ArchivedLogs:Reading and Running

Reading and Running
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Rasa	2013-09-11 An early morning chat in the gardens
Location <XS> - Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. The day is barely getting started, and the sun has only just started to filter through the canopy of the trees that ring the school grounds, casting dappled light on the outdoor gardens. Although there is the slightest breeze rustling through the shrubs and plants, the day promises to be a rather warm and humid one as the sun continues to rise. Not that many at the school will have much opportunity to experience the muggy weather, with classes back in session, most are kept to the air conditioned classrooms and halls of the stately mansion. However, there is still some time before the first of her classes, and Mallory has opted to bring her breakfast and morning tea outside to the relative quiet of the gardens. The librarian is seated on one of the stone benches near the small pond, hooved feet tucked gently beneath the bench and crossed demurely, her tail wrapped around one of the supports of the bench to stay out of the way. Her professional attire stands out in contrast to the relatively natural surroundings, in a dove gray blazer over a cream silk slip dress that falls just below the first joint of her digitigrade legs, her hair pulled back into a severe bun that only serves to accentuate her inhuman features. A barely touched plate of scones and fruit sits on the bench beside her while she sips slowly from a black travel thermos, dark eyes seeming to track the movements of the koi in the pond, lost in thought. Or perhaps just relaxing before the day begins. Rasa comes running along the path, somewhat dripping with sweat, given the humid nature of the day. Ze slows to a stop just outside of the gardens and starts walking to help hirself cool down as ze enters the more peaceful region of the Xavier's school grounds. To help with hir cool down, ze starts stretching, grabbing one ankle at a time and pulling it backwards, against hir hip and butt at first, then upwards to increase the stretch, until ze is nearly dragging hir foot to hir head, back and shoulders arching into a 'circular' shape. Ze takes hir time stretching, breathing evenly, balance held carefully. Ze continues walking when ze is done, turning toward the smell of tea unconsciously, finding hirself in front of Mallory after a few minutes. Ze only offers a polite nod and smile, cheeks flushed red and possibly throbbing with the coursing of blood in hir body. Hir eyes are a cool green gray today, where hir hair is a mossy brown, likewise hinted with green. Hir skin seems almost scaly, though smooth to the touch, and a stone gray where red does not cut in like teenage graffiti. Ze is dressed in close fitting running pants with a baggy tank top over the top. Peeking out under hir arms is the single band of the chest protection ze wears, not nearly curvaceous enough to warrant a real sports bra. At length, while stretching hir arms, ze notes, "That smells good," more to hirself than the holder of the tea. So lost in thought is Mallory that she barely even registers the footfalls of Rasa running along the path, only looking up after several moments at the sound of nearby footsteps. It seems to take a moment for her to focus again, shaking her head slightly, but she offers a warm smile to the student, raising the thermos of tea in greeting. “Hello, Rasa. Out for a morning run before classes?” the librarian asks quietly, as though afraid to disturb the quiet of the gardens, or just out of habit of being soft spoken as a job requirement. The comment on the tea gets a quiet chuckle and a glance at the thermos, “I would offer you some, but there really isn’t much left. It is a rather strong blend of Earl Gray - pleasant for those difficult to wake mornings, but difficult to get stateside, apparently. I’m afraid the tin I brought with me is practically empty at this point, otherwise I would gladly share a cup the next time I had some.” A look of concern crosses her features, but it soon passes, and she smiles once again, her tone conversational, though the smile is shadowed, “How are classes going for you so far?” Rasa is very careful with hir left elbow as ze stretches, the joint turning pink and yellow as ze concentrates very carefully on what kind of pain is being generated in the tendons and the receptors there. Ze gives a little smile when ze finishes that arm, focusing a little more on Mallory. "Oh. No, please don't worry about it. I'm glad you have something special and I am sorry to hear it is running out." Ze rolls hir shoulders, still trying to get the muscles moving and keep them from settling into something sore. "Classes are going okay. I think I'm pretty good with this year's picks, but … well, I feel a bit of pressure to do well in my Russian class." Ze looks a little sheepish. "How are your students this term?" Mallory chuckles, offering a little bit of a shrug, her eyes drifting back towards the koi pond for a few moments when Rasa stretches, “Oh, I will get more of it. Just a matter of pestering my brother to contact his tea supplier back in England. Need to do that anyway, to order some for a friend. And apparently the tea shop in the city is not the most friendly to visibly different individuals.” An amused, yet somewhat sinister smirk, crosses her lips at that statement, and she shakes her head. “Ah, Russian? Interesting choice for a language class. I was not even aware it was offered in the curriculum here,” she muses with a smile, “May I ask why you chose Russian? I don’t mean to pry, it is just a curiosity.” The question about students gets a quiet, nervous, chuckle, “Oh, I believe I am more nervous about the classes than they are. This will be my first full semester of teaching, so I rather hope I don’t ruin the enjoyment of reading or writing for an entire class of students.” "Ahhh. Actually, it's kind of a natural choice, given that I am dating a Russian." Rasa explains quietly, redness filtering heavily into hir face now. "If I ever want to go to Russia and meet his family, it makes sense to be able to speak to them. Also, they have a tendency to talk a lot in the background while he is there, so I kind of want to know what they are saying so I don't have to worry that they are saying things about me." And the embarrassment turns hir whole face neck and tops of hir shoulders red. Ze coughs to clear hir throat. "Just… you'll be fine. I don't think you'll ruin the enjoyment of reading or writing. It's possible to ruin the ability to sit in class - but I think you'll be fine." Fidgety, ze switches topics. "I actually have your brother for Chemistry this term. I can pester him with ceaseless questions to make you look like the better teacher, if it'd help." “Oh!” Mallory exclaims, a slight blush on her already red cheeks appearing in sympathy, “Well, that does make sense, in that case. Best of luck - I’m certain you will be fine in the class. You are a very bright young person, from what I have heard.” The librarian lets the subject drop, when Rasa switches tracks, and offers a sly smirk and a chuckle, “As amusing as it would be to employ students in a plot to irritate my twin, I beleive that would end with the lot of us getting in a good deal of trouble.” Shaking her head, Mallory laughs quietly at a thought, “However, if you have questions about chemistry, obviously, you should ask them. That is what he is here for. And this is his first teaching position out of school, as well. He’s just as nervous as I am, even if he won’t admit it.” "Okay. I won't give him a hard time for no reason. Just… for reasons." Rasa smiles, hir redness starting to fade. Ze stretches hir arms up high then leans forward, stretching again before pausing and looking toward the Mansion. "So, how did you decide on your curriculum? I'm sure chronological order played into the notion of it, but do you teach your favorite authors more so than those the critics choose to highlight as the most representative of their time period?" “Exactly. He can’t get frustrated with a student asking legitimate questions. And if he does, let me know,” Mallory says with a smile and a light hearted chuckle, glancing back up towards the Mansion as she does. A grin crosses her lips at the question about curriculum, “Some from column A, some from column B. I still try to at least cover what the state suggests for the class in question. That said, this being a private school, I have a bit more flexibility in what authors I get to include for classes, and do occasionally slip some of my favorites in, depending on the class - I can’t exactly put The Bard into the middle of an American Literature class. Even I’d find that contrived, and I look for excuses to bring him into classes as often as I can.” She offers a shrug, continuing on the subject of academia and books, genuine curiosity in her voice as she asks, “Do you have a favorite author or genre?” "Ah, I don't know if I have a favorite genre yet. Right now, I really like Marjane Satrapi, but I don't think graphic novels quite belong in regular literature classes yet. There was a class I was looking at later - the graphic literature/comics one. I just didn't have time in my schedule yet." Rasa wets hir lips and fidgets. "Sorry. I don't know. I've read a lot. I just… don't read all that many from the same author. Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo is a favorite. Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man… is what I'm reading now. People keep asking me if I've read it because of my mutation, but the more I read it, the less I think it's anything like me and get annoyed. I think they just want to match the title with my situation." Ze reaches back and slips hir fingers under the back of hir shirt to itch at some drying sweat. “I think far too many people dismiss the literary merits of graphic novels. They may not make it into the basic classes on literature, but I know I had at least a handful of classes for which Persepolis was required reading,” Mallory explains, smiling at the memory, “If you do get a chance to take the graphic literature class, I highly recommend it.” She nods in agreement with the other things Rasa says, making a bit of a face at the reading suggestions based on mutations, “Oh, that is one of the most frustrating things. And it is /always/ the same book, isn’t it? Or, for me, if someone saw my mutation, it was always the question of if I enjoyed Dante’s Inferno more than Marlowe’s Faustus,” this is said with a healthy dose of exasperation - and if it was perceptible, a roll of her eyes. "Yes, always the same book." Rasa lets out a sigh and shakes hir head. "I… don't want to be sudden, but I should probably go get showered up so that I can grab some breakfast before class. I really can't skip that today because I feel like I've already bathed in my own sweat and a decent amount of dirt for the duration of my run." Ze bites hir lip and lifts a hand. "I'll see you around later, okay?" “Ah, right, sorry. Bad habit - I get started talking about books, and I just can’t stop. Sorry to keep you,” Mallory offers with a guilty grin, “Have an excellent day, Rasa. I’ll see you around later.” The librarian offers a wave of farewell, and then gestures for Rasa to make hir way to the Mansion, chuckling, “Thank you for stopping and talking to to me. I appreciated it.”