ArchivedLogs:Fancy Seeing You Here

Fancy Seeing You Here
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Thomas	2013-06-20 To new employment and unexpected encounters
Location <XS> - Foyer
It is the last day before the start of the summer term, and the halls of the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters are beginning to fill back up with returning students. Occasionally, a student will scurry through the foyer on their way to either the Great Hall, or the grounds beyond, taking advantage of one last day of freedom - and what a glorious day it is. From the sounds of chatter and clanking dishes and trays, breakfast is underway in the Great Hall, the sounds carrying through to the foyer and echoing around the stately hall. Morning sunlight streams in through the large windows, dappling the polished wood flooring and lending a glowing aura to the entry way. The front door swings open on well maintained hinges, barely making a sound as it is pushed open. The entrance of the individual behind them, however, is considerably less quiet; despite her best efforts to tread lightly, each of Mallory’s hoof-falls echoes through the hall with a resounding /clack/ sound, bringing the slightest cringe to the woman’s face. She is dressed in a sharply professional manner, a crisp black suit that looks as though it has been tailored to her exact specifications, the hem of her pencil skirt just brushing the knee of her digitigrade legs. A neatly pressed white button up shirt completes the look, the top two buttons undone, showing off a delicate gold chain and pendant resting against her collar bones. She carries a small brown leather briefcase, embossed in gold with the letters MEW, in a small, cursive font on the front flap. Idly checking her watch, Mallory looks around the hall with an appraising eye, offering a kind smile to a student who goes scurrying past, although that gets slightly mixed results. The taxi drops a man off at the gates of the school, luggage carefully extracted from the trunk and backseat and left there. After the taxi goes off, the fellow steps past the gates and lets out a soft sigh. His button up shirt is a dark midnight blue, with a black bow tie bringing the neck closed. His slacks are a grey pinstripe, terminating down at a pair of wingtip shoes polished to perfection. However, standing on the campus grounds of the school, he decides to test if Xavier’s statements are in fact true, and a transformation takes place before moving forward more. A small kit comes out of his travel bag, and he starts wiping his face down, each stroke of the cloth removing the pale british face and leaving behind something far darker. It takes a few minutes of effort, but the transformation is impressive, and as he shoves his hat into the bag along with the kit and used towelettes, a different sort of fellow is approaching the school. The grey skinned demonic looking fellow makes his way up the path, and to the door of the school, sunlight glistening off of dark horns and raven coloured hair. Stepping through the front doors, his eyes pass over the elegant foyer, feeling rather much at home in such style from his youth and education. As his gaze passes over the figure standing in the room, theres a blink, and a head tilt, and a slight lowering of his jaw. “Mallory, dear, can you perhaps explain why you’re here at my new job?” Thomas says to the familiar individual, his voice showing his surprise. Just as the door opens and Thomas steps inside, Mallory turns to look towards the front door, a look of confusion on her face as she does. Blinking her dark eyes a few times, as though to make sure she were not hallucinating, she takes a few halting steps forward, her long tail swishing slightly in agitation as she does. A bright, albeit fangy, smile spreads over her angular features as she looks at her twin. “Brother of mine!” Mallory says, her Oxford-accented voice holding just as much surprise as Thomas had expressed, “I, well, I suppose I could ask the same of you. Just what are you doing here at my new place of employment?” She tilts her horned head, still attempting to process this unexpected reunion, “I can honestly say, the last thing I expected to run into in New York was you, Thomas.” “It seems that this Xavier fellow ought be the one providing an explanation. But, the simplest answer is, he made a rather convincing set of statements when discussing my application,” Thomas replies with a smile. “I hadn’t known you were applying for any teaching positions yet, but I guess for a private school like this, I can imagine it was a good offer nonetheless.” Setting down his travel bag next to his luggage, he takes a step towards Mallory giving her a look over. “You’re looking good. Healthy and confident. Its good on you.” Smiling back to her, he offers a greeting hug, as his mind gets back into the old patterns. << This Xavier seems dangerous, he knew all about my secret. I thought the family kept it better than that, >> comes across the twinlink. Thomas’s face doesn’t hold his concerns, their years together helping to have the practice. << I took the job, hoping he was telling the truth. If this place is what he says it is, I was going to see about having you come here as well. I guess this saves the extra step. It is good to see you truly though. I have missed you. >> This time, a smile does pass his lips in correlation with the mental exchange. “Truth be told, I was not, in fact, applying for any positions, especially nothing this far afield,” Mallory explains quietly, hugging Thomas tightly, although she does not resort to the mental connection immediately. “I had still been shopping my application around to doctorate programs in England, when, well,” her voice trails off. “You look skinny as ever, dear brother. But a bit more content, perhaps, given the environment here?” she asks with a smile, her tail lashing ever so slightly, as though to indicate the joy of freedom, “You do look a bit more comfortable without the full stage makeup on.” << How much has the family told you about recent events, or rather, how closely were you watching the news back home? >> Mallory questions mentally, still not quite letting go of her brother for a moment longer, before stepping back. << I rather agree with you, on the matter of the curiosity of my employment here, though. I had not applied, however, a month or so ago I was contacted by the headmaster for an interview for the librarian’s position, as well as the opportunity to teach. Considering it was right after I was arrested in London, it was a bit of a shock. >> Mallory explains, with the mental equivalent of a shrug, as she glances around, staying close by Thomas’s side, falling back into old habits easily. “So you didn’t even need to apply? My my, you must have made quite an impact,” Thomas says with a smirk, glancing down at himself at the commentary of his skinniness. “I can’t seem to put on much more weight I’m afraid. Ah, but at least I’m in America now, so I’m sure I’ll be obese in a few weeks.” Chuckling at his poke at the colonials, he does nod about the comfort factor. “I spent so much time in the disguise, it's hard to not relax when it comes off. I ended up ruining a good number of pillow covers, collapsing into bed after a long evening at the lab and such.” He shakes his head at that, but shrugs nonetheless. << Very little, aside from the fact that I shouldn’t associate with my sister the criminal. Such a disgrace to the family. You know I have a terrible time keeping up to date with the state of the world, at least I know that the Doctor is the eleventh now. >> As the thought’s generate, a smirk appears and Thomas’s head shakes it away. << That may have been why he knew of me as well, if he dug deep enough after finding out about you. Course, with some of the headlines I’ve seen since landing, it may have been safer to stay at home. Give us your tired, your poor, but keep your freaks to yourself it seems. >> “Nope. But, well, after the march in London, I was sort of an easy target for the photographers and headlines. So, perhaps he watches the BBC,” Mallory offers with a slight grimace, tail lashing about at the memory and fallout from that. She glances at her brother with a grin at his defense over skinniness, and a mental image comes across of her ruffling his hair, although she thankfully refrains from doing so in real life, though her lopsided grin seems to imply it was a difficult choice. “And he’s only going to be the eleventh for a few months longer. Next regeneration is at the Christmas special again, which is going to be rubbish,” she explains shaking her head and grinning. << I am not a criminal - there weren’t even charges filed against me. I was taken into custody out of concern for public safety and my own safety. Things had gone down hill at the march. >> Mallory looks at him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, << They don’t want you talking to me because there is now public record of my mutation. And there’s not a damn thing they could do to keep me hidden any longer. >> The fiery skinned mutant seems outright proud at this thought, standing up a bit taller and tugging at suit coat to neaten it out, “So, our family has officially disowned me, and cut off all access I had to my bank accounts. Knew they would - I pulled my money as soon as I realized what was going on.” Mallory seems to be switching easily between the conversations, as though it were all one flow of thought, “I needed the job, regardless of where it was, or how this Professor Xavier found out about us.” In response to the mental ruffle, Thomas’s own mind projects to her with a picture of her as a little girl with pigtails and a big pink ruffle outfit. “Either way, he knows, and here we both are, though not exactly what I expected of coming to America. .” Shrugging at that, he glances along the foyer unsure of which way they are supposed to go. “And at least I caught up with the current one this time. I honestly hadn’t expected the Ninth to go after only that one series,” he says with a little chuckle. << Sorry it’s been rough on you since then. I don’t know why you were taking that risk to go out there like that. A few more years and you’d have been fine and off on your own anyway. >> Thomas glances to her cloths and bags. “I’d gathered you weren’t impoverished by the matter at least. I can’t believe they killed your accounts though, no matter what you did. I mean, you’re their daughter, and My sister. Did they really think I’d just stop talking to you and leave you alone?” Shaking his head, he took a moment to itch around the base of his own horns. << I’d never just leave you alone without help. They can’t have believed I would just cut off all contact, or aide. >> “Oh God I hated that outfit,” Mallory laughs out loud, clapping a hand over her mouth as she realizes just how loud it was in the echoing lobby of the building, startled by the sound of her voice. She smiles and continues chuckling about the Doctor Who reference, shaking her head, “I can’t believe we’re going to have to get used to /another/ new actor. I mean, I just got over Tennant, and now.” She rolls her eyes again, grinning. Mental image of David Tennant gratuitously shared. << It hasn’t been that bad, truth be told. They had paid my apartment long enough that I didn’t have to worry about it - no take backs on rent. >> Mallory shrugs, taking a few steps away, her hard hooves rather unkind on the hardwood floor, <<Brother of mine, they have never been exactly proud of me - even as I got my degrees. This was just the final straw, and their opportunity to finally cut ties. >> Mallory shrugs, itching the base of her horn almost in time to Thomas’s scratching, sighing, “And, truth be told, it was just time. I couldn’t stand staying hidden anymore. Even when I took that damn brace off, I still walked with a limp, and was starting to need a cane to just walk normally. I could not have made it through the inevitable decade that it would have taken me to get my doctorate.” She offers a smile, a little sinister as she bares her fangs, trying to hide the grimace that comes across the mental link. << What’s done is done, Thomas. I can’t take it back, and I know they won’t. C’est la vie. >> << It's still a shitty thing to do to family. I’d say give em a few years, and let it all blow over. I mean hell, if they are trying to set me up for a marriage, they’ll have to deal with the fact that whichever girl they pick will have to be alright with the fact underneath my clothing, I’m naked. Also grey. >> Thomas smiles to her as he thinks. “I know it was harder for you than for me, but it was dangerous to go out on a protest like that. What if someone tried a terrorist attack on the protest?” Sighing he offers her his arm for support on the floor, just in case of any slippage. “Ah well, I guess here we are meant to be open for what we are. Or at least that was what he seemed to imply was the case. I guess if we see students covering up, we’ll have the experience to help them do so convincingly. << Or less so. >> << Oh, I don’t deny that. Worse comes to worse, as long as I don’t piss you off, I suspect you won’t keep up the declaration of anathema against me once you inherit the family everything. >> Mallory grins, << Ah yes, the perfect son - congrats, you still get to be marriage fodder for the aristocracy. Likely trying to quietly ferret out another named family with a mutant heir. You’ll make lovely little mutant babies. >> She sticks her tongue out at her brother, offering a shrug, although the next statement leaks through with unwelcome imagery, thanks to being out of practice with not sharing everything. << At least I can still date around as much as I’d like. >> At the realization of what she just shared, Mallory flushes, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead, “Sorry. Out of practice. You didn’t need to see that.” Accepting his support, Mallory chuckles, “Thanks for the support. My balance is actually much better now, though I do suspect that these floors and myself are not going to be friendly. Or quiet.” << If you keep sharing your time with gentlemen callers, I’ll declare you something else. >> Thomas makes a face at the thought and shakes his head. “And apologies accepted. I think the only thing that I could do in revenge is share my doctoral thesis, in great length, with electron diagrams. Unlike you, I didn’t exactly get the opportunity to engage in any of those activities.” Theres a bit of disappointment coming across the psychic link, as if the fact that she has and he hasn’t makes him regret more the hiding. “And I imagine that the bathrooms have tiling, and the kitchen has linoleum or tiling. Maybe we can come up with something for your hooves to increase traction. I’ve been experimenting with some things, well, they may help if I can get them synthesized. Not that I expect to see a proper research laboratory any time soon.” Adjusting a strand of the gelled back black hair into place, he lets a thought come across. << I honestly hadn’t thought of inheriting anything, but I guess you’re right. I’m the heir, so I’ve got all the responsibility. Maybe I can pawn off the responsibilities to others and just enjoy the fruits of their labors. Its the proper way after all. >> The regret that comes across gets a slightly startled look from Mallory, and she frowns slightly, << I am so sorry. >> Her tail twitches slightly in annoyance, and she smirks slightly, “Well, we’re in America now. I’m sure you’ll have a chance. And to be fair, I had wanted to go and listen to you defend your thesis. I was told to stay away.” Mallory shrugs, and smiles slightly, “And we’ll see what happens. I had a pair of butchered old flip flops that I used in university. Was about the only way to work with it - libraries are supposed to be quiet, and having rather harsh footfalls made me occasionally unwelcome there. But, if you have suggestions, I’m all ears.” As though to demonstrate, she takes a few steps, shuffling from one foot to the other, << Standing is still occasionally a bit difficult for long times. >> Glancing around the foyer, “We’re should likely find out where we are supposed to go. Otherwise we’ll just stay here catching up and startling the students.” “We will see. I think for now, I’ll avoid any sort of open mutant dealings in public. I don’t want to find a girl I am fond of, only to have violence separate us,” Thomas replies a little bitterly, then shrugs at the commentary of his thesis. “Its alright, you wouldn’t have been too terribly interested in it after the first few minutes. I doubt I would be terribly interested in your thesis after all.” And a general mirth comes across the link. “I’d been thinking of a injection molded set with a general cushioning but high surface area for traction. But then, when you have a hammer, you think every problem is a nail.” Nodding at her discomfort, adjusting his own feet at the sharing of it, he gives a shrug. “I had been hoping the escort would be more prompt. But I can give a call anyway, and we should be off. My bags ought to be fine there for now.” Giving another nod, he pulls out his phone and dials in to make sure that the introductions can be made, and general order established before classes begin.