Logs:Of Assault and Apologies (Or, A Lakeside Chat)

Of Assault and Apologies (Or, A Lakeside Chat)
Dramatis Personae Kavalam, Kelawini, Taylor Cyric
In Absentia	2020-09-24 “What the hell?!”
Location <XAV> Lake - Xs Grounds
Bright, bright, bright; the lake glitters wide and expansive here, stretching off into the distance. Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, it catches them all. Lapping at the rocky shore, its deep waters are frigid in winter and cool even in summer. A stone pier stretches out a ways into the water, wide and smooth, though often icy in winter. The water teems with life nevertheless, home to myriad species of fish that provide for ample fishing or just lazy watching on a slow summer day, for those who want to take a boat from the boathouse out to the center of the lake, or perhaps lounge on the pier and try their luck. It's mild and lovely this morning, and though Kelawini is not currently jogging she looks dressed for it in a pink athletic top with a drift of plumeria blossoms across the front, black tights, and red-and-white cross trainers. She's walking along the lake shore, picking up stones every so often and discarding most of them at once, though she keeps a few cradled in her left hand and every once in a while skips one across the placid surface of the water. "...so then she went, 'you like chicken or you like beef'? And this useless haole started sputtering like a buss up truck engine. It was great!" She grimaces, hurling her next stone with uncommon force; it only skips twice and makes a heavy splashdown. "Until they basically kicked her out of the school, that wasn't so great." Though Kelawini has company with her on the lakeshore, from an outside perspective it does not look that way -- does not even look like she's Talking To Herself on the lakeside. She seems to be simply enjoying a quiet walk alone with her stone-skipping. Imperceptible beside her, though, in jeans and a light grey denim jacket over his yellow polo, Kavalam is hefting his own flat rock without yet throwing it. A bright smile is on his face, eyes scrunched up behind his glasses. "Next you'll tell me she just fought the whole telescope itself." His other hand lifts, curled into a fist to emphasize his point. Taylor was exhausted affter his small encounter in the city and decided the best way to spend time to recharge was to just relax at the lake. It was the only place that was close enough to his actual home so it gave him comfort. He sat on a large rock taht was just at the edge of the water with his black skinny jeans rolled up his his mid calf so his bare feet could rest on the cold rock with an over sized pastel pink hoodie that did well to hide his face and body altercations. He would occasionaly stick his fot in the cold water before pulling it out again once the tempeture beame to much. Taylors foot had been submurged for a minute before he heard a splash in the water that wwas't his doing. He turned his head slightly to see a girl walking alone throwng rocks into the water. He rested his head on his knees as he oulled his foot out and watched as the girl pick up assorted rocks tossing themi n the water while she got closer and closer to him. "Have I told that story before?" Kelawini winces. "Sorry. I'm glad it's improving with the telling, though! And anyway, if the fakkas actually start to build it, I wouldn't put it past her." She lapses into a grin and skips another stone--this one goes five jumps before vanishing into the water. "'Morning!" she calls out to Taylor as they come closer, though she cannot yet see him well, then glances aside at Kavalam. "Water's gone pretty cold, huh? It's not so bad in the late afternoon sometimes but right now? Tsh." "Better each time," Kavalam assures her with a small wobble of head. He trails along after her, skipping his own rock -- poorly, as he goes, skip-skip-plunk -- before he peers over at Taylor. Scoops up another rock as they wander closer still, and offers this one to Kelawini. "It is terrible. The pool is heated. Much more pleasant. Here I thought you were from some reasonable location. I'm staying out of the lake until July." He draws nearer to Taylor's rock, circling around front to peer up at the other boy from a distance that would be uncomfortable if he were visible. Thankfully, he's not -- he wanders back to Kelawini's side with a small twitch of smile. "Do you know who that is?" There is a pointedness to his question. A light amusement in his voice. Very abruptly, where Kelawini had apparently been alone on the shore, now he is standing there, a weird sort of dissonance to it -- not exactly like appearing out of nowhere. More like he'd just been there all along, although there's a vague mental Wrongness to the experience that fades soon enough. Though Taylor very much has No Idea who Kavalam is, his greeting comes readily enough, cheerful, a heavy South Indian accent in his words: "Hello, Taylor." taylor perked up a bit looking over at the girl where he straiughtened up. "Morning." he responded. When the other boy address him by his name Taylor is quietly taken aback. "Uh-- Hey..." he said slowly not sure who the guy was that was beside the girl. Luckily it didnt take much to manipulate his brain so the sudden apearence of the boy didnt faze him at all. He was there the whole time throwing rocks into the water as far as Taylor was concerned. "Y'all are?" he asked since it seemed they had known his anme yet he's never seen them. "I'm from a reasonable location, but this location--not so reasonable. I make the best of it." Kelawini blinks at Kavalam, uncomprehending, until he speaks Taylor's name. Then her eyes narrow and she turns back to study Taylor more closely, now. "Chee, you that creeper wen mess with my sister!" Her voice is--very loud, rather angry. "You think cuz she one small pretty girl you can do whatever you got another ting coming." Whatever one's opinion of Kelawini's attractiveness, she is not small, and she's stomping toward Taylor, stones scattering beneath her feat to somewhat menacing effect. Kavalam is far less menacing -- just a skinny mousy boy, wide-eyed behind his glasses, hands folding behind his back as he drifts in Kelawini's wake to draw a little closer to Taylor. "We have not met. I am Kavalam," he adds, in light and still oddly cheerful counterpart to Kelawini's ire. "This is Kelawini." And, in case it was unclear: "She is Nanami's sister." Taylor stumbled a bit bakcward on his rock until he was at the edge watching the girl trample towards him. she sounded like his family nd the people he lived with back home. Taylor was lucky enough taht he was able to hide his stupid southern accent he hated so much. The accent wasn't probably something he shoudl be so focused on though as she got closer. "Your sister pushed me if I remember right, and than broke my nose so..." he sadi still very much intimidated by the girl now. Kavalam did not help soothe him either despite him being more friendly it didn't equal out Kelawinis rage. "Besides--" he stuttered "I didnt think I coudl just do whatever, I didnt wanna do whatever." "Well maybe you shoulda left her alone when she wanted huh?" Kelawini shouts. "You get up in a girl's space she oughta push you, but it don't sound like you learned no lesson." Her hands ball into fists and she looms over Taylor. "So you gon learn it easy or learn it hard?" "How did the nose break happen?" Kavalam bounces up on the tips of his toes with this question. "Did that come before or after you yanked her off the rock with your tongue? Just," his hands are unfolding here, in front of him now, spreading, "a curiosity I have." Kavalam was becoming less and less helpful now. Taylor peered over Kelawini and glared at Kavalam, "That would be after she shoved me." he said looking back at the girl now and her fists. "I don't really wanna fight today..." Taylor mumbled, so much for relaxing by the lake. Kelawini scoffs. "You plenny good fighting someone smaller than you, but now you like chicken, eh?" she snaps. "You lolo mess with any other girls, you gonna answer to me. You come anywhere near my sister again I will break you." "Shoved you -- out of her space? That you invaded?" There's a deeply exaggerated innocence in Kavalam's tone, and he nods at this, as if an understanding is dawning. "Very unreasonable. Put that clearly, every girl should submit to strange boys licking them as punishment for having boundaries. I'm actually going to tell the school we should amend our policies on sexual assault." His glib tone drops away as he glances between Kelawini and Taylor, and he folds his hands behind his back again. "I don't," he says, more seriously, "suppose it occurred to you you could simply apologize." Taylor glared at Kelawini fear for the most part gone. Now it was just two against one and false claims about his intentions. He lived on the streets long enough that he could handle himself, but also not against two other mutants. “And I suppose it’s a very one sided apology?” Taylor asked annoyed. “I’ll be the only one to say sorry make myself look stupid so the three of you can lay off me, and feel as if a justice was settled?” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t see her apologizing any time soon.” Kelawini makes an incoherent noise of frustration and for a moment looks like she might just be turning away to storm off. Instead, it's just her winding her right arm back to aim a heavy fist at the side of Taylor's head. "Yes," There's a patience in Kavalam's voice, now, "when you are the one in the wrong, you --" Here he cuts off, though. Takes a step back, and then another, bringing his phone out and up as Kelawini throws her punch. Taylor watched expecting the whole situation to just fizzle out until he felt her fist connect to the side of his head and he stumbled over to the side laying on his side. “What the hell?!” He asked feeling extremely dizzy as he positioned himself on all fours now trying to get steady. "Get up!" Kelawini is yelling now, tromping after Taylor but not looming over again, fists up. "You gonna blame her, you clearly ain't learned shit. You better get up and fight or tuck you tail and run, boy, I no playing." Kavalam's eyes have gone wide again. For a moment it looks like he might say something, stepping a little bit forward toward Kelawini -- but he hesitates, thinks better of this idea. Just keeps quiet, hiding behind his still-recording phone. "I don't wanna fight you, what would I get out of this besides hated more by you?" Taylor said slowly standing up now. "I know how this goes you throw some punches, i throw some punches, I et you win since you're defending your sister or some shit and you go off feeling good about yourself. Yeah?" Taylor sighs focusing on the agitated girl best he could Kelawini suddenly just starts laughing. "Fakka, you think you gon let me win?" She lapses into a bout of laughter again, stepping back from him and shaking out her hands. "How does anyone get this boring and survive? Fine, you take your coward's way out, fine." She sounds light about this, her anger mostly fled until she adds, "Stay outta my way." Now she storms off, towing Kavalam with ehr.