ArchivedLogs:Into the Woods

Into the Woods
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Aloke
In Absentia	2014-04-18 Mallory and Aloke talk about their future with the X-Men. And then... disappear into the woods for a while.
Location <XS> Forest
Quiet and shady, the trees rise all around here high and thick. In stillness, woodland creatures make appearances, though sudden noises scare them back into the cover. Dappled sunlight filters down between the thick foliage, and the ground underfoot is heavily overgrown, though here and there paths have been worn, by deer or years of students wandering familiar trails. Aloke leads the way through the woods, not going anywhere in particular, but just enjoying the walk. He stops to stare up through the trees, and wait for Mallory to catch up, holding his hand out for hers when she gets closer. In the chilly April air, no more than 40 degrees today, Aloke is wearing /shoes/ for once, jeans, and white, collared shirt untucked, under a black wool, walker coat. He takes a deep breath and speaks softly, almost reverently in the cathedral of trees, "I hear some people are getting /snow/. In /April/. That's wild…" “The weather has been rather interesting lately,” Mallory agrees, taking Aloke’s hand in hers once she makes her way closer to him, carefully picking her way along the path, hooves fairly well suited for the woodland. She’s dressed casually and warmly, in a pair of fitted dark jeans that hug her legs, but leave them able to move freely, paired with a long sleeved tunic in a dove gray that hangs off her frame a bit more than it normally does. Her long hair is pulled back in a ponytail that accentuates the curling horns and angular cheekbones, made more pronounced by the weight loss wrought by her transformation earlier in the week. Any burns or injuries she had suffered in the earlier onslaught were erased by her fires. “Glad it is not snowing here, again. I enjoy the snow, but goodness there is a lot of it around here in the winter,” she falls quiet, standing reverently beside Aloke, her breath curling in white puffs into the chill air. "Yeah, I don't think I could handle any more snow just yet." Aloke curls his fingers through Mallory's and smiles as they continue on, walking slowly. "So, 'tiny beach vacation' aside, we haven't really talked about what happened. Everyone's saying Sublime breathed fire… right in your face. But you stood your ground. I don't know if I could have done that." His tone conveys deep pride in his fiancee, rather than any personal shame. He's deeply impressed. “I wouldn’t mind it if there was more chocolate rain, though. That was a pleasant, if unusual, surprise,” Mallory muses, looking up as though half expecting it to start doing something out of the ordinary. She falls quiet, eyes cast down towards the ground as though focusing on her steps, though it also serves to mask the deep red color that rises to her cheeks. “You know, I can’t say I expected my first trip to a tropical beach would involve being ablaze,” Mallory chuckles, running a hand along one curling horn sheepishly. Mallory squeezes Aloke’s hand gently, snorting faintly at the retelling of events, “Now, that is a /bit/ of an exaggeration.” She shakes her head slowly, leaning gently against him as they walk, explaining hesitantly, “I was in the doorway of the rec room, not /directly/ in the line of fire. A bit off to the side.” Taking a deep breath, Mallory shudders, “There were children behind me. I could not let him hurt them. And besides,” she pauses, laughing in advance of the morbid statement, “I’ve had worse.” "Well still," Aloke says, squeezing her hand as they pick their way through the forest. "Not everyone would be able to hold their ground like that. Even… given their abilities." "Have you um…" Aloke trails off, working himself up to say something that seems a little difficult. "I just mean… It seems like you'd be a good fit for the X-Men. Have you given it any thought? That was really brave of you, and I'm terrified to have you going off on 'missions' or whatever. But I'm also… bursting with pride. And if there's a chance you could help people. The way you did. I don't want to hold you back. In fact, I think you /should/." “It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I… I was acting on instinct,” Mallory says in a hushed voice, “I couldn’t let that monster get near the students.” She blinks curiously at Aloke when he asks the question, her brow furrowed in thought, quiet for some time as they continue their stroll. “The thought has crossed my mind,” she finally admits, looking more concerned than pleased at the idea, “I’m a librarian. An educator. I… I don’t know how well I would do in the heat of battle, actually having to be more than a firewall. /I’m/ terrified of the idea of missions.” She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, her hand still warm and firmly squeezing Aloke’s. “Have you?” Mallory questions, glancing curiously towards him. "That instinct is everything, though," Aloke says with a gentle smile. "And we've already seen how you do in the… 'heat' of battle." Aloke lets go of Mallory's hand to make little quote marks with his fingers in the air. Apparently he thinks he's a comedian now. "Me? No not really. I mean, dream fantasies aside, I'm not sure I could help much in a fight, even if I had the training. I mean, I guess I could evacuate some people in an emergency, but grabbing one or two people… I dunno. I feel like I'd just end up more in the way. Or one more person to rescue." “Cute,” Mallory says, sticking her tongue out at the air quotes around ‘heat,’ shaking her head and smiling at Aloke, “I know. I’m just… I have the potential to be so ridiculously destructive. To everything and everyone around me.” She hugs an arm across her torso, smirking and chuckling quietly, “Neither do I particularly relish having to replace a uniform every time I transform. That has the potential to be a bit awkward.” Hesitating in her steps for just a moment when Aloke mentions dream fantasies, Mallory raises an eyebrow, glancing sidelong at him, opening her mouth as though to ask what he meant, but then closing it again. She does lean forward to kiss Aloke’s cheek, smiling gently, “Hey, evacuating is incredibly helpful. Getting innocents out of the way, getting the wounded to safety? Sometimes that’s the most important thing.” Aloke shrugs and nods, "Yeah, I know it can be important but… I dunno. Maybe we should just talk to Scott and see if he thinks he could use us both? Probably in different ways, I'd guess, and we could always bring an extra uniform along. Or maybe they can line one with asbestos if you like?" He grins and braces himself for the expected 'whap'. Mallory crinkles her nose at the thought of talking to Scott, “I was thinking of talking to Jean. I owe her a chat over lunch, anyway. Could always broach the subject between chattering about dresses and color palettes.” Snorting with laughter, Mallory bumps Aloke’s hip with hers, expression somewhere between a grin and a grimace, “Uh huh. Recall I rather lack a /body/ when I’m transformed. Asbestos body suit would melt, and then fall to the floor anyway. Leaving us with the same problem.” Mallory thinks, shrugging, “Though, you’d likely have an issue, too. If you did your laser skin trick. Zap right through any uniform you had on. Between the two of us, they’d have to bring a whole additional wardrobe.” Aloke grins at the hip bump and holds up his hands. "Ok ok, I might have forgotten about that part. I don't imagine the team wants us shedding layers every time we get into trouble. But I imagine we could be helpful in other ways. I mean, I'm sure Hank could use your help doing research before a mission. And I /can/ get about without burning my clothes off." He takes a breath and nods. "Yeah, maybe we /should/ talk to them. Maybe both of them?" Mallory takes hold of Aloke’s hand when he raises them, using the opportunity to pull him into a loose hug. “Uh huh,” she says, hands linked behind his back while she looks him in the eyes, “I am still rather aware, if a bit disturbed, by that aspect of my mutation.” There’s a vaguely impish smirk on her lips, at the all this talk of clothing loss - or she’s just in a good mood. She nods thoughtfully at the idea of helping out Hank, “That would be an option I suppose. Less fiery, most likely. I hope.” Shrugging, Mallory still keeps Aloke in a hug, leaning in to kiss him warmly, smirk still on her lips. “Should. Can. When we get back.”