Logs:Brand Management

Brand Management
Dramatis Personae Sriyani, Tok
In Absentia Roscoe	2024-10-10 "You gonna blow something up?"
Location <XAV> Classroom 2 - Xs First Floor
Acrid scents of chemicals sting the nostrils upon entering this classroom. Tall tables are set up in clusters, small torches attach to their sides, though they can be de-attached and stored beneath the desks at lessons' end. The chairs here are high, and come on wheels. Around the edges of this room are plentiful cupboards, many of them locked. The edges of the room hold sinks, as well, some of them carefully labeled. The front of the room has a number of whiteboards, though it lacks a teacher's desk. The door to the chemistry lab probably should be closed this evening, perhaps it usually is, but as of right now it’s cracked open. And despite the lack of overhead lights to indicate it being empty, occasional rustling from the inside can be heard that suggests otherwise. Tok has their head stuck in one of the big yellow cabinets labeled with various warning stickers, also usually locked, but the bent bobby pins now clamped between Tok’s sharp teeth probably answer to that. They’re not dressed the most inconspicuously—or like they’re there for chemistry class—in a soft orange oversized hoodie and cargo shorts, tail sticking straight up and waving languidly. Their head bumps harshly on one of the shelves with a loud thunk, and they grumble around the bobby pins to themself as they more carefully extract their head to observe a brown bottle in their hands, “What’d the wikihow say again. Three percent? Or maybe it was six?” They stick their head in once again, tail wrapping around the bottle to hold it while they snag a different one to read it. “…Nah nah definitely six.” They place the bottle down next to the other few bottles they’ve begun to accumulate. The door opens -- not the one that leads to the hall, that one stays cracked just a touch, but one of the (still very much locked) cabinets not far from Tok. The label indicates the cabinet should be stocked with chemicals but it is currently, in fact, stocked with what seems in the very brief glimpse that spills through onto the floor a little bit like some kind of rave with the wildly colorful lights that reflect into the room. Sriyani pops out next, dressed in wide-leg jeans and a white short-sleeved button down vertically striped in rainbow. The cabinet door closes again before anything can really be seen of what might have been making the sudden lightshow. Sriyani keeps a hand on the door, scrutinizing the labels of the other cabinets around them and then scrutinizing Tok as well, their nose wrinkling up. "You gonna blow something up?" sounds very casual, though. Tok’s head slams back up against the shelf again and their tail puffs in surprise at Sriyani’s entrance. They scramble to stand up straight, lean very casually against the cabinet they’re currently in front of—maybe at first positioning themself in an attempt to hide some of their collection—but once they process who it is they seem to give up on that very quickly. They tilt their head in an attempt to get a better look at the door before it closes, and they offer a half grin towards them, “Nah. Just some elephant toothpaste.” They return, matching Sriyani’s casualness. They flick a claw towards the door and jerk their head, “You havin’ a rager?” Sriyani's brows pull slightly in and slightly up. "Oh. Um -- Why?" They return to squinting at the cabinets, pensive, and after a moment pull the door in front of them again. This time it is one of the other cabinets, although not the chemicals it is labeled to be but instead neat rows of hot plates, of which they pilfer one before closing the door. When they open it again the cabinet is now full of compound microscopes. "It's like, dinnertime on Thursday," they reply with a laugh, and then, just in case that was not a clear answer: "No." Tok watches Sriyani, scanning them up and down briefly, “Gonna fill one of the wings’ bathrooms with it. Some guy bein’ a real jackas-” Then, they quickly add, “Not your wing—obviously.” They snag another bottle from the cabinet, but instead of reading it they continue to watch them with intrigue, “I could be wrong, but you don’t seem like the kinda person who lets things like…Thursdays and dinnertime stop you.” Their half grin slips into a full one, then their eyes suddenly widen, “You gonna blow something up?” Their ears perk upwards in interest, eyebrows raising with an excitement they clearly are attempting to tamper down. "Obviously." Sriyani's brows have edged up juuust a little higher. There's a smile, quick and amused, flitting across their face. "Oh! No not blowing up anything. I think you've got wrecking the school covered I would not want to horn in your, uh, territory. Feels rude like, I don't know, brand infringement?" They're pulling one of the microscopes off of the shelf, holding it carefully if a little awkward under one pudgy arm and closing the door again. “Good point. I could sue you for copyright! But maybe we could come up with a brand deal or something.” Tok’s eyes track the hot plate—and the microscope wedged under their arm—“Okay but-What are you doing? D’you need help?” Their tail twitches curiously and they (perhaps a little too eagerly) abandon the bottle they’re holding to offer a hand for some of the instruments, “Promise I won’t say nothin’! I’m a pro at keeping secrets.” They cross a claw over their heart for emphasis. Sriyani considers this offer with a small hum, and then shakes their head. Firm. Their smile is just a little wider, eyes flicking over Tok and then back to their door. "I don't think I need a brand deal, most people's teeth are not sharp enough to bite my style." They take a hasty step back, clinging tighter to the appliances they are holding. Their amused expression has shifted in a quick flicker -- a little startled for a flash but then just deeply skeptical. "Oh-h-h, thanks I'm good!" Their quick half-retreat has put them now beside a cabinet of breakers and test tubes, not locked anyway so less noteworthy this time when they simply open it. Though the cabinet door itself is once more blocking out much of Tok's view the bright spill of music this time ("Die With a Smile", currently) makes it clear it is definitely once again Not a laboratory cabinet behind the door that Sriyani is passing the appliances to. "Anyway, I always have help. Buddy system's important." Tok pointedly doesn’t step any closer after their startle, and instead they wave a nonchalant hand, “Most people?” They wink, then slink back a large step to slide some of their bottles into the backpack they’ve brought with them. They sling it on as their tail closes their own cabinet door. They then lean a little cartoonishly far on one leg to try and sneak a peak to Sriyani’s cabinet door, “I can be a great buddy though if you ever need one!” They sing-song, “I can be real useful—make that my new brand.” They flash them a grin, sharp teeth wide and bright against the dimming light cast from the windows. They inch only slightly closer towards the portal door to lean against a nearby desk, one ear twitching quick in response to the music, “I at least get to find out what the microscope’s for? Leavin’ me a little Cinderella glass slipper of curiosity to wonder about all night— ‘cept you’re the one running to a party, I’m goin’ to a school bathroom.” Despite the comparison, they still sound upbeat about this arrangement. Sriyani closes the door firmly. "Okay but can you?" Their brows lift with a generous dose of skepticism. "Make it your brand, then, I'll totally believe it when I see it." When they pull the door open again this time there's nothing more exciting behind it than their kind of cluttery mess of a dorm room. Their nose crinkles up in idle thought. "Was it one of our custodians who was being a jackass?" Tok’s eyebrows lift in surprise. “Roscoe says I can, and he’s a pro at reputation stuff.” They shift on the desk they’re leaning against, confusion flickering across their face, “And nah was just some ki- oh.” Their face now rapidly twists into a wince. They shift the backpack strap on their shoulder in a fidgety manner, quickly bringing the pack around in front of themself to reconsider their cargo. Their face scrunches to the side and they scratch at the back of their hair, “Ah shit. I’mma have to rethink this one.” Their eyes draw up towards their dorm room, then to Sriyani thoughtfully, “Wanna come set this off out in the woods with me instead? Videos make it look real cool.” They offer, a glint of a smile returning, then tilt their head once, “Unless you got somewhere to be.” "Roscoe's amazing but his judgment about people and their uses were formed in, uh, some --" Sriyani wobbles their hand side to side. "Y'know." They're pausing with a hand on the door. Shooting a hesitant glance to their dorm room, and then to Tok. A grin splits their face bright in a moment, and they close the door, opening it again -- it's not the Xavier's woods beyond but some intricately mosaic'd stone ruins set among trees that definitely look too tropical to be anywhere near here. "My somewhere can wait a little while. Let's go make a mess."