ArchivedLogs:On the Rocks

On the Rocks
Dramatis Personae Dorian Siccavil, Kismet
In Absentia	2013-11-25 Early morning conversation by the lakeside
Location <XS> Lake
Bright, bright, bright; the lake glitters wide and expansive here, stretching off into the distance. Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, it catches them all. Lapping at the rocky shore, its deep waters are frigid in winter and cool even in summer. A stone pier stretches out a ways into the water, wide and smooth, though often icy in winter. The water teems with life nevertheless, home to myriad species of fish that provide for ample fishing or just lazy watching on a slow summer day, for those who want to take a boat from the boathouse out to the center of the lake, or perhaps lounge on the pier and try their luck. Early morning at Xavier’s School cannot be called anything but frigid today, especially by the lakeside. The edges of the lake have begun to freeze in the overnight, an exceptionally thin sheet of ice clinging to the rocky shore. The water ripples lazily in the breeze, heralding the even colder temperatures yet to come for the region - the gray clouds in the distance hint at the potential for snow in the near future. Not many people are out in the morning, especially in this chill, but Dorian has begun to make it a habit. The young man sits on one of the larger rocks that make up the shoreline, dressed in just a pair of sweatpants and nothing else - the exposed fur of his back and chest glistening with tiny ice chips and droplets of water in the early morning light. He seems generally unbothered by the cold, knees pulled up to his chest, his tail draped down into the frigid water still, just staring out into the dark water of the lake. A small bag that presumably contains his other clothes and a towel sits a short distance away on the dry ground. Kismet strides down the hill with purposeful steps, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. This one is heather gray and bears the crest of Xavier's School on the chest. He is also wearing a threadbare purple-and-black tartan scarf, its tails tucked neatly away under the sweatshirt, and heavy black jeans. Against the biting breeze from the lake, he carries himself straight and tall. He comes to a stop beside Dorian, glancing only briefly at him before casting his gaze out across the water. "Lakes back home didn't freeze." His shoulders start to hunch up, but then they relax again. "How are you feeling?" Dorian takes a moment to react to Kismet’s approach, although he glances over his shoulder to see who else is approaching the lake so early. He offers a cheery wave and a smile to his former roommate, turning himself around on the rock so he faces Kismet, but makes no attempt to climb back out from the rocky shoreline. Even with his knees pulled up to his chest to perch on the rock, it is possible to see the fine lines of scars that interrupt the pale tawny fur of his chest. His tail lazily lashes through the water, breaking up the thin sheet of ice on the surface as he speaks, “Yeah - I’m more used to the river back home, which is further north than this. Use’ta freeze over a little bit, but I could go swimming sometimes ‘til new year, depending on the weather and stuff.” He glances back over his shoulder at the lake, and the trees beyond, shrugging, “I’m ok, I guess. S’kinda disorienting and all, with everything that’s happened so fast. Kinda went from years and years of nothin’ changing to suddenly everything changing, and then everything more changing.” He tilts his head to the side, looking at Kismet intently, ears perked forward, “How’re you doing?” "You have some adaptive advantages, too," Kismet offers with a faint smile. "You think this'll freeze solid? Enough to walk on. Or skate." He pulls one knit gloved hand from his pocket and gestures at the shoreline. A small, flat stone lifts up and spins out over the water, skipping only once before splashing down. "Some other padawans took me ice skating once. It was an indoor rink, though. I'm...doing OK, all things considered. A little stir-crazy." Kismet shrugs. "Been catching up on what I missed, both in school and in the world. But yeah, it sure has changed. I can't even imagine how different it must be to you." “Well, yeah, there’s that. I mean, no way I’d be sitting out here dressed like this if I didn’t, let alone get in the water. It’s cold, but I don’t mind it or feel it as much,” Dorian giggles, demonstratively ruffling the fur on his shoulder and sending some water droplets flying in a fine mist. “I imagine it will, yeah. It’s too still to not freeze - but I imagine that it’ll get to ice skating freezy point - it really does get that cold up around here,” he continues, glancing off towards the gray clouds on the horizon, a wistful tone in his voice, “Maybe we’ll even get snow soon. I’d like that. It would be nice to get to see snow again.” He sighs and watches the stone as it drops below the surface, almost looking for a moment like he might chase after it, but relaxing back onto his seat as he thinks better of it. “Yeah - I’m in mostly remedial classes at this point, since, well, I failed out of second grade - there’s a lot to catch up on,” he admits sheepishly, scratching at his notched ear, “I started coming out here a lot - it’s too still inside, and I haven’t got a roommate right now, which is sort of, um, unnerving, for me. For reasons. So I come out here, since there are sometimes other students out here.” "Snow would be nice," Kismet agrees. "I've seen it a few times, but never really played in it. I'd go swimming with you, but I'm pretty sure that would end in hypothermia and a really embarrassing visit to the medbay." He selects another stone and skips it. Or tries to. The rock tumbles end over end in the air before plowing into the still surface, kicking up an arc of clear water. "You know me and Jeremy live right down the hall from you. I wouldn't mind the company, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn’t, either." “I miss snow. I haven’t… well, I really haven’t had a chance to play in it since I was little - there was snow when I was sent away - was supposed to be a pretty big snow, if I remember right,” Dorian chatters for a bit, unfolding his legs to let his bare feet dangle into the water as well. “And yeah - I got to go swimming with Shane and Sebastian the other day, which was really nice and fun and it was the first time I’d gotten to go swimming in a really really long time. They taught me what kinds of fish are in the lake and stuff. But they’re kinda able to deal with the cold better, too. You should swim with us in the spring and summer, yes, when it isn’t so cold. But there is an indoor pool here, it’s just chlorine kinda makes my skin itch funny and messes up my fur, so I don’t really swim in pools much, ‘specially if there’s other places to swim,” Dorian prattles on in one extended breath, without much pause, his webbed feet wiggling in the water. He grins and nods, ruffling his drying, slightly frosty hair, “Yeah. I know people are around, but, well, I got put alone and I wasn’t sure exactly how much I was supposed to bother other people on the floor. I mean, Kelly said that he’d take the extra bunk in my room sometimes, or keep me company. I just, well, they didn’t give me a room mate, I figured it was for a reason.” His ears tuck back into his hair at this admission, and he shrugs, looking out to try and see where the second stone had ended up, squinting at the distance. "I hate chlorine, too. It doesn't bother my skin, but I grew up swimming in rivers and lakes, and it's hard to get used to." Kismet sucks in a deep breath and releases it in a long stream of white condensation. He lifts another stone, more deliberately than before, and flicks it across the water. This one just slips right into the water with hardly a splash. He doesn’t seem particularly put out. "I'm a decent swimmer, but I look forward to being properly humbled, when it gets warm again." He flashes a grin at Dorian. "You know, I really doubt they were thinking too hard about room assignments at the time. You can probably ask for a roommate." “I think it messes with the oils or something that make my fur warm. And dries out my skin. Also, it kinda stings to keep my eyes open, even with the whole freeky eyelid thing going on - so, yeah. No pools,” Dorian says with a shrug, breaking up the little bit of ice still remaining around the rock he sits on with his toes. “I used to be better at it. Really fast. But, well, my hands are screwed up, so I can’t pull myself through the water as easily - legs and tail only do so much,” he confesses, tail swishing in the water agitatedly, “Shane and Sebastian are really really fast - I can almost keep up, sorta, but not really. Doesn’t matter, just was happy to be in a lake and swimming again.” He bobs his head and offers a nervous grin, “I know… I should ask, but it seemed kinda selfish to ask, when everything else was going on? I might ask, but I’m… it’s kinda a hard mental pattern to break.” A hand reaches up to ruffle his mostly dry mop of brown hair as he speaks, “Also, I’ve been told I’m a really “fucking annoying” roommate before. By multiple people. But maybe there will be someone new who needs a room once people start coming back and things calm down.” "Hey, /I/ didn't find you annoying at all. I'm sure you'll get a roommate soon. This is not that place, but you were there so long..." Kismet stretches out a hand as if to smooth over the patch of ruffled fur on Dorian's shoulder, but he stops short. "You know, I've never asked if you were comfortable being touched. I mean, I've pushed you around plenty, but that was always in dangerous situations." Dorian blinks in mild surprise at the question, tilting his head curiously, ears twitching slightly, “I… I’ll never get used to people actually /asking/ that out here. I kinda got used to just, I dunno, people assuming I was just there for touching.” He pauses, and draws in a long breath, nodding as he speaks, “That said, I actually like being touched - it’s kinda comforting, sorta? Well, ok, I don’t like when doctors touch me… I’m still kinda… shuddery about that, I guess. But petting or hugs? I like that.” The young man relaxes his posture as he talks, and certainly doesn’t flinch away from Kismet’s outstretched hand. Kismet nods. "What they did there was wrong. There's a lot of wrong in the world." His hand settles on Dorian's shoulder, smoothing down the fur. "So much that sometimes it seems like we only get stuff /right/ by accident." A small, flat rock levitates off the ground and sails out over the lake. It grazes the water's surface, smooth like a pool of mercury, but skips off, leaving silver-plated ripples in its wake. It touches and goes to more times before finally falling in with a satisfying VWOOP. He smiles and pats Dorian's shoulder. "But I guess that's better than nothing." The touch on his shoulder earns a quiet, somewhat purring sigh from Dorian - the dark brown fur there is incredibly soft and thick, although the silky pelt is more than just a bit cold from exposure. There is the faintest scent of a warm earthy fragrance when Kismet smooths down Dorian’s fur, but in the crisp air it is barely notable. “Yeah,” he offers weakly, sighing, “I thought, well, maybe once I got out, once we all got out, things would be better, and awesome like I remember it being when I was little. But the world is kinda broken. I guess it would kinda have to be pretty broken in order to allow what goes on in the labs.” The melancholy is forgotten, though, and he grins brightly when Kismet manages to skip the rock properly, bouncing and applauding on his perch. “Better to be out and able to try and change it, and have a chance to do something about it, accident or not,” Dorian nods with a cheery smile.