ArchivedLogs:Barbecues, Blues, and Birds

Barbecues, Blues, and Birds
Grilled meats have the power to bring people together.
Dramatis Personae Ducky, Faelan, Hank, Kris
In Absentia	Memorial Day A cookout on the back porch means new friends and dance discussion.
Location <XS> Back Porch
Memorial Day! It is warm and sunny and the school has no classes today in honor of the holiday. Per American traditions it is a day of cook outs and face stuffing, family gathering and random group sports, and the students are taking the time to experience all of those things. With sunlight streaming down, places with umbrellas are quickly snatched up and paper plates covered with burgers and hotdogs are in laps, deck railing, and whatever other surfaces people set their acquisitions on. Plastic cups have names scribbled on them in sharpie, and soda in those cups bubble along happily with the melting ice. Faelan sits at one of the chairs with an umbrella over it, shading the pale youth and his plate with a half eaten burger. He has on a pair of long khaki shorts, going to about mid calve, and a large grey tee shirt covers up his scrawny chest. He seems to be keeping to himself even amidst the crowding students, but is at least in public. Kris has tried to contribute her own little dish. Filipino barbecue! Skewers of chicken and pork, in this case, covered in her own complicated marinade (coke is a featuring ingredient). She hadn't stopped from snatching a burger, however, along with some chips and a soda. Really, her plate is piled high enough for two people, probably. She's a growing girl! Looking for a place to sit is key, though. So she approaches Faelan's table and pulls free a chair, without sitting,"Mind if I take a seat?" Her own clothing is a little more relaxed than her usual. Green swim bikini top paired with some denim jeans makes it look more like she's ready to swim than anything else. She is, of course, barefoot,"Mind if I sit?" Kris has tried to contribute her own little dish. Filipino barbecue! Skewers of chicken and pork, in this case, covered in her own complicated marinade (coke is a featuring ingredient). She hadn't stopped from snatching a burger, however, along with some chips and a soda. Really, her plate is piled high enough for two people, probably. She's a growing girl! Looking for a place to sit is key, though. So she approaches Faelan's table and pulls free a chair, without sitting,"Mind if I take a seat?" Her own clothing is a little more relaxed than her usual. Green swim bikini top paired with some denim jeans makes it look more like she's ready to swim than anything else. She is, of course, barefoot,"It's freakin' hot out here." It is a marvelously warm day, perfect for adventuring in the forest on the Xavier school, and especially lovely for meeting new and interesting friends. Of course, Ducky's version of "friend" is a bit featherier and smaller than the standard definition. As such, the relatively new student is trudging across the field between the forest edge and the back porch, wearing a pair of blue jeans over ratty hiking boots, paired with a plain blue hooded t-shirt that seems a bit baggy on her. Settled on one shoulder is the dappled gray and white pigeon that has been her constant companion since New York, but the other shoulder is a considerably larger bird - a Raven - its black feathers gleaming like an oil slick in the late sunlight. Ducky appears to be having a conversation with the large black bird, while the pigeon grooms her short tawny hair idly. As she approaches the others on the porch, the raven takes flight, launching off the girl's shoulder in a way that produces a slight wince from the girl, and alighting on the edge of the roof overlooking the scene. Ducky doesn't have any dishes to provide, nor any knowledge of how to actually cook something, slowly shuffling along the food line, making herself a stacked chicken sandwich, with pickles and chips to go along with it. Seeing Faelan, one of the only people she knows on this place, she shuffles over, remembering the last encounter, and looking between him and Kris, "Um. Hi. Uh, can I share your table, please? There aren't ah, that many spots really, but if not, issok, I can go elsewhere." She mumbles most of that, looking between the two. With first Kris and then Ducky coming towards him, Faelan blinks and looks around. "Oh, right. Um, you can sit there. I don't mind." He does however reach over to one of the chairs, and groping around he pulls at something and there's a little thud as it hits the floor next to his own chair. "Probably more comfortable." Nodding at that, he pokes at the burger in front of him and frowns at the now air temperature meat. "I think I'm done with that too anyway." A thought comes to mind and he sweeps out a foot under the table again and with the audible sound of impact, another chair appears. "Probably will need it I think," Kris eyes the reappearing chairs with a frown. Then she shrugs and offers a smile,"Well thank you. I appreciate it, Fae." She reaches over to pull out one of Fae's chairs for Ducky to sit at, and then plops into her own. She immediately takes a chunk of meat off of one of her skewers, chewing and swallowing happily. After a bite of this and a drink of some soda, she takes a moment to examine the girl. After a moment's examination, she says,"I'm Kristen, but everyone calls me Kris." She points at the Raven,"Isn't your friend hungry?" Then she's commenting,"I like your hair by the way. Very pretty. Hard to make work for most people, too." She bites a few more pieces off her skewer. Omnomnomnom. Dr. McCoy comes trundling out of the back door carrying an enormous ceramic bowl, piled high with what can only be potato salad. "Hi everyone, having a good time?" He looks over the various food options and everyone present he smiles and sets the bowl down on the food table. "My mother's potato salad. Potato, eggs, celery, you know, pretty standard." He turns and smiles pointedly at Ducky. "Oh hello, Ms. Teal, we finally meet. I'm Dr. McCoy." Well, duh. The big blue, furry professor is wearing a mostly red and orange Hawaiian style shirt, and khaki cargo shorts. Barefoot as always, Hank is also wearing a tan, floppy bucket hat, like fishermen wear, but without any lures or other accouterments. Ducky raises an eyebrow at the heavy thunk from one of the chair, and the reappearance of the other, and both she and the pigeon on her shoulder tilt their heads in almost unison, conveying a rather obvious confusion. "Thank you for sharing your space, Faelan. And, ah, making the chair visible again. My luck, I'da run into it," she offers with a little bit of a giggle, accepting the chair that Kris doesn't, making sure to give Faelan his space. She picks up her sandwich, tearing off a small piece of the bun and offering it to her pigeon. Kris's question about the raven gets a slight quirk of the eyebrow, "Ah, yes. Actually. But, well, most people will tolerate a little dappled pigeon, but, um, most people don't really like large birds. I'll give him my leftovers when I'm done, since he's a scavenger anyway." Ducky is about to take a rather impressively large bite of her sandwich, but pauses, mouth wide as Hank greets her. Her eyes go wide, and she only lets out a tiny bit of a squeak in greeting, frozen in almost-bite pose. Apparently her mind can handle an enormous bird headed man in the middle of the city, but a massive blue, furry professor stops her in her tracks, or bite, as it were. "People like to come and ask if anybody is sitting in a chair, and then they just take it away when I say no." Faelan frowns and shakes his head. "Its easier if they think most of the other chairs are gone already." Nodding, he glances to Hank and smiles. "Oh, hello Dr. McCoy. Are you doing alright today sir?" He glances around as people talk amongst each other, seeing what other options have been placed on the food table already. "I'm going to get some snack things. And get rid of a cold burger. Does anyone want anything while I'm up?" Kris shakes her head at Faelan, then smiles,"No, but thank you. I'm actually quite fine." Omnomnomnomnom. FOOD. It's a little like watching a garbage disposal at work. "Well, if he's more comfortable this way. I'm used to living around wild animals. I'm cool with any that aren't actively trying to eat me. They have names?" An even brighter smile fixes her face at seeing Hank, though,"My favorite faculty member. Doctor McCoy. Have you tried the skewers yet?" Because she made them, which makes them super-awesome in her own biased opinion. "Warm outside today. How do you manage with all that? It must be rough." "A burger for me, thank you, Mr. Carter. Everyone, help yourself to some potato salad. Apparently I made enough for a small army." Hank chuckles at himself and stoops to the ubiquitous cooler, magically present at ALL backyard bbq's, and retrieves a bottle of root beer. He pops the top with a claw, and takes a sip. "Thank you, Ms. Achre, they smell delicious." Hank piles a plate full of skewers while he waits for the burger. Then he seems to realize Ducky's stuck condition. He waggles his free hand in her direction, big claws on the end of enormous fingers. "Yes, what is your friend's name, Ms. Teal?" McCoy nods his head to indicate the pigeon, but does not take a seat next to her. Ducky takes a moment to unstick her jaw and finish taking a bite of her sandwich, although the surprise in her eyes indicates that she may have taken that bite to muffle the whimper she had been working on. She chews on the massive bite, slowly, listening to the conversation between the blue-furred man and the other students, apparently finally realizing that this was the Dr. McCoy that had been referenced to her previously. Once she finishes chewing her food into oblivion, she bobs her head, "Sorry, for, um, sorry for my initial reaction, Professor. I'm sorry for my rudeness." The be-pigeoned girl blushes in embarrassment, but looks at both Kris and Dr. McCoy in surprise at the question about the birds' names. "Ah, they, um, most of them have names, but they don't really translate that well all the time. This one is Kushi," she offers another bit of bread up to the pigeon on her shoulder, and then tears off a piece of the chicken breast she's been eating, and tosses it up in the direction of the raven, who swoops down to catch it mid arc, before returning to his perch, "And that is Zophi." Returning with a burger for Dr. McCoy and a plate full of chips, cookies and brownies, Faelan recognizes fear when he sees it on Ducky. Shaking his head, he smiles to her. "Don't worry, Dr. McCoy is nice, if sometimes forgetting the effect he has on new students." Handing Hank the burger, he returns to his seat and sets the stack of unhealthy down in front of him. "I think I only teleported you once?" He frowns looking to the fuzzy one with a questioning look before shaking his head and looking back to Ducky. "There's a lot to take in, and you haven't even seen all the students. I think the twins are a bit scarier, but well I guess that's just because everything from the ocean looks scary. I mean, have you looked at fish up close? Blah." He makes a face, shaking his head as he eats a cookie. "Those are pretty names. Do they mean anything? Or just something cute? It sounds kinda Japanese" Kris continues shoveling food down her mouth when she isn't talking. Free food - Kris' ultimate past time. Ever the quest to put on some curves. Takes time, though. "This is just what I needed. My people consider meals to be the penultimate form of social bonding." She gives a toothy smile, then folds her legs underneath her. Meanwhile, she tries to reassure Ducky,"Doctor McCoy, I promise you, is extremely nice. So is Professor Wagner, when you meet him." Hint Hint. She looks at Kushi and Zophi in turn,"Pleased to meet you both." Even if the Raven is far away. She picks a small piece of food off her place and holds it out to the pigeon. "They're so adorable! Fae, aren't they adorable?" Hank smiles and seems very interested in Ducky's feathered friends. But he doesn't harp further on her embarrassment. He just moves on. He gets stared at ALL the time. "That is fascinating, Ms. Teal. I hope we'll be able to sit down some time and run some experiments with your friends. I've read a great deal about the intelligence of certain birds. I would love to document your experience." Hank follows his question with a skewer. A whole skewer. In one bite. <chomp> At least he didn't eat the stick. Ducky shrugs at Faelan's comment, "I do like their names, but, um, that's kinda the closest I can translate to what they call themselves - they might be Japanese, but it's more a common bird language or something. But, um, they call themselves different things to different groups. And, well, that's what they said their names were. But not many tell me their names." She shakes her head, "Sorry for babbling on about this. I kinda get carried away. Birds are my thing, I guess." She ruffles her hair, taking another bite of her chicken sandwich, and nodding to Doctor McCoy, speaking once she swallows her massive bite of food, "Sure. That would be good. I had kinda been hoping to start looking into some research like things while here, and, ah, yeah." She munches on her sandwich in silence, relishing in the warmth of the day for a few. "Its okay, we all have things we find interesting. A lot of the students focus their studies around what they have an x gene towards." Faelan rests his elbow on the table, playing with one of the cookies. "Like, I probably should be studying physics or something. I may decide to go into it for college." Sighing and taking a bite of the cookie, he shrugs. "But then I need to start thinking about all that post high school stuff. Jobs, college, stuff." He looks to the others, then gives a little smile "But I guess its not really something you guys need to worry about yet." Kris just kind of stares at Hank's devouring of the skewer. Perhaps with even a little bit of envy. That guy can EAT. "Doctor McCoy is a little bit of a genius. And everything he learns adds a little bit more to his... 'portfolio'? Do you correspond with Rahne's mother at all? Doctor McTaggart?" She taps her chin in thought, as Ducky speaks of babbling,"No, go on. I bet you could tell us many things about birds that we do not know." She slows down her own eating, taking her time with her rather plain burger. "I mostly want to help people for a living. But I have no idea what that would entail. I prefer to use my ability as little as possible. Its primary utility is not... kind." She doesn't really elaborae much on that. "I am excited about possibly going to college though." "Well, Ms. Achre," Hank says with a smile, "Many mutants with violent " (and horrible, flesh rending, /beastly/) " abilities, find ways to live around their mutation. Or even incorporate them into everyday life. Without hurting anyone." He winks for everyone's benefit. He means himself, of course. "Faelan is exactly right, too. If we've done our jobs correctly, when you leave here, you will have mastery of your ability, rather than the other way around." When Kris speaks ill of her powers, Ducky tilts her head again in a rather bird-like manner, looking confused, but she exercises what little sense she has, and doesn't ask about it. She nods to Faelan, at the mention of after school plans, "Graduating? I would have been doing that this year, I guess, if stuff had gone like normal." Ducky wrinkles her nose, "I spent a year and a half trying to run away from my parents, and, well, school didn't really factor into that plan. So, ah, I'm behind on things." She finishes off her chicken, saving the last little bite of roll to share with Kushi, and looking apologetically up at Zophi, "Ah, sorry. I'll get you some of the leftovers. I guess I was kinda hungry." The raven shakes his head, and seems to heave an almost human sigh, before cawing once in her direction, but then just stays where he is, overseeing the party. "Its okay. I had to do extra sessions a lot myself to make sure I graduated on time. Therapy takes a lot of time, and well I kinda ended up off campus a good deal." Faelan shakes his head, refusing to be embarrassed about it this time. "They don't make you leave when you graduate. I asked, a lot." He nods profusely there. "I was hoping that I could maybe get to work here part time, maybe as a helper to the librarian, its nice and quiet in there. I don't think I'm ready for full time being out in the world on my own yet after all, but I might be able to manage classes. I just wish they would have the college classes here. I could always take the online classes though for awhile at first." He tilts his head thinking, then looks to Kris. "Maybe you could be a social worker? Or go into medicine, like being an EMT or something. That kinda thing helps people a lot." Kris inclines her head to Hank,"That's the most valuable thing I hope to learn, Doctor McCoy. That would help... turn things around." Still, when Ducky airs her academic woes, she has to weigh in,"Don't worry so much. Really. I'm a good three years behind, myself, for... reasons. Everyone is so dedicated to help me catching up. Rasa said she'd help me with history, and Holly's helping me with math, and I'll be doing even more this summer." She gives a cheesy sort of thumbs-up, and then plucks a skewer off her plate, offering it to Ducky,"Black birds like crows and ravens like meat, right? My gift to Zophi. By the way... I'm not sure I caught your name. Teal?" She lapses into silence for a minute or two, then says,"I'd considered something like that, but... I want to help people who also had lives like mine, if that makes sense? Do doctors do work like that? Going to other places, I mean, and helping sick or injured people for, like, charity?" Hank cleans another skewer, chews and swallows. "Of course, Ms Achre. Doctor's Without Borders, is one example. There are many other organizations you could look into as well." Hank smiles around the table and says, "Ms. Teal, you could do a lot worse than these kids. Well ok, not a /lot/ worse, not here anyway. But Mr. Carter is right. We're very patient here. We find it much more productive to not rush our students." Ducky blushes when asked her name, realizing that she had failed to introduce herself, "Oh, um, you can call me Ducky. Teal is my last name, and, well, when Doctor McCoy used it, it's honestly one of the only times I've heard it in a long time." She ruffles her hair, which Kushi immediately starts trying to smooth down again, cooing quietly, offering a smile when Kris offers the skewer of meats, "Yeah, ravens tend to be scavengers, or hunters, depending on the season. Would you like to feed it to him? I think, ah, I think he'll sit on the back of your chair and take it from you, as long as you don't mind? He's very curious, and has been around the school for years, just ." if Kris says it is ok, the Raven will settle on the back of her chair, and munch take the offered kebob. If not, he'll land on Ducky's chair and wait patiently. She nods to Professor McCoy, offering a smile, "I know, I didn't have it that bad off. It's just, ah, good to have it this good I suppose, now." "Its very different here than out there." Faelan gestures off, presumably in the direction of the cities. "Sometimes I think here's the only real safe place there is in the world. But I guess its just a matter of comparisons. Its probably really safe in the labs in Antarctica." He shrugs at that then gives a smile. "If nothing else you'll be able to learn a lot of things here. There's lots of classes that I'd like to take more times. But well, they kinda frown on that." He gives a small smile before saying "I sometimes go anyway. Its easier when they can't see you otherwise." Kris lets out a soft 'oh',"Well... maybe you can point me towards some electives that would help me succeed if I decided to pursue medicine? I already know Latin, but there's got to be more that I could add to help me along." She nods to Ducky, then,"Any friend of yours may consider themselves a friend of mine. We're all family here, I like to think." She holds up the skewer as the Raven settles and even makes smooching motions and sounds towards it. Smoochsmoochsmooch. "He can sit my shoulder or head if he can be gentle." She swivels to look at Faelan, then,"A lab in Antarctica... That sounds oddly peaceful, if cold." "Oh I assure you," Hank says, grinning. "The Antarctica labs are very cozy inside. And if Kris, or anyone else is interested in a medical career, I cannot recommend my biology classes enough!" Hank looks like he's about to say something else, when his phone buzzes twice and lights up through his shirt pocket. "Ah, time to check on my experiment!" Hank stands and sets about piling his plate with a ridiculous amount of food and turns to wave at the students gathered. "Thank you for the company. See you soon!" And off he goes, back into the mansion. Ducky smiles as Zophi perches on the back of the chair, munching happily on the pieces of meat from the scewer in a decidedly systematic fashion. At the offer to let him perch on Kris's shoulder, Ducky shakes her head, "No - he says he's quite comfortable on the back of the chair, and doesn't want to possibly hurt you." Ducky smiles, a little bit of a giggle, tilting her head slightly as she does, with her eyes closed. The mention of Antarctica causes her to wrinkle her nose in distaste, "Antarctica seems sort of, quiet. And boring. And, there's not many birds up there. It's," she shakes her head, "Yeah. I'll pass. I think I'd like to go to South America some day, or maybe Africa." "I just said that it was safe. I didn't say anything about if it was interesting to other people." Faelan smiled at that, and worked his way through his snacks. "I think they mainly do history and geological stuff. Which I guess is good for some people, but it would be kinda boring to me." Shrugging and looking skywards, he seems thoughtful. "I think I've been to one of those places. It was before I knew a lot about the plants and animals of a place, but I didn't really know what the people were saying. " Folding his plate up, he nods to the others. "Oh, and I think that there's a boat that they go around doing doctor stuff. Big white boat, red cross and all." Kris waves quietly after Dr. McCoy, then speaks out loud,"Anyone else feel weird when teachers and instructors try to hang out with students?" She doesn't stop holding up the skewer for the creature to snatch meat from, and will even pull a new one if it's still hungry when it finishes eating that one,"Like THE Red Cross?" She seems pleased, anyway. "Boring maybe. But peaceful. So, Ducky, Fae... either of you going to the dance?" Ducky shakes her head as she looks at Zophi, chiding the bird, "You're getting spoiled." She smiles, wrapping up her plate as she does, "I haven't hung out with many teachers here yet, but, yeah, even back at home it always seemed kinda forced." She shrugs, and pauses at mention of the dance, "Um, I haven't been here that long, and I only know ah, a handful of people, and," she blushes and shakes her head, "I was planning on hiding in my room the whole time, figuring no one would miss the new bird-brained girl." Ducky shrugs, "'sides, I have nothing to wear, and no money to get a new outfit or anything. So, I figured it was a moot point. I've met the campus cupcake pixie, but I don't think we have a fairy godmother on hand, too." Faelan frowns at Kris's question and shakes his head. "I don't know. Megan was saying that there are two people that want to go to the dance with me, but I have to figure out who it is and I hurt her feelings when I asked her to go with me so I didn't have to worry about it." Folding up the plate a few more times, he rises up from the table. "I probably just will avoid it now, so I don't hurt anyone else, or get yelled at or whatever." Crumpling up the trash into a tiny little ball, he gave a little wave to the others. "Can't hurt what isn't there after all." He gave the two a bitter sweet smile for a moment, then shrugged. "Enjoy the food, I should get back to the dorm." Leaning he grabs the invisible object beside his chair into his arms, and heads on into the building. Kris flicks a hand out at Ducky dismissively,"Oh, come on... Me and my friends have been trying to encourage more and more people to attend. I bet one of my smaller dresses would fit you just fine. You really should come. It's a good... bonding experience, and if you're to graduated in a year or two, you won't have many chances to do it again." She takes a skewer for herself and snatches some meat off of it. "You might even catch the eye of some boy..." She pauses, and, perhaps a tad judgmentally, examines the girl's haircut, then says,"... or girl and end up with a date. I think every new student assumes they would not be welcome, which is often the exact opposite of the truth, I believe." To Faelan, she gives a little bit of a wave,"I'm sorry it gives you so much distress. Try to get some rest? Enjoy the rest of the holiday." Ducky blushes and runs a hand through her short hair, shrugging, "I, uh, hadn't really thought about it. I guess, um, I guess we'll see. It's this coming weekend, right? I'm just, well, really out of practice with talking to people, and socializing, and being, um, normal. In that not talking to just birds and people at shelters, and," she sighs, "I guess I should stop making excuses. It's still kinda a 'we'll see' situation, though. I dunno." She blushes deeper at the mention of catching someone's eye, and opens her mouth to start to protest, but closes it, just not answering the statement. As Faelan leaves, she offers a bit of a frown and a wave, looking after him in concern as he enters the building, "I only barely know him, but he worries me a bit." She sighs and looks at Zophi, who is now chuffing and preening happily on the back of Kris's chair, having eaten the entire stick of meat, "Yup. Spoiled rotten. He says thank you, though," she adds to Kris, with a smile, "Ravens are at least polite. Usually." Kris nods emphatically to Ducky,"Go ahead. Think about it. But remember... now's the time to be having fun. You only get so much time to do it. And if you don't go, consider hanging out. Me and some friends are going to, afterwards. Movies and I don't know what else." She eyes her last skewer speculatively, but doesn't take it just yet,"He's... better at running from people than he is at interacting with them. He's coming along though." She seems content to just sort of lay back there and soak in the heat and atmosphere,"Zophi seems alright. Kushi, too. They appreciate good food, anyway." At mention of his name, Zophi starts flapping his wings, as though to take flight, but for some reason doesn't, resting back on the chair with a huff of breath, likely rustling Kris's hair a bit. Ducky laughs, a bit out of place, and stands up, shaking her head. Realizing that she looks like a lunatic, she grins a bit lopsidedly, and gestures to the raven, "Oh, he enjoyed your food alright. He gorged himself, and is now too tired to fly back to his roost. Spoiled rotten," she shakes her head, the last statement rather obviously intended for the large bird. "I'll think about it," she responds belatedly to Kris, "Hanging out sounds nice, I think. Even if the idea of a dance is a bit, ah, nerve wracking - I wasn't exactly the popular kid at my old school - socializing, not my bag." Ducky steps forward and holds out her arm, Zophi stepping up onto the limb to climb back up to her shoulder, leaving a trail of talon imprints on her skin. "Sorry for running off, but I should get Zophi back home before he gets too tired. Thank you," the teen smiles, looking a bit off balance from the birds, "For talking, and for the offer to hang out. I'll see you around." Another glance is spared in the direction Faelan vanished, before she offers a wave to Kris, and heads back off toward the forest, chattering once again at her feathered companions.