ArchivedLogs:Tomfoolery

Tomfoolery
Dramatis Personae Peter, Logan, Rogue, Kai
In Absentia	2013-04-12 Meeting in the conservatory!
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. The conservatory is spacious; it's also pleasantly warm with the coming of spring. It's /also/ indoors - which plays in Peter's favor. Clad in his red hoodie, blue jeans, red tabi socks, and thick-lensed glasses, the whipcord lean teenager is currently upside down. Feet somehow /locked/ to the glass overhead, his knees bent, crouched low (or is it high?) with a book in his hands, reading. The book's title is hard to make out, but seems to be some sort of military manual on emergency first aid. He's frowning as he reads. Rogue comes in from the great hall, auburn and white hair loose over a rather worn t-shirt she's paired with battered jeans and sneakers. She's humming to herself, some gardening tools and gloves in hands as she moves on into the warmth of the conservatory to work on tending plants and enjoying some bare finger time. The conservatory is becoming Kai's favorite place, and he's often found here. But today, he seems to have a purpose as he slips into the big room. Dressed in jeans and a blue hoodie, he's tugging on too-big gloves with a thoughtful expression as he goes. Occasionally, he lifts his gaze to glance around the room. "Peter?" is not the /loudest/ way he could ask after the other boy, but it's not as soft as his regular speaking voice. "You are in here?" He might not see Rogue, yet. He's too busy looking around. The book Peter's reading is closed on a delicate strand of webbing, saving his spot; the manual is soon stashed inside of his backpack. And then, there is a faint sound - *skitter*, *skitter* - somewhere above Kai... until there is a Peter right behind him, clinging to the glass wall, leaving messy fingerprints in his wake (fingerprints he will likely be made to clean up once staff noticeS). "Hey," Peter says; his tone is a bit less cheerful than it usually is. Peter proceeds to drop; *whump*. On the ground, crouched and sitting. "What's up?" Rogue freezes at the sound of Kai's voice, rising with a trowel gripped in her hand as she moves that way. She sees Peter skittering down the wall, shaking her head. "It is not wise for the spider to startle the dragon." She does in her best 'martial arts mentor in a movie' voice. Kai raises his head at the skittering, trying to pinpoint its source. He wheels slowly, just as Peter hits the ground, and jumps just a tiny bit before he smiles. "Peter," he says cheerfully, and lifts a gloved hand. "You were up," he says, wrinkling his nose in mild confusion. He lifts a finger to point at the dome of the ceiling. "Just now." When Rogue speaks, his eyes widen, and he turns with a shy smile. "This spider does not alarm Foom," he says, then looks back at Peter. "Only once." "Oh - sorry," Peter apologizes almost absently; is it to Rogue? To Kai? /Peter/ doesn't even seem to know! He gives Rogue this meek, melancholy little 'oh-hi-there' glance - and a similarly meek shrug toward Kai, followed by a distracted look up to the ceiling. "Oh, I - stick to things. Sometimes." Peter seems to think this is a sufficient explanation! "...are you looking for me?" Again, it's not clear if he's speaking to Kai or Rogue. But a glance at Rogue's trowel seems to settle his mind on that end. Rogue snickers, shaking her head. "Ah was just picking on you guys. Everythin' okay?" She's hoping Peter doesn't notice the bare hands, as she moves back to working in the dirt. "Stick to things," Kai echoes, peering up at the ceiling, and sliding his gaze down the glass wall. "That is a very useful ability." He smiles at Rogue, bordering on an actual grin. "Everything is fine, thank you," he says with a bob of his head that is almost a bow. He watches until she's moved away, then turns back to Peter. "I was trying to find you," he confirms. "I would like to ask..." he frowns, and furrows his brow in thought for a long moment. "What is the word when you would like a person to do a thing for you?" "Yeah, I mean -" Peter /does/ notice that Rogue's hands are bare; if the sight of bare Rogue-hands puts him on edge, though, he doesn't show it. Instead - he just frowns at his shoes, as if they've just done something terribly wrong. At the question Kai poses, Peter perks - just a /smidge/ - although the frown makes no signs of dislodging itself from his face: "Um, a favor. I guess. Yeah, 'favor'. You want to ask me a favor?" Peter almost looks... /worried/! Rogue doesn't want to startle anyone or worry them, quick to get back to her weeding and butting food spikes in some places of the soil. "What is it, Kai? Is it something Ah can help with?" She peers at the boys over her shoulder. "/Favor/," Kai's face brightens at the offering of the elusive word, and he nods. "Yes, that is it. I would like a favor." He looks over at Rogue when she speaks, and color creeps into his ears. "Maybe," is cagey, and he turns back to Peter almost immediately, lowering his voice and leaning forward. "I would like to have one of your," he covers his face, spreading gloved fingers to reveal his eyes. "Just for a while." "Mask?" Unusually, Peter doesn't lower his voice when he says this; he even says it right in complete listening range to Rogue! Either she already knows her secret - or Peter's not really worried about maintaining his SECRET IDENTITY right now. "Why do you need one of my masks?" The worry Peter was wearing before has melted away; there's still an edge of melancholy to his expression, but he's more curious than concerned, now. He looks to Rogue shortly after asking Kai this - as if to silently say 'what, help me out here, why does this person need a mask?'. Rogue furrows her brow, thumb driving in a food spike. "Why do ya need one of Peter's masks, Kai? Or would any mask do? Ah'm sure we have other ones around, if you need somethin' to cover your face or somethin'. But..what for?" Kai looks alarmed when Peter speaks in a normal voice, and he looks around as if The Fuzz is about to bust down the door. Then he colors deeply, and curls his chin into his chest, mumbling something in a mix of Englsih and Korean. It's not really intelligible, though. "Who's talkin' masks?" asks a gruff voice from several feet away, laced with wry humour. "Who's the ugly one that they gotta hide somethin'?" Grinning, the older man approaches the group, lifting his chin firstly to Rogue in greeting, and then the others. He's in his usual - jeans, jacket, etc... - and folds his arms across his chest to effect a Professor-esque pose. "Am I in time to catch the hot gossip, or what?" Peter seems to just now 'catch on' to something; apparently, this isn't something Kai wanted to talk about aloud? But that only increases PeterConcern by 50; he's frowning, now, peering at Kai intently. "Kai? It's alright - what did you need it for, though? You can..." But then there's a LOGAN, and Peter's eyebrows shoot up just a /bit/. "...Professor Baggins," Peter whispers to Kai, ever-so-softly. Then, louder, to Logan: "We were just discussing Hobbit War-Masks, sir." You have to understand something: Peter is a terrible liar. The boy couldn't deceive his way out of a paper-bag. But when he makes this statement, there's not an ounce of deception in his tone. And that's because he has committed himself 100 PERCENT to this particular lie. Kai looks /really/ alarmed when Logan appears, and he looks around the room, gaze landing on each of the other three helplessly. The nickname is totally lost on him, and offers another deep, bow-like nod. "Mister Logan," he says, his voice a bit shaky. Then he straightens, tugging at his gloves, and looking at the ground. "It is not very important," he says softly, the color deepening in his ears. There's a slight tilt to his head, as if he's listening to something, and he does another chin-curl, moving his gaze to his shirt front. "I will ask if I may have one from the Professor." A nod to Rogue, a more puzzled nod to Kai, and then Logan fixes Peter with a glare. "I ain't a Habbit, kid; why'dya keep callin' me that?" He holds up his hands. "Never mind; forget I asked." He shifts his attention to Kai, frowning a little in thought. "Well, if ya want one - I suppose there's no harm in it." He motions his his chin toward Peter. "Webs-For-Brains here uses a mask, but then he's got good reason for it." The man smirks. To Rogue he adds. "What about you, kiddoh? All good?" "It's thematic," Peter complains, but the complaint is mild; half-hearted at best. Then: "Actually now I guess I mostly wear it because it's /illegal/ to do anything mutanty in the city." Peter /might/ sound a bit miffed about that. He's still eyeing Kai, though. Off and on. One eyebrow up, the other low. THINKING. "An' here Ah thought you were jus' hidin' some sort of burn mark or something in there." Rogue drawls, teasing. "Be hard for me to be caught in the city doin' anything, so Ah don't fret. Then again, Ah don't hit up the city much." There's a shrug, looking at Logan. "Ah'm good. Could use a field trip into the city soon, though. "I do not want it for long," Kai asserts, softly, although this is said into his chest. "I just need it to...do something." He tugs at his gloves, and scuffs his bare feet against the floor. His mouth pulls into a tight line at the information about the city. "Why is it against the law to be a mutant in the city?" Logan lifts an eyebrow at Rogue, firstly. "Yeah, you and me both." To Peter and Kai he merely nods, although the mention of 'illegal mutant activity' in the city has him... scowling. A moment later he says to Kai: "It's because people are scared little--because they're just scared. We're different, and that's all it takes. That, 'n there are mutants out there who aren't helpin' the issue much..." He stops talking and half-turns away, scowling again. "You get a ticket for doing mutant things in the city. Are you allowed in the city?" Peter asks, glancing at Logan's profile as he half-turns; he soon confesses to Kai: "There aren't a lot of things you need to do with a mask unless - are you doing something sneaky? A prank? I have glueguns they are /great/ for pranks." Peter sounds a little more cheered at the notion of gluing someone as a prank. The thought has managed to /slightly/ shake him out of his current funk! "I have never been to the city," Kai says, ducking his head with a shy smile. "I do not think they would allow it." To Logan, he raises his chin. "They have reason to be afraid. Some of us are very scary." Says the dragon kid, sagely. "It does not make them right, but they do." Then, he's back to Peter, frowning deeply as he tries to interpret the words. "Glue-gun? Prank?" He shakes his head. "No. This is not...sneaking. I just need one." He lifts his eyebrows, and the glance he throws Rogue's way is microscopic and lightning fast. "To do something nice," he adds, softly. "Hero, then?" Logan asks abruptly of student, an eyebrow arched inquisitively. He turns around to regard Kai and Peter a little more closely, giving Rogue the most brief of glances. "It takes more than a mask to do somethin' nice in the city, kid - if you're thinkin' what I'm thinkin' you're thinkin'." He frowns. He reaches up to massage his temples. "I need a vacation..." he mutters under his breath, and then glances up - with just a little chagrin for having said so, out loud. Peter shrugs. And reaches into his backpack, swinging the nylon sack around to the side of his shoulder - shuffle, shuffle, clink, clink - and, ah. HERE we are. A black ski-mask with yellow goggles attached; it looks a little flimsy when he just holds it like that. He offers it to Kai without much fanfare. "Just don't keep it too long, I might - need it," Peter adds, and with the mention of that, he flushes just a /hint/ of pink. Before he adds: "You can just drop it off at my room whenever, though." As far as whether or not anyone has reason to be afraid, Peter remains silent. Rogue gets up in time to see the mask exchange, rubbing her hands together to try and get dirt off her skin. She tugs on a pair of grubby gardening gloves as she gathers the tools up. There's a tip of her head to get her hair swung back and out of her face. "If that one won't suit, you can come find me. Sure we can find you somethin'. Have fun with your secret mission." She's got that gentle tease in her voice, far kinder than the sass she gives Logan. But she does look at the gruff older mutant. "Hey, if you have time later, you want to run the second part of that sim we ran through for me, again? Ah think it's really helping." She means the hanging out, even if it is sans beer and cigar. Kai frowns at Logan. "I am not allowed in the city," he says. "They would not like Foom, there. He is very scary." When Peter produces the mask, Kai's face lights up. It's clear from his expression that Peter is His Hero. He takes the mask almost gingerly, eyeing it with a fair amount of wonder. "I will not need it that long," he assures Peter, and without further preamble, he pulls the mask on. It doesn't go on correctly on the first try, and he spends a moment pulling it into place and tugging it down to tuck it into the neck of his sweatshirt. Which is hard, with thick gloves on. It takes a long minute. When the mask is in place, he pulls his hood up and cinches it a bit, turning himself into a smaller version of Peter, essentially. He holds out his arms, his wide smile hidden by the mask. "I am looking good?" he verifies, his voice slightly muffled by the mask. "The sh--stuff's gonna hit the fan sooner or later," Logan mutters again, to no one in particular. Then he looks at Kai. And smirks. "Ya look fine, kid. But don't go doin' anythin' stupid, alright? You wanna be a hero, first you're gonna need some skills to go with those powers." His attention turns toward Rogue, with a silent what the hell am I doing here? expression on his face for just a moment. "Second half o' the sim?" he asks. He grins. "Sure. Anytime." Peter blinks. Mayhaps a bit owlishly. It /might/ be the fact that Peter's never seen someone /else/ wearing the mask; maybe - just maybe - it's striking him just how ridiculous he looks when /he/ wears it. Ha ha, yeah. Fat chance. "You look awesome," Peter states, and nothing about his tone indicates that he is lying. He just nods, once, curtly. He then adds, a bit more quietly: "Don't do anything dangerous though I mean I don't think you /are/ but the mask doesn't make you /invincible/ or anything okay?" Just in case Kai thought it did. Honest mistake. Rogue gives Kai a bright, flashing grin. "Lookin' good, Foom. " She winks at him, shifting the trowel and container of plant food things in her hands. She glances at Logan. "Meet you at eight, then?" She asks, brows lifted. She looks at Peter, snickering. "Ah don't think that Kai thinks a mask makes him ..bullet proof or anythin'. Though it's nice to see ya look out after other students." Kai FROWNS under the mask, turning his yellow-goggles on Logan. "The mask is not for being stupid," he says, reaching up to pull at it a bit clumsily. "It is for being /safe/." He nods at Peter, indicating the message has Been Received, and then he's stepping forward. Carefully. His vision isn't exactly used to masked shenanigans. He wobbles his way over to where Rogue stands, and holds out his arms as if inviting further inspection. "Would you still like a hug?" he asks, in a Very Serious Voice, Very Serious. If Logan had been intending to say something, he stops short at the offer of a hug given to Rogue. Without meaning too, the gruff-featured man shoots Kai a warning glare that is probably a little more harsh than intended. A second later, he has regained his composure (thus looking like a slightly 'less-gruff', gruff fellow), and releases a breath from between his teeth. "Rogue," he says curtly, his manner somewhat... protective (however unnecessarily). "Sim's ready now if ya wanna finish that sparring routine. I gotta let off some steam - might as well kill two birds with one stone." He glances at Peter and Kai. "Uh, sorry guys. Talk t'ya later. Good... luck with the whole... mask... thing." Rogue is startled, brown eyes widening a fractions. She really needs to work on her poker face. Her cheeks get hot in a rush, and the belle bites at her bottom lip. "You're sweet, Kai." She manages to whisper, stepping in to hug the younger mutant quickly. It isn't his fault he doesn't quite understand her issue. Still, he gets a full hug despite the speed of it. "Thank you. " The belle whispers against the hoodie. "Ah better go. Don't want him starting without me!" She says more loudly, that smile perhaps passing muster despite being forced as she hurries towards the doors. Watching a masked Kai - wearing the /Spider/ mask, of all things - approach Rogue, teetering off-balance, arms wide open, asking for a hug - it makes Peter's eyes cross. With confusion! And, okay, the left side of his face might be twitching a little, doing his best not to /snickergiggle/. But he watches and waits, patiently, to see if Rogue DOES INDEED want a Masked-Kai-Hug. When she accepts - Peter tips his head! - and when she, along with Logan, head off - he steps forward to (gently!) touch Kai's shoulder. "I guess hugs count as superheroics," Peter says, as if affirming that this sort of thing is, in fact, the correct usage for the mask. He soon adds, though: "Oh /dude/, Logan's in a /sim/ that means his room's unguarded oh YES I'm gonna hobbit the /CRAP/ outta that place." Logan stops several feet away, squares his shoulders and lays a gentle hand on Rogue's back to get to her to wait for him. Then he turns around and fixes Peter with a feral stare. "Hobbit the crap outta my place, huh?" he asks in a deceptively cool tone of voice. Then he cracks a grin. A wide, wolfish, toothy grin from ear to ear. "Try it, bub." Then he nods to Rogue and stalks from the Conservatory. Outside, he can be heard asking Rogue: "What the fuck's a Hobbit?"