Logs:(Not) Freaking Out

(Not) Freaking Out
Dramatis Personae Jax, Jean, Tian-shin
In Absentia	2020-08-27 "I think safety is always relative." (Part of Final Boss: Xavier TP.)
Location <XAV> Back Patio - Xs Grounds
This patio is expertly laid out for relaxing singly or in groups. The section nearest the back door is a more or less conventional veranda, the mansion's eaves--supported by elegant white wooden columns joined with matching railings--extending out to shelter the long porch swings, rocking chairs, and a chess table from the elements. Down the stairs or the ramp from this is a fan-shaped expanse of slate flagstones populated by clusters of deck chairs and picnic tables, always changing in number and arrangement, and stone planter boxes bursting with seasonal flowers and ornamentals. The centerpiece is an elegant pavilion with a hot tub open for use year-round, even if the transition in and out may prove chilly in snowy weather. It's early, yet, the school still waking up; inside the walls there's -- some bustle, if nowhere near the pandemonium that the morning hours bring from September onwards when the mansion is far more crowded. Still, even in the quieter summer term it's -- usuallly a little busier than this, the student dorm wings suffering a quiet but steady attrition the past little while. Out here it's hard to notice. An almost idyllic scene -- blue sky overhead, a soft drone of the distant beehives across the gardens, a hummingbird flitting industriously from one flower to the next; the patio is a perfectly restful spot to enjoy some breakfast, some coffee, relax before the day's duties. Jax -- doesn't look relaxed. He has coffee, a tall thermos of it; he has breakfast (heavily syruped oatmeal full of berries and walnuts abandoned and congealing on a small wrought-iron table); he seems to be forgetting about the relaxing. Dressed for work in asymmetrically color-blocked blue and green button down, neatly pressed trousers, his hair a vivid blue-green ombre to match his shirt, he has gotten up from the swing where he evidently meant to be eating his breakfast (his boxy work bag still sits on it; it still rocks, very faintly) to instead pace the flagstones, bright-chrome painted nails tapping at the sides of his thermos as he taps out a message on his phone, a nebulous haze of anxiety clouding the usually too-bright surface of his thoughts. Tian-shin is emerging from the mansion sans breakfast, though she is carrying a large mug of milky tea. She's in a gauzy pink blouse with a bow at the collar, light gray linen pencil skirt, sheer gray stockings and sensible black pumps, her hair damp still where it's tied up in a neat bun. "'Morning, Jax," she sounds weary, but grows suddenly more alert as she picks up on his anxiety, her drowsiness fading as her own thoughts sharpen to something like their usual vigilance--and then beyond. Though, for all that, she still sounds quiet calm as she adds, "What's bothering you?" Summer mornings were possibly some of Jean's most favorite times, competing with quiet winter evenings during the Holidays. To most she was that obnoxious morning person who was able to wake and ready at ungodly hours. Having been up for some time already she arrived out onto the back veranda looking put together. Her hair was up in a perfect ponytail, with not a strand out of place. Even the way her bangs sat seemed intentional. She worn a knee length cream coloured frock that sinched just right at her waist. Her legs were covered in opaque stockings and ended in a smart pair of kitten heels that matched the colour of her dress. In her hands was a tablet she was typing away on, while a mug of steaming coffee and various folders floated around her at chest level. Her intention was to get some of her morning work done in some sunshine and fresh air before the chaos took over, but having stepped into the proximity of Jax and Tian-shin her attention was roused. Something was off, she could feel anxiety. It was was too early and far to beautiful a morning for someone to be feeling such levels of stress. She took a moment to consider her approach and decided it was better to check in then leave, they could shoo her away if it was nothing. The click of her heels brought her close enough so she did not need to yell, "Good morning, is everything alright?" She was not about to start violating her rules about reading minds without permission when she could very well just use her words. "Oh thank goodness, Tian-shin." That same anxiety heavily colors Jax's heavy drawl; he looks up from his phone with a deep frown. "I need -- I don't know what I need. They just arrested Shane -- I don't even know for what." His hand rubs across his face, shoulders sagging just slightly as he drops his arm again. He tries to summon up a smile when Jean draws near, but it dies stillborn. "Somethin' to do with that mess at the RNC? I -- I don't know what he could possibly have had to do with that. It can't possibly stick -- can it?" He'd almost started to ease into a fragment of calm but by the end of this sentence is working himself back up into some continued agitation. "It's like they just want any mutant to blame right now." "'Morning, Jean." Tian-shin's anxiety fades marginally with explanation, her outwardly calm unwavering. "He's prominent in the mutant community, maybe that's all they needed. I'm a little surprised they haven't tried coming after you for the same reason." She puts a hand on Jax's back when his shoulders sag. "Shane knows the legal aid number, they'll put us in touch as soon as he's processed and allowed contact. I can't tell you what they might try to stick on him until I know more, but I promise I'll do everything I can." She glances over at Jean as a spike of anxiety runs through her. "Do you think we could find someone to cover my Revolutions class today? Just someone to watch the students while they work on their final projects, maybe." Though here she frowns deeply, worry climbing even higher. "However many students I even have left." Jean felt any last bits of her pleasant mood slip away as she listens to the situation unfolding. It was no wonder her peer felt such high anxiety. Her mind clicked into high gear as she tried thinking up solutions. However, Tian-shin was far ahead of her. Jean nodded to her, "Of course, I will see to it that your duties here are attended as long as you need." Her frown mimicks the other woman. She had also noticed a drop in students, though had chalked it up to summer time desires. She turns to look at Jax, "Whatever we can do to help." "Maybe that's all." Jax sounds -- just a touch skeptical. He hugs his thermos to his chest, looking down again at the phone in his opposite hand. "It's just -- I think they were looking..." He doesn't finish this sentence, though the anxiety in his mind briefly flares more acute. His lips press together; he takes a deep breath, nods. "I'm sure he'll be in touch, he knows the drill by now." Perhaps as much to reassure himself as anything else; this sounds determined in its calm. He takes a drink of his coffee; it doesn't do much to bleed off his anxiety but it does calm some of the worst spikes. "'tween this and people -- there was folks roaming round Evolve last night just lookin' for folks to rough up. With the way the city is right now -- some of those kids chose a real rough time to decide they need a break in the thick of it." "Could be something else," Tian-shin admits fretfully. "Could be nothing to do with the RNC at all. I just don't want to speculate too much, especially not if I'm going to be representing him." She pulls in a deep breath, seemingly only remembering her tea when she sees Jax's coffee, and takes a long draught herself. "Hope no one got hurt--or caught fighting back, heaven forbid. What a mess." Her eyes go slightly wider. "The students--you're right, that's a new layer of danger for them. I know it's summer and the city is tempting, but it seems like an awful lot of them who've gone. Do you--" She studies Jean, hesitating momentarily. "--or the Professor have any idea the reason for this exodous?" Jean turns her attention back to her tablet as the two speek. She listens to the dialog, but focuses on the class schedule. An email is written to the Professor to explain the schedule change request. She fills her own name in where ever there was no overlap in classes and sends messages to others to cover what she could not. In a matter of seconds she frees up her peer for the remainder of the week. She looks up as she is addressed. "No. Nothing. I had assumed it was students wishing to enjoy summer. But with such numbers, and the state out there, I worry what else is possibly behind it. The Professor has said nothing to me, if he knows anything." She hates admitteding that he did not always share everything with her. "He --" Something flickers, briefly; a faint shift of rippling shadow that clings ghostlike in the space around Jax momentarily and then vanishes. "-- knows better than to start somethin' with the cops like that." His head bows, though, attention reflexively returning to his phone. His fingers tighten around it, and there is a deeper stirring unease that filters into his current tumultuous state. "Shane's -- I mean, before this all went down. He did talk to the kids out there. They -- have their reasons. For stayin' away. I imagine they might come talk to us soon enough. It's -- it seems pretty serious. I just don't know with all this going on how to balance --" His teeth click against one of his lip rings, wiggling at it briefly. "What does safety even look like in a time like this? I want them to have it, sure enough." Tian-shin nods, relieved if not entirely surprised by Jax's confirmation. Then, with a sudden new burst of worry, "Oh, no -- was Spence home? Is someone with him now?" She gulps down more tea. "Thank you so much for working this out for me, Jean. I can juggle some cases with class, but I have no idea what we're up against right now and it might take me the better part of the day to even figure that out." To Jax she frowns. "Serious how? Or, I guess perhaps you'd rather not break confidence before they're ready to come to us?" She bites her lower lip gently. "I think safety is always relative," she hazards. "I wish we didn't give our students cause to think that scale's tipped away from here, but clearly we have." Jean nods in response to Tian-shin. She feels a sense of hopelessness at being able to do not much more then cover the womans classes, though chokes it down so as not to wash the others with her emotions. Jax, especially, was currently dealing with enough. It was moments like these she felt she powerless, despite being considered so powerful. "I too wish the situation was different. We have obviously failed them if they feel they cannot come to us. If that truly what it is." It would have been not that difficult for her to probe either mind for more context, but that felt wrong for many reasons. Instead she focuces on calming herself and letting that calm spill out instead. Not enough to invade the others, but enough that they could grab it for themselves if they needed it. It was something they were likely used to by now, her attempts to keep to people around her feeling comfortable. "Jax, I know there is not much I can say to make this better, but know that we are not going to let this go. There is no one I'd trust more to help Shane then Tian-shin." She pauses to look at the woman, that flare of admiration in her deep green eyes for a flash of a second before they return to Jax. "I mean it when I say whatever we can do- or I can do." She reaches out to extend a hand, but pauses and drops it, unsure if physical contact will help him. "For now, perhaps, take a moment to clear your head. Shane is going to need you thinking clearly." Was she even helping? She had no idea anymore, but all she could do was try. "Spence was home," Jax confirms quietly. "He gone to stay with Ryan. He's safe but it's -- got him shook up." He lifts his hand, skims fingers through his hair. The breath he takes is slow -- he leans into the reassurance Jean offers, both psionic calm and physical, offering her a grateful smile for the briefly outstretched hand. "I'm tryin' not to panic. I know he ain't a kid anymore but he's still --" A small shrug. He downs a longer gulp of coffee, ice clinking in his thermos. That flutter of unease stirs again. "I feel like I ought to let them say it in their own -- words. But serious like they got some genuine concerns about whether it is safe for 'em, here, and I'd be real hesitant to break their trust or their sense of well bein' by trying anything like strong-arming 'em back -- even if I'm -- more'n a little worried 'bout how the city's gonna treat 'em after that latest attack. Some of them kids ain't hardly even been away from home more'n a few weeks, some of 'em got almost no clue how to manage their powers -- it might be rough going." Tian-shin nods slowly. "Right, I forget he can just--go places." Her relief shows plainly on her face, but is certainly clear to Jean's senses, as well. "No matter how old, he's still your kid. Almost panicking or not, you're doing pretty good as far as I can tell." This with a slightly sheepish glance to Jean--who can tell a lot more--a flush of grateful solace at her calming influence. "I trust you Jax, and I trust the students, too. Hopefully, if they decide it's become more dangerous out there than in here, they will bring us their concerns sooner rather than later. I doubt that would be easy regardless, especially if we can't get Shane released immediately, and he had been their confidant. Do you think there anything we can do to make that easier? Not to force anyone, just..." She looks to Jean, just a touch flustered, for support. Jean takes a long moment to ponder her thoughts, realizing they were looking for an answer she speaks up. "I would not wish to push them into anything, though I'll not lie about my concern. I'm not entirely certain how, but there must be some way we can let them know they can talk to us. About anything. If there is any way to pass that message on..." she pauses for a moment to swallow, mostly trying to hide that pang of sadness she felt. "Personally, I'll only pursue them if I know them to be in immediate danger. Maybe the Professor will have a better idea..." Her self doubt creeps in just a smidge. "I think," Jax hedges uncertainly, "that the Professor is a large part of their worries." His hands twist slowly at the lid of his thermos, restlessly screwing it one way and then the other. "We should arrange a talk, though. Soon. With them, I mean, and --" He gestures with his thermos, between the other two. "Some of us. Might be a bit of a complication with Shane --" Something tighter passes across his expression, "-- tied up. But we can try reachin' out, see if there's a way to have conversation that they feel comfortable with. I'll -- talk to Hive, he's been in contact with alla them. See how they feel." He tucks his phone back into his pocket with a small sigh -- finally does manage to find that smile from somewhere deep down. "An' meantime, guess I'll try to teach class without freakin' out till I hear back from Shane." Tian-shin's eyes widen fractionally, her mouth falling open briefly before she snaps it shut. Her surprise is quickly superseded by more concern, and a powerful curiosity she struggles to tamp down. "That's--definitely worrying, and we'll definitely want that addressed, yeah. For the sake of the students who are still here, too." She draws a deep breath and lets it out slowly. At the edge of Jean's awareness she can probably feel Tian-shin gathering herself methodically, the mental version of someone straightening their outfit and patting down their pockets in preparation for a long day. "Okay. And I'll go grab my laptop and head into the City." She flashes a small smile at the other two. "Let's all try to do what we have to do without freaking out, deal?" Jean feels her eyebrows shoot up in reaction to the news. They lower and she regains control of her thoughts. "That-" that was what? She stumbles for the briefest of seconds before she continues. "That is very concerning." She could not begin to fathom what the Professor may have done, but it was clearly something if so many students felt unsafe. "I will keep him out of this, then." She nods again, more to herself then them, her eyes then turn to Jax. "Do, let Hive know... if they trust me, I want to help." She understood why any of the students would have said nothing to her if Xavier had done something, she was, afterall, one of the closest to him on staff. That made her only that much more concerned about what she was hearing, her mind trying to fill in gaps with possibilities. She pulls herself from the spiralling thoughts to focus on Jax. It was so much easier to ignore her own feelings when she focused on anothers. "Yes, deal. I agree, you should try having class, see if it helps you. But please let me know if you need some time, alright?" He was an adult, he could make his own choices, but she wished him to know she'd support him. Even if all she could currently do was cover a class and offer a friendly shoulder. "M'sorry to jus' drop that on you like that, I know it's -- big. A lot. I'm gonna wait on what's the whole story, but if they're that worried --" Jax's shrug is very small. He heads back to the porch swing to scoop up his bag and sling it over one shoulder, then retrieve his (now stone-cold) oatmeal. "Aright. Deal." Where his brightly-colored hair was previously unadorned, now a straw hat appears on his head, bright rainbow band around it. He lifts his hand, tipping the hat to the other two before it dematerializes. "And thanks, y'all. These things would always be harder without support around."