please don't go. I just...wish y'felt like y'could talk t'me. I don't know what I'm doin' that makes y'feel like y'can't but I'll change it. If y'can just let me know. Please?" Micah unburrows enough to get to his feet, moving toward B and resting a hand on hir shoulder if ze doesn't pull away. "I /love/ you, sugar. An' no dream, no matter how /real/, s'gonna be changin' that." "It was rude," B replies, still soft-polite now. She tenses when Micah moves closer, claws digging into her bundle of clothes. There's a brief moment, reflexively, when she starts to lean in towards him -- but then pulls away with a quick sharp jerk. A mitten dislodges from her bundle and drops to the floor. "You're not doing anything. And I don't. Have anything to get off my chest. I just -- am. Sorry." She shakes her head once as she scurries towards the door, gills still fluttering as she flees the room. "Micah..." Melinda's brow furrows but she stays quiet. She inhales deeply when the teen replies, her lips pursing at the response. "Okay, B. I apologize for assuming that you did. Have a good night and stay warm, okay?" She gives a little wave to B as she leaves before turning to look at her friend again. "You okay?" “You dropped your mitten!” Micah calls as he scoops up the mitten. His head shakes as he turns back to Mel. “No, honey, it's... Complicated. There was this real bad future dream. Things weren't...good with me an' B in it. But...it's kinda private.” The delicate wording and tone imply that he's concerned with violating /B's/ privacy, not so much his own. He holds up the mitten. “I'm gonna take this over to hir. Maybe ze answers the door, maybe ze doesn't, but at least it'll be waitin' when ze needs it.” "Go...go. it's fine." Melinda shakes her head a little and shoos Micah off, shaking her head still as she turns back to the TV, her original plan for the night. "Speak to me, glowing box. Transport me to another land, with explosion and highly improbable martial arts." She flops on the couch and turns on the device, searching the channels for something that matches her mood.