Logs:Paranormal Investigations

Paranormal Investigations
Dramatis Personae Naomi, Nessie	2021-09-10 I wonder how you, like, summon M-Kids.
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 a warm bright morning, breakfast underway in the Great Hall. Out on the patio it's quieter, which is maybe why Nessie has chosen this spot for some very last minute homework catch-up. She's tucked by a bench swing, her many legs tucked beneath her and a Trig textbook open on her spindly knees. She's got a French toast stick dangling from her mouth, brows creased as she works out a problem in a notebook. Sighs, erases her work, frowns at the textbook before putting her pencil down. She takes the toast, swipes it through some syrup pooled on her plate, and munches it, heedless of the little drips of syrup now falling on her work. Naomi, on her approach, does notice the syrup drippings, and offers a crumpled up napkin in lieu of waving. She’s wearing a Captain America: The Musical graphic tee, old high tops, and jeans that probably were not intended to be capri length, but sure are now after the last little growth spurt over the summer. She’s got just a bit of syrup mess on her face as well, on the newly lower edge of her scales along her cheeks. “Oh shit you math-ing,” is probably not what Naomi meant to say, but it is what tumbles out. “When you got math I got like a reportery kind of scoop for you but it can wait until after —“ she peers over at the textbook and frowns, “— shit what math is this, Calc?” Nessie reaches out a claw-tipped limb to snag the napkin in a pincer, dabbing at the syrup and -- mostly just smearing it further before she looks down and wipes eat it in earnest. "Have you actually seen that?" she's gesturing, excited, to Naomi's shirt. "Even what I've seen on youtube looks amazing." She looks down at her notebook with a wrinkle of her nose. "Trig, it's terrible, I need a distraction scoop. Is it juicy? Whatever it is it's gotta be way more interesting than the law of sines." “Nah not yet but I signed up for all the rush an’ lotto sites I am ready to go stand in line all weekend I got alerts --“ Naomi digs her phone out of her back pocket and waggles it to demonstrate, “— for every resell site they will not catch me slipping.” She tucks the phone away before perching on the bench swing. “Ionno what a sine is but I bet this is better — you heard of some teen vigilantes calling themselves M-kids?” "I'm gonna be so jealous." Nessie is bouncing slightly in place. "Do you think Mister Tessier could get tickets do they have like a special sure-it's-sold-out-but-you're-family backdoor?" She half-rises, scuttling sideways so that she can face the swing better before settling herself back down. "Vigilantes? I totally met the M-Kids, they --" Her brow furrows briefly in thought. "Gave me nailpolish, it was the weirdest drive-by magic, honestly until you just mentioned it I thought I had just been so stoned I made it up." “Damn they gotta have something like that I oughta ask Sera — bet if we do that they could swing like. A wheelchair seat too? Something many-leg friendly.” Naomi’s mouth scrunches up as she considers this, wiggling her phone back out of her pocket to tap out a reminder. Keeps it open and swipes over to TikTok, opening a specific account before passing it to Nessie. “No shit you too? That’s at least five o’ us now cuz me an’ Ari an’ Sera an’ Kelawini all got visits from ‘em over summer look!” On her screen, the TikTok of Kelawini’s encounter loops over and over, music playing faintly over the slow-motion fall of the bigots. "Oh shit maybe they only help freak-kids that's weird." Nessie takes the phone, polishing off the rest of her french toast as she watches the video. Her pincers click together, eyes widening. "Oh man that's badass so what they just --" Her tail swishes lightly toward Naomi at her conclusion. "Is it weird, if I had magic teleporting powers and could do anything useful I'd definitely not waste it on flatscans, they got plenty of charities. How many people are out there looking out for us? I guess these guys!" Her brow scrunches again. "How do you think they know when we need help?" “Mmmm maybe not weird but mutant heroes saving flatscans would prolly go more viral more faster?” Naomi’s scales scrape together as her forehead furrows. “Maybe they got a super AI or something?” She shakes her head almost immediately, dismissing her own idea. “An’ they got a broad definition of help — foiling hate crimes, handing out nail polish, cleaning Avi’s room, that’s all over the place.” "What!" Nessie's tail swishes again. "Mutant Defense and Housekeeping Squad, that sounds like an anime. Okay," she agrees brightly, "I definitely need to write a story about these kids. You, me, Avi, Sera, Kelawini... do we know anyone else who's had an M-Kids sighting? Guess I'll need to ask around and find out." Her tongue pokes into the side of her cheek as she thinks. "Sure would be nice if they did trig homework too. I wonder how you, like, summon M-Kids." Naomi grins, skin crinkling at the edges of her scales. “Yes I knew you were gonna love this.” She points at her phone, still in Nessie’s grip, and mimes scrolling up. “I ain’t seen any of us ‘sides me ’n Kelawini on clock app but maybe they post something new with one of us, yeah?” At summon Naomi’s grin turns conspiratorial. “Weeeeeeeeelll. Me Avi and Sera were gonna try to summon ‘em sometime soon — tryna talk Lael into it too . There’s some haunted hospital on Roosevelt Island, we were gonna go ghost hunting, see if they won’t show up. You should come! Do a documentary sorta thing!” Nessie starts scrolling through the videos, slow, her eyes widening as she looks over their titles. Clicks one at random. "This does not even look like anywhere in New York these kids must get around -- wait." She looks up, blinking, at Naomi. "You're going into a haunted hospital to look for ghosts? But like -- what if you find ghosts and not the M-Kids?" Naomi blinks. "Uhhhhhhhhh." Frowns, slightly. "....Mind control 'em? We still working on the plan plan. Also," she adds, mildly and not at all confidently, "ghosts ain't real." "Does that work on ghosts?" Nessie sounds dubious. "They don't even have brains yet. Like maybe you could mind control zombies ---" She bites down on her lip, shrinking back lower on her folded limbs. "There's no zombies in this hospital is there?" Her shoulder lifts halfheartedly when Naomi says ghosts aren't real. "I'm pretty sure half of ghost sightings are just someone seeing a freak and not knowing what to think but the other half," she leans forward, voice dropping to a hushed whisper, "is probably more weird rifts in space and everyone's just seeing the other worlds all fuzzy through 'em." "Ain't gonna know till I meet a ghost, right? Or a --" At zombie Naomi stiffens, just a little bit. "No zombies I don't think." She slumps a little, rocking the swing ever so slightly. "We old hands at space-rifts though I can handle that easy." Her confidence falters partway through the sentence. "So that a no on coming with us?" "Oh I am so over space rifts. What if," Nessie suggests after some consideration, "You wear one of those like, head-cameras, and then I can get all the footage and zero of the spectral possession." Naomi's face brightens. "Deal! -- if you know where I can get one of those. Else I'll do an Instagram Live or something." She does not seem nearly as fussed about getting possessed as she was about zombies. "And if we spot 'em I'll tell 'em alllll about how much we need rescuing from math."