ArchivedLogs:Cold Water

Cold Water
Dramatis Personae Kaine, Shane
In Absentia	2015-02-10 '
Location <XS> Lake
Bright, bright, bright; the lake glitters wide and expansive here, stretching off into the distance. Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, it catches them all. Lapping at the rocky shore, its deep waters are frigid in winter and cool even in summer. A stone pier stretches out a ways into the water, wide and smooth, though often icy in winter. The water teems with life nevertheless, home to myriad species of fish that provide for ample fishing or just lazy watching on a slow summer day, for those who want to take a boat from the boathouse out to the center of the lake, or perhaps lounge on the pier and try their luck. There's a distinct lack of people out and about near the lake, likely because it's starting to get dark and is rather cold. The lake is placid, save for the occasional ripple provided by one of the fish. Nothing really seems out of order, except for the actual igloo constructed near the lakeside and the faint sounds of music coming from within it. The occasional ripple is turning into a bigger one. There's a series of ripples, a more noticeable splashing, the sound of wet footsteps smacking up onto the stone pier. A harsh expelled breath, a rapid quickening of footsteps, a rustle in the dried half-frozen rushes bent and broken by the lakeside. Eventually though Shane emerges from the rushes, damp but dressed in layers that he's still pulling on. Slacks, dress shirt, vest, dark suit jacket over that. A gym bag in one hand holds shoes and socks, scarf, hat, mittens; his peacoat is draped over an arm. "... what the fuck." It's flat and somewhat bemused, a disembodied voice that comes from behind the igloo as he stands outside, frowning at it. Inside the igloo there is a bit of a snore, followed by faint swearing. The entire structure collapses in on itself, turning to slush to reveal a disoriented looking Kaine. "Er, hi." he eventually mutters towards Shane. He's dressed more for working out inside than being out here, wearing masculine yoga pants and a thin black t-shirt, his hair in a bun. "Sorry about that, hope the igloo wasn't a big deal?" "Uh --" Shane seems a little bit disgruntled for a moment, taking a step back and blinking at the abruptly-fallen slush. "{What the fuck.}" It's not English this time -- Vietnamese, though few enough Americans could readily identify the language -- though irritable muttering probably doesn't require much translation. "No." His head shakes, nose twitching. "No. Not a big deal. Just was surprising is all. Were you /sleeping/ in there?" He sounds a little bit skeptical. "Not at first, was considering a swim here instead of the pool. Chemicals and all." Kaine motions towards his gills. "But constructs like that tire me out.. So I fell asleep listening to Lithium." He brings a hand up to cover a yawn, stretching light. "I'm Kaine, by the way." He steps forward to offer a hand. "Listening to what?" Busy wrapping his scarf around his neck, putting his shoes and socks on, Shane looks too confused by this initially to notice the outstretched hand. After a delay he reaches out to briefly pump Kaine's with his own webbed-clawed one. Very very briefly. His black eyes flit upward, over the gills, a very small twitch to his lips. "Yeah, I know who you are, dude. M'Shane." "Sweet to meet you." Kaine says with a nod. "And it's one of the Sirius channels, plays nineties alternative and grunge." He explains with a wave of his hand. "We haven't met yet, have we? Think I've heard mention of you before though." "They email everyone in school any time there's a new person," Shane explains. "S'a tiny school and not exactly open to strangers. If they didn't someone'd probably be hitting their panic button every time a new kid showed up." He steps back again, pulling on his hat before his mittens and finally tugging the peacoat back on. "... mention of me?" He sounds even /more/ skeptical, here. "Small school, I guess. Gossip travels fast." "Might be because we both have gills. Comes up in conversation sometimes." Kaine says with a shrug. "Apparently I showed up about the same time as the other new guy, Tristan. Ended up roommates. I'm gonna be super bummed if he gets territorial and throws me out the window, or if I wake up to that Magento guy hovering over my bed because he ran out on the Brotherhood. Seems decent enough though." He shrugs once more. "Magneto's in /jail/, dude. And Tristan just seems like a fucking asshole, you should throw him out the window first." Shane's tone is blandly nonchalant with this recommendation; it doesn't seem to be particularly serious. Kaine nods slightly, "I know he is. Not him I'm really worried about waking up to see. Plenty of worse people to be thrown to." He reaches up to rub lightly at the back of his neck, "And I guess I caught him in a good mood. Didn't strike me as much of an asshole. Either overly talkative, or not talkative at all. Not really anything in between, but I'm usually up for a good conversation. Though the only people here I really talk to are Rasa and Kisha. Seem like good people." "... you've been here for what, like, a week?" Shane's breath puffs out in a very faint white-mist cloud, short and sharp and faintly amused. "Sure, Rasa and Kisha are rad." He shrugs, tugging his gym bag up onto his shoulder and wrapping his arms around himself. "What makes a good conversation?" "Anything I'm involved in that isn't complete horse shit. Sometimes it can be really fuckin' awkard, you know?" Kaine says after a moment. "I'm really just happy to be included." There's another small twitch at the corner of Shane's mouth. "Yeah, I know." His shoulders tighten, the hairless ridge of his brow furrowing. "... included." He echoes this word kind of uncertainly, tipping his head back to look up at the darkening sky. "Guess that's what we say we're all about, here." His tone is dispassionate. Noncommital. "Glad you found us, then." "I'd be a liar if I said I knew what it was like to be shunned." Kaine says with a sad smile. "My physical mutation is new. Managed to hide my other one up until this happened." He holds his webbed fingers up, giving them a slight wiggle. "Though the month I lived in Barrow with it, I know that I'd hate it if it was like that all the time. Lost friends. My pa nearly lost his job. Got my ass kicked more than once. It's a bunch of fuck shit people can be so small minded." "Huh." Shane's mittened hands curl tighter against his bag, wrap tighter around his chest. "I was born like this." He lifts a shoulder in a quick shrug. "New York's not any better, though. It is like that all the time except here the police also shoot you and are totally allowed." Another shrug, his hand untucking from the crook of his elbow to wave around the grounds. "Not /here/-here, though, I guess. /This/ place is -- y'know. Sort of like mutant fantasy land." "Well, I was born kinda like this. My pa's a big burly fella, and momma, Lord bless her, ain't much better. I was a bit of a brow raiser, everyone thought I must have been the milkman's." Kaine motions vaguely toward himself once more. "Can't say I'm happy about that. Just hope for a better change. Don't see how they can allow all this shit, we're people the same as then. So what if we can breathe underwater or turn water vapor into ice or snow. We all bleed the same blood." "Not all of us," Shane corrects, faintly amused. "Brett bleeds some sort of mercury-kinda metal. And one of the teachers bleeds like, bleach. And I have a friend whose blood is /definitely/ some kinda drug. And a few friends who don't bleed at all." He rocks from heel to toe, looking back out towards the lake. "I mean, I get your meaning and all. Think it's bullshit, though. I'm not like them." "Why it's best we all have a basic idea of how to fight." Kaine nods slightly. "Don't like the idea of going out where they want to shoot me without knowing how to defend myself." The slush at his feet turns to water which snakes itself around Kaine's ankles, until it has him encased up to the neck before it begins to freeze. Interestingly enough his fingers are replaced by sharp looking claws, and spines run the length of his arms. "Never really practiced to use my abilities offensively.. But it might be a good idea to start soon." "Huh?" There's a bit of confusion flitting across Shane's face, not really connecting this to anything he just said. Ultimately though, he just shrugs, head tipping slightly to watch the ice-armour forming with quiet interest. "There's self-defense classes here." Another shrug. "If you don't know how to take care of yourself yet." "Sorry, just thinking about the police comment." Kaine replies with a slight shrug of his now encased shoulders. "And I'll probably take them. I can shoot and all, but that's because I grew up hunting. Was always too cold, and barely anybody around my age, to actually fight." "S'some good hunting around here." Now Shane looks away, towards the woods with a gesture of a hand towards the trees. "You need special dispensation and someone on staff with you to actually go take a rifle into the woods and hunt but we have some around here. Helped everyone not-starve during the zombies. Though I don't really do my hunting with guns so much. But if you're into that there's -- shit tons of game." "Alway am. Damn good eating." Kaine nods slightly, attention drifting towards the trees now as well. "Though I may be a better fisherman now, but that's only because I'm faster than most the fish." The armor he's wearing proceed to melt and run off his body, including the moisture that'd have ended up in his clothes. That seems to catch his attention, and he looks back at Shane, his clothes specifically. "The lake's got plenty of fish but some of them you shouldn't eat." Shane's brows furrow deeply at this, but it clears up soon. "Plenty are delicious though." He shivers as Kaine's armour melts off, as though just watching this is making him cold. "I should get in. Homework to finish." His chin jerks upward quickly. "So uh, welcome, I guess. Be seeing you around." "Ice mutation was first. I don't get cold." Kaine says with a slight shrug, only to nod. "Alright, take care." He taps out a two finger salute before reaching up to untie his hair. "Gonna do what I came out here for." Then the shirt comes off, unsurprisingly, revealing the fact that he has a swimmers build. Then his shoes are off and he's heading into the water, stopping long enough to turn and offer Shane one last wave. "... kinda dark for swimming now." Shane frowns up at the sky, but shrugs this off, watching Kaine briefly and then turning to head back into the mansion.