ArchivedLogs:What A Cluster

What A Cluster
Dramatis Personae Rasa, Jennifer
In Absentia	2013-06-06 Rasa reaches out to Jennifer after all. Surprisingly, nothing is wrecked, destroyed, damaged, punched or tazed. Instead, Ben & Jerry's is had.
Location <XS> Kitchen
At some point in the night, Rasa's wavering finally gives in, and the least reckless email is sent. FROM: rdjalili@xavier.edu TO: jwalters@xavier.edu DATE: Thurs, June 6, 2013, 3:02am SUBJECT: Help needed Dear Professor Walters: Creatures I can't really describe have taken Ivan. Speculation at this point is that it was giant bugs, like the ones from the sinkhole disaster in New Jersey. The school is using their vast resources to try and solve this problem. I can do nothing because I am too young. I don't even know if you are checking this email now that you are not at school. I don't know if you can help in this situation, but all I can do right now is ask for help, so I am asking. Please. Help? He's been gone for almost a week. Rasa Of all the traits Jennifer Walters arguably shares with the devil, at least one of them cannot be disputed - speak her name and she will no doubt appear before your eyes in record time. Fortunately, unlike the devil, the woman generally harbours good-natured intentions. The e-mail is answered at roughly seven in the morning, the text message sent to Rasa's phone brief but confirmatory: "I will come today after class." Although the faintly applied formal makeup is still there, she has shed most of her work appearance by now. Donning the usual casual combination of jeans and a plain T-shirt, the redhead stalks the busy corridors of Xavier's school as has been promised. Whereas earlier the mansion was the castle in which she felt safe, the lawyer presently looks slightly out of place, cautiously eyeing her surroundings as if the walls are about to come alive and devour her. Unsurprisingly, Jennifer finds Rasa with relative ease; suspension does not mean unequivocal exclusion, so the schedules remain known to her. Since she is no longer a frequent sight in this environment, the students look understandably wary when Jennifer Walters approaches Rasa Djalili. Next thing you know it's going to hail tomorrow. A sigh and a nose twitch precede her words. "So," she begins softly and with a touch of uncertainty. "Do you want to talk it over ice cream and maybe television, or do you want to go punch the shit out of something soft in the gym?" There is a cackle in the background as the students pass by, likely due to the usage of the cuss word. Rasa leaves the classroom after hir last boring class (oh, gosh, they decided to show a movie) looking decidedly (and literally) gray and wilted. While thinner, hir form is simply taller, like ze was stretched into this reduced state. Ze also shows none of the classic signs of malnutrition, something that may also be warded off by the bottle of protein drink ze is carrying with hir, sucking at through a straw nearly constantly. Hir clothes are colorful, but they were selected by other people. Ze is wearing a rainbow tee shirt, an inch or two of hir lower belly exposed due to the stretching out of hir normal frame. Hir jeans are of a trimmer fit on hir legs than ze normally wears, but they are bunched up under hir belt, the extra material giving room for hir tail in the back, as this pair has no button to accommodate. Said tail drags lifeless until ze spies Jennifer. Then, that appendage begins to twitch side to side on hir own, slowly lifting itself off the ground. Ze pulls the drink away from hir mouth, swallowing before letting hir jaw slack. It's only for a minute though, and soon ze is straightening up. "Oh. You're here." Surprised? Perhaps. "I … don't know. Ice cream might be nice." Ze lifts hir bottle and eyes the dwindling contents. "I could probably use a refill as well." Ze turns to start walking in that direction, glancing at Jennifer to see if she is following. As soon as Rasa begins to walk in the direction of the kitchen, Jennifer follows after hir shortly, momentarily assuming a speedy pace until she is at the currently sadly coloured metamorph. "My teaching rights are suspended, /not/ my caring for the kids," she informs Rasa. "Then again, doing a poor job of communicating that is exactly /why/ I'm out of the classrooms." It is largely a silent journey. As the two wander into the Great Hall, however, Jennifer finally decides to escort the elephant off the premises. "I owe you an apology, I think," she admits with some reluctance; not that she wants to keep it to herself, but rather because she sounds unsure if this is the right approach. "I mean, I'd like to think that I helped save you from that situation-- Problem is, I created it in the first place." When the two finally arrive to the kitchen, Jennifer marches straight towards the fridge, namely the freezer. One bucket, two buckets, three buckets, one after another the ice-cream piles up in her grasp. She doesn't say much, instead humming Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. "I didn't doubt you'd come. I just - well, I didn't know when." Rasa does participate in the silent journey willingly, keeping hir footsteps quiet as ze sips silently at the remaining liquid in hir bottle. Ze moves hirself to the sink, rinsing out the bottle in the sink and grabbing a sponge to clean the mixy bottle apparatus. Ze straightens up further when Jennifer does start speaking again, turning to glance at her and the ice cream supplies at length. "Well, I wouldn't say you created the situation, but yeah. It's like I spilled the gasoline and you had the matches." Ze finishes washing out the bottle and sets it down on the counter next to the sink before finding a cabinet and pulling out a chocolate flavored version of the protein drink, sighing at it before scooping out the powder and pouring it into the bottle. To make it a little less disgusting, ze adds milk instead of water to constitute the drink. Then ze puts everything away, places the cap on hir bottle and starts the arduous process of shaking. "I.. appreciate the apology. Thank you." "Perfect. This'd be a little bit more awkward if you didn't." Already, Jennifer's tone of voice is attaining a more positive attitude. Five buckets of Ben & Jerry's can be seen just barely held with both armfuls when she turns away from the fridge, kicking it closed. She approaches the counter and sets all the buckets down, before meticulously shoving them apart to form an orderly line. All of them are distinctly different flavours, of course, for Rasa to choose from. In the meantime, Jennifer fetches two large spoons from a drawer. "So, Ivan's missing. Have to say, I feel sorry for the kid. He's the quiet sort, so that generally means an unspoken pact with the laws of the universe that you're left alone. What's been happening recently is an injustice on a cosmic level." When she is back at the counter, Jen offers one of the spoons and a warm smile to Rasa. "I'll be honest with you. I'm part-time wrecking ball, part-time teddy bear. Neither of the two are very good at finding missing persons. I'm sure the school is doing everything within their power to find him. I don't think I can match that. I /can/ look in the nooks and crannies that they miss, I guess. If faculty allows, I might take you on those expeditions, provided you don't /touch/ anything-- or /anyone/." Rather than disciplinary, the tone is more teasing. "Ahhh. Well, I stand by whatever decision that the school makes regarding my involvement. It seems that I am perhaps not the best judge of my ability to stay out of trouble." Ze sets the now brown liquid down on the counter and accepts the spoon with a grateful nod. Ze then looks over the labels on the individual canisters of ice cream and considers. Ze snags up the Phish Food and peels off the lid. "Should we have bowls? Or are we … going to eat it all?" The latter option doesn't look like it registers well with hir. "I don't know what I'm expecting, to be honest. I guess I like the idea of you looking because you're very single minded about things. Also, I think that giant ants or... other bugs may not hurt you like other people. Not-- not that I'm recommending you go hit them for me! I just... don't want to get someone hurt." Ze sticks hir spoon in the top of the bucket of hir choice and stares at it. "I just want to know he's okay." A dismissive shrug is offered in response to the matter of bowls. "Neh, this is an emergency. We don't use any in the case of an emergency," she instructs the teen. "Eat however much you'd like-- Just... don't get sick, please." After Rasa makes hir choice, Jennifer snatches up her own choice - Cherry Garcia. The lid is effortlessly popped open and the ice cream is duly forcibly stabbed with the spoon. Thwick. She doesn't dig in immediately, instead leaving the spoon sticking out from the bucket. "Single minded sounds /so/ negative," she complains childishly, both hands gripping the edge of the counter. "I prefer it to see it as being able to focus or... setting my sight on things." The lopsided little smirk that follows is a clear indication she's not entirely serious. That smirk diminishes slightly as she continues, "There's only one place where giant /anything/ will escape media attention, and that's in the illustrious sewers of New York City. Not an inspiring thought, but I personally think you're well past the age of sprinkling lies with sugar." Finally, that spoon is gripped and, while the other is firmly steadying the bucket, Jennifer excavates a mountain of Cherry Garcia. It remains aloft in the air, while her other hand recuperates from the low temperature by being waggled rapidly. Ow. Cold. "Nh, you /know/ I'd wreck my way through at least half of New York's sewer system to try and find him, and that's not even counting the admittedly appealing idea of wrestling a giant ant into submission." That restless hand eventually lands back on the edge of the counter. "But I wouldn't know where to start. I mean, I could-- I could blindly point at a spot in the map and start from there. I could ask the X-Men to get involved. What /would/ you like me to do?" It's not a rhetoric. With wide attentive eyes, Jennifer looks to Rasa for an answer. "I don't know. I know that they are likely involved. Jax and the twins are investigating something with contacts in the sewers. The twins are trackers, so I don't know that anyone could add a better skill set to that. I mean, it's not like we're hunting down clues with people hiding secrets. I guess I called you in... just..." ze sighs, fingers rubbing at hir temple, eyes closing. Ze shakes hir head. "I don't know. I just... wanted to. Call me a needy child, if you want. He's missing and I want everyone looking because I can't." The miniature cherry-flavoured Everest remains seated atop the floating spoon. It is in fact lowered a bit, as Jennifer considers Rasa for a few silent moments. "Needy? Which part of 'I want my friend back from giant insects, please' is needy?" A little scoff is parted with. "It's perfectly fine to /not/ feel fine, Rasa. The risk here is to let that get in your own way." The spoon is on its way up. "Helplessness is a crippling feeling, but you're stronger than that." All of that delicious Cherry Garcia disappears past Jennifer's lips. Not a very wise amount, perhaps, because shortly after she eagerly consumes that, a scornful frown taints her face. Her free hand swiftly rises up to press against her forehead. Brain freeze. There's a small muffled wail that comes from the redhead, and the spoon is gently laid back down in the bucket. Ladies and gentlemen, the savage She-Hulk. Jennifer peeks at the teen with one open eye, still wrestling with the brain freeze, one hand still firmly planted against her head. "At... any rate-- I'm... working with that guy, Luke Cage." A weak chuckle escapes her. "I know, we're a perfect couple-- We can look into it, slightly bump up the chances. No promises, though. That sound good?" Closing her both eyes again, she rolls her fingers in circular motions between her brows. "Friend? He's... He's my person." Rasa admits quietly. "I need him back." Ze finally takes a spoon and scrapes a thin layer off the top of hir chosen icecream, almost as if ze is showing Jennifer how to take a more reasonable bite. Ze then slips the spoon into hir mouth, letting it melt off the metal onto hir tongue before drawing out hir spoon once more. Ze savors it quietly then looks up at Jennifer as she explains her association and plan of action. Ze nods quietly. "I am .. I thank you. I do want to be out there and /doing things/ but right now, I'm exercising my strength in not... going. If I run away from the school and try to search on my own, I'll divide their focus and make them worry and look for me too. If I quit the school to look, I lose access to their information and when Ivan comes back, I won't be here. If I work too closely with one of the search groups, I come across as irrational and stupid. I don't intuitively know what to do with bugs." There's frustration in hir tone as ze finishes speaking, her gaze distracted and unfocused. "I'm too close to it. I'm not doing this very well." Slowly yet surely, the brain freeze melts away, and Jennifer manages to pay an increasing measure of attention to Rasa. The ice cream is understandably ignored, for the time being; an arch of a brow accompanies the teen's silent reminder on how one should eat it. "You... really thought all of that through," she finally comments sympathetically, a hint of surprise hidden among the words. "I hope you realize how strong you are for not rushing to act. Maybe I finally found my calling, /maybe/ I should lead others by bad example." It's not truly pity-baiting, in fact the tone Jennifer claims is surprisingly optimistic. "You're smart, Rasa. From what I can tell, you have it all figured out. You /know/ what not to do, you /know/ what consequences await you if you decide to do those things anyway. But the same challenge always remains." It is here that her optimistic chime takes a dent in its cheerfulness. "It's easier to know what you're not supposed to do than to /not/ do it. Hell, even the Bible got that right in the first few pages." A more modest scoop of ice cream is picked up. "You need distractions, you need support. Nothing will really get your mind off things completely, but time spent chewing on your nails and pacing in your room will achieve far less than spending your time with friends. You know what Jackson did the morning of the day we freed the kids and the others? He played basketball with me." The ice cream is lifted to her lips. Her voice picks up on cheerfulness, and a triumphant grin arrives. "/Tried/ to, anyway. He is hopelessly bad at it." Nom. Mm. Much better. "Okay." Rasa takes the suggestion with a solemn nod, lifting hir spoon to cream once more, the metal edge tripping over and unearthing a fudge fish. Ze backs the utensil up and scoops that fish up too, lifting the small bite to hir mouth and consuming it. After a moment of sucking the essence out of that fish, Ze swallows down the creamy goodness and speaks. "I will have my friends take me somewhere. We will, try to find something to do instead of just worry. What fun things do you recommend in the city?" Jennifer's spoon digs into her ice cream lazily. "I have to admit it's been difficult to stay up to date for me lately. Cinema? I've seen posters around for another sequel to those movies with cars-- Fast and Furious. Shouldn't the sequel to Star Trek be out in the cinemas, too?" Jennifer eyes Rasa awkwardly, finding herself in a position not unlike a parent trying to indulge in Internet speak. To think she's only twenty seven, too. "You could also go for a shopping trip-- Whatever's a good way to vent stress for you, without it being self-destructive or... /others/-destructive, of course." A quick spoonful of ice cream is devoured, fortunately not triggering another headache this time around. "/Mm/!" she announces oncoming words. "And while you're doing whatever it is you will be doing, take solace in the fact that the school is trying their /best/ to find Ivan. I'll see if I can't nudge the odds into our favour a tiny bit with Cage, too." All the while, she waggles the spoon about to help highlight her points. "And if you need someone to talk to, you can always shoot me an e-mail or even call me. I /promise/ not to taze anyone. Sound fair?" "If I know you are bringing ice cream, then I will definitely call you." Rasa replies, spooning a larger bit onto hir spoon and holding it in front of hir lips. Ze gives a little smile, some blue coming to life in hir eyes, the rest of hir still gray. "I do feel better knowing that you are on the case. I appreciate all your help and hope your investigation goes well." And then ze has some ice cream - and perhaps a bit of brain freeze as well.