Logs:(eX)-M-Kids

(eX)-M-Kids
Dramatis Personae Nahida, Nevaeh
In Absentia Sriyani, Scott	2024-02-28 "We didn't go through the door ourselves. The meerkats came through on their own."
Location <XAV> Nanami, Naomi, and Nahida's Dorm - FL2
It's not quite quiet hours yet but it's getting close, and tonight the dorms seem to be having a burst of extra noise in preparation. Across the hallway someone is blasting a moody Billie Eilish song that was very much not made for blasting; there are several clashing conversations being intermittently yelled back and forth down the hall; someone's dog is barking ceaselessly, possibly in response to a loud argument someone else is having over their gaming headset. By contrast Nahida's room is downright quiet; there's a disgruntled senior grumbling to herself clutching a fancy-looking bottle of perfume to her chest as she storms out; in the background, Shadow and Bone is playing on Nahida's laptop. Nahida herself, dressed already for bed in a matched pink-trimmed grey PJ set, is looking far more gruntled, unbothered by her Potentially Dissatisfied Customer as she vaguely attempts picking at homework but mostly goes back to watching the show. The knock at the door is only just loud enough to be heard above the ambient chaos. The door opens after without prompting, and instead of the girl who had just left, it's Nevaeh letting herself in. “I like this episode,” she says before she can even see the screen, not very much as though she feels she needs an excuse to climb up onto Nahida’s bed. But then, maybe that was an excuse in itself. “What was she so huffy about?” Nevaeh sounds just a little hesitant. "I've only now just been reading the books. They're good, yah?" Nahida is all too happy to be distracted from even the pretense of doing homework. She's just pulled a small pack of sour gummy worms out of her desk and -- no, now it's two packs, so she can offer one to Nevaeh. The question gets a small huff and exaggerated roll of eyes. "Chh, she went and trusted the internet to tell her what's the best perfume, some disgusting expensive rubbish. Is it my fault she doesn't like it? No refunds. She wants to try something different she can pay again for something different." “They are so good,” Nevaeh affirms eagerly. “There's two whole books just about the Crows! They're the best ones.” She accepts the gummy worms eagerly, too. “That’s not too smart, but maybe it'll grow on her. Or maybe she'll just tell people she likes it, because it's expensive.” She dedicates an exaggerated amount of attention to pulling the bag of candies open. “How are you getting the originals? Did she literally like, send you a link?” Nahida's eyes light at the mention of the Crows books, and she's picking up her phone to look up the titles. "She did send a link," she's saying with a laugh, "and the day I learn to clone things from a photograph only, we are going to reinvent luxury." Her head is giving a small side to side wobble. "Until then, stuck going the long way. Not so long for Sriyani, at least. They go find it in the store and quickly pop open here so I can grab one before they put it back. When prom season is here we will be so busy, I think." "Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom." Nevaeh nibbles absently on a gummy while Nahida is finding the relevant books. "Have you gotten in any trouble? It's not technically stealing, but it's not like that would stop security." She swallows hard, chews on her lower lip, then transfers the nervous gesture to her decapitated candy worm. "I don't know why I'm more worried about that than the meerkat thing, which was kind of a bigger deal. But we didn't go through the door ourselves. The meerkats came through on their own." "Oh yah?" Nahida's brows hike, amusement bright in her expression. "How did that excuse play with Mr. Summers? Next year the handbook is growing some meerkat-specific rules, maybe." But she's dismissing Nevaeh's other concerns with a flutter of fingers. "It's not like we are actually taking anything out of the stores at all. Just a quick touch and then pop it back on the shelf. What law is even breaking?" Her dismissiveness shifts as she watches Nevaeh, though, tone gentler with her reassurance. "This is very much different to -- we're careful." Nevaeh giggles sheepishly. "He wasn't too impressed. It took them forever to catch the meerkats, you should ask Roscoe sometime. Anyway that just means we have to invite some animals the handbook doesn't cover." She scrunches one eye slightly. "Maaaaybe something less bitey?" She shrugs, looking down at the latest worm she's restlessly torturing. "I know it's different, whether it's legal or not. And I know I shouldn't worry, but..." Clearly, she is worrying all the same, and ventures, tenatatively, "It'd be safer if I helped." Nahida is opening her mouth, a glimmer in her eyes that suggests she is on the verge of making a suggestion, but at something less bitey she closes it again. "I'm sorry I missed it, a meerkats clip would have been a hit." She nibbles far less fretfully on her own gummy worm. "It's safe," she is insisting again, although less reassuringly: "... safe enough, probably. Besides of, if we all --" Her mouth presses together, her eyes lowering, and it's a brief hitch before she continues determinedly: "if we three were teaming up again it should be something more important than getting some spending money, yah? There has got to be problems in between fashion emergencies and attacking America." Nevaeh still doesn't look completely convinced by these claims of safety, but she's appeased enough not to press any further. Or maybe the implications of Nahida's next suggestion has pushed worries about the definitely-not-theft from her mind. She sits back up, forgetting both candy and the show she'd only been vaguely attending. "We used to solve a lot of those..." But then she sags. "...with Brendan. I'm a lot better with my power now, but it'll be dangerous without his power." She looks down at her hands as if surprised to see her fingers twisted together. "And I don't know if we can be the M-Kids without him." "I think the world it's already dangerous, yah? But we could help. We can start smaller. Get better." Nahida sets her own candy aside, turning her hands up. "No. I don't think we can be. But do you think he'd want us to stop trying to help?" Her mouth purses, twists slightly to one side. "We couldn't be kids forever, too. We may not have him, but -- we have each other. We have friends here. I think we can figure out being something new." Nevaeh sniffles, blinks, but does not cry. Instead, she breaks into a smile, if a small one. "He would definitely want us to help," she agrees. "I still feel like a kid, but I'm okay being 'the baby' a little longer." She's warming to the idea, now. "Whoa, we could be a way bigger team, here, like the uh..." She trails off into a slightly embarrassed chuckle. "Well. We should start small. And we can workshop the name. As long as it's not 'X-Kids'."