ArchivedLogs:Not So Strange

Not So Strange
Dramatis Personae Kai, Kris, Rasa	2013-04-26 Kai and Kris meet Rasa.
Location <XS> Rec Room
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. It's the weekend! The last classes of the week are well over, and dinner has been served and cleared, allowing the students staying at the mansion to enjoy their free time. The rec room should probably be busier, but a pick-up game of football on the back lawn has drawn off the majority. So Kai is largely alone, sitting tailor-fashion on the floor with his bug book (a BIG book -- with lots of color, close-up photographs) and his 'official' club notebook spread out in front of him. At his side, another book marked as a dictionary for young readers. Dressed in jeans and a blue hoodie, he pulls idly at a bare toe as he studies the images in the book, occasionally transcribing a name of interest into the notebook. Kris is a quiet sort of person when she's not exhausted. Feet bare (her toenails are painted pink), she pads into the rec room, that long segmented stick held over her shoulder again. She pads forward, a curious look on her face, and peers over Kai's shoulder. After a moment to stare at the bugs, she points at a particular bug,"That one is edible. It does not taste particularly bad either. No squish. So it does not make you wish to gag. What are you doing, thoughtful Kai?" Kai does not seem to notice when Kris enters. Perhaps she's just that quiet. Maybe the bugs are /fascinating/. Whichever is the case, her appearance behind him does not cause the immediate stiffening of spine other such surprises would evoke. Instead, he makes a small humming noise as she speaks, turning a mildly horrified look on her at the information. "You have eaten bugs?" he asks, and there's dismay in his voice. "Please do not tell that to my friend Ivan. It would make him very sad." The question gets a small smile. "Ivan and Peter are making a club with me," he says. "It is for people who like bugs." A worried brow twitch. "As pets." Kris has the grace to look embarrassed,"Well... yes. Where I was before I came to America... there wasn't always enough food or time to find food... And they are everywhere, so... you make do, I suppose. Though in some places, you can get ants and locusts made in a very tasty way. The seasoni- I am sorry. This is not what you wish to hear. It has been a long time since I've spent good time around... normal people." She scratches her nose in a sort of dithering way,"Do they make good pets then? What is your favorite?" Kai looks more horrified at Kris' attempt to make it better, and he begins shaking his head slightly in quiet denial. "You do not have to eat bugs here," he says. "I will show you the kitchen, where there is much food that we are welcomed to eat." He nods solemnly, as if this will be a thing. The apology gets a tilt of his head, and he narrows his eyes as if listening to something else meant only for his ears. "This is not a place for normal people," he notes, eyebrows lifting. "So you do not need to apologize. Just do not say such things to Ivan." The question gets a wide grin. "Oh, they are good pets!" he says, bobbing his head. "Ivan has many, many bugs and spiders, and they are very nice." He says this as he flips the pages, landing on a picture of a -- dung beetle? "This is one I like," he says. "Because it rolls up its food, like my favorite game on the video machine." He looks up, his expression hopeful. "Do you know it?" Kris is blushing pretty heavily,"Uh... I am not sure... Before... things happened, I had several video games. I like this game... Fat Princess, and another... Zen Pinball... nothing fancy, though. Anyway, I do not eat bugs lately. Since there has been plenty of food yes. They showed me the kitchen." She's got that 'I want to crawl into a hole and hide' look many teenagers get when embarrassed. "Where I am from, we often keep..." She actually reaches down without being invited to flip some pages until she points at a picture of a Vietnamese centipede,"... these as pets. I had something similar we ordered from Florida because the pet store was out. I only had it for a couple of days so I do not know if it was a good pet." She frowns a bit. "I am not very good at bugs." "I never saw games like these, before I came here," Kai says, lifting a shoulder. "But this game is one where you are rolling a ball that picks up things." His grin is goofy, and clearly oblivious to Kris' discomfort. "It is a very silly game, but it is a lot of fun." He nods. "I can show you, later." He makes no move to stop the page-turning, leaning forward to look at the page that Kris lands on. "Ivan has many of these things with many legs," he says, his voice chipper as he recognizes the insect. "They bite at times, but they are very good when he is around." He shrugs at the demurral, and scrunches his nose. "I do not know very much about them," he says sympathetically. "The woman in the..." he narrows one eye. "...library found this book, which is very helpful." He studies the page thoughtfully a moment, then turns it just enough to catch Kris in his peripheral vision. "Are you liking it here?" Kris lifts a shoulder gently,"I will give it a try, then. I like silly things. There is a cartoon about magical little horses. Ponies. I like to watch it when I am alone. Is that Ivan's ability? To make bugs behave? What of you? Is it impolite to ask? I do not know." She actually crouches, setting down her stick, to peer at the book at length. "The librarian. I think that is the word. I... am liking it better than where I was. The people are nice. I do not know many people well yet. So I do not know if I like it in a general way. But it is nice. Nice to not be so strange, and nice that I am less likely to hurt someone if I get upset. The teachers and students... they are all so careful with peoples' feelings. It is sometimes difficult to belief it is not some dream." "I know that television show!" Kai's surprise is sudden, and he sits up straight. "It is the one with Applejack and Spike. Friendship is magic." He seems excited to have found this common ground, and he leans back to rest his weight on his hands. "Which is your favorite pony?" Like a light switch, though, it all clicks right off at the question, a sudden cloud dimming his expression. "I do not know if it is rude to ask," he admits. "Ivan is very good with bugs," is his answer for the first part. "While I am..." he trails off, his mouth pressing into a tight line briefly. "Very dangerous," he finishes simply, lifting a shoulder. There's a flicker of a smile at Kris' thoughts on the school, and he nods with that same dimmed, thoughtful expression. "It is a /very/ good place." Kris smiles brightly at that,"I like the Rainbow. She is spunky, and has more personalities than the others, you see. She is a free spirit, her own person. Pony." She clears her throat, then shrugs. "She seems the most... human of them all." The girl is currently crouched next to Kai, who is reading through a book full of pictures of bugs,"I, too, am dangerous. But for me, it was a blessing, rather than a curse. I do not think it was so, for you. I needed to be dangerous. You did not, I think?" With a quick decision to change subjects, she offers,"I like that shopping here is better than at home. Though everything is so expensive." Rasa wanders into the rec room wearing a pair of swishy pants, the kind that almost look like a skirt, open at the bottom and brushing at the floor. Hir torso is wrapped in a very colorful, embroidered top, green with gold and silver mingling in the shape of fish and vines across chest and down hir thighs. The sleeves are long and end in black gloves. Hir skin is a light minty color with almost a pearlescent sheen to it, with hir deep forest green hair clasped at the back of hir neck. Ze wanders through out the room checking out what everyone is doing. Hir gold hazel eyes light on the pair looking at the book and tilts hir head to one side. New person. Iiinnnnteresting. Kai tilts his head at the admiration of Rainbow Dash, and he nods. "She is a good one," he says. "But I think all ponies in that show are like humans. Ivan reminds me of the one who flutters. He is very quiet, and has lots of bug friends like she has animals." He smiles. "Peter is more like the Rainbow, though." He doesn't respond to the observation of his own dangerousness, choosing to focus on pulling at that toe again while he listens. "I have never been shopping," he says. "But I have seen it on the television." He holds up his hands like a marquee. "'Everyday Low Prices.'" Finally, a smile works its way across his face, one he's even willing to turn on the largely-unknown Rasa when ze appears. "The television people make it look fun. They are always smiling." Kris reaches reflexively for a long, thin, segmented stick laying on the ground next to her when she becomes aware of Rasa... then relaxes her grip. In that throaty, slightly too deep voice of hers, she offers a greeting,"Hello. Aieee, I love your fashion... Is that color natural, or did you have to work at it? Where did you get those pants? I am so jealous." Indeed, clear on her face is the teenage jealousy of a girl seeing another girl she thinks is prettier than her. Whether or not Rasa is a girl or not. She points and addresses Kai,"I think she has already been shopping. You should go shopping with me. We will find many good bargains." "Oh. Um. Hi." Rasa puts a smile on hir face. As Kris launches into all the questions ever, hir eyes widen and hir coloration changes. a drop of red begins to mix like paint in milk and sweeps into hir cheeks. Ze clasps hir hands behind her back. "Um. Wait which color? I um. I've been shopping, I guess, but I don't usually wear this out. It's something from home. My mother picked it up, I think, if I remember correctly." Ze looks confused and a bit disoriented as ze shifts hir weight from one foot to the other. "I.. uh, thank you?" Ze swallows hard. "I am Rasa." Kai blinks at Kris' sudden flurry of girliness, and he actually leans his body away. Because it might be contagious or something. He gives Rasa a helpless sort of look, although his smile remains in place. "I would have to ask the Professor if I might go," he says apologetically to Kris' offer. "But I would like to do that with you." He narrows his eyes, and reaches for his dictionary, opening it to the B section. "I am Kai," he says to Rasa, looking up from the pages. "I have seen you about the school, but we have not met." Then, to Kris: "Please, how do you spell 'bargain'?" Kris does that blushing thing of hers that seems to happen to her a lot,"That shiny green color on your skin. I like it. It is very expressive." She taps her chin in thought, stick forgotten and examins the clothes,"Your clothes are very pretty. I have a very narrow wardrobe myself." She begins rubbing at the back of her neck in that shy way of hers, and rises, retreating to find a chair,"I am Kristen, but you may call me Kris." Then she turns her gaze to Kai,"We will find many good clothes. Bargain? B-a-r-g-a-i-n. I think. I am not so good at the english myself." "Salem center is not so bad to go shopping in. I think the school has been here long enough that they don't quite... have as many issues with us as other places might. There are thrift stores for clothes that are cheap." Rasa considers and continues to blush under scrutiny, the red growing stronger in hir cheeks and across hir nose, even though it never quite blends into something natural. "It's nice to meet you, Kai. I have also seen you around." Ze gives a little smile and straightens up. "I .. actually am not good with clothing all that much. My roommate helps me out. Her name is Shelby... and she's gone for the weekend." "I think I would still have to ask," Kai says with a shrug, his eyes on the book as he locates the word. "I do not think they would want me to go without a teacher." Then he's silent a moment as he studies the word, and its definition(s)(!!). "You are meaning low prices," he says after a moment of thought. Just in case anyone else wasn't clear. "Like the television speaks of." He seems extraordinarily pleased that he's figured this out without help, and his narrow chest puffs out a tiny bit. "Kris is right," he assures Rasa. "You look very pretty." He sighs, and wrinkles his nose. "I am not that pretty, when I am green." He plucks at his hoodie. "I do not know very much about clothes, either." Kris nods slowly,"My American parents, they live in New York. The shopping there is... aaah... what is the word... immense? It is immense. I like it, very much. But I did not have much time to take advantage of it. If you are not good with clothing... Then I will be your stand-in until Shelby returns. Though I do not think you are so bad at it as you think. See, even Kai says so. You are pretty." Then she looks at Kai a bit more closely, and asks,"Are you green often? Maybe if you do not feel pretty green, you should practice doing it more?" "It is okay, Kai. Being green is fine sometimes, but other times, it's okay to be a different color." To prove this point, Rasa pauses in conversation and focuses. Hir skin begins to shift, turning to a dark and bronzy color, a metallic sheen highlighting hir bone structure. "Buuuut, it would actually be really nice if we could talk about something other than my appearance? That would be really great." Ze flashes a quick smile, but it fades quickly, one hand reaching up to rub at hir other arm. "What do you guys think about the school?" "I like being this color," Kai says in a quiet voice. "I am not...myself...when we are green." He frowns, and presses his lips together as if attempting to smash the words after the fact. That Rasa changes the subject is clearly of some relief to him, as he relaxes suddenly, revealing the tightness his hoodie has been hiding. "I like this school very much," he says to Rasa with a shy smile. "My friend Ivan is helping to teach me, and we are making a club for people who like bugs." He indicates the book. "Ivan will be the leader of it. If you like bugs, you can join." Kris nods to Rasa,"I am liking it so far. Kai and I, we have come to the conclusion that in a school where everyone is strange, noone is strange. We like it, I think." She reaches for her stick and taps it on her big toe, idly,"We talked about bugs a little bit, but something tells me I would be an inappropriate member. Still, I think I will have to find my own Ivan. I will have much catching-up to do here. The Moro, they trained us all day, when there was not work to be done, so there was no time for schooling. I am behind two or three years." "Your own... Ivan?" Rasa is very confused about this, looking between Kai and Kris for a moment. "What? Why? I don't know what you mean by having your own Ivan. Does everyone need more bugs? Because One Ivan is really plenty for the school, really." Ze fidgets again. "I am okay with bugs. I kind of have to be, given what Ivan does with them, but I don't know if I really need to be in the club. I will ask Ivan if he wants me in the club - but I... Um. Yes." Ze inhales deeply, the bronze color darkening another shade. "I don't know what the Moro are. Is that a martial art?" Kai's smile is a bit more open when Kris speaks, and he nods. "Yes, I like it very much." There's a bit of a confusion, as he tries to piece things together. "I think she means she needs someone to help her learn," he explains helpfully. "Like Ivan is tootling me." His brow twitches as he considers what he's just said, and he nods. Then there's a slow head tilt. "Why must you be okay with bugs because of Ivan?" he asks, jutting his lower lip out thoughtfully. "He likes them, but I don't think he thinks everyone will." He smiles encouragingly. "He is a good person. If you want to join, he will say yes." Because he totally knows. Then he's turning to Kris, raised eyebrows echoing Rasa's question. Or maybe he's waiting for a good story. Kris pulls her legs up under herself for a moment,"You are right, Kai. Someone to tutor and teach me, I mean. Like Ivan does for Kai." She is quiet for a long moment, then puts on a brittle smile,"The Moro National Liberation Front. When I was starting my transition, they... took me from my parents. I was their soldier until the government and some American agents came for me." In other words, she was a child soldier. A bit more of an honest smile follows, though,"Then my American parents adopted me, and now that is all behind me, and life is easy again. I much prefer America. Life here is... softer." Rasa is rather speechless. Ze looks to Kai and then to Kris and then utters, "Fuck." There is a little more fidgeting as one hand reaches up to scratch at the back of hir neck, under hir now black hair. "I'm sorry?" Kai's face is somber during Kris' story, and he shakes his head slowly at the end. "It is a story that is familiar to me," he says. "It is sort of like what occurred in my life." He leans to pat Kris awkwardly on the knee. "You will find many of us who are new here know stories like yours," he says in soft encouragement. "Many of us have known cruelty and slavery at the hands of governments." Another smile, this one hopeful. "So, you are still not so strange among us." Kris actually chews on the crook of her thumb for a moment, then shrugs shyly,"Do not be. You did not do it. Things are much better now. And people here are so nice, so it is easier to be nice." She starts a little at being patted on the knee, but expresses no apparent anger,"I think it would be better if cruelty was a strange thing, rather than a common one... But that is why I like it here. It is gentle. I am making friends. It is nice." "Yeah. It shouldn't be common. While it is not my fault, please accept some sympathy." Rasa takes a step back. "Unfortunately, I need to go now. I will see you both around." Ze raises a hand to wave and then is heading out, looking to catch someone else ze saw leaving. "I would prefer it if we had another common ground," Kai admits with a small smile. "But it sometimes helps to know others share your..." his English fails him, at this point, and he waggles fingers in the air helplessly. "Things." It seems to suit, and he nods quietly as Rasa make hir exit, lifting a hand in farewell. Then he's turning back to Kris. "I do not know Rasa very well," he says, almost apologetically. "But she seems nice." He chews at his lip thoughtfully. "What is New York like?" It's a much better topic than bugs or cruelty, at least.