ArchivedLogs:Helpful Answers
| Helpful Answers | |
|---|---|
| Dramatis Personae | 2014-03-23 Aloke gives Dorian some valuable life advice. |
| Location | |
Smells of paints and chalks and turpentine mingle freely in this room, well-used, well-stocked. Natural light flows in, plentiful through the large windows. The long counter-like tables are speckled with spots of color, and half finished projects often stand on easels or propped in corners. The many cupboards lining the walls are crammed full of art supplies. It's late Sunday morning, but for a boarding school like Xavier's, that doesn't mean there aren't kids around, or at least students, in the case of Dorian. The young man has been making increasing trips into the city proper, occasionally gone for entire days over the weekend. This afternoon, though, Dorian is sitting patiently in Aloke's office, waiting for his advisor. There may have been an e-mail sent earlier, asking for a meeting with his advisor, or he may have forgotten to hit send on the e-mail before wandering down here; computers are not his forte. So he sits cross legged on one of the chairs in Aloke's office, hands on his ankles, tail idly wrapped around and into his lap, dressed casually in a pair of faded jeans and a rainbow-colored tank top that leaves his fuzzy, scarred shoulders clearly visible. At current, the otter-man is zoned out and staring at a seemingly random point on the wall, not at any of the art. Aloke has been out most of the morning. Being out of town, and then racing around to help as much as he can in the fall out of the lofts bombing has meant he had a long list of things to attend to. But at the grocery store, his phone bleeped with an incoming email. Glancing at it, he tilts his head as he peers at the half-formed email that Dorian must have sent before actually finishing. He sighs as he notices the time mentioned, which Aloke /thinks/ is a request for a meeting, but the sentence is incomplete. Sighing, he lets go of the grocery cart and vanishes in a soft flash of light. Back at the mansion, in Aloke's office, Aloke appears in his chair, behind his desk, in a flash as bright as a camera going off. "Hi Dorian, apologies. I just got your email." The sound that Dorian makes when Aloke suddenly appears in his chair is neither dignified nor entirely human in sound - sort of a strangled squeak of a scream that sounds like a cross between a squeaky toy and a deflating balloon. He jumps and perches on the chair, fur on his shoulders and back ruffled like that of a startled cat, blinking rapidly in confusion as he regards Aloke uncertainly for several moments. Eventually, when greeted, he settles down into the chair again, though there is a lingering, oddly pleasant, smell of wet earth and rivers after a storm that remains. Dorian looks nervous for a moment, rubbing at the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly, "Oh, um, so it did actually go through? That... that's good. I think. I tried, but sometimes the button doesn't click right. Did... did I interrupt anything? I didn't mean to do that." He mumbles an apology, something in heavily accented French, before offering a smile, "Thank you for coming, Mr. Suresh. I kinda had a few questions, and wasn't really sure who to ask, so I figured I'd ask you, since you're my advisor, and you advise?" Aloke chuckles and shakes his head. "Nope, nothing to worry about," he says as Dorian settles down again. He reaches across the desk to squeeze Dorian's hand, and then sits back again. "And I'm more than happy to help you, Dorian, any time." The older man's glow is as bright as ever, but at least he's got his new sunscreen on, and the brightness is somewhat easier to deal with. "What do you need advice with?" "Um, well, it's, um, kinda," Dorian stumbles for a few moments, still recovering from the startling entrance, "I don't know if school is really, um, for me?" Dorian looks sheepish, ruffling his short hair for a moment as he peeks up at Aloke, narrowing his eyes slightly against the brightness. "It's just, um, well, I'm 20," Dorian sighs this looking down at the desk apologetically, "Turned 20 on Saturday... and, and I really appreciate all the help and stuff here. But if kinda feels... I dunno, like high school is kinda not where I should be." He looks up again, tilting his head, "I have a friend who might... maybe be able to get me a job. Over the summer. And, and I think I kinda want to do that. 'Steada more school." He looks sheepish, fidgeting with his tail as he talks, "I just... kinda don't know where to start, or how to get from where I am to where I need to be? S'kinda exciting, and cool, and like maybe I could actually be a grown up?" "Oh, that's exciting, Dorian! I feel so bad we missed your birthday with everything that's been going on this week." Aloke glances past Dorian at the brightly lit art room and the sunny day outside. "C'mon, we should talk this over outside. Do you want to try traveling my way? In a light beam?" He smiles, and when Dorian finally nods, Aloke nods as well, and walks around to put his hand on Dorian's shoulder. In a flash, they're outside and Aloke makes one swoop around the lake before dropping them back into being just up from the dock. "It's too nice out to be inside, don't you think?" —— 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. Dorian looks confused at the birthday comment, tilting his head, "S'ok. I haven't had a birthday celebration in, um, a decade. Guess I'm kinda too old for that now?" The admission is sheepish, and he ruffles his hair with a lopsided grin. It takes a moment to understand and agree to the travel, standing up when Aloke does, confusion a bit obvious on his features. The travel is startling, but when they are dropped off at the dock, he sort of blinks uncertainly, looking around and then back at Aloke, offering only a quiet: "Woah." He sinks to the ground, wiggling his bare toes into the dirt, "Yeah. It's really nice. I'll miss having a lake to swim in when I leave. S'kinda been cool, getting to go swimming in fresh water again." He tilts his head slightly, glancing at Aloke, "Yeah, it's nice out. Little chilly, but nice. But the cold never bothered me, anyway, so there's that." He takes a deep breath and nods, "I think I do want to try and work. Take responsibility for myself. I... I kinda missed a lot, but I need to move on, not, y'know, stay stuck in one place trying to make up for what I missed?" "I get it. The need to strike out on your own. Totally." Aloke snugs the boy into a firm side-hug before they start walking around the lake. Aloke is also barefoot, and his feet glow bright up through the grass and soil. Apparently it's hard to keep sunscreen on your feet. "What sort of work are you looking at? Have you looked into where you can stay? I'll be happy to get you settled in somewhere."
"Sure, I can help with all that," Aloke says with a smile. "It's hard for everyone to get established on their own the first time. The main trick is: tell the credit card companies to fuck off. And stay on top of your bills before anything else. But guess what? There's a whole communal living thing being built right now. Just for mutants. I'm sure you'll be able to rent a room or something from someone there. Jax and his family will be living there too, so you'll already know someone in the neighborhood."
| |
