ArchivedLogs:Vacation

Vacation
Dramatis Personae Glow, Liv, Rasa
In Absentia	2015-12-07 'Everyone deserves a vacation from time to time.' Part of the PLAGUE TP
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. Rasa arrives around the same time as some fresh supplies are delivered. Dinner is reinforced, at least in part and more is squirreled away for other days. The Xavier's School alumni is avoiding the crowds of people cramming into the great hall for food by ducking the back corners of the Conservatory, hiding in one of the garden bed beside one of the larger interior trees, stretching a little before pulling a small blanket out of hir side satchel. The young person is a gray creature, covered in fine and whispy hair for the most part, but there are scales of chitinous substance scattered throughout, coalescing around hir bare hands and feet. Ze wears baggy clothes, thick corduroy cabled trousers with a couple layered henleys, under a jacket. Across hir body are criss-crossed straps with seatbelt buckles, keeping hir clothes on hir form and twin axes strapped to hir back. Glow didn't like it here. Yes, she knew that the Xavier Institute was being very good and noble, offering the Morlocks refuge during the outbreak, but it was just so... crowded. And so the girl had been spending most of her time in the corners and shadows of the building, avoiding the crowd like-- well, like a plague. Today was no different, as the young Morlock skittered through the conservatory, a bottle of water in one hand and a new-looking comic book tucked under one arm. The hood of her sweatshirt is pulled down almost to her nose, though occasionally the girl stops, pushes back the hood, and takes a look around for a suitable refuge before obscuring her face once more. In retrospect, anonyminity really should have come in second to watching where she was going. Also attempting to escape the crowds is Liv, who is camped out near the back, sitting on the ground with a stack of books beside her. Today, the most noticable thing about her isn't her green hair but her lack of it, for those who might recognize her. Her usual bright green has faded, most of her hair a dull brown and the streaks of green still left more moss colored. Oddly enough, the plants within a three foot radius of her are...well, wilting and sickly looking. Still alive but not healthy. She doesn't seem to notice, seeming incredibly focused in her books as she quickly flips through. That is until she suddenly slams one shut and drops it beside her, hiding her face in her arms. Rasa folds hir blanket in a particular manner and gets ready to climb the tree next to hir when movement catches hir attention. Ze looks toward Glow just before ze is run into. And then, Ka-booom! There is nothing ze can really do, except throw out an arm to brace hir forearm against the impact. "{Watch out!}" ze speaks up a decibel above quiet, hir words Spanish. Ze tilts hir head and stumbles back a half step, turning hir head to see what is behind hir. Ze catches sight of Liv, but then looks back to Glow, signing now, 'You okay?' The water bottle is dropped on impact, and the comic book clutched to Glow's chest like a precious treasure. "Uh." She stares up at the figure with big, terrified eyes. "Sor--" She remembers herself, and hastily signs an apology with her free hand. Rasa's gaze is followed to Liv, and Glow's brows knit together with concern. It's none of her business, it really isn't... The girl hastily nods her head at Rasa's question. 'Fine.' She signs. 'Sorry.' Liv raises her head at the sound of near crashing and apologizing. Her face isn't wet so she hasn't been crying but she almost looks like she's ready to. 'Hello,' she lazily signs, before looking around to the half-dead plants surrounding her. 'Oh no...' she signs, quickly piling her books together neatly. 'This keeps happening...' Rasa squats down, hir tail twitching against the ground. Did ze have a tail before? It's hard to tell, but ze definitely has one now. Ze grabs up the water bottle and presents it to Glow with a small smile. Ze plays off the collision before glancing toward Liv and her signed words. 'Bah, you need the nutrition? Getting better after being sick? Go ahead, soak it up. There are always more plants.' Ze picks up hir dropped blanket and tosses it over one of the branches, creating a slightly softer place to sit. Ze indicates hirself. 'R-a-s-a' 'Former student here.' Glow stares at the offered water bottle for just a fraction longer than she needs to, before snatching it up. Both hands now occupied, she can only nod her gratitude. As the conversation shifts to Liv, Glow can really only stare out from under her hood, peering between the pair, natural curiosity and natural skittishness battling it out. In the end, curiosity seems to win, and Glow slumps into a crouch on the floor and begins to sip at her water. The comic book never leaves her grasp. Liv attempts to smile and shakes her head as Rasa attempts to comfort her. 'Don't feed off plant energy. More like I am a plant. I'm happy, they're happy. I'm sad, they're sad. I'm depressed...' Liv turns to glance towards the wilted plants around her. '...they die.' She pulls her legs up and wraps her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees before signing again, using as few signs as possible. 'Wasn't sick. Boyfriend was. Now dead.' 'Aaaah. M'friend eats them. He used to come here to recuperate.' Rasa pauses for a moment and then tries an easier sign, 'heal.' As everyone is settling onto the ground, ze reaches up and snatches hir blanket to put it underneath hir. 'Sad? About the sick? Oh.' Ze settles down, crossing hir legs at the ankles and pulls them under hirself. 'Sorry to hear it.' Ze glances between them. 'Your names?' Glow lets out a very soft little "oh" at Liv's story. Wow, that's... Wow. The water bottle is set down, and another 'sorry' is hurriedly signed. She does look very genuinely sorry for Liv's loss. She blinks at Rasa's question, hesitating for a moment-- but no, it's alright, they're all mutants, right? 'Called G-L-O-W.' She spells out. 'With the M-O-R-L-O-C-K-S. Hello.' Thankful for a short name, Liv slowly spells out 'L-I-V' before lowering her hand and watching the others. Glow gets an odd look. 'M-O-R-L-O-C-K-S? What are those?' She focuses on Glow as if trying to distract herself from the previous topic of her boyfriend. 'Ah! You know Anole, yes?' Rasa perks up when Glow spells out Morlocks. Ze smiles, then looks over to Liv -- 'We come to Xavier's to learn how to fit in with society. Morlocks live in sewers and don't care to fit. Have their own society. Pretty strong people.' Ze inhales deeply, hir brows climbing hir forehead. 'Pleased to meet you.' Glow hesitates again at the question. How to explain this? 'Other--' She doesn't know the sign for mutants. 'Others like us. Look too weird. Hide.' She does look rather pleased with being described as 'strong' by Rasa, though. 'Don't know him well.' She shrugs. 'He okay?' Liv nods along slowly as they describe the morlocks, tilting her head slowly as sewers are mentioned. 'Sewers? Really?' She quickly clears her throat when she realizes one of them is right in front of her the look of disgust quickly dissappears. 'I can sorta see why...couldn't do it myself. Like sun and fresh air too much.' She glances towards Glow again, once again worried she might have signed something offensive. Lowering her hands immediately, she quickly looks away before she digs herself further. 'Should be okay. I should look for him.' Rasa considers, looking over hir shoulder. 'Later,' ze decides, wetting hir lips. 'Sewers is not for everyone. Think about it myself, from time to time. Knew someone a few years ago -- bit crazy.' There's a pleasant grin on hir visage as ze brings up hir friend's lack of complete sanity. 'Air is certainly not fresh.' There's a pause, then, 'Oh! Yes. Anole good person. Big, useful tongue. Borrowed it some.' Hir smile widens. Glow snickers into her sleeve at Liv's slip-up. 'You get used to it.' She signs, and shrugs again. 'Not that bad. Not crowded. Lots like me.' Rasa's comment about Anole's tongue being 'borrowed' gets Rasa a squint and a raised brow. 'What?' Maybe ze used the wrong sign. Liv blushes slightly, grinning faintly. 'Sorry. Been known to say wrong things. I guess you would get used to it. Not for me though.' Her embarassment is put to rest when Rasa begins signing about Anole's big, useful tongue. 'What?' is all she can manage to sign, looking just as confused as Glow. Rasa looks back and forth between the two girls and considers for a moment. Slowly, starting at the lips, hir mouth starts to turn green. Ze pulls those lips inward, the green spreading, hir jaw starting to change shape. Finally, ze purses hir lips and exhales. 'Fine,' ze signs flippantly and whips hir head to the left, toward that tree ze's been messing around with all evening. The tip of hir tongue pops out of hir mouth and sticks to a small clump of leaves. Ze gives a little yank back and the leaves are then stuck in hir mouth, tongue retracted. Ze reaches up a free hand and pulls the little bundle out. 'Took sooo long to get decent at it. It's really quite tricky.' Glow watches Rasa's performance, mouth hanging agape. "Huh." She mumbles, at a complete loss for words. After a while, she signs, 'Yes. That's his thing.' She reaches up to scratch at her nose. It's not THE weirdest mutant ability she's ever seen, but she wasn't exactly prepared for it. 'Can you copy anyone? That seems useful.' Liv cracks a slightly grin. 'Impressive' she signs. 'So..what is your ability? Just...anything?' She begins to relax a bit, lower her legs and sitting cross legged on the floor. 'I can copy a lot of things. Just... physical things.' Rasa licks hir lips once more, still ridding hirself in part of the taste of greenery. 'I find... people share when they want to. Glow's still new to this big bright world. Maybe we could show her the stables - or the lake. If you need protection, I can walk with you.' Ze glances between the two girls. 'Unless you're hungry?' Glow can't stop herself from giggling as Rasa attempts to get the taste of leaf out of hir mouth. She glances down at the comic still clutched to her chest-- something about space invaders, from the looks of it-- and then back up at Rasa. 'You have stables?' She signs. 'And a lake? A whole lake?' Liv smiles faintly and nods, 'The lake is nice. Nice during summer to cool off.' Seeing Glow excited somehow puts her in a better mood and her smile begins to look more genuine than forced. 'This school is pretty awesome. There's also a treehouse and if you climb onto the roof, you can jump from it to the treehouse. As long as teachers aren't looking.' 'There is lots of stuff here for while you visit. Call it a vacation. New place, interesting things to do. Everyone deserves a vacation from time to time.' Rasa smiles and leans back on hir hands when ze finishes. Glow lets out a little snort. 'Great time for a vacation.' She grins, shaking her head ever so slightly. Zombie apocalypse is the BEST time for that sort of thing, right? 'I don't mind a tour. Just no crowds. Don't like crowds." Liv grins and stands up, bringing her stack of books with her. 'Alright, a tour,' she signs with one hand. 'No crowds outdoors, right? Zombie apocalypse definitely best time for tour. Can go foraging, too. Find food, maybe'