Players:
Summary: Heather tries to solve puzzles, Connor wants a truck to come and Tara and Lucas form a bond between team members. Awww.
Date: July 1, 2010
Log Title All That
Rating: PG.
Xavier Mansion - Courtyard
Surrounded on three sides by the school, a large courtyard forms the front yard. The courtyard leads right up to the door of the mansion. Yellow square stone slabs cover the ground where the grass would be. The most noticeable thing about the courtyard is the large statue of Jean Gray, aka Phoenix, in the middle as a memorial. Benches surround the outside of the statue so students can sit and hang out in the courtyard. There are two paths leading off the courtyard, one to the left and the other to the right.
Hands draw through tangled hair as a conundrum is contemplated. It's evening, before dinner is served, and she is yanking at some bar puzzles trying to pull them apart. What she doesn't know is that this is a cruel practical joke from another student, and the puzzles are not designed to be solvable. They are hanging off her fingers, and all look rather complex and convoluted. She seems unwilling to move from her position, though, until the problems are solved. "Aaaaugh," she says in a long-drawn extremely high pitched squeak.
Lucas is walking back from the cove. He's carrying a kayake oar, and he's wearing only his board shorts and white gloves on his hands. He's still damp, his stringy hair in his eyes, as he walks barefoot towards the mansion. He pauses, looking at the girl, and he smirks, "Ah hate puzzles."
Heather pulls up the tape recorder that hangs around her neck to reply to Lucas through the machine, "I like puzzles, but I have been trying to do these for a long time and I am starting to hate these ones!" She rolls her eyes quickly and continues to shift the pieces around. "Frustrating." She tugs at the strings up her bright purple hoodie (which sharply clash with her faded orange workout pants).
Lucas tilts his head a little. "What's with the tape recorder voice?" he asks, blunt but still friendly. "No voice'a your own?" He steps over towards her, leaning on his oar like a staff.
From behind Heather and off to one side, Connor's voice comes up as he replies for her, "She's slightly ahead of us in time… so she records the messages for playback, because she already heard what you said. Problem is, we can't hear her speak… I know it's weird, but c'mon… what's on more weird thing." Dressing a bit more down that usual, he's sporting a pair of grey khaki shorts, and a black t-shirt under a green hooded top of his own, along with a pair of black leather walking sandals, "Hey guys… either of you seen a UPS truck come by today?"
Heather squeaks softly in response to Lucas' question. She shrugs and says in an unusual unnaturally high pitched voice, "CnrsabitritIusthdvicetspikwitseslowrldrswithetitishrdtunnerstan!" She tilts her head slightly and fiddles more with the puzzle, playing on the recorder now, "And that's if I try to speak carefully. Eheh, here, try one of these, Connor. Why are you looking for a UPS truck? Did you order something from the internet?"
Lucas just watches them a moment. Then he smiles. Like he figured out a secret.
Connor arches a brow at the smile, but then tilts his head over towards Heather and her offer. Taking up the puzzle, he begins to look it up and over as his eyes glimmer and he replies, "Yeah… late birthday present for the big man over there, and a graduation present for Rashmi… but it's running late. Was supposed to be here three hours ago." Despite his speech and obvious indications, his eyes are tracing so carefully over the lines of the puzzle, at the moment nothing else might exist in that sense of perception.
Heather sighs at her own puzzle and plays, "I was told these are possible. I don't know when I will graduate. I hope I will graduate soon. Will I get a present for it?" She looks up and towards Lucas, trying to figure out the expression on his face. "Do you think you know something I don't know?" she plays, an eyebrow raised like that possibility is absurd.
Lucas frowns, "Big guy like, ME big guy?" He shakes his head. "Ah don't need no present, really." He looks at Heather, "No, Ah just…" He smirks, "No. It's nothin'."
Connor finally peeks up from the puzzle, "Well, you're getting one, and you don't get to argue about it. At least with you there's no big growling hyena muzzle in my face when I'm trying to be nice… but hey… could be something you'd actually like." Giving a sudden smirk back at Lucas before presenting the puzzle back to Heather, "I don't know what to say… hold it up, I'll take a scan and see if anything comes up in a google search."
"Someone from the school made it. Because I like puzzles. It was a gift. Very thoughtful," plays Heather, of course unaware that it was designed by the junior student as a joke. She looks at the puzzles and sighs, holding it up for Connor, "I do not see how these should work. I am not allowed to bend the bars, correct?"
Lucas sighs, "Just… Know Ah really didn't want nothin', okay?" He looks at Heather, "Who gave it to you?"
Connor's jaw twinges a bit and his eyes narrow, even as he takes a picture of the puzzle, and starts running an app on his phone to image match it to a retail database, but then he relaxes a bit, "Okay… it's one of Kurt Cobain's guitar picks. A 1991 show at the Seattle Center. I got it for thirty bucks on Ebay on a fast buy, and my uncle Yuri back home verified it was legit." Looking away for a bit, he mutters, "I thought… you know… since you've been a good friend… and you love his music… you might like a piece of him to carry with you."
"Touching moment. Very nice," says Heather after a pause. "Just some kid," she says in reply to Lucas, shrugging, before crossing her arms tightly around herself. "These are stupid. I can't figure it out. Is this puzzle four dimensional?" She waves it around and says, "If so, it's a very easy puzzle. Otherwise. Hm."
Lucas cocks his head, and a burst of flame erupts from the cuffs of his gloves for just an instant as he says, "WHAT!?!?" He takes a step toward Connor, "You're totally fuckin' pullin' my leg, right? Tell me you're serious!" He seems rather excited.
Connor takes a step back, and flushes before he grins, "Okay… little lie… it was eighty… but it was totally worth it. According to the estate records, it was from a warm-up session. It wasn't a stage pick… but I figured… what the heck… It's even in it's own case…" There's a sudden shiver from his phone, and then he looks down at his phone, and blinks, "Huh… no match. It must be a custom puzzle…"
Heather nods her head rapidly at Connor and shrugs defeatedly. "When I invent time travel, I will solve it then. I do not see the solution without bending bars." And that's how to cheat at every bar puzzle ever conceived. She glances between Lucas and Connor for a few moments and plays, "Is this Cobain person relevant or interesting?"
Lucas takes a step back from Heather, "Is he… Is he relevant or inter… Connor…" He looks at Connor, mortified. "Who is she??" He chuckles, looking at Heather. "Kurt Cobain was only the most important, influential musician of the nineties."
Connor laughs a bit, "Lucas Heathe… meet Heather Brown. Heather's Chloe's roomie, and apparently my defacto little sister while I'm staying here. She likes me teleporting her places, so now it's Driving Miss Daisy…" Giving Heather a bit of a smile at the jibe, but then says after closing his eyes, "Kurt Cobain was a musician born in Washington, had a very troubled past but was a kind person despite it. Even befriended a schoolmate who was gay, and dealing with homophobes bullying him." After a moment he opens his eyes, "He went on to form a band called Nirvana, who helped put Washington back on the music map with a new rock style called grunge. Other bands came up after him, like Pearl Jam, but he was the first… and did a lot to try and influence rock music as a whole."
"Chloe had me listen to music the other day. It is shifted into fast world, so I could hear it. I liked the way it moved," plays Heather, grinning her slightly yellowed teeth almost absently, looking up as if recalling something she saw, "I will ask her to show me this Cobain. I did not listen to music at the white prison or in my older home." Reiterating Connor's introduction, Heather says, "Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip."
Lucas reaches out his hand, and if Heather will shake it, he does so. The glove is very warm. He is holding a kayak oar with his free hand, and is wearing only the gloves and a pair of board shorts; He's still wet. "Hi Heather. If you can get it moved to your time, Ah reckon Ah could be persuaded to make a mix tape," he says, with a little flirtatious, dimple-laden smile.
Connor actually chuckles a bit as the two warm to each other, and then looks back at the puzzle for a long moment, and frowns, "Puzzles have a trick to make them come apart once you know it, Heather… my guess? Someone made this to see how long they could stump you. If you've already figured you have to break it to solve it… then it's not solving it. Sometimes… in order to win, you have to walk away." Looking up and away as he waits for the frustratingly zen logic to be rebuffed.
Tara there's a tuneless humming that comes from around the corner on the left path, sounding slightly bored. As the humming gets closer it becomes apparent that the hummer is Tara, taking a bit of a walk. She senses that there are people up ahead of her so she angles her path up to them. "Hey, everybody!" she says, sounding chipper.
"I will delay it until such a time when it becomes solvable. With time, any problem can be solved," plays Heather, smiling slightly at the double meaning of her own statement. Heather reaches out and carefully pats both sides of Lucas' hand between hers instead of actually shaking it, since she finds handshakes awkward and long. "Hlotr," she says to the new arrival, not bothering to translate her words.
Lucas tilts his head slightly, "Hlotr? Is that hello there?" he asks, still smiling. He looks at Connor, "Thank you, zen master flash." He laughs, "So, what are…" He sees Tara, and then just shifts to look at her, "What up, yo?" he asks her.
Connor paces over to the gate, and looks up and down the courtyard, and then disappears for a moment, reappearing several moments later and grumbling, "Where is that truck… it says it's supposed to be here between Four and Eight… it's almost Nine…" And his hands go into his pockets, balling into fists as he starts counting his steps until he reaches fourty, and stops, "Hey… anything to contribute to the cause."
"Yeah it was," Tara says to Lucas about Heather's greeting to her. "I can mostly understand her if she speaks normally." A shrug as if this is no big thing. "Not doing much. Just wandering around."
"I am sorry. I never know how to talk when people who understand me are around," plays Heather, raising her eyebrow slightly, "But it will be safer to use the machine, I think. I am sorry if it is grating, Tara." She looks towards the road at Connor's question, "The truck? Maybe it already went home to sleep. Maybe it will be here tomorrow?"
Lucas smiles, "Maybe it came in between Heather's time an' ours, an we missed it." He walks over to Connor, "Dude, it'll be here when it's here. No big deal, brosef."
Standing still seems almost like a chore for him, teeth grinding for a moment, "Yeah, I'd like it like that…" Said as he stares down at the pavement, and then moves past Lucas, following a crack all the way to the statue, before turning around towards the others, "Trucks don't sleep, Heather… Drivers sleep." He doesn't lean on the statue out of respect, but his hands still return to his pockets, where the fingers rub back and forth, "I'm just irritated… it'll pass. Just have to put up with the weirdness until then."
Tara shrugs at Tara. "Hey, it's okay. Not everybody can be as cool as I am," she says with joking self-aggrandizement. Connor's comment makes her cock her head curiously, though. "What weirdness?"
"Weirdness?" says Heather, tilting her head slightly. "Are you strange, Connor? I was assuming you were normal and judging everyone against you." She grins at that, and it's probably a joke. She glances around quickly and plays to Lucas, "I have not seen the truck, even in my shifted state."
Lucas laughs, "Cool." He looks back at Connor, "Dude, what's with the grr argh? Ah don't much remember ya bein' all grr argh so much." He leans a little closer, and says more quietly, "Dude, you're totally stealin' my schtick, Ringo!"
Connor sighs and then looks away once more from everyone, "Just… nevermind… I'll deal with it how I always do. Catch you guys later, allright?" And with that he jusr vanishes from sight rather than walk off or give anyone a goodbye, the air rippling where he stood a moment before.
Tara blinks in surprise as where Connor is gets all funky and then just disappears. "Woah," she says appreciatively. "That was cool."
"It is very cool," confirms Heather after Tara's comment, nodding her head quickly. "I should go and find him. I probably offended him. See you." She hangs her tape recorder around her neck and zips off, offering a wave before she's gone.
Lucas watches as they both leave, and then sighs, mashing his wet stringy hair back up off his face. He leans on the oar, looking at Tara. "And then there was us." He lifts his eyebrows a little, and sighs again. He stands there, in a moment of awkward silence. Tara's on his team, but he doesn't really know her.
Tara stuffs her hands in her pockets of her jeans. "I guess so," she says. With a shrug she says, "Well, I'm going to go get something to eat from the kitchen." Whether or not Lucas decides to follow her is left up to him.
Lucas furrows his brow, "Um… yeah…" He sighs, scratching the back of his head. "Hey?" he then calls after her. "Do you, uh… Ah mean, are- Rrrggh." He grabs his oar, walking with her. "How are you?"
Tara shrugs. "Bored out of my mind," she admits. "There's nothing to do here except study and work out." If she's aware of Lucas' discomfort she doesn't seem to be showing any sign.
Lucas nods, "Yeah. Ah reckon that's true." He sighs again, tapping the oar on the ground with each step like it was a walking stick on the concrete path. "Sorry." He shrugs a little, "So, we could go.. Ah dunow… Cause some trouble or somethin'…"
Tara stops in her tracks and turns to face Lucas, giving him a look that straddles between amusement and displeasure. "Lucas… are you asking me out?"
Lucas freezes. "Huh? What? Me? No! Nuh uh, no no no…" He shuffles, "No, Ah… You know, me an' Rashmi are… You know…" He scratches the back of his head again. "Ah was just…" He sighs, "Forget it." He begins to walk again.
Tara tilts her head curiously as she listens to Lucas sputter. When he finally gives up she shrugs and continues to the kitchen. "Whatever."
Lucas stops, "Whatever?" He furrows his brow, "That's…" He finishes quietly, just to himself, "…that's my line…" He watches her a moment, and then steps forward to catch up. "Whadyamean whatever?"
"I mean," says Tara, her voice turning just a touch snooty. "I can understand it if you totally did. I /am/ pretty awesome to be around." That is a statement of fact.
Lucas scowls a little, "Ah hadn't noticed," he dismisses, with a smirk his tone doesn't convey. "Y'all wouldn't wanna get hit on by me anyways. Ah could be right ugly an' you wouldn't even know it."
"I don't know," says Tara doubtfully. "I don't think Rashmi's taste in boys include fugly ones."
Lucas smirks, "No, Ah reckon it don't." He nods a little, "Ah'm alright, Ah guess," he concedes. "You ain't so terrible yourself." He smiles, "So, to check, do Ah like, let you touch my face or somethin'?"
Tara grins slyly. "I'm touching it right now, actually," she says, tapping a finger to her forehead. "But, yes, usually I can get a better idea if I use my fingers." She shrugs. "A lot of sighted people don't like it because it invades their personal space, you know? So usually don't ask."
Lucas smiles, "Right. That whole telekinesis thing is either creepy or hot." He laughs, and then stops walking, and he shrugs a little, "If um…" His brow furrows, "If you wanna… Ah don't reckon Ah'd mind…" He studies her, watching closely.
Tara stops in her tracks for the second time, and turns around to face Lucas. "Allright," she says, holding out her hands and gestures for Lucas to come closer. "C'mere."
Lucas swallows, and he steps over to her. He smells like freshwater from the cove, and he places his gloved hands on her wrists, guiding her hands to his moist face. Even through the gloves, the heat from his hands can be felt. He holds his breath at first, not sure what to do.
Tara's touch is light as she runs her fingers across Lucas' jawline, while her thumbs trace his cheek bones until they meet at his chin. One hand goes up to touch his forehead while the other runs up the bridge of his nose. She ends the exploration of his face by squeezing his nose and uttering, "Honk!"
Lucas jumps, "Ow!" He immediately starts laughing, though. "That was my nose!" He smiles, and gives her a very light, gentle push on her shoulder. "Jerk!" He laughs another minute. "Well? Did Ah pass?" he asks, with a smile.
Tara gives Lucas a dismissive shrug. "No funky moles," she admits, "and none of that stupid half there chin stubble teenaged guys like to do. It's like they have to prove that they /can/ shave but just choose /not/ to."
Lucas furrows his brow, "Ah can… you know…grow…" He mumbles something about beard hair, and then shrugs. "Cool." He begins to walk again. "Ah done been tryin' to figure out why Ah hated you so much when you arrived."
Tara has an easy answer for that as she starts walking with her teammate. "It's because I'm unbearably cool," she says. "That and I tossed James around like a ping-pong ball, and I know you've got a boy-crush for him."
Lucas furrows his brow, "A what? No!" He shakes his head, "Christ, Ah wish everyone would stop sayin' that. Ah ain't got a thing for furries." He laughs, a nervous chuckle. "Jim an' Ah are just best friends."
"Mmhmmm," says Tara with a knowing grin. "Best friends." She turns around and starts walking backwards so she can talk directly to Lucas. "It's okay, you know. Half the guys here are gay. You don't have to be ashamed about it.
Lucas furrows his brow, "Okay, FIRST of all, Ah'd have WAY better taste in guys than James. An' second of all," he says, sternly, "Ah don't got a thing for furries!" He shakes his head, "Seriously, so let's stop spreadin' that crap, okay?"
Her teammates anger only causes Tara to grin wider as she spins slowly about. "Some best friend," she chides. "I'll be sure to let him know that you're too good for him." Now she's just pushing buttons. "And what's wrong with dating somebody who's fuzzy? They're good to cuddle with."
Lucas growls, her button pushing working. "Because it's just weird! Besides, he ain't my type, okay!?!?! Ah mean, he's my best friend, but if'n Ah was gonna hook up with a guy it WOULDN'T be him!" He shakes his head, "Just… Ya know, Ah was startin' ta think maybe you didn't completely suck."
"Aw, you still like me," insists Tara. "You're a big man. You can handle a little ribbing between teammates."
Lucas sighs, "Yeah…" He huffs a second time, and rolls his eyes. "Whatever." He chews his lip a minute, and then says, "Ah reckon Ah need to go get showered an' dressed." He begins to change his path a bit towards the dorms. "You ain't all THAT, though. Don't let it go to your head," he says as he goes.
"I'm all that and a sack of beans," is Tara's comeback, and gives Lucas a friendly wave. "Maybe I'll cook something and bring it by! Later!"
Lucas laughs, "Sure." He taps his oar on the concrete. "Take it easy." And he heads to the dorms.
