Logs:In a Name

In a Name
Dramatis Personae Gaétan, Kelawini
In Absentia	2020-08-04 "My siblings might be mostly corporeal but that's still a relatable feel."
Location <XAV> Roof - Xs Third Floor
The view from up here is phenomenal, a panorama of the expansive Xavier's grounds, forest and lake and rocky cliffs alike. Even without the view outwards, the rooftop itself holds its own delights, in the form of the tiny jewel of a flower garden tucked away up here, tended by one of the school's teachers. From the edge of the roof, with a veeery careful jump, it looks like it just might be possible to reach the treehouse in the old oak tree. The skies are still clear and the sun still shining, but the front pushed ahead of Tropical Storm Isaias has dramatically broken the August heat today. The wind is just beginning to pick up, though, and thick banks of clouds are scudding from the southeast as the storm rolls in. The trees of the forest rustle and toss in the first gusts, and ripples draw across the lake, slowly working up toward something like actual surf by the standards of its usually calm surface. Kelawini is standing with her face to the wind, her hair streaming loose behind her. She wears a red 3/4 sleeve shirt buttoned only halfway up, showing the pink ruched tubetop underneath, black capris whose ribbon cuffs are untied and also fluttering in the wind, no shoes. She's singing, her voice bright and beautiful, but from any distance the blustery wind carries her words away too quickly to understand more than fits and snatches. What little can be heard by the observant is definitely not English, full of long, lilting vowels that rise and fall like rolling water. Gaétan is quiet as he climbs out through the window onto the roof. Quiet afterwards, too, hands shoved in his pockets as he saunters slowly closer. He's fairly unassuming -- jeans, sneakers, a tee shirt with a flock of blackbirds silhouetted on the front. He doesn't say anything. Just tilts his head, listening as he draws nearer. Absorbed in her song and perhaps the wind in her ears, Kelawini does not seem to notice her schoolmate's arrival at first. Even when she does spot him she doesn't skip a beat. Instead she raises her voice higher as she finishes her song, spreading her arms wide to the wind and loosing a joyous whoop into the wind. She turns to Gaétan, automatically sweeping her hair aside to keep it out of her face. "Howzit?" she pipes. "Great place to watch the storm come in." Her eyes flick to the darkening sky with obvious excitement. "Song was beautiful." Gaétan nods to Kelawini, turning out towards the grounds as well, his shaggy hair blowing across his eyes. "Yeah. Be a relief after all this heat. I like it in winter after everything's frosted over and all the forest's just --" His eyes drift out towards the distant trees. "Quiet. Glittering." "Mahalo." Kelawini dips her head, bouncing up onto her toes. "Yeah, the wind feels great already." As if in agreement, a cool blast of wind gusts past them and tosses the forest like the brush of a massive, invisible hand. "I was named after the gale wind, so it's like..." She blushes, shaking her head. "We've only done one winter on the mainland, and it was just--terrible. But that?" She throws a hand out at the woods, her voice softening. "That sounds amazing." "Kelawini. Gale wind," Gaétan tips his face up into the wind as it blows, rocking just slightly into the gust. "Huh. A solid name. Do you feel it? Like -- connected to it? It's not like most people choose their own names, but if it chose you well then --" His shoulder lifts. He watches the trees toss -- the small chuff he lets out is swallowed by the wind. "I love the city but winter in the city is shit. Just gross slush and grimy salty sidewalks and the wind cutting through the buildings like it wants to knife you. Out here it's better." Kelawini bobs her head. "Yeah! The wind, it's like--" She hesitates again. Then blurts, "--like a big brother." She laughs, perhaps just a touch embarrassed. "I mean that's not unique to me, but...like, everyone's closer to some siblings than others, you know?" The fingers of her outstretched hand splay as if she could touch the wind itself. "I look forward to seeing winter here, then. Quiet and glittering." She closes her eyes a moment, inhales deep. "The rain's just about here." Gaétan's eyes skip sidelong to Kelawini. The half-smile that creeps across his face is slower to come; he bobs his head, amusement in his voice. "Yeah. My siblings might be mostly corporeal but that's still a relatable feel." He only now takes his hands from his pockets, fingers spreading at his side as the wind blows through them. "Mmm. Hope you don't mind the company just a little longer, then."