ArchivedLogs:Gatecrashers

Gatecrashers
Dramatis Personae Jack, Nick, Shane
In Absentia	2015-11-25 "{Crazy idea? Tell me it includes burritos because I could really go for some of those.}" (Part of the Flu Seasons TP.)
Location <XS> Library
Xavier's librarian might hope the library is a quiet place to sit and study, but with a school full of teenagers that is not always the case. Nevertheless, it is certainly a treasure trove of knowledge, well-stocked with a wealth of books on its high shelves. Its reference section is vast, though its fiction is as well (much to the delight of many of its students.) The wide octagonal tables and smaller armchairs are often crowded with students, though the whispered conversations that often take place leave some doubt as to how much work is getting done at any given hour. It's been a hectic evening at the school. Fifty some new people have just shown up, all ragged, mostly terrified, and some sick or hurt, also. With no official annoucement forthcoming, the rumor mill has spun into high gear, and the mysterious new arrivals are already ramping up tensions everywhere. Nick may not be known as much of a reader, but when he has his nose in a book, it's often literal. The wolf-boy has curled up in an armchair with Steven Hall's /The Raw Shark Texts/ open in his lap, shoulders hunched over the book as his eyes scan the pages. He wears a cream-colored t-shirt emblazoned with an immense gold-scaled serpent coiling its way through swirling multicolored clouds, and blue jeans torn at the knees. His ears are pressed back and his furry tail thumps the side of the chair in short, uncertain bursts. Shane, meanwhile, is in black corduroys that fall down too-long over black hiking boots, a plain maroon v-necked sweater, the collar of a cream henley peeking out underneath it. He looks -- tired, somewhat wilted, gills fluttering as he trudges into the library and /slumps/ himself down in a chair across from Nick. /Staring/ at the book. His teeth bare. Then bare further. The ridge of his brows lifts. Up - up - up? Jack hasn't heard from the rumor mill tonght. No, he's been deep in work in the computer lab which is where he's emerging from now. Dressed in worn jeans and a school hoodie with his backpack hanging off one shoulder and a pair of gloves dangling from the pockets, he looks a little ruffled and can be heard yawning. The sound of thumping makes him pause mid-step, looking around until he spots Nick and Shane. He blinks invisibly, tugging his hood into proper place with one hand as he lifts an empty sleeve to wave on his way over to join the others. Nick does not seem to notice Shane's arrival at once, but at length something catches his attention (the staring, the teeth, the eyebrows?) and he looks up. His pupils are dilated so far that the amber irises look like thin rings. "{What?}" this is intitially in Vietnamese. "{Why are you looking at me like...}" He follows Shane's line of sight to the book's cover, which features a shark composed of jangly ascii art. "{It's about a shark made of information.}" A long, uncertain pause. "{I /think./}" But then, spotting Jack, he waves him over. "{Hey, you...}" in very uncertain Spanish now, with an odd mix of accents, "{...you both look pretty tired.}" "{You'd best not be giving any of the new assholes any /ideas/.}" Shane's Vietnamese is dryyyyy when Nick asks why he s staring, his claws flicking towards the book title. In Spanish: "{Already heard two fucking sushi comments just this evening. And one sashimi. At least give that motherfucker points for knowing the difference. -- I,}" he allows after a very TOOTHY yawn and a thoughtful pause, "{am not made of information. Only meat. You want B for the infoshark.}" He jerks his chin up towards Jack. "{You look like shit, man.}" "{That's better than how I usually look,}" Jack jokes in Spanish, stretching his neck as if trying to work out stiffness. There's definite weariness in his voice, Jack leaning against Shane's chair. The empty hood dips forward slightly as Jack leans to squint at Nick's book. "{Any good?}" he asks. "{Wait...new assholes? Who?}" "{I picked it because the picture,}" Nick admits, still in Spanish. "{It's...weird. I don't know if I like.}" He shrugs, ears flattening down further. "{Only saw a few of the new people. They stared. One barked at me. Don't think they will get close enough to have ideas from me.}" He cocks his head at Jack, ears perking up a little, least. "{You really work too hard. There's many many humans, just got here. Don't know who they are. Lots of rumors.}" "{They're what's left of Salem Center. Someone told them we had a zombie-free paradise in here, they came to crash our party.}" There's a faint trace of growl in Shane's voice -- but only faint. His brows just raise again as he looks at Jack. "{How'd you miss that, man? Must have been some binge in there.}" His eyes slide over to the computer lab. "{Tell me there's new Orange is the new Black on Netflix.}" Jack chuckles a little, scrubbing a hand down his face...though it looks more like an empty hoodie trying to point out how empty it is. As Shane and Nick explain the situation, Jack groans a little. "{You have gotta be kidding me. Please tell me you're kidding me,}" he says, not bothering to hide how displeased he is with the news. "{And let me guess, they already think they run the place,}" he sighs. There's a faintly amused noise from Jack when its mentioned he works too hard. "{I've been in there pretty much all day. Tracking down...a crazy idea. I really hope its a crazy idea...}" he trails off. "{Orange...I thought season two already started.}" "{They probably like it here better if we not here.} Nick's black lips pull back in what some would call a grin, though his posture and the downward press of his ears (again) would tend to indicate otherwise. "{Soon will say, we are too dangerous. If we are sick. If we die.}" He closes the book, one clawed hand resting on its royal blue cover. "{World is crazy, now. Maybe crazy idea, not so bad.}" Shane holds up his hand, three claws lengthening in response to the mention of two seasons of OItNB. "{But four is /too/ long away.}" Now his growl is MORE displeased. "{They'd be so much more happy if we weren't here but c'mon. If we'd been them all along the zombies would run this place by now. Not kidding, though. Bunch of goddamn asshole human gatecrashers. The fuck were we gonna do, though, send them off to die?}" The baring of his teeth is -- thin. Very thin. Not really a smile. "{Crazy idea? Tell me it includes burritos because I could really go for some of those. I'm getting sick of canned beans and squirrel.}" "{So when do we start the betting pool for how long it takes them to start trouble?}" Jack asks, sighing. Shane's correction makes that hood tilt to the side. "{I am really behind...}" he mutters. "{No, but if we don't die I will buy you a burrito. And I really hope it is a crazy idea because if it turns out to be not crazy...I really hope I'm wrong and just crazy,}" he says, swallowing. He's quiet a moment before pushing off the chair he's been leaning on. "{I should shower, eat, and then get back to work. Stay safe, guys...and try not to punch any gatecrashers without me,}" he offers, heading out the door and out of the room.