Logs:Adjustment Period

Adjustment Period
Dramatis Personae Harm, Kurt Wagner 2.0, Marinov, Shane
In Absentia	2020-07-20 "I probably actually have a higher than average number of bites under my belt."
Location <XAV> Back Patio - Xs Grounds
This patio is expertly laid out for relaxing singly or in groups. The section nearest the back door is a more or less conventional veranda, the mansion's eaves--supported by elegant white wooden columns joined with matching railings--extending out to shelter the long porch swings, rocking chairs, and a chess table from the elements. Down the stairs or the ramp from this is a fan-shaped expanse of slate flagstones populated by clusters of deck chairs and picnic tables, always changing in number and arrangement, and stone planter boxes bursting with seasonal flowers and ornamentals. The centerpiece is an elegant pavilion with a hot tub open for use year-round, even if the transition in and out may prove chilly in snowy weather. This was the day, he thought to himself, you can't just stay here forever. Kurt had been hiding in his room for two full weeks now, only coming out in the middle of the night to get food. This was supposed to be a haven for mutants, but most of the mutants were not as outwardly different as Kurt was. He was a monster compared to the others. But, Father Wagner sent him here because he trusted Xavier, trusted the school, and Kurt had to trust him too. Kurt went through his things, grabbing as many garments as he could to hide himself. Finally, he decided on baggy black pants, a large grey hoodie with a thick trench coat over it which he closed. He put thick mittens on his hands and sunglasses for his eyes. He topped it off with a cap and put his hoodie over it. The mutant looked at himself in the mirror, making sure as much of his blue fur was hidden before finally leaving the room. Kurt stuck his head out first, looking both ways before tiptoeing out of his room, closing the door behind him quietly. He stuffed his mittened hands in his pockets and kept his head down as he left the dormitory. He wasn't exactly sure where he would go yet, but, any distance outside of his room was a small victory. On his travels, he noticed the patio, mainly — the hot tub. Kurt's innate curiosity peaked as he snuck to the back patio, trying to keep himself from attracting attention. He had always wanted to go in a hot tub, but, it was never really something he had the opportunity to do. They always looked fun, expensive, something that naturally attracted a playful spirit like Kurt. Emerging from the mansion's back door not long after Kurt arrives is one tiny blue -- well, definitely a person, though it's hard to tell much about their age or gender given their extremely atypical features. Even on top of his (kind of fae-ish? kind of demonic?) features Shane is striking, dressed today in a slim, lightweight jacket and matching slacks of crisp white linen over a silver-gray band-collar shirt, gray suede derby shoes, with a white straw gambler hat perched jauntily on his head. He has a duffel bag held in one clawed webbed hand and a sleek matte-black thermos in the other; ice rattles inside it as he takes a sip. When he sees Kurt out on the patio a startlingly wide smile breaks across his narrow face, mouthful of serrated sharp teeth on wide display. "Yoooo." Shane lifts the thermos, waggles it in greeting. "Good to see you out and about." He sets the duffel bag down on one deck chair, tips the thermos toward the hot tub indicatively. "You're allowed to go in, you know. If that's your jam in all this heat." Harm's hair is newly shorn short for this term, though they left it long enough on top not to stick up too much. They're dressed in a sleeveless shirt dip-dyed in blue and cut-off jean shorts, new rainbow-strapped sandals clipped to old recycled inner tube satchel. They're perched on the railing of the pavilion with one bare foot hooked around the spindles beneath. "...so basically they're just gonna hide on the commune and pretend nothing is happening outside, I guess," they conclude to their companion with a small shrug. Then look up as the very overdressed new student comes creeping outside. "Hey...?" They wave, a little uncertainly. Then smile at Shane's suggestion. "I guess if you don't turn the hot water on, it's just like a small swimming pool." "Guess it's probably not a surprise. I sometimes kinda wish that I could pretend nothing is happening outside. But I'm addicted to the internet, so there's no escape anywhere." Marinov is wearing a cream coloured drop-shouldered jacket over a white dress shirt, perfectly tailored to their inhuman and androgynous physique. Three black buttons on the right-hand side keep the jacket closed, and there is two lines of stitch work up from the pockets at either side, a small red flower pinned to the lapel. The wide-legged canvas trousers they wear are equally well-tailored. Instead of shoes they wear a pair of leatherette straps, likely due to their feet being unable to accomodate regular footwear, in a kind of design that implies a heeled shoe. The fur atop their head is gelled up to kind of mime the look of spiky hair. Their slitted eyes turn towards Kurt. "Hey! You're new, yeah?" Kurt felt his heart drop to the floor at the stranger's voice. His eyes were wide behind the sunglasses, and for the moment, he was frozen. His mind was panicking on trying to figure out what to do. It was clear that this person saw him, so ignoring him wasn't an option. He could run, but that could only cause the stranger to become hostile and chase him. Stuck in his thoughts, he heard even more voices, and he felt his chest tighten as he struggled to breathe. They wouldn't be acting so kind if they knew what he was. "S-sorry." He mumbled, trying to hide his fear. "I-I h-have to go—" He spoke in a thick German accent and quickly turned his body back to the back door, already rushing towards it. "Wooah." Shane's pitch-black eyes open impossibly wide, huge pupilless pools that dominate his narrow blue face as Kurt turns away. His hands lift, free hand turning palm-out in a gesture of surrender as he takes a quick step back, head ducking in apology. "Sorry, man, I did not mean to startle. Wasn't trying to sneak up on you, just say hi." Harm blinks rapidly, tilting their head. Their "sorry" comes just about time with Shane's, though quieter. "Um, we're -- friendly?" They bite their lower lip and look to Marinov for guidance, dark eyes wide. Marinov pushes off of where they were leaning on the railing, the click of their claws sounding against the stones as they take a couple of steps forward. "Hey. Are you alright there? We don't- uh. Bite." This last is said a little flatly, a little unconvinced. All Kurt could think about was how much of a mistake this was. He knew he shouldn't have gone out during the day, he knew, yet he let his naive optimism get the best of him. However, he felt a small part of him split away from the panic, as if wanting to stay. It had been a lonely two weeks, and even having someone greet him made that small part flutter. He could flee, like he had done so many times before, or he could stay. The young mutant slowly turned back to the others, adjusting his hoodie to hide his facial features. "I, uh—" His brow furrowed as he translated his thoughts to English. "—I do not do this very often. I-I am sorry." His voice trembled in both nervousness and uncertainty. Shane lowers his hands, leaning up against the back of the chair where he'd just put his duffel bag. His smile returns -- a little smaller than before but still excessively toothy. "That's a bit of an overstatement," he adds lightly, "I bite plenty. But only people who deserve it. We are friendly, s'true." He shrugs one shoulder, his needle-sharp claws clicking lightly against the side of his thermos as he drums his fingers there. "No need to apologize. It can be an adjustment. I'm Shane, by the way." Harm leans forward, hooking one arm around the pavilion's column to get a better look at Kurt, their eyes still wide. "It's ok, the school is kind of a lot. I've only been here since winter term." They finally hop down, landing lightly beside Marinov. "I'm Harm." "People call me Marinov. Or Taylor, sometimes." Marinov bows their head slightly, their expression more or less unchanging. "And yeah, uh, I probably actually have a higher than average number of bites under my belt but. It's easier to not get bit than to get bit, in my opinion. But I have a biased kind of point of view. And yeah, I had a weird time adjusting when I first got here, too." Kurt felt a smile creep onto his face at everyone, his fangs showing in the process. Seeing other mutants that weren't human-passing and confident in that was a comfort. He relaxed his shoulders, beginning to let his guard down. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. "My name is Kurt." He spoke formally, like out of a text book. He took his hands out of his pocket, speaking with them. "I, uhm, am new here. I do not mean to startle anyone." Kurt adjusted his mitten. "But thank you. For your greetings." "Kurt. Got it. Welcome." Shane is relaxing too, as the new student does, weight shifting down into a languid drape against the chair. "Nah, not startled. Just didn't want to stress you. I think --" His clawed fingers flick toward Marinov. "We've all been where you are, it can be a lot to get used to. At least in summer it's not quite as hectic as in fall. Have some time to get your bearings before the school is really packed." He hesitates, glancing back to Kurt. "Not everyone here is -- like us, but most people probably won't totally freak out just by seeing you. I mean, you don't have to apologize for -- uh. Existing." Harm nods, and though their eyes widen at the glimpse of Kurt's fangs they don't back away. "Yeah, most of the kids look more like me." Their face scrunches up. "I mean not -- like me, like me..." They run a hand through their hair, blushing. "So, where're you from, Kurt?" "When I first got here, I experimented with a style," Marinov makes a swirl motion with their finger to indicate all of Kurt, "like you've got on here. But here at least, probably best to just wear something comfortable or stylish. Or if you're lucky, both." They put their hands on their hips, "Yeah, around this time, the school's nicer. Quieter. I don't really like when things are too noisy for long." Kurt frowned at hearing that. To think that it would get more busy only made him dread the future even more. But, truthfully, he didn't understand everything everyone was saying. A language barrier would do that. He was able to pluck out the most important points of their sentences. "T-thank you, all, very much." He lowered his head shyly, dark blue hair falling out of his hood. Kurt wanted to open up to them, wanted to act more like himself, but— there was that nagging voice in the back of his head. He knew it was false, but it had been right so many times in the past he couldn't completely disbelieve it now. They'll hate you, they'll turn you away, you're nothing but a monster. They're only being nice so they can use you. "Not everyone can be quite as stylish as Marinov. -- When I first got here I just got into detention a lot for fighting everyone who was rude to my sister." Shane pops the cap on his thermos, taking another swig of his drink. "Not sure it was the best foot to start on, but I'd probably do it again." Not being a telepath, he isn't privy to Kurt's internal monologue; nothing in his external cheer, at least, seems at all put off by the exchange so far. "'course," he says, brightly. "World isn't always kind to monsters." His clawed hand flicks lazily between himself, Marinov, Kurt, before he leans down to scoop his bag back up. "We gotta be kind to each other. I'm sure I'll see you round. Take care, Kurt." Harm chews on their lower lip, dark eyes darting back and forth between Shane and Kurt. Their fingers pluck nervously at the strap of their bag, nodding at Shane's words. Finally, they venture, "Not everyone here is kind, but we're all here to try to figure ourselves out, right?" They wave to Shane, then step down out of the pavilion, moving slow to avoid startling Kurt. Then look back at Marinov, "Wanna go grab some early dinner?" To Kurt, "It was nice meeting you. Welcome to Xavier's!" "Aw yeah. I'm super hungry, I could eat a horse," says Marinov, placing a hand against their midsection as if simply being reminded of their hunger is enough to cause pain. They start to head off with Harm, but look back to Kurt, "If you're like me and you like being alone sometimes, the woods are nice. You can run or climb trees or jump around or yell, really, whatever you want. Seeya round!" Seeing everyone leave, Kurt's eyes widened behind his glasses. "W-wait!" He called out, reaching his hand out to Harm and Marinov. He quickly took his hand back, biting his lower lip. "I... I-I would like to 'grab' dinner as well." He asked earnestly. "If you don't mind, of course." Harm looks surprised, if pleased, when the new kid calls after them. "Oh, um, sure." They smile, waving Kurt after them. "It's less crowded if you get there early, anyway. C'mon, we can show you around."