ArchivedLogs:Before Vacation

Before Vacation
Dramatis Personae Ororo, Hercules, Derek, Jack
In Absentia	2015-11-15 'It's been a scary time for everyone.' (Part of Flu Season TP.)
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. The glass walls of the gardens do little to keep in the heat, and with the sun having set a couple of hours ago the warm weather of the day didn't last and an autumn chill fills the room. Sitting on the floor in front of the one of the chairs, is Derek dressed in jeans and his usual jean jacket over a plain black t-shirt. His jean jacket keeps him from getting too cold as he currently is trying to study from his ASL textbook but it doesn't seem to be going too well as there's an unfocused look of confusion on his face and Derek seems to have trouble emulating the signs in the book. A large sandwich filled with a multitude of meats sits half eaten on a plate next to him and the sound of Steve Perry belting out 'Wheel In the Sky' plays over his cellphone. Hercules sits a distance away from Derek, having arrived some time ago, and quietly sat down on one of the benches. He looks very tired, and quite pale, only recently having had treatment for the disease affecting many in the school. Dressed in grey track pants and matching hoodie, he sits hunched over, hands buried in the large front pocket of the hoodie. Every now and then, he sits up a bit, as if newly awoken, and glancing around. Someone else has studying ASL in mind tonight and that someone is Jack. Just a pair of sneakers, worn jeans, and a deep blue hoodie with a backpack hanging off one shoulder, his approach is easy to miss. He's quiet and the music makes it even harder to detect him. And its the music that catches his attention. He's pretty sure they aren't supposed to be listening to anything with English lyrics so he's wondering who's doing it. Ororo also looks incredibly tired though for very different reasons. She's dressed comfortably, a baggy sweatshirt, leggings, and boots, she casually strolls through the garden. An odd humidity accompanies her, though really only noticable when you're within a few feet of her. Her white hair is mostly neat, though not as neat as usual but she makes up for it by tying it up in a low ponytail. Her face is missing some color and dark circles linger under her eyes but it looks more stress induced than illness induced. The music also catches her attention and she quickly follows it, stumbling across the students. She says nothing, merely raising a brow to Derek and glancing towards the cellphone. Looking up as there is now someone standing in front of him, a very statuesque woman for that matter. He gives her a confused look for a moment and turns off the music. It takes a second for it to dawn on him - listening to music equals English and he lets out a sign before dragging his hand down his face. He slowly starts to sign to her in a mix of finger-spelling and signed words, doing it slowly and pausing in between words as he tries to recall what the signs are for things. 'I forgot, music. Sorry.' He pauses for a second and lets out a quick breath. 'Sorry'. Hercules looks up as Ororo arrives, and he straightens up a touch. He too looks confused for a moment, and then he realizes that music is playing. With an English singer. Woops. The tall teen reluctantly stands and walks over to where Derek and Ororo are. He looks to the arrival of Jack and offers a wave, before signing 'Hi.' Hecules lets out a low breath, and glances to Ororo. 'My name's Hercules. Should we not evacuate the school?' Stepping up silently alongside Ororo, Jack's empty hood stares impassively at Derek until he turns off the music. He was going to do it himself if Derek didn't. Some of the tension in his shoulders drains when the silence returns though. Herc's greeting gets a little nod before Jack takes a pair of gloves out of his pockets. The simple latex is pullsed onto invisible hands and Jack signs a question 'Evacuate to where?'. 'The Professor has not deemed it necessary. Not yet.' Ororo signs. With as many struggling to learn sign language in such a short amonut of time, Ororo seems to have picked it up quickly. She gives a brief smile to Derek once he turns the music off. 'Might I suggest Beethoven or Mozart?' She watches Jack as he pulls gloves on and begins signing, nodding in agreement. 'The area is quarantined. The school is relatively safe, compared to the city. As long as the rules are followed, everyone will be fine.' Derek closes his text book before giving a small nod of greeting to Jack and Hercules and returning a faint smile to Ororo. 'The silence is too weird, too quiet around here.' He signs slowly from his spot on the floor. He glances around the room and shrugs. The whole situation of what's going on has him on edge. 'I just needed something to take my mind off of all of this and Journey helps me to relax.' Hercules nods to Derek a moment. 'I agree. The silence, at times, is unnerving. Though, I am very tired, so sometimes the silence lets me sleep.' The tall teen looks to Jack, and shrugs slightly. 'I am pretty confident that there is an evacuation plan for situations like this one. So, while I don't know where we would go, I am pretty sure there is a place not too far away that is safe.' He looks then to Ororo and smiles. 'Classical music works well.' Hercules looks to Derek, 'There's also electronic music, dance music, if you look for like, non-English European stuff, anything they say will be in a language that doesn't cause zombie.' Jack just nods a little. He's not a big fan of the silence either. He just shakes his head at the continued evacuation talk. 'I don't know. All the new students might mean a new plan is needed.' 'Don't worry about an evacuation,' Ororo signs with a concerned frown. 'It has been discussed and if it's needed, it will be arranged.' She turns to Derek and nods, 'Lots of good foreign metal and rock bands if you know where to look. Instrumentals can be just as good as the originals, too.' She gives a quiet sigh and rubs her tired eyes before signing again. 'So how is everyone otherwise?' Derek shrugs his shoulders in regards to how he's doing. 'My sister is getting treated for being ill tomorrow, so that is good.' He pauses for a moment, and then shakes his head. 'It's good. Mine is Tuesday.' The evacuation talk just gets a frown from him, he just doesn't want to think about it. 'At least that is something. I...' He struggles to figure out the signs for what he wants to say next, rubbing his brow in thought. 'Glad she's getting treated soon.' 'Sorry. So much stuff in my head, crowding close, trying to get my attention.' Hercules looks to Ororo, and sags a little. 'I am scared. For those sick, and for those not sick. And for the simple fact that I... I have not been myself. I can't remember some days. I got the cure a few days ago. I have to take pills, though, and I feel as bad, maybe worse, than I did when all this started.' He rubs at his eyes a moment. 'I'm scared that I may have hurt people. And that I may yet hurt more people.' For a long few moments, Jack just stands there. Shoulders tense, he reaches up to tug his hood a little more securely onto his head. 'I'm not sick,' is all he eventually signs. Standard reply from him these days even if it technically doesn't answer the question. 'Practicing my power.' Ororo responds to each person it turn, taking her time with each response. 'Good for her. I'm sure she will recover well,' she offers to Derek with a warm smile. Herc's message gets a small frown of concern, 'We're all scared. But we can get past this again. If anyone was hurt, it wasn't you. It was the illness. If you need to talk, please see your advisor or myself anytime. My door is always open.' Ororo nods to Jack as he replies before she signs. 'That applies to everyone.' Derek offers a small smile in response to Ororo. 'Yeah.' His eyes then go over to Hercules and he raises both eyebrows. 'Herc, feeling worse is better than turning into a zombie.' The ground shakes with small tremors for a few seconds, causing the plants and school desks to shake, and Derek takes a few deep breaths, trying to get his powers under control. 'I hate that. It has been getting worse lately.' Hercules looks to Derek and shakes his head. 'I don't mean feeling sick. I'll take vomiting and fever over zombie. I mean, feelings of anger. Losing control. They've not gone away. I don't want to hurt anyone. It's not me.' He glances to Ororo and shrugs. 'It may be the illness, but that doesn't help the guilty feelings go away. It doesn't make me less a monster in the eyes of people I've frightened.' The large teen lets out a low breath. 'I mean... I've nearly lost it in front of people I know to be friends.' Jack looks away, just offering a faint nod. His hands flex a few times before he glances back up. The tremor has him bracing himself until it stops. Of course seeing Herc's signs just makes him let out a little laugh. Shaking his head, Jack signs slowly. 'Losing your temper does not make you a monster. I do not think anyone thinks you're a monster when there are real ones out there now.' Ororo frowns rather...sadly for Hercules. 'It's been a scary time for everyone. Everyone knows it could have easily been them. They'll forgive you.' She gives a quiet sigh and, just before she signs again, that aura of humidity spreads a couple feet out from her. 'I've seen so much the past few days. I can guarantee you haven't been as bad as you think or worry you have.' Looking over at Hercules, Derek can't help but roll his eyes. 'Dude, you are one of the nicest people I've met. Almost annoyingly nice. Think about what you just said. Nearly.' He stands up and almost loses his balance, putting a hand on one of the desks helps him regain it. After a moment he slowly starts signing again. 'I'm going to go check on Daisy, make sure she is okay for tomorrow. Don't beat yourself up too much Hercules. Take care Jack.' And to Ororo. 'Nice meeting you.' He gathers up his sandwich and text book before heading off. Hercules offers Derek a wave, 'Let her know we're thinking about her, please, Derek. And we're wishing her well. Maybe I am nice, but the last time we were together, I was completely horrible to you. I'm glad you've put it behind you.' The large teen manages a smile, and watches the other teen go. Looking between Ororo and Jack, Herc's smiles a bit more brightly. 'Thank you for saying that, both of you.' 'I'm more likely to be called a monster than you. Trust me,' Jack adds. He lifts a hand to wave to Derek as he goes and then quickly signs 'bye'. His signs are still awkward and mix in a lot of finger-spelling but he's getting a little faster. He looks up at Ororo for a few moments and his hood tilts to the side. 'Is it bad in town?' Ororo quickly waves goodbye to Derek as he leaves, before turning to Jack and nodding solemnly. 'Bad. Larger city, more victims, more zombies. Throw in mutations...' She looks over towards Herc and Jack and shakes her head, 'Nobody here is a monster. You'll hear enough of that from others without calling yourselves that or other names.' Hercules looks to Jack and shakes his head, 'Well, I don't consider you a monster at all. Not even close.' He glances to Ororo and looks down. 'I worry because of my strength. I can easily severely injure someone, or kill them, if things get out of hand. Whether I lose control of myself, or if I have to fight, I can't ...' He pauses a moment, looking for a word, and deciding to finger spell instead, 'I can't unkill someone, you know?' Hercules lets out another huff of breath. 'Sorry. I've been kind of cooped up in my own mind the past little bit. Thank you both, again, for your support.' He looks to Ororo once more, 'What of you, professor, how are you faring?' 'I know.' If signing with an invisible face can convey bitterness, Jack manages it there in reply to Ororo. He shakes it off after a deep breath though. He justs sighs in reply to the situation in the city, glancing out at the mansion grounds. His hands stay at his sides, Jack electing to let Herc carry the conversation for the moment. Ororo listens (watches?) closely as Hercules expresses his worries. She doesn't seem shocked or surprised by this thoughts, giving gentle nods as if she were familiar with this herself. 'What's on the inside matters much more. You are a good person Hercules, don't forget that.' She pauses, hands in the air, as if choosing her next words very carefully. 'Killing is a very serious topic. I will gladly talk with you about it. Come to me after this is over, it's more than I'd be able to sign.' At the question of how she's doing, she just gives a slight chuckle and grin. 'Physically and mentally drained. There's so much going on, I'm almost happy classes were cancelled.' Hercules looks to Jack, 'Tay told me about the other day. How are you feeling about that?' He tenses up a little and looks at Ororo. 'I would have that talk, once this is all over. I think I am going to make an effort to learn a couple new languages once things start getting back to normal.' 'Which day?' Jack asks, head tilted in confusion. Most of Ororo and Herc's exchange isn't understood by Jack, the invisible teen still learning. He recognizes a few words but not enough to piece together what exactly they're talking about. He doesn't mention it though. Instead Jack just gives a little laugh before signing. 'Funny thing. Vacation starts this week anyway.' 'It does, doesn't it?' Ororo signs with a pained chuckle. 'I could really use a vacation'. Now it's her turn to let the conversation drift to others hands, letting Herc and Jack discuss on their own about 'the other day'. Oddly enough, that aura of humidity begins to retreat as she begins relaxing. Hercules looks to Jack a moment, 'The other day, with Teo and Sylvie? Oh, the Tay I am talking about is a smaller erm, girl, with ocelot markings. Not Taylor, the squid dude. Tay was pretty upset. Are you okay?' He glances to Ororo a moment, and then Jack. 'Vacation? I think everyone could use one at this point.' Jack tenses up when Hercules explains which day he means. The plants in the area all shake as if blown by a breeze but there was no wind. Just a telekinetic pulse from Jack. He thinks a long moment before signing a simple reply. 'I'll be okay.' He may not be entirely sure he will but he's trying to convince himself of it. Ororo raises a brow as the leaves shake. 'Again, my door is always open Jack, if you need to talk,' she signs before glancing down to her watch. 'Which is where I should be going. Stay safe, both of you.' She offers the two boys a warm smile before turning and heading back inside the mansion.