Logs:Oh, the Places You'll Go

Oh, the Places You'll Go
Dramatis Personae Echo, Leonidas, Nanami, Roscoe
In Absentia Gaétan, Avi, Lucien	2023-09-03 Boy you do know drugs is for having fun, right?
Location <???> the tippy top of the world
After another long day, Echo is lying on the floor of the glass igloo in the dark, propped up on her elbows with a pillow scrunched between her upper arms. She's wearing a light blue T-shirt with a fluffy cartoon sheep on it and Christmas-colored flannel pajama bottoms which do not match. She's smiling slightly as she swipes through some of today's photos -- shrine, shrine, shrine, cute stationery, elephant. It's half past eleven, but twilight has only just ended here -- not that it matters. Occasionally she turns to crane her neck upwards, but alas, it is still cloudy outside. Where in the world is Roscoe coming from today? His T-shirt (plain white, too big) is sticking damply to his shoulders, so maybe the pool, maybe the showers. Probably not the igloo's sauna -- he's pausing by the door that should lead there but, instead, leads to Iceland, tilting his head mournfully. Then he glances up toward the ceiling too. "All the sky you could ask for out here," he says. "I'm ask for --" Nanami is holding up forefinger and thumb just a smidge apart, "-- skoshi more sky. Two days ago da kine was lit up like a magic show. Mebbe before we leave it light up again." She doesn't sound particularly disappointed that the aurora isn't visible today, though; perhaps she's had plenny fun to do despite this. There are several shopping bags tucked at the base of the bed she's perched cross-legged on, testament to how she's spent at least some of her time (and probably some of Gaétan's money) in Japan earlier, but now she's thumbing through her phone as well. Her expression lights up, and rather than say what she is looking at, a photo very shortly pings their vacation group chat, taken Who Knows When: Echo with a quokka's inquisitive face peering over her shoulder. The door opens slowly and Leonidas creeps in, the unmistakable scent of skunk ass wafting in faintly with him. He’s dressed (up?) in a black button down tucked into denim jeans, and wearing a brand new pair of slightly pointed boots. He’s clearly been making up for being locked up, his pasty skin now closer to an olive. Once the door is shut he turns around and raises his hand in the tiniest wave, a grin stuck on his face. “Hi ho.” A ping steals his attention and he looks down at his phone, probably for longer than necessary, “Oh man, that thing looks so much nicer than the bull.” "Don't you have sky-on-demand anyway?" Echo says, not so much looking up at Roscoe as tilting her chin in his direction. Nanami's comment makes her start: "Hang on, can you see it even when it's cloudy?" This is probably the most excited Echo has ever sounded about X-ray vision, though she's soon distracted by the new notification. A very brief, high-pitched and plaintive sound escapes Echo's throat as she clicks on it. "Ahhh, new photo of all time!" She's flicking back to before the elephant, now, sending Nanami a cute photo of herself holding up one of those shopping bags before looking up at Leonidas, both her forehead and her nose wrinkling. "Wait, is there a moose out there?" Roscoe shrugs nonchalantly. Whatever percentage of his brain is going toward maintaining this nonchalance abandons it at once at Echo's question -- he glances up at the ceiling again, tilts his head. "Huh," he says. "I never tried before." Can he see it? He's politely not letting on, if he can -- instead he's frowning at the ping of everyone's phones, hands going into the pockets of his basketball shorts. "What bull?" he says, not quite in tandem with Echo's question. "Didn't have sky on demand for years though." Nanami turns her phone around when Roscoe's hands go into his pockets, the picture of Echo-and-quokka's matched bright-surprise expressions turned out towards him. Her nose has wrinkled, and she's tipping her head back towards the many glass panels searchingly before abandoning this thought. "-- Bull?" this comes mostly in tandem with Roscoe. "Boy you ever make sense?" “Oh fuck I hope not.” Leonidas looks over his shoulder, before realizing the mistake and giggling to himself. “I think I do, but clearly thinking isn’t my thing.” He slips his phone away and leans over to take his boots off, “Dropped by the reindeer farm, one of the bulls kicked this rich kid in the teeth. Kind of wish I’d gotten a video.” "That's not an answer--" Echo points out, but she gives up, grimacing as her shoulders hitch upward in a quick shrug of concession to Nanami's point. Roscoe gets an obviously dubious look as she sniffs the air again when Leonidas says thinking. Putting her phone to the side, she rolls over onto her back so she can see the others better, lacing her fingertips behind her head. She sucks some air in through her teeth in pained sympathy, though what she asks is, "What'd he do to him?" The frown does not last long in the face of Echo-and-quokka -- Roscoe's face lights up when Nanami shows him the photo, mouth dropping open. Echo's currently less adorable expression seems to scare him off commenting, when he looks back down at her; he steps carefully around her to sit at the edge of the vacant bed. "Heh," is his first response, "I bet that hurt," but after a moment he adds, his face puckering into a frown, "I wouldn't just film people who don't know they're on camera though." "In the teeth?" Nanami looks kind of aghast at this, "they alive still? Christmas is gonna be ruined forever." She darts a quick look at Roscoe's frown, her nose wrinkling for a moment. The expression smooths out soon enough though and she's turning aside from the question of Reindeer Violence to ask instead: "You all have some big plans for tomorrow? Last day we got this wild fantasy vacay before we get back to the real world. Should find some perfect spots for group pictures." “I didn’t see it, but somebody said he slapped it on the ass.” Leonidas straightens back up and pulls his shirt free from the jeans. “Pretty sure he’s concussed, but seemed mostly fine other than that.” At Nanami’s question he sucks on his teeth, eyes losing focus slightly as he thinks, “I don’t personally, no. Would be down to find a spot. Y’all got any ideas?” Echo also glances at Roscoe, narrowing her eyes a little. Her mouth opens below questioning eyes, but she closes it again as Nanami mentions pictures. Her hand moves back to her phone, though, her thumb drumming an aimless rhythm on the screen, brow still furrowed. "Mmm," she says after a beat, unlocking it and pulling up a picture of one of their little portal maps. "Was vaguely thinking about Denali fall color hike, but maybe it'd be fun to split up less tomorrow." Her gaze strays briefly again to their not-classmate, and then to the door beyond which Gaétan presumably is...somewhere. "Avi's snake house is artsy? Pictures there would be fun. Turn the ramps into ice slides, or something," she chuckles. Roscoe drags his fingers down his face, lets them pull at his eyes -- when he drops his hands again his frown is already bounding back, pinching between his eyebrows. "Second not splitting up so much," is his vote -- then with a hasty, toothy grin he adds, "Get stupid high." "Chee, yeah, that boy would definitely turn the house into a death trap for us." The cheer in Nanami's tone suggests that this is a positive, bright agreement with Echo's suggestion. "Ice slides first, then stupid high. I brought the good stuff, forget California weed da aina is where it grows the best." She tosses her phone lightly down onto the mattress and flops back on the bed. "I'm rooting for Mister Tessier to have one great career. If he send us on vacation next break, too --" Maybe there was a second half to this thought but she only briefly glances to Roscoe, and doesn't finish it. “I’ll leave the ice slides to y’all, my heavy ass would take a wall down.” Leonidas chuckles again, likely at one of the many other walls he’s taken down. “Flower, maybe. I’ve got some shatter left, ninety-seven percent thc.” He reaches into his other pocket and produces a blue stick vape, hitting the button five times to turn it on before underhand tossing it onto the bed next to Nanami, “Try that shit.” Echo’s slightly dubious look from before makes a reappearance and passes to each of them in turn, although it’s much softer when it reaches Nanami — is this perhaps just because she gives off less little brother vibes? “Kinda hope he doesn’t have a reason to feel nearly as bad for us next year though,” she says wryly. “I know all those words but I have no idea what you just said,” she admits to Leonidas. She’s quickly propped her body up on an elbow now, though, craning her neck slightly to look curiously at the vape. "Fuck yes," Roscoe is already saying to Nanami, then, "Yo!" This is very pleased. He hops off his bed lightning-quick, makes a grab for the vape, though he doesn't seem to have given it more than a cursory examination before he complains, "Well, jeez, if you don't have enough to share with the whole class..." His expression is marginally lighter when he looks back at Echo on the floor. "Naw, as long as people still feel bad for you, you gotta milk it," he says sagely. "What?" Nanami grimaces at the vape and plucks it up to toss it readily towards Roscoe without taking a hit herself. "He said this full of weed on steroids. I'm looking fo relax, not fo lose my mind." She rolls herself onto her stomach, legs kicked up and her chin resting on her crossed arms where they hook over the edge of the mattress. "Yeah." She jerks her head towards Roscoe in agreement. "I'm planning to coast on this pity long-time. New wardrobe is just the start, play my cards right maybe they get me one whole career." “With our track record, I’m sure something fucked up is gonna happen.” Leonidas grunts, sitting down cross-legged on the floor, his hand coming up to his shirt pocket to produce a silicone container that he waggles at Roscoe, “Bet your ass I got enough to share. Just… be careful hitting it. I didn’t listen and took a lungbuster, puked on myself.” Echo stifles a laugh as Roscoe jumps up. "What happened to having a new strat?" She squints at Leonidas, as if she is expecting things to emerge from five more hidden pockets now. "Mmmf, yeah, that does not sound like a good starter variety." She turns back to Nanami. "Theater stuff? Think you had a lock on that one before the pity, you and Gae were close before we went on an unsanctioned field trip." She blows a strand of hair out of her face. "I still dunno how hard to try this term. Like, does talking about being in mutant jail on TV make good inspiration porn for college essays, or..." "Shoot," says Roscoe appreciatively, though his squint at the vape is now much more apprehensive; he's heading back to sit in a huddled heap on the other bed; his gaze darts around the glass dome before he puts the vape back down, evidently thinking better of trying it inside. At all this talk of careers and college, he wrinkles his nose, rabbitlike -- "I'unno," he says, "I think I would leave the mutant terrorism out of my college essays. But --" he shrugs, defaulting back to practiced nonchalance. "What do I know. I'm in my third year of ninth grade." "Boy you do know drugs is for having fun, right?" Nanami is peering over at Leonidas with a hint of worry. "I neva wen think anyone have a weed problem but you sound like you have a weed problem." She rolls her neck slowly, her brows scrunching. "Gae's great but is he going to get me a tech job, he gotta get his own career started. Probably," she says with a small laugh, "hitch a ride off his brother, too." Her mouth has twisted to the side and a bit of her smile fades as she asks uncertainly: "You really go do the whole college thing? Probably better stay try hard this term, then. Already missed --" Her eyes dart to Roscoe. "... not as much school as you could have, but." Leonidas shrugs, “Might look like a bog now, but I still weigh almost eight hundred pounds. Fucks with my tolerance.” He stashes the container back where he got it from and moves his gaze to the center of the room. “I’m not sure what I want to do. This might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever said, but I don’t think I’m done playing hero. Might settle for firefighting.” Echo slumps back onto the ground, staring up at the sky. "Yeah, I just mean, now that telling the government I'm human isn't an option, maybe I gotta lean into it to have a chance." Only one side of her lips are pulled upwards now as she rolls her head in Nanami's direction. "I don't know," she says, quietly. "It was like the only thing my parents ever talked about. I'm not sure but," she huffs a short laugh, "I've got like, zero practical skills..." The other side of her lips catch up into a smile directed at Leonidas. "I would probably be reassured if I thought the local firefighters could lift my entire house." "That by far is not the dumbest thing you've ever said," Roscoe is reassuring Leonidas generously, though he follows this at once with, "How is lifting the entire house gonna help if it's on fire." He picks up the vape again, inspecting it with a deeper focus, his eyebrows pulling low over his eyes now, his mouth pulling sharp to one side. What finally rises to the surface is just, with a jerky shrug, "I'unno either. Just -- whoever will hire me, I guess." "Tch, last thing you want if your house on fire, some eight hundred pound buggah smash-through your burned-up floors." Nanami's mouth quirks up at Roscoe's helpful reassurance. She's rolling a shoulder in a small shrug after this. "He your cellie that's gotta be worth something, you gotta hit up the rich boys for a job, too, mebbe. College sound like a whole plan for people," she's saying kind of matter-of-fact, "with brains and money. All I got is style." “Fuck i ain’t thought of that.” Leonidas grumbles. “And it’s the dumbest thing I’ve said that you’ve heard.” He assured Roscoe. “Maybe I talk them into letting me be an X-Man. Work off the damage I did to the grounds.” Echo scrunches up her face. "Oh. Guess I was imagining getting rescued from a pile of rubble. Maybe you can show up if I'm in an earthquake." She pulls her arms in and crosses them over her stomach. "Well, I definitely don't have that. Do they pay the X-men?" she asks curiously, before glancing slightly furtively in Roscoe's direction. Roscoe plucks at the hem of his baggy T-shirt, says in slight dissonance with Echo, "I don't have that." He fixes Leonidas with a very dubious look -- does he know what the X-Men are? Almost definitely not. He's weighing in very confidently, "Hey, you're supposed to say 'trans woman' now." "Ohhh now we out of jail you got some respect for the genders." Nanami is saying this with definite approval and not censure. She's rolling back over onto her back, staring up at a faint glimmer of green just barely peeking through a small crack in the clouds. "Style you can learn, at least. The others --" Her shrug is casual. "Still figuring out." “Shit, you’re right, my bad. It’s the Brantley Countyian coming out.” Leonidas turns a shade of red and scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Gotta learn to watch what I say.” Echo's expression passes through quite a few different shades of confusion, but it's probably for the best that she doesn't pursue any inquiry. She's looking at that little gap in the clouds now too, and this smooths out her brow. "Well, we've got one more day to pretend we have money. Figure the rest out when we're back from Oz."