Logs:Setting eXpectations

Setting eXpectations
Dramatis Personae Blink, Kitty
In Absentia Jax, Scott, Charles	2022-01-20 We could do so much more for people than just...have powers at them.
Location <PRV> Kitty and Marinov's Apartment {Cathaus} - Lower East Side
This high ceiling, fourth floor apartment is on its way to being well lived in. The walls are a light cream colour, the spotless hardwood floors stained a rich red-brown. The door opens into the living room, always bright with natural light coming in the windows or the glow of the twin pink rock salt lamps nestled on the one of the sills. Small succulents and other resilient, cat-safe houseplants dot the windowsills and nearby surfaces – one on the low coffee table between the faux-leather couch and the television mounted on the wall, another on a ladder bookshelf squeezed into a corner. There are no rugs, nothing that can collect fur, but the couch and floor are both covered in pillows. On the wall opposite the television, there is a framed poster of the Cat’s Eye Nebula from an astrophysics conference. To the left of this space is a small kitchen, just large enough to fit two people in it, if one of them can walk through other people. To the right is a small hallway, leading to the washroom and two bedrooms. One of the bedroom doors has a small blue mezuzah on the doorframe, held in place with wall putty. It's cold again in New York, the thaw of Wednesday beginning to dip down again into freezing temperatures.There's condensation on the windows of the apartment, forming from the stark differential in temperatures on either side of the glass. In here, it's warm, the smell of a new pot of green tea wafting ahead of Kitty when she emerges through the kitchen with two steaming mugs. She's dressed casually, in a Columbia long-sleeve crewneck and flannel-lined jeans with the hems cuffed just so, showing the red and blue pattern inside. Her Magen David rests on her collarbone, joined today by a gold hamsa rink on her right index finger. "Think I oversteeped it," she says, watching the mug she hands her guest slowly reveal a nebula on the side. "So if that's not a good 'thanks for having my back on Monday' treat, I totally understand." Half-curled on the couch, Blink certainly looks very excited about the arrival of Tea, oversteeped or not. She's finally given up her black and purple cloak, dressed in a pink tunic and black trousers, both trimmed in purple and red. "To be honest, right now I mostly care about it being hot. Thank you." She takes a mug eagerly and wraps her hands around it. "I feel like I should have had your back more on Monday, but things were a little overwhelming at the time." She blows across her tea and is about to drink when she perks up. "I could make up for it by backing your candidacy, though!" “It’s definitely hot, I can promise that much.” Kitty’s smile is easy and warm as she sinks onto the other side of the couch. “Yeah, it was definitely a lot. Partly my fault, sorry not really.” She blows on the surface of her tea now, letting the mug rest in her lap. “Oh — I don’t want to be in charge, I just want things to change.” She tilts her head, curious. “Why not throw your hat in the ring?” "I should probably cancel that order for Pryde-Holland 2022 campaign swag, then." Blink's tone is very dry, but her smile is warm, too. "Me? I have zero leadership experience, and don't think I've ever been elected to anything in my whole life. Unless you count 'most likely to join a cult' in my high school yearbook, and I haven't lived up to that, either." She's looking thoughtful now as she takes a sip of her tea. "It's not bad, just a tiny bit sharp. Anyway, I feel kind of like you have to be pretty popular or pretty old to stand a serious chance against Scott. Popular, in your case." “There’s still time. We can make the X-Men into a cult.” Kitty looks thoughtful too, gazing into the mug for a moment. “Not really like there’s many chances to get team leadership experience within the team, honestly. One of the things that needs to change!” She twists the mug in her hands, looks up with a teasing smile. “What, not just pretty?” Blink's eyes widen, making her enormous green irises look even more uncanny. "I know in theory you can make a religion out of pretty much anything, even the concept of being opposed to religion, but this might be a stretch." She settles back against the couch and nurses her tea. "I guess the Professor would probably prefer if we followed his rules more 'religiously.'" Her skin does not show a blush easily except where the markings on her face flush darker. "You're also pretty! But I don't think Scott 'Matrix Sunglasses with Every Outfit' Summers would agree to settling leadership via beauty pageant." Kitty laughs, the surface of her tea threatening to spill out the side. She takes a hurried sip. "Thank you for both compliments. I don't want to make the calls, though, I think -- I do not have time to finish school and be Scott Two Point Oh. Maybe flip it around? Holland-Pryde 2022?" She tilts her head sideways, looking at Blink with intent. "Seriously though. If you were in charge, whether or not you want to be or could be or blah blah blah. What would you want to do? What do you want the missions to be?" "Sorry, I wasn't trying to pressure you, and I know you're not trying to pressure me." Blink is blushing deeper -- still not quite enough to make her cheeks look actually red. "I'd vote for Jax, too, though I feel like he's also got a lot on his plate. But if I were in charge..." She wets her lips, thinking. "We should do more relief work, not just for disasters, and should involve the community more, at least with the local missions. Maybe even network? With other mutant...organizations, and such." More quietly but still matter-of-fact, she adds, "And it would be nice to get paid, if that's possible." Kitty’s not physically taking notes, but the way she’s studying Blink’s face is focused and intent in a very ‘taking-mental-notes’ way. “Ugh, networking. Objectively a good idea, I just hate networking. I love increasing the relief work angle though, that’s really good.” A lopsided grin grows across her face. “And one more vote for the ‘Xavier Open Your Wallet’ platform. That one seems exceedingly popular.” "Is it less hateful if we call it 'hobnobbing' instead?" Blink is leaning forward now, enthusiastic. "I don't know what the Professor's budget is like, but if he can build and maintain and fuel a super stealth jet he can probably pay some part-time superheros a living wage." She chews on her lower lip, frowning. "I mean, honestly, money is pretty great for relief work, too. We could do so much more for people than just...have powers at them." Kitty wrinkles her nose, considering. "No, I don't think so, but it is funnier." She sips at her tea, splash some liquid over the sides when she suddenly straightens up. "A treasurer! We should all have a better idea of what the money looks like -- maybe there is no money left for things after the jet but how would we know, right? And then we could put the excess to relief work and extracting vulnerable mutants and... maybe suing Prometheus I don't know." Blink makes a thoughtful hum. "I would run for treasurer, if that was a thing we had. Not because I'm good at math, but I've learned a lot about finance running my own business." She sits up straighter at Kitty's list, but doesn't immediately reply. "We should have been helping with those raids all along. If we had --" But she stops herself, jaw clenching tight. "I was about to say ideally Prometheus will get shut down, but I haven't heard anything about that 'thorough investigation' the administration promised. Suing should be up to the survivors, but more support can't hurt. I doubt the ACLU is going to leap to their defense." "I would vote for you!" Kitty's eyes are bright and eager. "Maybe this is becoming too student government-y. But! we could see what everyone else thinks." She slumps back into the couch cushions as the conversation turns serious again. "I -- we should have. We really should have, and --" Her thumbs press hard into the mug, one hand suddenly curling into a fist through the mug. "Yeah. I have. Doubts. And if -- I don't want to shit-talk Scott I've already made his life difficult enough but if the expose wasn't enough to change his mind about staying on the side can you imagine what other people-in-charge are thinking?" Blink shrugs. "Lots of organizations have treasurers. Maybe we don't need one, but maybe it would be easier for us to be...engaged with what the team does if more of us were involved in actually running it and not just punching what what we're asked to punch." Her eyes drop to Kitty's incorporeal hand, and she swallows. "I don't think it's shit-talking to point out there's lack of accountability going on. If he's actually a good leader, he would know it's important to listen, even if he doesn't agree." She hunches her shoulders. "And if he isn't, we should have a different one which...was what you were saying to begin with." It’s not till Blink’s gaze lands there that Kitty notices her hand and pulls it out of the mug with a small jolt of movement. “God, I did say that, didn’t I?” There’s a flash of embarrassment in her expression now, a pink flush in her cheeks. “I don’t know what I would have done if people, if you weren’t on board. Maybe phase into the middle of the earth? Hang out there forever.” Blink bows her head, her marks darkening again. "I think any of us alone would be in over our heads. That's why we have a team, right?" She wraps both of her hands back around the mug. "I wish I had the skills and confidence to even consider leading us, even if I don't actually go through with it. But it doesn't take any special gift to be willing to stop and talk things out in good faith if a teammate says we have problems. If I can do it, so can Scott." She finally does smile again. "If this drive for X-democracy crashes and burns, can I hang out with you down in the middle of the earth? I can portal in some snacks, it'll be great." Kitty gives an affirmative hum, her cheeks still pink and warm but not flushing any further when she smiles back at Blink."I think the list of things you can do that Scott maybe can't is pretty long. Starting with but not limited to providing center of the Earth party snacks. Ooo. We could watch the Lord of the Rings movies. Middlearth marathon in the middle of the earth!" "See, you may be too busy discovering the secrets of the cosmos to lead the team, but you still make the best plans!" Blink lapses into a rare grin. "But we'd better stop making this sound so awesome, or we'll both be rooting for this leader shake-up to fail. Oh no, too late. Your backup plan is too good, I want to binge those movies. Magma optional."