ArchivedLogs:Meet and Greet

Meet and Greet
Dramatis Personae Anette, Simon	2015-10-08 "Das habe ich gehört!"
Location <BOM> Common Room - Main Lodge - Ascension Island
The common room's rustic-lodge feel has been somewhat mitigated by the modern amenities inside its sturdy wooden walls. It has comfortable couches, several chairs, a refrigerator (stocked with snacks and drinks!), a pool table, a pinball machine (METALLICA!), an assortment of books, a television -- with several game systems! -- and a splendid view out the windows (when their lacy yellow curtains are drawn open) for the rest of the island. The pale wood floors have been covered in places -- by a pair of soft thick blue rugs, by a large squishy pair of beanbags that stand in front of the stone fireplace. There's also a board up on the wall, half corkboard, half whiteboard, with a variety of community notes (and occasional insults) to other Brotherhood members. Large doors on the right-hand side lead off to the kitchen and dining room. In the back of the room, the council room's heavy oak door bears solid locks that are almost never actually barred. A short hall adjacent to the council room's door leads to a trio of multi-stalled bathrooms; these might once have been marked with the typical man-woman-handicapped signs, but someone has given them new plaques on the door; a stick figure with horns and a long tail, one with wings. One -- the large single-user toilet -- has instead been given a helmet and a cape. A cool evening finds Simon inside the common room on the Brotherhood's Island. He's dressed casually, black slacks and a button up red shirt. He's been a busy guy today, tidying up the room simply because someone mentioned to him that the place needed a cleaning. He's vacuumed, dusted, swept, and wiped down most of the room and right now he's in the process of cleaning up a mess off the pool table. When the news reports about some politician proposing stricter laws against mutants, Simon shoots a scowl over his shoulder and curses in German. "{I heard that}," Anette yells, responding in German herself as she comes from out of the kitchen with a turkey and cheese sandwich. She takes a bite as she glances about the room, apparently noticing his work. "Damn, it hasn't looked this good in a long time," she says, sitting down on a couch. She's dressed for comfort: baggy t-shirt, sweatpants, barefoot. "Hmm...I saw you a couple days ago outside. The..teleporting thing, right?" Simon ends up looking like the kid who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He apologizes quickly in German and then turns to smile. "Thank you," he says. Finishing up his cleaning, Simon moves to lean against the back of the couch. "Ah...no. I don't teleport. I can phase into solid objects and travel through them." Anette waves her hand dismissively as he explains his powers. "Either way, you begin in one place and end up in the other. Close enough," she says, though she does grin. "Ah, don't apologize, just giving you a little shit. It's been so long since I've heard or spoken German. Not that I was any good to begin with." Nodding, Simon offers a hand. "My name is Simon, it's a pleasure to meet you properly," he says. "I grew up speaking German among other languages." "Grew up speaking it? Where if I may ask?" Anette asks curiously, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I just studied it in high school. I used to be pretty fluent, now I can hold a basic conversation but not much else." She takes Simon's hand as it's offered and gives it a firm shake. "Anette, pleasure." Simon says, "I'm from Switzerland," Simon answers with a smile. "I've only been in this country for a short time," he explains. "Ah...one must practice a language if it isn't their native tongue or they risk forgetting it," he says with a nod. "It's nice to actually get your name. I'm still trying to meet everyone here."" "Switzerland...I've heard they haven't taken too kindly to mutants there. Welcome to America then," Anette says with a grin. "Yeah, I really should study it again. At least start reading more in German even if I'm not going to speak it." She grins slightly. "Well, stick around and you'll meet most everyone here." "No..." Simon's expression sinks and his shoulders slump. "No...they have not," he says quietly, eyes on the floor as memories of how bad things got float to the front of his mind. He forces a smile back onto his face though. "I intend to remain as long as I'm able. It's where I belong." "Sorry, I...I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. You just...you hear stories and sometimes it's hard to accept that they're more than stories to some people," Anette says, frowning softly at Simon's expression. "Either way, you're here now. And no matter how hard it gets, you'll always have a place here and a family who has your back." "There was a bombing a few years back. Apartment building that was friendly to mutants. I happened to be nearby and helped rescue a few people," Anette says casually as if it was something happened to everyone everyday. "Brotherhood approached me afterwards. Which was handy because I had been looking for them, too. What about you? How'd you stumble on them?" Simon's eyes widen. "Horrible," he murmurs at the news of the bombing. It gets filed away as more reason to dislike humans though. He listens quietly to the rest of the story, noddinga bit. When he's asked about, Simon shifts a little. "It was the other way around. I was...hiding within an old church because I had no where else to go. I asked God for something to believe in...for a sign...and members of the Brotherhood that had been in the area showed up looking for a place to spend the night." "Ah right, I think you told that story last time. A bit opposite for me though. All the hate and anger and suffering in the world...either god isn't real or he is and I want nothing to do with him. But if you can find a way to believe, more power to you," Anette says, not a single bit or irony or sarcasm in her tone. "Fantastic timing, either way." Simon just chuckles, shaking his head. He heard the same a few times in the past. "I was rather surprised by the timing, I'll admit," he says. "How many people are there living on this island?" Anette shrugs briefly. "No idea. Most of us anyway. Not a lot of us live in the city. For most of us, it's safer here." She finishes her sandwich and rises. "Anyway, pleasure to meet you again and I should be heading off. Hope to see you around."