Logs:Falsifying Documents

Falsifying Documents
Dramatis Personae Horus, Tok, Ryan
In Absentia Scott	2024-12-14 Little little little known fact but birds cannot get in trouble.
Location <XAV> Hades House Lounge - Residential Complex
The student lounge for this wing is bright with large triangular windows that look out to the woods, and lights dotted about its exposed wood walls, and hanging from the beams of the exposed high ceilings. The communal seating was perhaps at one point coherent in style, but now contain various chairs, bean bag chairs, floor pillows and stools from about the mansion, abandoned in small organized circles left over from study sessions or socializing. There are communal bookshelves and cabinets filled with board games and movies. Hidden behind the bookshelf, a small indentation in the wall has begun an odd collection of pins, drawings, and other various objects. The lounge is low on students this Saturday afternoon. The sunny view of the woods outside might trick someone into believing it’s warmer than it is, especially with the way the light streaks in to warm up certain areas about the room. Tok is perched on a stool at one of the tables, light pouring in to provide a nice pool of warmth to their particular seat. A textbook is open in front of them, but their eyes are tracking the exposed beams of the high ceilings with a determined sort of look eyes. They’d seem comfy, in their basketball shorts, socks (shoes abandoned at the legs of the stool), and usual sweat shirt zipped up, if not for the way they occasionally shift and tug at each article of clothing with a claw, like they can’t get it to sit right. Their tail is curled about their waist, but the end of it smoothly lifts and falls in a rhythmic pattern. In one hand, they fidget with a metallic infinity cube, subconsciously, unaware of the soft click-click-click that’s sounding from it. Somewhere outside the door to the lounge there's a familiar squawking, though what business Mr. Horus might have in the kids' dorms is anyone's guess. The squawks sound harsher than usual and are shortly accompanied by a couple of unsuspecting yelps and the rapid thudding of footsteps. When the door to the lounge opens, swinging slow and steady with a push of the automatic door opener, there's just a tail-end glimpse of a couple of fleeing sophomores chased away by the (still peaceful, still calm) voice of Horus's AAC (undergirded with a smug satisfaction): No no no autographs MY Ryan -- Horus is swooping in (he is wearing two hats, today, a sturdy wide-brimmed Stetson stuck over top of a floppy red beret), perching on the top of a cabinet to survey the room officiously and then swoop again to push the door opener on the other side of the lounge. His trill after this is a little triumphant once it reveals an elevator in the opposite hallway, and he returns to the cabinet to settle back. Found it found it I'm such a good finder. His head is tilting far to the side as he looks down-down-down at Tok. Oh-oh-oh that's why they warned me. There's still no inflection on the rich automated voice but there's a deep amused titter coloring its empathic feel. Ryan is slower than Horus to enter -- no swooping, just the quiet steady whir of his wheelchair motor. It's a wonder the kids Horus was chasing even noticed the rockstar behind the stack of boxes he's toting -- he's got a pile of them teetering high on his lap and quiet a number more tucked into a very large mesh bag hanging from the back of his handlebars. "-- I'll use the other entrance for the next batch," he's saying to Horus, offering the other kid in the room just a small amiable dip of his head as he vrooms on through. Tok startles upwards at the shouting, and they drop the infinity cube then fully slide out of their stool as Horus makes an appearance. A bright grin is immediately jumping onto their face, and a soft white glow pulses in the blood vessels by their neck, but doesn’t reach much higher, “Mr. Horus? What’re you-?” Their words, which had been rippling with an eager excitement, quickly jumps to surprise-shock-awe starstruck when Ryan vrooms by. “Holy shit!” The words easily carry the bright excitement. They whirl around to face back up to Horus, “Was that- What’s he doing here?” They stage whisper, then gesture up, towards him, “What’re you doing here-?” their words are non-accusatory, and their tail has fully uncoiled from their waist to wave behind them, “I mean- not that you can’t be here!” Horus tilts his head towards one door, and then towards the other, which is slowly swinging itself closed behind Ryan. Moving moving moving, his tablet replies, he is my porter. He fluffs out his feathers a little wider. Live here now. Here I think here. This is Worthington yes? Tok’s eyes widen, “Wait- seriously?!” They bounce a few times on their feet, “Yeahyeah this is Worthington! Are you living in one of the dorms? I didn’t- I didn’t know teachers could live in the dorms?” They ask bewildered, ears flicking downwards with a scrunch of their eyebrows, but their excitement still manages to shine through, “D’you need help moving? I can help!” No no help not needed thank you thank you my trusty servant has it, Horus is replying with a quick bob of his head. He flutters down off the tall cabinet to perch instead on -- a slightly less tall cabinet. He's still looking down at Tok, but from a different angle now. Living here. All the dorms have been very bad very very bad Professor Summers laying down all the laws. Teacher in every dorm now. “…Did you just call Ryan Black your…” Tok trails off, eyes still wide. Then, they shake their head as the news seems to process, “Really?” The fur of their tail raises slightly, “No we haven’t! Our dorm’s filled with saints.” They glance briefly towards a chair clearly from the library. How did a chair from the library make it all the way here? It’s unclear. “I bet it’s Artemis house acting up or something. I mean, I’m glad we got you though.” They shift so they can watch Horus easier from the new angle, tilting their head in an almost mirroring bird like fashion. “Would suck if we got like- Mr. Sum- uh- someone…Not cool.” Okay okay he is just my friend old friends old old friends, actually he is here as Professor Summers' lackey doing his boring boring work, Horus is correcting himself easily. There's a low crooning warble that accompanies this. He hops down a little further, now making it as far as one of the windowsills. Artemis also bed very bad. And Ares. And Zeus. And double-Dionysus. Tok adjusts and automatically quietly echoes the warble, not exact but still a sort of warble nonetheless. They continue on, “Mr. Summers outsources his paperwork?” They ask with a scandalous ring to it, as Horus might’ve implied something far more nefarious than paperwork. “…To Ryan Black?” Their eyes narrow slightly, almost suspicious, and their gaze jumping towards the door Ryan had left through, then back to Horus. “What’d Dionysus do?” They ask curious, distracting them momentarily from their suspicion. I don't know don't know what goes on between them all I know is they share secret secret secrets. Horus's next warble, lower and sadder, does not take empathy to clock his grave disappointment in this Ryan-Scott Situation. What didn't Dionysus do. All shenanigans all the time and Horus not even invited. Here, though, he's perking back up, rising a little taller, fluffing his feathers a little bigger. Maybe maybe now maybe now I can join. What house is the best shenanigans. Do you have those here. Tok’s ears perk up, “You think…maybe they’re…” they don’t finish the thought, but they raise their eyebrows with a sharp grin. “Y’know.” They wander closer towards the window sill Horus is on, “And I bet their shenanigans ain’t as cool as ours! We got the best.” They say competitive, then they quickly straighten, “Uh. I mean- We got the best…no shenanigans. Mr. Horus sir.” They glance at Horus testingly, eyes narrowing. Maybe very maybe Ryan Black is big big ho everyone knows that. Horus is tilting his head again, far to the side, eying Tok with an almost comical intensity. You are terrible terrible terrible liar. Terrible liar maybe you need some lying classes. Thankfully now that I am fired from photography teaching I will be teaching lie lie lying classes. I might have to charge though no more salary. Tok lets out a loud surprised laugh, and they quickly glance around, “Can’t you get in trouble for sayin’ things like that?” They match Horus’ tilt of his head, going far to the side as well, but stop mid motion. Their ears pin back, “Wait wait wait- You got fired?” their head pops back up straight, and their lips curl back to show more of their teeth in a start of a snarl, “You’re an awesome teacher- why the hell-” they shake their head, and they blink, “Did you get in trouble for that?” Little little little known fact but birds cannot get in trouble. Horus's robo-generated voice does not say this with any more confidence than anything else that he ever says, but somewhere between its rich warmth and his chest-puffed stance he is managing to protect a certain certainty all the same. Not flying birds anyway. To get in trouble you have to first first be caught second be slower than the people who want to trouble you. How does this theory jive with getting fired, who is to say. He is adding in afterthought: Not for this not this no no fired for being too young. Teachers felt threatened if the secret secret secret gets out that teenagers can teach classes just as good then what is school for. New new new experiment now is learning what is is is school for. Tok stares the entire time Horus talks. Their ears flick, and they narrow their eyes at him, then at his tablet, then back to him. “…You’re…” their brow scrunches, “Did you hit the wrong buttons on your tablet or something? You’re a teenager?” They’re asking in strained bewilderment, “You’ve been a teenager this whole time?” The corner of their mouth twitches up. Never no never correct button I am very correct bird. Horus has started bobbing again, a little more animated than before. Maybe maybe maybe teenager. Maybe not yet. Who knows. No paperwork. Tok looks at the door Ryan left through again. They turn, very slowly, back to Horus. They seem to be…piecing something together. And based on the expression they’re wearing, it’s….Certainly something. They step closer up to Horus, very serious, and whisper, “Are you Mr. Summers’ and Ryan Black’s secret child.” Horus's bobbing freezes. His feathers push out, then slooowly subside flat again. He lets out a softer anxious warble, taptaptapping the stylus against his tablet without yet selecting any words. Finally he picks out words that play at a considerably lower volume: Yes yes that's how I got to be teacher in the first place but but then they got worried. No favoritism no favoritism or else all all all Professor Summers secret love children would want special special treatment. I plan to be very good very good student so they do not get any heckling. “Holy shit I knew it.” Tok whispers immediately, with too much confidence. “I’m the greatest detective ever. I can totally see the resemblance.” Their voice, still in a whisper, is a high pitched excitement, but they’re still clearly trying very hard to stay serious for Horus’ sake. They look up suddenly again, “So there’s more of you? How much…paper work is Mr. Summers doing?” They ask with wide eye disbelief. They bounce a few times, “OhOhOh Can I know who? Promise I won’t say nothin’. I’m great at keeping secrets.” Have you met Summers he loves loves loves paperwork. Horus is eying Tok very critically, first one direction and then another. More more more of us. Even a couple here. But who who who -- Hes craning a little bit closer to Tok, then twittering something quiet near the other kid's ear. After this he returns to his tablet: I am better better better at keeping secrets. He's fluttering back away, going over to bop the automatic door opener on the far side. In parting before he flaps off to find Ryan he's offering: You'll just have to look for the resemblances.