ArchivedLogs:Reconnecting
| Reconnecting | |
|---|---|
| Dramatis Personae | |
| In Absentia
|
2014-05-30 ' |
| Location
<WES> Salem Center | |
This town is a small hamlet, one of the last few working to preserve its historical identity in Westchester County. The cobbled streets are neatly upkept, and the quaint storefronts have been largely unchanged for ages -- in their facades, at least, even if the businesses inside them here and there have kept pace with the times. Here and there. Many, though, have been owned by the same families for generations. The business district is a single drag through the center of town, with houses branching off of the main street; in this small town, it's as common to see horses as cars making their way down the road.
It’s exactly the sort of place that a student /might/ go, to relax. Not that Kai looks /relaxed/. Sitting alone at one of the tables, the small Korean boy fidgets as he watches the glass door. He’s dressed rather /smartly/ in jeans and a white button-down shirt under dark green vest. Capping off the look (literally) is a dark grey newsboy’s hat that Kai wears turned backwards. His feet, clad in green Converse sneakers, beat against the legs of his chair nervously as he checks his phone (and likely his emails) for probably the umpteenth time since the giant milkshake in front of him was delivered. The messages sent that kicked this meeting off were simple enough - a hello, and then a simple request to meet - no bells and whistles there. Which is exactly the way the next customer enters through the glass door. Ivan stops just short of having let the door close, takes a brief moment to look around the shop, and then proceeds towards Kai. He's wearing jeans and blue Converse sneakers to match his friend's, inadvertently, and an open black pea coat covers most of the grey t-shirt with a logo on it that's so worn down it's hard to make out what it used to depict. His hair has grown back to the length it was when he met Kai, though no insects or arachnids can presently be seen creepin' in or out of it. His expression... well. Much the same as any other time. Alert, rather than expressive. And apparently not interested in ordering anything just yet, since his breaking away from the door is followed directly by him making a calm beeline straight for the seat across from Kai. Verbal greetings are overrated. Kai’s not sure said messages are legit, clearly, because when Ivan appears, he simply /stares/ at the older boy. Then, suddenly, he stands, his chair squealing at its immediate relocation. Kai blinks at Ivan slowly, tipping his head as he takes in his friend’s appearance. Slowly, he makes his way around the table, reaching out to poke tentatively at the peacoat with slender fingers. As if he’s verifying that Ivan is actually /there/. “You are bigger,” he notes, and it’s probably the best greeting he can manage, at the moment. “A bit.” Ivan does not flinch at the sudden noise, nor budge when he is poked, his eyes not once leaving Kai's face once he turns to study it right back. But he is definitely there, the peacoat giving just slightly at the touch. And as if Ivan considers the poke a hint, he then promptly and silently proceeds to shrug it off of his shoulders and onto a bent arm. Only once that is done does the weakest of smiles somewhat belatedly make its way onto his face, when he looks back at Kai again. "A bit." He echoes with a nod, his accent still as noticeably thick as it ever was even in so few words. The next few words come out slightly slower, "It has been a while." Once Ivan’s solidity has been established, Kai withdraws his hand, studying his friend’s face for..something. Probably some indication that this is still /not/ Ivan. But the older boy’s response, and his unmistakeable voice, make the final confirmations, and Kai’s eyes fairly shine for a moment, his lips twitching into a wide smile a millisecond before he launches himself at the other boy. For HUGS. “It has been too long,” Kai says as he pushes his face into the rough material of the peacoat. “I have missed you terribly. Rasa has, too.” He doesn’t seem to be willing to let go, his embrace as tight as he can manage -- which isn’t really /that/ tight, but definitely qualifies as clinging. “You did not say you were coming.” Okay, NOW Ivan budges. If only to position one of his feet slightly behind him to keep from toppling back, seemingly caught off guard by the embrace. A few wordless seconds later, his arms lift to return the hug. A little more gently, smile temporary vanished behind sudden surprise. "I did not want many people to know," comes his answer, patiently, before he asks somewhat more carefully (and possibly cluelessly, given the way his eyebrows furrow), "are you okay?" The hug goes on a bit longer than it probably should, but eventually Kai eases his grip and steps back. He keeps one hand on Ivan’s arm, as if the other boy might disappear if contact is lost. Kai’s brow knits in a moment of confusion for Ivan’s desire to keep his arrival private -- and then twists deeper at the question. “I am fine,” he says, and then his eyebrows loosen to rise in happy excitement. “We are getting new hives at the school!” Back comes Ivan's smile, and though timid, it is genuine. "I am glad they are doing well." He pulls away just slightly, towards a seat. He is slow to pull his arm away from Kai's hand in the same sort of way that someone may act when afraid to startle an unfamiliar animal. He does not actually disappear once this happens, however! Though he does sit and continue as though he hadn't just gone away for half a year, tone of voice vaguely distant and distracted as he sits, perfectly still. "Will there be an apiary? There were plans-- some time ago. With Mr. Summers." Letting go is a slow process indeed, and Kai remains standing for a moment even after Ivan takes his seat. Then he follows suit, sliding into his chair without losing eye contact with his friend. He may not even be blinking. “They are doing very well,” he agrees, bobbing his head. “One of the hives is hatching out many new bees -- I think we will need the extra hives soon.” He smiles suddenly, blushing at his informed-sort-of-voice, and wiggles his fingers against the table top. “Mister Jackson said that the shop students will build new ones. I want to put them near the forest, where they will have many plants to pollinate.” He wriggles in his chair, and wrinkles his nose. “Are you just back to visit, or will you return to school? You missed the End of School dance.” Doing what he does best, Ivan listens quietly as Kai speaks. His gaze travels calmly from Kai's face, to the milkshake, to the table, then back up again. But even after he's been asked a question, it takes him a good few seconds to open his mouth. And even then, it's only to ask another question, head tilted slightly to the side. "Do you know where Brighton Beach is?" “We learned about it in History,” Kai says, nodding his head. “When we had to learn about New York. It…” he wrinkles his nose, thinking for a moment. “Is in the city?” he finishes, looking hopeful. “I went to the city earlier this week. I do not think it was there, though.” He tips his head, curiosity painting his features. “Why?” "It is in the south of the city." Ivan explains, quite plainly, hands in his lap and back straight. Then, deadpan, "I live there now. I am staying with..." He pauses, as if English isn't quite coming to him as easily as it used to. "With most of my family. They-- we have moved because..." Again, he falls silent. But this time, he chooses not to try and finish his sentence. Instead, he straightens further and follows it up with, "So no, I am not just back to visit. But I will not return to the school." “Your family?” Kai’s eyes widen at the thought of all those siblings, and the raucousness of them in his memory. “But...why?” He can’t quite put it together, and he chews at his bottom lip as he stares at the table top. “If you do not come back to school, how will you graduate?” Which doesn’t seem to be the question he /wants/ to ask, delivered with careful deliberation. "I will graduate another time." Ivan seems sure of this, his eyes following Kai's movements as he himself sits still. So sure, in fact, that he seems keen to leave it at that and move onto answering another question without pause. "Russia is my home, and it will always be. But there are too many problems there, with..." Though he stays largely frozen, his eyes flick to the side just for a second, before landing back on Kai's face again. Perhaps a little more conflicted-looking, smile gone as his hands idly ball into fists and relax again soon after. "I have two brothers who are also mutants, and my little sister, she... has troubles. It is safer here. Hopefully. But it is good news." A beat's pause, then, still calmly and seemingly confidently, "It is good news." Kai considers this, not lifting his eyes from the table top. “What will you do, if you are not in school?” he wonders. “I think it is a law that you must attend.” It /might/ sound a little desperate. Like a mild entreaty. He frowns at the half-explanation about Russia, and scrunches his nose up as he finally lifts his gaze. “You are talking about the men who do the experiments?” he guesses, narrowing one eye. “We spent some time with those men, before we went to the place where Mister Jax and his friends rescued us.” He frowns. “It was not very pleasant. It is better that you are here, and safe.” Ivan's hands wrap around each other for a moment, eyes still on Kai. "They cannot make me go to a school. Because I am 17 now. I will find work." His friend's desperate tone seems to have little effect, Ivan's voice still steady and determined. While one of his hands idly reaches to rub two fingers at the side of his head, he asks a little flatly, "I am sorry I missed things. The dance, and lessons, but also when people were in trouble." His brows knit together for a moment. "How are you now?" Kai’s disappointment is almost palpable, and his gaze drops back down to the table. “If you must work, I suppose that is what you must do,” he allows, his tone bordering on sulky as he twists his fingers against the table top. “There are always people in trouble at the school,” he says, perhaps a bit grateful in the small shift in conversation. “But the teachers are very brave. They fought off the bad people very well.” The question gets a small lift of his shoulders, and he reaches for the glass, pulling it a bit closer. Maybe as a shield, of some kind. “I am all right,” he says, his mouth twitching ruefully to one side briefly. “I have been busy with school and the bees, but it has been good.” He frowns, suddenly. “I cannot go into the city without a teacher.” Because that’s relevant to /something/. Another small gap of silence hits the conversation, though this one is followed by Ivan's eyes picking over Kai's frown, and... then his smile returning a little more confidently. "Maybe I will work so hard that I can study also, and then I will come back to the school as a teacher." A rare joke? Maybe he /is/ learning. Straightening again, he continues with his head held high, "Maybe I will take Mr. Rasputin's job. And make learning Russian a popular class." There is also a small, shiny black scorpion inching slowly up and out of one of his coat's pockets. Creep. Creep. Nothin' to see here. Kai catches the joke -- friends are good like that -- and his eyes crinkle at the corners. “You would be a good teacher,” he says, nodding firmly. “You were very helpful in teaching me English.” He raises his chin, and tips his head. “But I think you must finish high school first,” he says. His eyes track up, to the scorpion, and then to Ivan’s face. “That would probably be a true thing,” he says. “I think you were the reason it was so popular this year.” As though without thinking, Ivan moves an arm up next to his pocket for the scorpion to clamber onto, after which he moves it onto the table. A little too quickly, as it turns out, because the critter goes tumbling sideways, limbs a-flailin' before it rights itself. Then, looking down at his stowaway friend puttering about on the table, Ivan continues utterly unceremoniously, "Do you still have trouble inside of your head?" Kai watches the scorpion as it moves around the table, then reaches out to pluck a napkin from the dispenser. Slowly, he wads it into a ball, and sets it down for the scorpion to investigate. From the way he moves, it’s clear that he might be doing similar things with the bugs that were left in his care. The question brings Kai’s attention back over the table, and he studies Ivan for a long moment before he shakes his head. “When I am awake, Foom is mostly quiet now,” he says. “I think he finds school very dull. But at night…” he lifts a shoulder. “At night, it is much as it ever was.” He studies the older boy for another long moment, tipping his head to one side. “Do /you/ still have trouble?” The scorpion freezes when there is nearby movement, until... very slowly, it starts to approach the wadded up napkin. Circling it in calculated movements, its barbed tail raised halfway up in uncertainty. Until Kai poses another question. Then it turns, slowly... to... peer at Kai? Perhaps it is a coincidence. Its six eyes seem to lock in on the boy's face even before Ivan lifts his head to do the same, his smile waning. "Some times." This seems to be all the response he's got in return, and it comes in a slightly more detached tone of voice. Kai isn’t quite sure how to respond to that -- or maybe it’s the attention of the scorpion that makes him shift uncomfortably. “Well, maybe it will be better, now that you are around your friends /and/ family,” he suggests, eyebrows lifting. “Will you bring them to the school to show them around?” "Maybe." And just like that, Ivan's smile returns, but not quite to his eyes. The scorpion moves in small increments, around the napkin and then, very slowly and exploratively towards Kai. "I do not know yet if I will go back to the school soon. My little sister, she wants to see it, but my father will not let her. Maybe I will bring her to show, some time." And just like the scorpion, he too begins to move. Shifting to get up. Time to go already, apparently. “Maybe, if he knows how safe the teachers kept us during the time the bad people came in, he will feel differently,” Kai says, his tone just a little too hopeful, suggesting he may not believe that this will happen. He watches Ivan shift, and begin to stand, and a bit of dismay flickers across his face. But he doesn’t say anything in protest; merely continues to watch, his eyes wide. Ivan doesn't leave just yet, leaning closer to the table to reach for the scorpion that is still, quite possibly, inspecting Kai's face with all of its half dozen eyes. It gives a twitch of its tail when Ivan's hand hovers over it to gently scoop it up onto his fingers, but appears to be returned to the coat pocket without harm. "I am sorry I am going." Flatly stated, though his head does dip just slightly as he eyes the door. "But we can send e-mails and meet when you would like, now that I am closer." Then, he takes a step back, in preparation to leave. But before he does, "I am glad you were kept safe." “You did not even have ice cream,” Kai says, although there’s little accusation in his tone. More like dismay that this brief interlude was just that. He blinks as he catches his own words, and ducks his head. “Maybe we can have it next time,” he says in a wistful sort of voice, staring at the paper ball and the place where the scorpion used to be. “I am glad that you are back,” he murmurs, his shoulder slumping. “It has been very lonely.” "We will." Ivan answers, doubtlessly. "Do not be sad. Or lonely. The bees need you to not be sad." This is said matter-of-factly. Definitely true. Bees can /totally/ sense that. And apparently he thinks no more needs to be said, as he takes another step back and then starts moving toward the door proper without another word. The irony of Ivan’s statements being said as he is leaving is not entirely lost on Kai, and he raises his gaze to stare incredulously at Ivan for a moment. Then he drops his head again, and nods. “It will be easier, now.” But when he looks up, he’s talking to air. Ivan is already gone. And, with a heavy sigh, Kai goes back to his milkshake. | |
