ArchivedLogs:Hospitality

Hospitality
Dramatis Personae Cody, Deltressa, Jack
In Absentia	2015-12-02 "We can't judge on appearances. I'm sorry for staring."
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! With the days growing shorter, evening temperatures have been dropping more quickly. Thankfully, Morlocks tend to be of hardier stock. The Subway medic sits on one of the deck chairs. Crossed at the ankles, her long legs reach all the way to the porch's railing where they are propped up. At 7 feet tall, hidden behind a niqab, and of an obvious position of esteem amongst her people if not authority, she was likely a sight to behold upon the Morlock ingress from any of the school's windows. Now that her people are settled, she appears to have taken some time to herself. She stairs out into the night, and quietly absorbs the sounds of the surrounding forest. Still shrouded by her head-covering, she wears the same patchwork leather pants and high-heeled boots that she arrived in. Her leather jacket, pulled tightly to her form, is also a jigsaw of variously treated leathers. With space at a premium at school, some people get the same idea with probably the wrong intentions. Coming in from the around the gardens with a bit of a whiff of horse on him, Cody has been spending as much of his time as he can away from the crowd and all of the tension. With him is a thermos that used to be holding some coffee, and a school satchel. Like others, the change in weather means a change in clothes and he has a nice wool-lined coat on that looks like a knock-off of an army surplus, and a pair of heavy-looking riding boots that's inner lining has kept his feet from being anything less than toasty, and safe from stamping hooves. To complete the image, he even has a western-style hat on. Jack's not too bothered by the weather just yet. He's still just in jeans and a thicker hoodie. At least he finally got changed into different clothes and took a shower. The floating clothes have ventured outside in search of fresh air, hands stuffed in his pockets and hood up. Coming from the great hall, he pauses when he spots Deltressa and offers a silent nod. When he notices someone approaching, Jack glances up and lifts an empty sleeve to give a quick greeting wave to his remaining roommate. Deltressa's black eyes first settle on the empty, floating clothes. Her own expression concealed, she mirrors the invisible mutant's nod before slowly following his wave towards where Cody approaches. Drumming her pointed nails against the armrest of her throne, she watches. To say the least, she's out of her element. The seven feet of Tim Burton-esque lounging on the back patio is enough to make someone still not used to the potential levels of weird that come as the day to day a bit wary. But as someone else here knows, Cody's still not grown the thick skin some people need to be mutant. But that doesn't stop him from repeated glances towards Deltressa as he makes his way closer to where Jack is, and says loud enough to be heard by both, "Hey Jack... ummm... what's up?" His eyes going at least once to the woman on the uncomfortable pause. Jack glances at Deltressa when the sound of her nails on the chair gets his attention, shoulders tensing. He relaxes a moment later though and looks back over to the approaching Cody. He pulls a pair of disposable gloves out of his pocket and puts them on before signing a reply. 'Still not supposed to use English' he signs, sighing a moment later. 'Needed air. Getting too...' he ends up gesturing back at the school, figuring Cody would understand what he meant. ‘Crowded,’ Deltressa finishes the thought, though whether or not either of the boys catches her hands moving is neither here nor there. Her chest heaves with a wary sigh as she switches her crossed legs. Cody catches the movement, but only because he's already keyed up with the weird factor. But, to his credit, he doesn't do anything more than give a sharp look before he makes a frustrated face and digs into the satchel. Taking out a small notepad, he flips through it a few times and then finds the right them. So he sighs back after a moment, 'This stupid. I dirty not.' And then looks at Deltressa and adds a half-hearted 'No offend' followed up by a frown and a shake of his head, grumbling under his breath but not loud enough to be properly heard. Jack catches the movement as well, on edge. A little amused noise comes from the empty hood. 'Crowded too.' he signs in agreement. He tilts his head to the side at Cody's signs and then looks out towards the grounds again. 'Dirty is not a big deal'. Deltressa stares at Cody for a long time. Too long. Her black, hollow eyes reveal very little of her thoughts. Her fingers drum against her armrest only once, before all sounds ceases from them. Eventually, and her attention does linger, the woman turns back to stare back out into the woods. Cody seems to be more and more uncomfortable the longer the stare goes on, and he's the first to flinch if that means anything. In a bit of a faster walk, he makes his way over to where Jack is, and gives him a one-armed hug that includes his getting a few horse hairs from his jacket on his roomie's front. Standing back after a moment, he just shakes his head and tries not to act like he's motioning at Deltressa but at the same time he can't help it. The hug surprises Jack and for a moment it seems like he just doesn't want it to end, Jack hugging back once the surprise wears off. The hair isn't bothering him if he notices it. The motion towards Deltressa just gets a quizzical tilt of the empty hood before he signs his question. 'What?' One high-heeled boot slithers out from where it’s been propped up on the railing. It lands with a clean tap on floorboards of the porch, followed shortly after by the other foot. Deltressa stands, casting a tremendous shadow over the two teens. "The porch is all yours. Thank you for your hospitality," Deltressa offers confidently and without even the slightest hint of irony - excluding actual context, of course. She doesn't bother to cast so much as another glance in their direction, clearing the porch in a single, long-legged stride. In a moment, the gargantuan woman gets as far as wrapping her fingers around the handle of the sliding glass door. Before the tall woman can get the door open, Cody says... since talking seems suddenly allowed, "If any of your people need anything they brought with them fixed up, or something... I know a few things about cellphones and computers." Offered up in a bit of a shaky tone, as the young make stands right next to Jack still, and signs at him with one hand, using letters to spell out, 'Nice see you.' A half-hearted smile is offered towards Deltressa as he goes on, "I'm sorry... my name's Cody. I'm still pretty new here, but, we can't judge on appearances. I'm sorry for staring." Jack's shoulders slump at the sudden talking but he just lets it go this time. He turns to face Deltressa with Cody and makes a little 'hm' noise at the signs. 'Not what most people say,' an attempted joke. "Jack," he introduces himself with a nod. He falls otherwise silent though, waiting to see how Deltressa reacts to Cody. "'Sorry' is a trigger word," Deltressa turns, staring right through Cody, "Were I or your friend infected, we would have attacked you." She keeps her hand on the door, "Deltressa." There's a pause as she holds back her initial response. "I'll keep that in mind," the arachnid's head tilts, and she pivots her body to slowly face the duo rather than the entrance, "Is that all?" "Oh." Cody replies, and then almost says it again as he looks away, before taking another breath, and considers what's being asked. Looking at Jack for a moment, he adds, "Remind me not to apologize to our roomie anytime soon... but okay..." Since it's clear that none of them seem to be in the sick group, or at least it can be assumed, he takes a step forward, "Thank you for telling me that. So... anyways..." And again there's a pause to collect his thoughts due to the unerring gaze and the feeling of looking at something that's not entirely human, he goes on, "Do you all need anything? I'm just..." And it all falters, "Trying to help. Kinda hard when I feel like I'm being stared at like the last pot brownie at a Christmas party." "Not infected," Jack murmurs, not that he sounds especially thrilled. It's hard for him to sound anything but tired and sad lately unless he forces it. He tenses up at the mention of a roommate, giving Cody a sharp look. "You didn't...no one told you?" he asks, a slight tremble to his voice. He's quiet for a long while, eyes closed even if no one can see. "I'm...not much help but I'll do what I can," he offers quietly to Deltressa. "The only thing I require of you," Deltressa answers in a tone only a mother could achieve, "Is for you to keep backhanded remarks like the one you made just now to yourself, young man." Beneath her niqab, she purses her lips, "I'd think respect and compassion for your friend, an obvious mutant, might be deterrent enough not to disrespect me upon my own appearance." She nods, insinuating she means Jack. "I'm sure the next time our paths cross, you'll smell me coming." With that, Deltressa dips down through the doorway. The door doesn't close with a slam, but it's nearly one. Cody looks down for a moment and then grumbles out, mostly to himself, "I could have handled that better." But then he looks back up at Jack, and puts a hand on his shoulder, or at least where the hoodie tells him it is, "Sorry... didn't mean to bring that back up. I guess... I dunno... since his mind can be outside his body, he'd still be around. C'mon. I need a shower and some food, and you look like you don't want to be alone. Maybe if we get there in time, there'll be something more than just oatmeal and stew."