ArchivedLogs:Starry Night

Starry Night
Dramatis Personae Isra, Jackson, Lia, Shane
In Absentia	11 December 2013 Being a motherfucking sorcerer. (Sorry. Managed /not/ to use it for the title, at least?)
Location <XS> Gymnasium – B1
For a mutant school, this is a pretty standard gym, even if its sturdy construction to handle mutant powers is less standard. Still, it is designed along normal lines; setup for a basketball court, standard equipment -- punching bags, rubber mats, standard assortment of balls, weight training equipment, the usual fare. It is large, and as well-appointed as the rest of Xavier's tends to be. Unseasonably cold December evenings encourage sloth, but the gym is not quite abandoned even at the lingering tail end of supper-time. A casual three-on-three game has broken out on the basketball court, and a small pack of staff members are taking turns lifting and spotting free weights. Isra stands beside a water cooler near the mats, emptying a much-abused Nalgene bottle down her throat. She wears only a sports bra and bike shorts, both vivid purple with silver piping. Though her posture suggests recent exertion--wings and tail tense but drooping--only a faint sheen of sweat has developed on her slate gray skin. Lowering the bottle, her eyes scan the room with more keenness than seems entirely necessary. Jackson is coming from the direction of the locker room; he looks like he's on the tail end of exertion too, though of a different sort. There's a towel draped over his arm and the smell of chlorine still faint on his skin even after a brief shower; he's since changed into faded old jeans and a black t-shirt reading 'believe in faeries' on the front with blue butterfly wings on the back. He stops by the cooler, too, to refill his bottle, tall and purple with elephants gracing it in silver. "Hey, Isra." He gives her a smile, quick and warm as he refills his bottle. "What's up, you look like -- well like most of my coworkers at the clinic do when we're on /guard/ duty." Unseasonably cold December evenings also encourage girls who were trying to play on the playground to come in to play in the gym instead, at the rather insistent recommendation of a staff member who decided she ought not to be out-of-doors in below freezing temperatures. Lia's outdoor adventure is still visible in her cold-rosy cheeks, slightly purple nail beds, and vagrant-suitable layered clothing. As is her wont when going outside, Lia has simply thrown most of the clothes she owns onto her tiny frame, all items with Xavier's logos on them: black hoodie over purple sweatshirt over blue T-shirt with green and blue sweats layered on top of one another. She has cut-up tube socks on her hands like gloves, which match the ones visible around her ankles over a pair of hand-me-down sneakers. Tucked in one arm is Coppelia, her look-alike doll in a yellowed replica First Communion dress. The girl comes sneaking into this New Room slowly and uncertainly. It if full of an awful lot of strange /noises/, after all. She lingers in the doorway until Jax steps into the main room. "Mr. Fairyjax!" There is some excited waving before Lia sort of skips across the room toward the pair of teachers. Isra's ears flick forward at Jax's approach, but her own smile is quick to follow--a sharp, fangy smile that she probably picked up from Dusk. "Good evening, Jax. How do you do?" She fills her bottle again after he finishes. "I was simply trying to decide whether I wanted to spend the rest of the night soaking in a hot tub or grading papers. I ought to do the latter, but the former is winning out. As for the watchfulness..." Her wings shrug, a bit sloppily. "It is an.../idle animation/ of sorts. I do it without realizing." A long pause, then, "When I am hungry." This last admission is somewhat unfortunately timed with Lia's entry. "Hello, Lia." "Oh, /definitely/ soakin'." Jax's smile is crooked and kind of amused. "I mean, s'cold an' you been workin' out -- actually if you're /real/ real careful you could probably grade papers while you soak -- though admittedly that's prob'ly just settin' yourself up for endin' your relaxation with disaster." Jax takes a large gulp of water, afterwards pressing the cool bottle up against his cheek. "The pups're goin' huntin' tonight, I'm sure they wouldn't mind your company." His smile widens at Lia's approach, hand lifting to return her wave. "Hey, Lia! Oh, gosh, sweetie, maybe some time soon y'maybe want to go out with me, we can get you some proper winter gear? Maybe even a coupla new clothes. How you been likin' classes?" Lia /spins/ to a stop about an arm's length from Jax and Isra. "Oh, hello, Ms..." The girl's eyes go wide mid-sentence with that sudden 'I've forgotten someone's name' look to match. She pulls a hasty slightly-too-toothy smile to complete the statement instead. Just as good, right? "If you're hungry you're allowed to eat whenever you want here, you know," she informs the teacher as if this were important and perhaps little-known news. "What's winter gear? Should I have other clothes? The other kids have different /sorts/ of clothes." Looking down at her chest she sort of picks at the fabric there. "In the rooms we always wore the same clothes. And they would bring more sometimes, but they were still the same." Her bemused expression slides seamlessly into a broad smile. "Classes are fun! I am in a dance class, where they do things I know a lot already. And in a hand-talking class, but I'm supposed to call it signing not hand-talking, and they do things I know a lot already, too. And then there is a computer class and computers are /weird/ and did you know they do more things than videos with animals in them? And writing class is kind of hard. I have tutors but they aren't classes because they are teaching me things I was supposed to do when I was little except I was in rooms instead." "Ah, excellent. I shall ask them if I may join." The phrasing of Isra's answer does not match her visible excitement. Her tail swishes and her voice cracks, dropping briefly into a lower register. To Lia, she replies, "I fear I am spoiled by fresher food that can be found in the kitchen, even as excellent a one as ours. Oh, and my name..." She pauses and raises her left hand, inexpertly spelling out I-S-R-A with long, taloned fingers. "Cold weather clothes, ideally, keep you warm and dry without impeding your physical activities. Layering /is/ an effective strategy, but having different sorts of clothes can be helpful. In fact..." Her green eyes glimmer with joy and she settles her wings across her shoulders like a great, living cloak. "I have found it rather /fun,/ playing dress-up. Jax is a more advanced student of that art than I, however--" Isra cuts herself off suddenly when she glances back at her coworker. "I neglected to congratulate you and Micah. Best wishes to you both." "Y'should have different sorts'a clothes if y'want different sorts'a clothes. Ain't a necessity if you're fine how you are. But it /is/ nice t'have proper gloves an' coats an' hats an' all to keep you warm an' dry, weather's gonna be /real/ cold for months yet. I'll be happy t'take you out some time if you like." He bounces absently where he stands, rocking with restless energy up onto the balls of his toes and then back down. -- Computers are pretty weird," he'll agree happily, "took me forever to get the hang'a them myself. Actually I still ain't quite. Bastian's pretty much a genius on 'em though." His smile brightens, warm and delighted at Isra's congratulations; for a moment a soft-warm glow shimmers around him. "Oh -- oh /thanks/ it was -- kinda a lot more sudden than we'd -- but that's okay life is sometimes unexpected. We finalized the kids' adoptions the same day. It was like Christmas come early I don't think I been that happy since --" He blushes deep, rubbing his shoulder against his cheek and saying more sheepishly: "Thanks. An' playin' dress-up /is/ fun. I admit I kinda love doin' it with other people as much as on myself. It's like art, but with people-canvas." He glances briefly down to his tattoos. "I like decorating." “Oh, okay. Okay. MsIsra,” Lia corrects herself, kind of smooshing the honorific into the name. The settling of the teacher's wings makes her smile again, fondly. “Yours are like Duskwings. Very pretty.” The girl looks down at her be-socked hands. “It would be better to move more. I can't dance very well in all of these, so I just have to take them all off. And then it is a bit cold. I liked the skirts and socks, sometimes, that were in the clothes-bunch back before here. We didn't have any of those in the rooms. Mr. Fairyjax /is/ very colourful, but fairies are made for glamours and oh! Glowing.” She looks inordinately pleased by Jax's light. “Congratulations are for when you do a good thing. What good thing did you do?” Her eyes track to Jax's tattoos and she pushes up a sleeve to look down at the tracery of scars covering her own skin. “Mine aren't as pretty, I don't think.” Shane's been outside recently, that much is clear from the faint chap to his skin, the chill lingering on his clothes. He's still in winter gear of boots and hat and mittens though he's removed his scarf and peacoat to hang them over an arm; beneath, his vest is stained with coffee, the strong smell of which lingers on his clothes. He ignores the rest of the goings-on in the gym, beelining towards Jackson to bonk his head up against Jax's side, arm curling around him to squeeze /tight/. His eyes close, gills fluttering rapidly as his lips curl upwards, just slightly. "Now, computers I understand, though that does not make them less weird--or less wonderful. If you ever stop by an Astronomy Club meeting, I can show you the one we are building to operate our telescope." Isra has straightened up, so subtly that it might be hard to tell she was slouching before. "This is not the best sort of weather for dancing outside without adequate clothing. Or flying, for that matter. I have been sewing a lot, but can never quite keep up with the season." Her wings rustle against her body, the way some might briskly rub their palms across bare arms to ward off the chill. When Lia exposes the scars on her arm, though, Isra goes still, her expression blank but her tail lashing the air quite fiercely. "Beauty isn't always simple, Lia." Isra says this softly, and it comes out in the lower range of her voice, strange and resonate. "Sometimes you have to discover it or create it yourself--as scientists and artists do. Though..." A faint smile returns to her face when the shark boy plows into their midst. "...Sometimes it really is rather straightforward, too. Hello, Shane." "They are gorgeous wings, ain't they. Dusk's been tryin' to sew somethin' for ages that'll keep his wings warm in winter /and/ let him fly but from what I gather that ain't in no way an easy problem to solve. He flies anyway now an' then, I worry he's gonna give himself hypothermia. -- We can get you skirts an' socks. More colourful things. How 'bout tomorrow after class is through?" "The pups love Astronomy Club. Get to go look at the /stars/, who wouldn't love that. --Think Shane's been pretty upset that he can't --" Jax's glowing shimmers away, though his smile remains -- brighter still when Shane arrives and his sentence cuts off. He wraps an arm around Shane's shoulders, squeezing back tightly. His hand curls up, fingers brushing down along Shane's gills. "Hey, honey-honey. -- y'aright? Your vest ain't aright, you need me to take that for dry-cleaning?" He shakes his head when Lia says hers aren't pretty, and stretches out his arm -- tattoos now marred with scars as his wealth of them fades into existence. "Scars is -- kinda like a storybook'a their own. I mean, sometimes they tell sad stories, but the stories they tell are /you/. An' that's its own kinda beauty.” "Less colours," Lia says of her arm before dropping the sleeves back down. She reaches out fingertips to brush against /Jax's/ arm when it changes. "Glamours." She is suddenly distracted by a /thought/, holding up her hand to wiggle its fingers. "Wing mittens!" Perhaps Shane entering with mittens on was what sparked the idea, but clearly she thinks it's the best one /ever/. "One...Shane. You are wearing coffee. It smells good." Her head tilts to one side. "Did you put on coffee to smell good?" Jax's recommendation earns several enthusiastic nods. "I like colours. We can go out and get more? Two...B. Has the prettiest clothes. He has skirts and socks and colours all together." This causes her head to tilt back in the other direction. "His don't smell as good as yours, though," she reassures Shane...or at least seems to think so. "Only the good kids get to be in Astronomy Club." Shane is picking up on Jax's aborted sentence, words a little muffled against his father's shirt. "Nah. Not on purpose. I broke a cup. It spilled. Does smell nice but the stain's kinda ugly." His arms curl just a little bit tighter; beneath Jax's fingers his gills slowly settle down. His eyes stay closed, face nuzzling in at Jax's side. "We're going hunting. You should come." Maybe this is his greeting to Isra. And his farewell, too; after a time he has had Enough Hug, it seems. He pulls away, stretching up onto his toes to kiss Jax's cheek and then turning to hurry off as quickly as he arrived. "Glamours," Isra echoes quietly, ears pressing back when Jax drops his illusion. She looks like she wants to add something else, but does not--though whether for distraction or distress it is hard to say. Her massive, dark wings unfold and stretch out to about a quarter of their full span. "'Wing mittens' is not a /completely/ inaccurate description for what Dusk is working on, but it has a ways to go. For now I mostly keep them tucked away when I go outside." The wings fold back in. "Good kids or no, we can still look at the stars. I still bring my own telescopes and coffee out some nights--an unofficial astronomy club for anyone who joins me." She does not seem surprised in the least by Shane's invitation, or rather, decree. "And to think I forgot to ask! Away with me, then, to don more appropriate attire for the cold. Do enjoy clothes shopping." This comes out just a touch wistful. "I expect I shall see you both again soon enough." With a forward tip of her head and sort of idiosyncratic curtsy, she turns to go but the pauses and looks back. "Glamour or no, you're both beautiful. That's my professional opinion." Then, long strides unhurried but rapid all the same, Isra disappears into the women's locker room. "Ohgosh. I don't know 'bout glamours, I just --" Jax blushes, shaking his head. He watches Shane with a small frown of concern at his quick departure. "-- That'd be real nice. Unofficial -- I think he'd be real happy with that." He looks down at his arm when Lia's fingers brush against it, and the scars stay visible as he drops it back to his side. "We can go out an' get more, for sure. B can come too, if y'like. He's real good at pretty. Even if his clothes don't smell like coffee. Shane actually smells like coffee kinda a lot, he works in a coffeeshop." He takes another swig of his water, and the kind of splutters on it, his blush deepening sharply with Isra's parting compliment. He turns his hand over, looking down at its scars and missing finger. "I like colours, too. Y'know I teach a whole class on colour -- though that's like /painting/ not like clothes. Though there's /also/ classes on makin' clothes. Whatever colours you'd like, I'd guess." "I like stars," Lia declares simply, but her brows knit pensively again after this. "How do you be in a club?" Her lips quirk over to one side when Shane says it is only for 'the good kids'. "Stars are only for good kids? Or clubs are? How do you know if you are a good kid?" /Then/ Isra declares they can go and look at stars whether they are good kids or not. "So...I can look at the stars, too? Without being in a good kid club? I don't think I would /mind/ a club." Her nose crinkles. Life is confusing. "Thank you," she replies out of newly-developed reflex at Isra's compliment, still not entirely back from being confused to properly acknowledge the teacher's leaving. Or Shane's, for that matter, as quick as he's off. "I like B. He's pretty. Shane is pretty but B is different pretty. Even if they are the same pretty?" Her eyes widen at the description of additional classes. "Am I supposed to take more classes? There are so many. I have /four/." Somehow, she manages to say this in such a way as to sound like four is both quite a lot and not that many. "Nah, four classes is plenty for now, but after this term is over you'll choose whole /new/ ones in the spring. Um -- hm, there's lots of clubs an' actually for /most/ of them all y'gotta do to join is show up. But I'll tell y'what, I'll get you a list of all the clubs there is an' what they do, an' you can read it over an' tell me which ones you're interested in! In most of them it ain't like classes, there's no requirement to do assignments or nothin'. There's a few where you got tasks y'need to do like yearbook or newspaper -- but." Jax shakes his head, blushing again and signing 'sorry': "-- I talk a whole lot. More'n I need to. An' stars is for /everyone/, but to join the /official/ school clubs you gotta keep most of your grades above failin' and follow the school rules. -- But you can look at the stars whenever you like. Isra is the teacher in charge of Astronomy Club, so she's got all the equipment for lookin' at 'em /better/." “Oh. Oh, we do classes /again/.” Lia giggles, entertained both by the thought's novelty and how it...should have occurred to her. She isn't used to /planning/. “I will find...clubs. Star club sounds nice. I like to look at the sky.” Her eyebrows tick upward at Jax's qualifications. “I /think/ I do all of those things.” Very likely she was just about to ask whether she does, in fact, but Jax's apology derails this. “Talking is okay, you know. I like when people talk to me. Some people say I ask too many questions. But you say answers and that is nice.” "You can ask me questions any time y'like. How else do you learn?" Jackson grins, quick and bright, and gulps at his water again before refilling it. "An' yeah, there are /so/ many more classes to come. You'll get the chance to learn all /kinds/ of things. There's even astronomy /class/ all for lookin' at the stars. I like lookin' at 'em, though I don't know much about 'em. But where I grew up there was billions an' then, when you're downtown you can't hardly see /any/ of 'em. So I like comin' out here at night where the sky's full of stars again." “Thank you, I like to know more things.” Lia fidgets with the zipper on her hoodie, as if her fingers just discovered its existence. Zipzip, up and down the same two inches. “I was in a place with no stars for awhile, too. It is nice when they come out again. But you aren't supposed to stay outside when it is cold and then you are blue. Unless you were blue to start out. The teacher said.” "Oh, yeah, when you start turning blue that's definitely a bad sign," Jax agrees with a wrinkle of his nose, "cuz that means frostbite and if you keep it up it means damagin' yourself and I'm gonna bet you probably /want/ all your fingers. Hands do so many amazin' things like art an' talkin' an' touchin' people. -- But! /That's/ why I'm gonna take you t'get you new clothes. With /proper/ cold-weather clothes you can stay out longer. Watch the stars. Then come inside an' have hot chocolate -- that's always one'a my favourite parts." “Oops, no, I /do/ want all of my fingers!” Lia's eyes widen, her fingers flexing subconsciously. “I should have...gloves. With fingers. Lots of gloves.” A little triangle of pink tongue darts out and slides over the girl's lips at the mention of hot chocolate. “I only have hot chocolate when it is at dinner, sometimes. But usually dinner is before all the stars are out.” "Mittens are warmer -- but also harder to sign with," Jackson acknowledges thoughtfully. "We can find you some good gloves. -- An' y'know, just like the food, you can have the hot cocoa any time you like. Or coffee, if that's your thing. Though /I/ was just about to go up and make myself cocoa anyway. You want in? You can also put it in a thermos, and that way you can take it outside and watch the stars /with/ a hot drink. So pretty much /all/ the good things together." “Harder for signing and for climbing,” Lia agrees with a firm nod. “I can find food when I want it, but cocoa is special, it's...all...hot? And I think you have to put things in it. It doesn't just come from a cabinet or a refrigerator like the foods I get when it isn't dining hall time.” Her eyes widen yet again, huge and deep brown. Really, it's a skill how quickly she goes from zero to Big Eyes. “You can make cocoa?” Surely, Jax is a sorcerer! The girl is already bouncing up onto the balls of her feet, prepared to follow him if he makes /any/ indication of movement. "Do you like climbing? There's a whole club for rock climbing -- we go hike out through the woods an' climb up cliffs an' from up there you can see /so/ far. But that'll be more in the spring, s'way too cold for it this time'a year." Jax caps his water bottle, his expression lighting when Lia bounces up. "-- /Oh/ yes, you can make /so/ many things in the kitchen. But cocoa is real easy, come on --" He waves Lia to follow as he starts for the gym doors, "I'll teach you." “I like climbing on stairs and ladders and trees and all the playground and...I've never climbed on a big rock before. Cliffs are high! What happens if you fall?” Lia thinks on this for a moment, coming up with her own answer: “Fairy dust?” The Big Eyes aren't going away any time soon, the girl gamely chasing after Jax. “/I/ can make cocoa?” Apparently, she gets to be a sorcerer, too! "You wear a harness and you get tied into it, so if you fall someone's there at the other end of the rope to catch you." A more pragmatic explanation perhaps than fairy dust, though the question of fairy dust prompts a shimmer of glittery light to trail in Jax's wake. "Yes. I'll show you how. An' you can /totally/ make cocoa. Every night if y'want."