ArchivedLogs:Beestings

Beestings
Dramatis Personae Aloke, Ducky, Faelan, Kai	2013-08-05 Distractions from homework, courtesy of the bees.
Location <XS> - Back Porch
The back patio is a restful place to sit and relax, in most weather. Ample seating comes in the form of umbrella'd deck chairs and a cushioned porch swing, and the neighboring gardens attract butterflies and hummingbirds to make the viewing pleasant. The hot tub is usually open for use, though in snowy weather the transition in and out is a shivery one! The forcast says it is going to be the last nice day before the rain sets in for the week - the sun is just setting over the tree line, and the evening chattering of the birds blends with the sound of cicadas to create a pleasantly droning sound track to the evening. The back porch is a pleasant enough place to sit and do homework tonight, and Ducky has decided to make an attempt at doing something studious. Attempting is the key word in this case - she has lounged herself sideways on one of the chairs beneath an umbrella, her school books open to her work and largely abandoned at this point, the pages flapping in the slight breeze. Ducky's attention is instead focused entirely on the two red throated finches currently perched on her hand, alternating chirps as she looks intently at them as though listening quite closely to their conversation. "No, I don't think you were in the wrong. But I do think she has every right to be upset. That wasn't very nice," Ducky responds, looking at the brighter of the two birds, narrowing her eyes slightly as she focuses. The little bird chirps, and tilts his head slightly to the side, while the duller bird chirps once and ruffles up its feathers, and stays puffed up, silent. If anyone else is on the porch or approaching, she is rather oblivious to their presence. The figure coming out of the gardens is definitely Kai-shaped, although it's wearing a big floppy hat and gloves that look too large in addition to the cargo shorts and tank top. A squirt bottle in one hand, the Korean boy is intent on several red, swelling places on his arms, inspecting each one carefully as he approaches the back porch. Climbing the stairs, he strips off his hat and gloves, dropping all his accouterments in a pile by the stairs. The sound of Ducky conversing with the finches catches his attention, and he wanders in that direction, still inspecting his arms. "Hello, Ducky," he says, turning his arm slowly. "I hope I am not interrupting your homework, but do you know what to do if a bee has bitten you?" Making his way out through the back door, Faelan is carrying a bag of chips and a book under his arm. With the weather being pleasant again, he wears once more a pair of baggy black UFO pants, and a teeshirt two sizes too large in a light grey with the Xavier logo on it. As he looks for a place to sit, he notices the birds with Ducky, followed by the Kai shaped object which is now more Kai shaped, though slightly more red and bumpy. "Hello guys. Oh, bad run in with the hive Kai? I think that you are supposed to apply a paste of baking soda and water to it, but you need to take out the stingers first." He frowns a bit trying to see how badly stung Kai is. "Ah, I thought there might be a contingent of summer-schoolers out here." Professor Suresh walks out onto the back porch carrying a pitcher of iced tea, and big platter with sugar cookies, and a stack of paper cups. Aloke smiles around and everyone, and then sets everything down on a little side table near the porch furniture. Once everything is set out, Aloke gets a good look at everyone gathered, and his eyes go big when he sees Kai. "Oh, good lord, Kai! Are you alright? You're not allergic, are you?" The appearance of other people onto the porch causes the two finches that were perched on Ducky's hand to startle, taking wing and heading off towards destinations unknown, much to the shock of the young woman. She rights herself in the chair, sitting cross legged and blinking confusedly at Kai, and then Faelan as they approach. She is dressed in khaki cargo pants and bright yellow hooded vest over a heathered gray t-shirt, the dappled gray and white pigeon flutters down from atop an umbrella and settles into her hood with a soft coo. The girl pulls a face at whatever the pigeon says to her, and shakes her head, turning her attention to Kai, quite concerned with what look like painful stings. "Ouch. Um, I, uh," she looks over at Faelan concerned, "I think Faelan's got the right idea? 's not something that's ever happened to me, since the birds kinda tend to protect me from bees. And mosquitoes. And stuff." A sheepish look to Professor Suresh, and a bit of a wave, though she shifts to look closer at Kai's arms, "Ice might help too? Ice helps with swelling and stuff. Makes it less red and angry and not itchy and stuff?" When other people join them on the porch, Kai looks over, and offers a tight line of a smile. "Yes," he answers Faelan. "They were very hard to calm down today." Never mind that he's not exactly dressed to repel stings. The mention of stingers gets closer inspection of the stings -- which are not as numerous as they seem, up close, Just a handful which are surrounded by wide red areas. "I do not think I am allergic," he says to Aloke with a shake of his head. "They did these when I first went out there." He frowns, and picks at one with a fingernail, wobbling the tiny protrusion he finds there. "They itch like the bullets do with Foom," he notes idly. "But they do not hurt." He frowns. "I feel bad for the bees that did this though. Because they died, and I told Ivan I would keep them safe." "I do not think Ivan will mind too much the ones that died attacking you." Faelan frowns at that, looking a tad concerned anyway. "I would recommend an epi-pen or benedryl, but if you had allergies you probably wouldn't have made it this far. But I'm sure Doctor McCoy or someone at the medical bay could give you something to help maybe. Mainly you want to get the stingers out and the poison out." He nods abit, and looks to Aloke for confirmation, since his presence now makes him the authority figure in his eyes. "Do you know of anything else for stings Professor?" Aloke is wearing loose khakis, and an equally comfortable looking white, button up shirt, undone at the top. As usual, the teacher is also barefoot. He offers a sympathetic smile, and comforting hand on Kai's shoulder, away from any stings. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about Ivan, Kai. There's only so much the rest of us can do when it comes to working with insects. I'm sure he just appreciates the fact that you're tending them." Aloke nods at Faelan's question. "Well, I'm sure Dr. McCoy could fix you right up, but if you like, I could try my dad's trick with a credit card. Its too late for the poison, but since you're not allergic, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty sure I can pop those stingers out, if want me to try?" Aloke fishes his wallet out of a back pocket, shrugs. "Then we can follow it up with tea and cookies!" The look of concern on Ducky's face doesn't go away when Kai talks about the stings, "Even if they don't really hurt, it's still not really good to leave the stingers in. But that does kinda suck that the bees died and all, but I don't think Ivan will be upset. Well, I haven't met him, yet, but from what I've heard, he doesn't sound like he'd be mad. I mean, it's just a few of them, which isn't that bad." She ruffles her hair and looks a bit sheepish, "Birds kinda tend to eat more than that many over the course of a day. Not from his hives, but hives kinda take that sorta loss well, ish, kinda?" She tilts her head slightly in confusion, as the mention of bullets just sinks in, "You've been shot before?" "Credit card trick? I thought you just used tweezers for it." Faelan watches Aloke curiously a moment before shrugging and starts to drag over some chairs for everyone, making the creaking scraping noise with the effort. "Should probably sit for it anyway, just in case." Nodding as if that explains it perfectly, he glances between them all, and settles in himself. "That is probably a wise plan," Kai says of removing stingers, giving the others a grateful smile. "They will probably not itch as much, with the stingers removed," He smiles as he holds out his arm for Aloke to inspect and do his credit card magic. At least, it might be magic to Kai, the way he tips his head at the teacher. "You can cure bee stings with a credit card?" Clearly, by his expression, Western medical knowledge is an amazing thing. He blushes a bit as Ivan's wroth is waylaid in his absence, and he lifts his shoulders. "Still. It is a thing I promised, and it is not good to break a promise." Ducky's question gets another shrug. "When Foom came the first time, there were soldiers," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. "They used many guns before they called down the thunder on him." Aloke nods and smiles, producing one of the cards from his wallet with a flourish, before pocketing the wallet again. "Sure, Faelan, tweezer work about half the time, but sometimes, the stinger is in too deep. But with this-" Aloke twirls the silver and blue card in his fingers. "We'll get it no matter what." He smiles, sits Kai in a chair next to Ducky, and takes a knee next to him. Then he takes the offered arm in hand, produces the card and makes an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, it /is/ going to hurt a little bit." And with that, he approaches the first bump, whisks the card in quick, short motions, across the bump. "Ah ha!" On the third whisk, a little black speck pops out of the wound. "There we go. A souvenir!" Ducky watches curiously as Aloke works his magic on the bee stings, perching on her chair like an oversized bird to be able to see what is going on. "So how does that work any better than tweezers, I mean, how does it work differently than the tweezers?" she asks curiously, tilting her head to the side a bit. "Did Ivan give you the beekeeper gear type stuff before he left? I mean, they've usually got the big massive net outfits on to keep, y'know, the bees from stinging so much. The kinda safari looking things with the meshy bits over the faces," she pantomimes out the beekeeper outfit, frowning slightly, "It seems kinda like it would be kinda necessary given that you can't talk to bees like he can." She frowns slightly at the mention of the guns, but doesn't say anything, just watching curiously instead. As the others get settled in to watch the process, Faelan gets back up. "I'll go head to get the oinment, it will make it itch less at least and the swelling will go down. Otherwise sleeping will be kinda uncomfortable tonight." Nodding to the others, he pauses with a frown. "Anything else anybody need? I mean bandaids and ointment are probably enough unless you want some ice too. Shouldn't take too long." He waits long enough to see if anything else is needed before heading off to pick up the things. Kai is easily steered into a seat, and he watches with wide eyes as Aloke begins his credit card cure, glancing up as Ducky voices the question in his own mind. There's a small noise of discomfort as the plastic slides along his skin, and he instinctively pulls back, his eyes flashing yellow briefly before settling back into inky normality. Luckily, Ducky is there to distract Kai with questions, and he turns to face the older girl with a frown. "I have the hat and the gloves," he says with an almost apologetic tug of his mouth. "They have always been enough, before. I think the bees are anxious for Ivan to return." When Faelan offers to get the ointment, he smiles a bit wider, and nods. "Thank you, Faelan. That is very nice of you." He peers at his arms. "I do not think ice will be necessary, though," he says slowly. "They do not sting too badl -- ah!" He actually /glares/ at his arm as the next removal immediately makes him a liar. Stupid pain. "Well, for one," Aloke begins, "I don't have any tweezers in my pocket. But also, if it's beneath the skin, tweezers are a lot harder to work with. The card sort of squeezes it to the top, and then flicks it out. Sorry." Aloke winces in sympathy as another stinger pops free. Ducky nods slowly, watching as Professor Suresh continues his trick with the card, though she grimaces slightly at Kai's pain, "I guess that makes sense. Prob'ly works for splinters, too, I guess? I always end up making it worse when I try to get those out." She wiggles her fingers and wrinkles her nose at the remembered pains, "I end up with a lot of splinters in the spring, cause I tend to climb stuff I shouldn't necessarily. Granted, the worst ones were from the rusty fire escapes in the city. Those hurt a lot." A wave is offered to Faelan as he heads off to get the first aid supplies, and she nods in agreement, "The hat and gloves are good, but you might want to see about wearing a long sleeved shirt or something, too. Might kinda deter them from going after your arms? Something to just, y'know, toss on like a smock for art class. Only instead of keeping paint off, it keeps bees off." She grins, a bit lopsidedly, "Might be worth a shot. Protects you from stings, and the bees from unnecessarily valliant sacrifices?" "It is all right," Kai says to Aloke with a small smile. "It is a necessary pain." By the time the third or fourth stinger is removed, Kai is not quite as visible with whatever pain they're invoking. Instead he watches, nodding slowly at Ducky's advice. "It was too hot to wear long sleeves," he says with a frown. "But it is a good idea to remember." He brightens, a bit, and lifts his shoulders. "I will not have to go out there again, though. Ivan will be back in a few days, and then he will keep them from stinging me." He swings his legs, carefully avoiding kicking the teacher as he works. "Then I will introduce you to him. He will like you, I think." "Well, I imagine you'll all get along famously." Aloke works at the last visible welt, getting even better as he warms up to the task. He gets this one on the first flick and then - it's done! "That looks like the last of them! And yes," he adds, for Ducky's benefit, "I bet you and Ivan will get along just fine." He offers a broad, encouraging smile and stands, slipping his credit card into a front pocket. "I think my work is done here. Enjoy the tea, and the afternoon! The regular school sesson will be back in before you know it." A soft flash in the evening light, and Professor Suresh is gone. Ducky nods, and glances up at Aloke, and then at the tea, "Oh! Thank you for sharing the tea with us, sir..." she then blinks and looks around, realizing the he has just vanished suddenly, a confused look creeping over her soft features. "Well, that was fast," she mutters, looking around as though he may just be hiding somewhere. A concerned eye is turned to Kai's arms, "Feel a bit better now, without the stingers being stuck?" she asks with a head tilt and a grin. "And I hope I get along with Ivan. Everyone seems to talk highly of him, and I think he's prob'ly the student I've heard come up in conversation the most around here." She blinks and shrugs, grinning a bit and moving to pour some tea fo herself, holding up a cup to Kai, but pausing before filling it with tea, "You want some, too?" Kai blinks when Aloke disappears, and turns a mildly dazed look at Ducky. "That is the coolest power," he says of the teacher's teleportation. "I imagine it is much fun to travel that way." He smiles, and nods at the question. "They are not as itchy," he confirms, stroking his fingers over the irritated areas. "I think when Faelan brings the ointment, they will feel much better." He nods at the comments about Ivan, and at the offered cup. "Yes, please," he says politely. "Everyone likes Ivan," he says confidently. "He is very quiet, and very nice." He smiles a sudden, wide smile. "Did I tell you about when I first came here, and did not speak very much English?" He lifts his eyebrows. "Ivan gave me books that would make learning it easier." There's much more on Ivan to be told, all of it related in glowing reports that are probably a /tiny/ bit exaggerated. Still, they're entertaining (to Kai, at least), and a good distraction from homework. But then anything is, right?