ArchivedLogs:In Which Chocolates And Triangulation Jokes Are Shared

In Which Chocolates And Triangulation Jokes Are Shared
Dramatis Personae Ellin, Kyinha, Taylor
In Absentia	2015-11-01 "I can say with confidence that pants are /not/ mandatory."
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. She's a shiny new arrival. So how does she choose to start making friends? By bringing chocolates! She's got a couple of card tables with little labels set up. There are even vegan and diabetic-friendly chocolates. The girls themselves mill around the conservatory with little paper bags snacking on peppermint bark, and looking very pleased with themselves. They are NOT talking (probably because they're all the same person). With a pleasant sky and relatively pleasant weather, the girls are enjoying the flowers. Taylor is pretty much the opposite of a shiny new arrival, having lived at Xavier's since middle school. Tall and onyx-skinned and sporting a wealth of sucker-lined tentacles sprouting from his back, the telepathic teenager probably falls to many shiny new arrivals somewhere towards the extreme end of the spectrum of what kind of freakishness Xavier's has to offer. At the moment he's heading inside from the pleasantly mild outdoors, having just worked up a sweat on the basketball court; in plain blue t-shirt and basketball shorts and sneakers, he's still holding a basketball tucked under one long noodly arm as he enters the conservatory. He pauses, brows hiking up as he takes stock of the many!Ellins milling about the plants, grey-blue eyes skipping from one to the other to the other in -- confusion? curiosity? "Huh. Hey. Uh." His puzzled mind is taking stock of them, too, telepathic senses rather automatically listening to the not-talking girls. "... you starting a chocolate store?" Maybe he is hopeful. Peeering at the tables as he ambles nearer. Kyinha has just wandered into the conservatory from the mansion. He looks not a little like a living shadow dressed in a button-up shirt of colorful triangular tessellations, khaki shorts, strappy purple athletic sandals. He has red-and-pink flower print towel draped over one shoulder and a steel waterbottle (covered solid with a dizzying variety of stickers) clipped to his belt. "Hey, Ellin." He speaks with a Tupian accent, probably difficult for most North Americans to place. "Some kind of fundraiser you have going on?" Flaming eyes search the labels on the tables eagerly. Hungrily, too! His mind is happily abuzz with anticipation, as much for the chocolate as for the dip in the lake he was planning to take. "Do you have anything /spicy/? And hello, Taylor!" He waves, smiling brightly (literally! a yellow-orange glow lighting his teeth from somewhere within). Her surface thoughts are nothing if not... representative. Mainly because, as many directions as they go in, there's only one. < OMG, THIS IS SO PRETTY. AND THIS ONE. AND THIS ONE. I HOPE I MAKE FRIENDS. EVERYONE HERE IS SUPER SMART. > And on and on with general observations. Ten different streams of thought packed into one person. And almost all of them incredibly banal, and loud when one pays attention. And yes. She really did think 'OMG'. Still, the train of thought comes crashing to a halt whenever Taylor makes himself known. All five sets of eyes turn on him at once, and for once, the thought is blessedly un-busy: < NEAT. > Pause. < ATHLETIC. > She SEEMS pleased anyway. "The chocolates are free. You can totes help yourself, but, like, make sure you save plenty for the other students." This came directly out of her 'make friends' money, after all! "They're labeled vegan and diabetic for those with special diets or needs. Or if you just don't like sugar. The cordials are also certified gluten free, and..." Oh, look! There's a teacher with a shiny smile! "Mr. Da Costa! Uuuum... Yes! The dark chocolate on the end of the far table has chiles and sea salt as flavoring, and there's a cracked black pepper milk chocolate next to it. Help yourself." All five of the Ellins stick a hand out to Taylor, despite tentacularity, and speak in unison,"I'm Ellin. Doesn't matter who you address when you're talking to me, but if you need a specific bod, or just find it comfortable, you can call a body by number." They each point at the heart on their shirt, which contains a number. Taylor's eyes open wide and wider as he listens to Ellin, the clublike tip of one tentacle lifting to rub at this temple as juuust one side of his mouth hooks up in a lopsided half-smile. The smile evens out at the mention of FREE chocolate, though. "Oh woah hey. Free? I can dig that. What's a cordial?" He's taking one of the black pepper milk chocolates, nibbling it thoughtfully. "Yo! Professor." His chin jerks up, his own smile just the /normal/ kind of bright. When the Ellins offers their hands, five different arms reach out in unison to take them, coiling around to shake each with a different limb. "I'm Taylor. -- Huh. Numbered. Aright, if you don't mind that?" "Thank you, and I had no idea you were such a chocolate connoisseur!" Kyinha gravitates toward the chile sea salt chocolate at once, nabbing a piece of that and pops it into his mouth (momentarily glowing even brighter). << Ah, excellent. Could be spicier. I must bring cocoa from home the next time I visit... >> "This is very delicous. Do you make all this yourself?" Glowing eyes widen as they take in the sheer variety of the spread laid out. Then he smiles a bit more gently at the sight of the students shaking hands...many, many hands. His expression may be difficult to read, but he happy to see a new student welcomed on her own terms like this. "Are you settling in ok, Ellin? You know Taylor has been here longer than half the faculty." The girl shakes hands effusively with Taylor's tentacles,"Yeah. It makes it easier on me. Like, if I ask someone to hand something to me. Otherwise, they take, like, forevers trying to figure out which one to give it to." Ellin giggles, and then three of them peel off, whilst the bodies labeled One and Four stay to talk to Ky and Taylor. "Cordials. Like chocolate covered cherries! They have, um, cordial inside of them? Which is like, uh... Candy Juice?" Right. "Prof, I don't know about, like, econo-sewers. Um... I had a summer job selling lemonade once?" She seems doubtful,"I bought this from the, uh... chocolate store in New York. There's this mutant lady who has, like, chocolate-making abilities. It's totes swank." Rrrriiiiight. "Everyone here is super-nice, Mr. da Costa. Like, five people offered to tutor me already." "Do us all a favor, bring cocoa from home and give some to Jax to bake with," Taylor suggests to Kyinha, his actual /hands/ clasping together in exaggerated pleading. "Holy /shit/ candy juice?" One of his smaller limbs reaches to snipe a cordial-chocolate quickly, as he pops the pepper one into his mouth. "Can we make it a rule that /all/ new students need to come with chocolate, because this is great." He leans against the edge of the table, grinning over at Ellin. "And thanks, by the way. connoiseur or not I'm loving the hell out of this, this pepper one's good. -- I've been here longer than more than half the faculty anyway we have a high turnover rate. Well. Or. It depends how you count, I guess. Been here longer than more than half of you have been /teaching/, but, so many teachers here /were/ students once it gets -- wonky trynna count." Shrug. The next smile he gives Ellin is a little crooked. "And don't worry, we /got/ our share of assholes, you'll find 'em eventually. We just hide 'em for your first couple weeks, ease everyone in gentle." "Well, you have made a good selection, then!" Kyinha acts, and feels, no less pleased to find that she had obtained the chocolates elsewhere. Though, after a beat, he says (with an inward double take), "Mutant chocolate-making abilities?" Blink, blink. Blink. << Dear sweet orixas, /this/ is how I die. >> "Where is this store, you say?" At Taylor's request, he breaks into a broad, fierce grin. "You will not have to twist my arm, but the kind of cocoa I am thinking? It is hand-ground and rough, I do not know if it would make for good baking." But he's not ruling it out, either! "Probably safer to err on the side of assuming it will come out well, from past experience of his baking." Smiling more gently Ellin, he gives a sort of casual, rolling shrug. "I hope that you do not find them quite so soon. But it is heartening that you have found a kindly reception so far!" Ellin goggles, all five at once, when Taylor swears. GASP. < He totes said a naughty! In front of a teacher! > Riiight. Some people are more... vanilla than others. Still, the approval has the girl beaming quite happily. "There's more traditional stuff here, too. Uuum... the milk chocolate is good..." Three picks some peppermint bark out of her little paper bag and nips at it. One continues talking,"The peppermint bark is mine, though I might be persuaded to share..." As for assholes? "Is it because they're covered by pants?" Because that's where assholes go? Her face is so genuine, too! And her brain... confused. "It's called... uh..." Two pulls out a phone to check, and Five answers for her,"Au Petit..." Three has to sound it out,"Cha-co-la-tier? It's in the east village. It's totes swank." She nods,"And she's, got, like, homeopathic chocolate medicine, too!" Taylor bites into the cherry chocolate, swearing yet again -- quieter, under his breath, a softly amused, "... damn!" when (as /promised/, who knows why he's surprised) it drips cordial down over his skin. "Tsss --" Of course, this just means he gets to lick it off, his eyes closing in brief happiness. "Oh damn, oh /man/ that's good. Au what? Choco... this place rocks. You'll have to give me an address, this is," he grins broader, "the shit." LOOK AT THAT DARING. Right in front of a teacher STILL. "And I'm pretty sure Professor Holland's some kind of freaking baking /wizard/ you could bring him rocks and dirt and he'd turn it into gold. Wait, no, that's baking alchemist." His head shakes. A moment later, he /snorts/, quick and amused. "Ah -- ah. Uhh. I think pants are mandatory? Here? Most... most of the time. Wait. Wait what's... homeopathic? Chocolate? How does that even... work." He just looks bemused. And then kind of /intrigued/, though not at the thought of homeopathic chocolate. He's looking from the phone to Two to Five. "...Do you share thoughts? Uh, apologies, is that rude to ask. I can shut up." Kyinha also gets himself a cordial, at Taylor's glowing recommendation. << This /is/ damned good! >> The thought doesn't make it to his mouth because the mouth is full of chocolate, though he nods vigorously to make up for it. "Isn't an alchemist a /kind/ of wizard, though?" He is actually giving this more than a casual passing consideration, though the only visible sign of concentration on his face is an upward tug at the inner corners of his eyes. "I also have no idea what a homeopathic chocolate would be, but I am going to probably buy half of that store at the soonest opportunity. As for 'assholes'..." He chuckles, scruffing a jet black hand through his short, feathered hair; it's almost impossible to distinguish them visibly while he does so. "Taylor was referring to jerks, unkind people, I think, but your guess is probably /accurate/ either way. However," he holds up one finger, "I can say with confidence that pants are /not/ mandatory. I wear skirts to class all the time." One actually giggles at the question of sharing thoughts,"Nooo." One says,"I'm Ellin." And Two says,"And I'm Ellin." And Three, and four and five, so forth. "Five bodies, one mind. It's more, like... um... Daddy explained it like... Um... Like my mind is a computer, and my bodies are like keyboards and mice and stuff. Like, you just exist in one body, and I exist in five at the same time. So, um... it might be like sharing thoughts, but... I don't think it's quiiiite the right way to explain it. I think it makes people think there are more individuals than there actually are." Two, meanwhile manages,"Excuse me. I have, like, mega-homework, so I'ma send, Two and Four to go do it while we talk. Will that offend either of you? I need extra time to do it. Though Mr. da Costa's stuff on rotini-furs (rotifers?) is totes neat. What's your celly? I'll totes link you to their website." Five pulls out a phone and begins pulling up contact information, while one snips another piece of peppermint bark. "It's Au Petit, though I think it totes should be Awe Yeah!" Three approaches Ky, shuffling a little,"Like, you also teach super-advanced math and stuff, right? I know I'm not in your math class, but I could totes use some extra help if you, like, are comfortable with geometry." A pause, and then they look agog at the mention of wearing a skirt. Taylor would catch the reason why probably a split second before she says exactly what she's thinking,"With those hips, it's hard to tell, but... I hope it's not a pencil skirt! You need something more bloomy. And no empire waists. Eugh." Cue the mental fashion-catalog as she begins inwardly trying things on for him. "Empire wastes flatter noone, and someone always asks if you're pregnant." She reaches into her pocket to pull up a foiled chocolate,"This one is supposed to work, like, um, a tylenol. I'ma try it next time I get a headache." Pause,"Ooooh! Jerks. Yeah. Haters gonna hate. I'm used to that, too. It totes doesn't bother me. You just gotta do you." Hairflip. "I'm awesome anyway, so let them hate." "Ugh, homework, not gonna offend me except for the part where you just reminded me of the pile I got waiting." The grimace on Taylor's face is not very seriously bothered, though. He rubs a limb against the back of his neck, shifting back to lean against a nearby bench with a slightly heavier press of one thick arm, a different one coming up to his mouth to stifle a cough. "Oh -- right." He rattles off a phone number when Five pulls out the phone. "That's me. Uh --" The small widening of his eyes at all the talk of skirt styles looks a little bit lost. "Bloomy?" He looks over at the flowers, kind of confused. "Yeah no you're right pants. Not actually. Mandatory just. Leg... clothes. Oh jeez." There's some amusement in his expression, now. "I'm just imagining you with like. Little paper-doll teachers. Dressing them all up. Fff." His grin has broadened when Ellin declares herself awesome. A small twitch of lips. "You brought chocolate, so I'm feeling that." "Not offended!" Kyinha lifts both hands, bows his head slightly. "It is unfortunate your homework is taking up free time, even if you can doing it while...also doing other things. You do realize I don't grade on it?" He looks at both of his students. "As long as you've done the reading and participate in the discussion, you'll probably have the material down just fine." Mentally, he's added 'rotini-furs' to his list of bad science puns. He seems to consider them a crucial part of his teaching. "Peer tutoring is generally more effective, but if you would like my help, I am happy to provide it. I love geometry, anyhow, and I suspect you have great potential to gain a special insight on how to visualize polygons." His eyes flick between One and Five. "Most people only occupy single points, effectively, but you have /five/." Blink, blink, blink. "I am not very sure I know what an empire waist looks like, but no one has ever asked me if I was pregnant. I don't own any pencil skirts that I know of, either. Mostly...wide, swooshy...dancey wrap skirts?" His gesticulation is not very descriptive, and his fashion knowledge is worse than remedial. But at last he smiles. "You /are/ very awesome," he agrees easily. "My plan is to basically come out here every day for the next few days until I run out of chocolate and most everyone has had some." And because she's a little vapid... < Rose would totes be jealous I'm going to school with boys like this. OMG, I need to text Rose. She probably thinks I fell off the planet. > Five begins texting vociferously even as one of the bodies uses the contact info to send a link. "Bloomy, like, when the skirt 'foofs' out like a bell. Yeah, dancey wrap skirts! That's what you need." Still, the body speaking with Kyinha, for the first time, manages to look... embarassed,"I usually need, like, all the help I can get." Then... they look utterly fascinated in Taylor's direction,"OH-EM-GEE. That's so neat! You totes brain-swim, dontcha?" That's Three speaking, now, as two of the bodies depart for homework,"That means you're, like, what? The best listener, and like, most sensitive boy ever?" Yes. Because in her mind, what's better than talking to a good listener? Having someone who always understands what you're trying to convey. "ZOMG, poly-whatsits? I THINK I get what you mean. Like, when I grew four new mes, it was like, my field of view was, like, massive. Mom and Dad, they work at Mendel, they have, like, lots of fancy words for that." One taps her chin as she chews on another piece of peppermint bark. "I HAVE to do the homework. I don't, like, retain knowledge very well. My parents use the phrase 'slow index processing'. If I don't do it, I don't keep it." Embarassment, again. "A few days to run out of chocolate?" Taylor's quick chuckle turns into another cough, hidden behind a tentacle. "That's optimistic. I'll give it till after dinner." He tilts his head to one side, turning a very solemn look on Kyinha. "Are you," he asks earnestly, "pregnant?" You never know. His sucker-lined club-limb rubs at the back of his neck after this, though, cheek scrunchin up. "I -- kinda more, uh. Brain... float? I don't -- know if I'm any more..." He trails off at the mention of the Mendel clinic, though. A small widening of eyes. A small tightening of jaw. He straightens, several of his limbs wrapping around his torso. "Oh. Oh. That's. Oh. Huh. What do they do there?" "Yes, I'd give it a few hours at most." Kyinha stops himself in the act of sneaking another piece of chocolate, smiling sheepishly. "Less, the more the two of us hang around here!" He gestures at himself and Taylor. "There's no shame in needing or wanting help, and not all 'help' is created equal. Not all help works quite the same for everyone, either. Maybe your additional points-of-view can aid in geometry, maybe not, but I wouldn't write it off until I've walked you through a couple of problems. Walked you through...get it? Because your bodies would be the points of the shapes..." He shakes his head. "Well, /comedy/ is not my strong suit. But math I can do!" One jet-black hand drops to his lower abdomen. He /actually/ thinks about it, very briefly examining the probability of an undiscovered secondary mutation allowing for parthenogenesis. "Probably not. /Probably./" He leans on the second word, hard. "Ah, well, if you need to do the homework, that is another matter. And if you have questions on it, always feel free to email me or come to my office, yes? Either of you." The girl taps her nose in thought,"Um... Daaaad is an immunologist. He, like, gives shots for allergies and stuff. And mom specializes in rare hormonal disorders. She's an endocrinologist, which, lemme tell you, was totes a big help growing up. When I split, they were totes hungry for literature, but they were proud as punch, too." Proud? Of her mutating? "They were, like, talking about the odds and stuff, and evolution-in-motion. I was mostly just happy I got to keep going to school." She giggles, though,"I'll take your word for it." Thoughts turn to other matters, totally filled with the joy of talking about awesome parents and unaware of Taylor's consternation. And parthenogenesis,"Oh, that would be so sweet!" She seems tickled pink. Five circles Ky as if searching for odd bumps and such,"I bud, myself. I get, like, super-sick, and like, half of me passes out, and then, like, after a month, voila! It's totes gross. But in a neat way." As for Ky's joke, he just gets a sort of clueless stare from her. She's smiling! But she doesn't really get it. "Um... Is that a triangulation joke, 'cause, like... Dad made one of those when three showed up. Well. More than one. Kind of a lot." "A big help?" Taylor's brows furrow slightly, confused. "Wait, proud? Why were they..." The limbs that are wrapped around him tighten just a faint bit more. "So they're both. Doctors there. Okay. That's -- uh. Well." His teeth scrape against his lip. He gives his head a small shake, glancing down towards the plates of chocolates and then back up. Briefly his nose twitches, snuffling, and he steps a little bit away from the table. "Homework, right, yeah, no, I should probably be getting to that. I have like. A whole. Lot still. Hey, it was nice to meet you, yeah?" His chin jerks up to Ellin. "See you round, I'm sure. 'Bye." "Well, it isn't...particularly /likely,/ I agree." Kyinha nods, then shrugs, then nods again. "It is good to be proud of your children," he allows, finally. "But I truly don't think I'm going to bud off anytime soon. Although then we could have another section of calc..." He strokes his chin thoughtfully. "It could be a triangulation joke, but hopefully they're not actually making you do that in geometry. Save that for trig!" He does, at last snag another piece of chocolate, the one with the black peppers, and looks rather pleased with the result. "This is /also/ good! Could use more of a kick, but good!" He waves with his other hand. "Bye, Taylor, see you tomorrow." Then, nodding at Ellin. "My office hours are on Blackboard, and the syllabus, and probably the school website, but if they're not good for you, just shoot me an email. I can always find time for geometry. But right now?" His eyes widen slightly and the corners of his mouth curve up. "I'm off to the lake! Thank you for the chocolate, and see you in class!" Before he strolls out toward the door to the gardens. "Did I, like, suddenly catch the plague. I'm sorry if I'm smelly or something." Yes, five even sniffs as covertly as she can, in the direct of an armpit. "Bye then. Um... I hope your homework goes well. Don't forget to take one for the road!" All three present Ellins look a little deflated. "Have a nice dinner!" Then Ky is getting ready. Luckily, she recovers her chipperness quickly enough. "I'll do that, Mr. da Costa. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your swim or... well... whatever it is you're doing!" The three Ellins head back to the table to begin obsessively rearranging it to look its best. Maybe she SHOULD have a chocolate store. "Mathmagician... AWAY!" This done in a superhero-announcer tone of voice. Taylor is already starting to head towards the door, but at the mention of taking one for the road one of his arms unwinds, stretching out -- and out, and out, and /out/ -- many, many, /many/ feet of limb, to snag another cherry-chocolate from the table. Then bam. Gone.