Logs:Snazzzzz
| Snazzzzz | |
|---|---|
| Dramatis Personae | |
| In Absentia | 2024-10-15 "I guess the bar is kind of lower now?" |
| 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. The day is cool, but warm in the afternoon sun. Brightly colored leaves have begun to fall and collect about the outside patio, the occasional breeze kicking them up in a whirl before settling to scrape back down to the ground. Tok is perched precariously on the arm of one of the patio chairs, eye down the lens of a camera that’s pointed at a collection of leaves in the seat—or more accurately, the brightly colored beetle that’s on top of the leaves. The cargo shorts they wear are perhaps a little cool for the weather, and the sleeves of their oversized burgundy sweatshirt are pulled up to their elbows to keep their hands free. There’s a backwards hat shoved over their mess of hair, one with holes hastily cut out for their horns. Their tail twitches to keep their balance as they pull away from the lens to adjust their camera settings. Rhydian sat in an old wooden rocking chair, its gentle creak in rhythm with the breeze stirring the autumn leaves around her feet. Her slender fingers held a well-worn book, pages slightly curled from years of use. The story had long ago faded into the background of her thoughts, her eyes skimming the lines without truly absorbing them. She wasn’t reading to gain knowledge today—it was more about the comfort of the familiar weight in her hands. Her mind, as usual, was split between where she was and what lay beyond. The soft rustling of footsteps on the far side of the grounds filtered into her awareness, the delicate pools of vibrations pulling her focus. She didn’t need to look up to know someone was nearby; the faint tremors against the earth told her everything. By the rhythm of their steps, she guessed it was one of the younger students, perhaps rushing to their next class. A small shift in pressure, just a bit behind, suggested a second figure—a teacher, maybe, lingering on the pathway, likely deep in thought themselves. Rhydian’s lips curved slightly at the corners, though the gesture was more reflex than emotion. She enjoyed the way her power allowed her to map the world around her without the need to see it, a kind of subtle control over the chaos that otherwise filled her life. Looking up, she noticed a student she hadn’t met yet snapping photos of what appeared to be leaves on the seat of the chair in front of him. Avi is sauntering out from the kitchen, dressed in white button-down over a bold orange tee, relaxed jeans and sparkling white sneakers. He's got a carton of coconut water and an unopened small bag of potato chips (Voodoo Heat) in his hand. He's ambling in the vague direction of Across the Patio, but detours to peek down at the leaves in Tok's chair. He squints at the beetle, clicks his tongue against his teeth. "Hope that ain't my roomie again, we gonna have to shrink all his furniture." Spencer didn't show up for his classes today, and probably will not be penalized or even chided for it under the circumstances. He has been spotted on campus here and there, and now he is -- -- here, evidently deciding to do some studying after all, to judge by the tablet and books tucked under his arm. He doesn't look all that different from usual, really, in a black corduroy jacket, yellow t-shirt with a field of wildflowers and the word "Shelter" written in flowy cursive clouds, dark blue jeans, and gray sneakers. His kippah is black, edged in an embroidered strand of rainbow DNA, and clipped on kind of crooked. "Hey," he says to his schoolmates as he eyes the available seating for something promisingly comfortable. He's quickly and predictably distracted by Tok's photography project. "Oh, is that for Mr. Horus's class?" A sharp grin sparks onto Tok’s face at the sound of Avi’s voice, but they don’t pull away at first from their view finder. “Y’know- I tried asking jusssst in case.” They snap another photo and finally pull away to look up at him from their perch, “Still only ‘bout eighty percent sure s’not him.” Their eyes jump to Spencer at his greeting, then widen briefly. “Oh! Hey man.” Their tone seems to mellow a bit in their greeting, and they hesitate—like they want to say something more, but seem to decide against it, for now. Instead, they wordlessly pull up an extra nearby chair with their tail. “Yeah- it is. We’re doing a buncha…color stuff.” They make a vague gesture with their hand, as if this might explain Color Stuff. Their claws tap gently against their camera, “How’s uh… what’re you workin on?” Rhydian closed her book and sat there observing the interaction between the other three students Avi drops down to a crouch beside the chair, eying the beetle intently. At length he shakes his head, decisive, the small gold beads intermittently dotting the tips of his locs clicking together with the motion. "Nah that beetle great but it don't have Bryce's flair." Spence's arrival pulls his eyes up, his chin up, in a solemn upward jerk. "Got a cool beetle here," he tells Spence, quite seriously. "How's'at class going? I got two whole arms and I can't take half so good pictures as that eagle." Spence raises his eyebrows up and blips -- -- over to crouch down beside Avi. "Whoa! That is super cool." He sets his study materials down so he can pull out his phone snap a picture himself. It's only at Tok's question that he looks down at the books, as if only just remembering he had them at all. The top volume is A People's History of the United States and beneath it the much larger Introduction to Political Science. "AP government and politics," he says. "I don't know if Ms. Hua is actually going to take over teaching it now that she's back." He scoops his books back up. "Horus isn't an eagle." He sounds more amused than offended on Horus's behalf. "He's a...Horus. Birders have been trying to identify him for years." “Maybe some of the subs and teachers will teach together for a bit?” Tok takes an added moment to observe the beetle, then nods in agreement with Avi’s verdict on its Bryce-lessness flair. “Mr. Horus is real cool. Class is fun too. Hope he finishes out the term at least.” They huff out a breath, “I really wanna take something that’ll impress him. Kinda hard when he can fly and I think he can see for miles but—“ They scrunch more to get closer to the beetle—which has managed to get itself flipped over onto its back. They oh so carefully nudge at the beetle with their claws, allowing it to right itself again. “I’ll figure somethin’ out. Unless you guys got any ideas?” She shifted slightly in her chair, the creak of the wood barely noticeable as she settled into a more comfortable position. The beetle that had captured everyone’s attention scuttled away after the student’s gentle intervention, and Rhydian found herself quietly amused by how something so small could become the center of their conversation. Her gaze lingered on the newest arrival’s books for a moment longer, recognizing the titles, especially A People's History of the United States. She respected his dedication to studying, even if his current posture—crouched beside the student in the orange shirt—didn't scream "serious student." A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the student with the camera made a playful remark about trying to impress Mr. Horus. She could understand the desire to push oneself, especially when faced with someone so seemingly beyond ordinary standards. It was a challenge she often set for herself as well, although in much more private ways. She finally spoke, her voice quiet but firm enough to carry over to the group. "If you want to impress someone who can fly, maybe start by looking at the world from a different angle." She leaned back slightly, eyes twinkling with a mix of seriousness and quiet mischief. "Maybe try showing him something he can’t see from miles away. Focus on the small details—something intricate that requires more than just vision to understand." "See I've been tryna identify him only a coupla weeks and all I really got is stylish. -- See you picking up on his hat trick, huh?" Avi pushes himself up once the beetle has scurried off, offering Spence a hand back up. His brows lift, head bobbing thoughtfully when Rhydian speaks up. "Photography all about the perspective, yeah? She may be onto something." Spence takes Avi's hand and hauls himself upright. "Thanks." He scans the sky as if expecting the teacher in question to swoop down and dispense surreal pearls of wisdom. "Apparently he's kinda more like a falcon? A giant falcon. A giant stylish falcon." He snaps his fingers at Rhydian and flashes a smile at Tok. "Yeah! Maybe you can try some angles from all the weird places you can climb." He tips his head from side to side, thoughtful. "A nice hat will definitely impress him, too." Tok’s ear flicks when Rhydian speaks up, and they twist on their perch to scan her up and down curiously, then look back down at the bundle of leaves. They pick up a vibrant red leaf the beetle had been sitting on by the stem and spin it in their hand. “Perspective huh? I am pretty good at climbing…I’ll give it a shot.” Their eyes jump up towards the rooftops of the mansion, before settling down towards Spence’s kippah, and they nod in agreement once again with Avi. “I like the rainbow.” Their smile quirks to the side and they shrug easily, “And kinda genius design if you ask me—don’t have to poke any holes in it.” They lift their own hat and spin it around so it’s no longer facing backwards, to reveal holes also chopped into it on this end for their horns. Rhydian then sits back slightly, her eyes flicking between the three students momentarily before moving to stare off into the distance. “Just a suggestion but maybe try shooting through something as well, y’know? Like instead of just shooting pictures of the beetle directly, maybe shoot pictures of it through blades of grass or through a cracked piece of glass.” She offers with a noncommittal shrug before going quiet once more. "Nah, bruh, I meant your hat, Spence been rocking that kippah since day one." Avi is gesturing with his coconut water towards Tok's perforated backwards-forwards cap. He uncaps the drink after, taking a large swig. "This definitely a new semester style for you since Professor Bird showed up. I've seen those hats, though, feel like you're gonna have to find something real snazzy to impress him, around here some of the --" Though now he's looking wistful -- almost catching himself with a small and self-conscious glance to Spencer before he decides to simply go ahead and finish his thought anyway: "-- visible mutant staff set a pretty high bar for style." Spence looks around. "Wait what rainbow?" Only when Avi names his headgear does he put it together. "Ohhhh." Reaches up to pat at the embroidered kippah. Unclips and clips it back on straighter. "I kind of forget it's there sometimes. I don't think it would impress Horus. But I mean if you can't find a snazzy hat, a shiny one might work." He nods, nods again, but stops the rocking before it gets properly started. "Yeah Shane was pretty snazzy." His smile is kind of wavery but he forges on. "I guess the bar is kind of lower now? Unless you become snazzier in memory of him. Wow, snazzy does not even sound like a word anymore." Tok's claws tap against the shell of their camera in consideration, "Shoot through something?" Their head tilts, then they nod, determined. "I'll try it." Their eyebrows jump up in surprise at Avi's compliment, and as their gaze jumps between Avi and Spence, their tail drops down from it's idle wave to curl a few times around the arm of the chair they're perched on. "You could say I was inspired." They admit, with a small shrug of their shoulders. Their brow pinches in a quick concern, and their tail is already re-unwinding itself to settle into their palms so they can comb through the fur with their claws, "Seems like a good reason to become snazzier, I think." Their smile is hesitant, a little somber, "He set a lotta bars. Maybe we could give that one a try at least." Rhydian’s focus at this point was mostly pulled in the direction of people walking around nearby though she kept an ear in the conversation. She’d never met Shane personally but she’d heard some of the other students swapping stories as she passed. Having lost a family member herself, Rhydian knew all too well what was going through the minds of those that were close with him. Not that she’d be the first to admit that or anything. "It's not a word, I just made it up," Avi reassures Spence easily, "you think some real word's gonna have that much zzz in it, nah, fam." His brows pull up just a little bit. He's giving Tok a quick once-over, and nodding almost to himself after. He takes another swig of coconut water, and then lifts his chin amiably to the others, not really saying any proper bye so much as just starting to amble off. Not, though, before tapping Spence light on the shoulder: "Gonna put up the sukkah once Mr. Joshua gets here, if you want to lend a hand." He waggles the bottle casually to the others, and dips out to the garden. "Zzzzz," Spence...agrees? Maybe he's just trying out the texture of this sound, but does finally nod his approval. "You should make up more things, that's a good one." He chews on his lower lip, studying Tok's hat with one eye slightly scrunched, an expression caught halfway between pain and perplexity. "Actually, I bet Mr. Horus would help you find a snazzzzzzier hat if you asked." If he had further thoughts about snazziness or hats or photography, he's quickly and predictably distracted by "Sukkah!" His bright excitement deflates a little on his next breath, but does not fade away altogether. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be here. Actually can you text me? No wait I'll set an alarm but right now I have four species to track down! Be safe, y'all!" He barely even finishes this last syllable before vanishing. | |
