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Summary: The attic isn't always the peaceful quite place at Xavier's.
Date: September 19, 2011
Log Title: Another Night At Xavier's
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Attic
Every wall is made of glass up to the domed ceiling. Storm has really done her work up here over time and turned it into quite the indoor garden. The room is separated into different parts for the different plants that are in there. There are flowers, vegetable plants, herbs, shrubs, small trees and much more. There are plants that shouldn't even be able to be found in this northern climate but they thrive up here. Anyone wanting to come up here for fresh herbs, fruit or vegetables are welcome to steal from the indoor garden. Depending on the time of year, various different species of flowers and different fruits and vegetables grow. In one area there are a few small fountains and a bench with some fresh dirt on the the ground with trees and plants all around. It seems like a good spot for meditation.
The attic was mostly empty this evening, but Quenton had came up here. It was a place of quiet, and a place where he could imagine what he could do with the various vegetables and other things that grow in such gardens. A guilty pastime and pleasure that he'd never share with his classmates. The chill air that had passed over the city had came to the area surrounding the Mansion, though luckily, within this domed sanctuary, the students didn't have to worry much. Quenton still wears his jacket, however, walking through an aisle.
One of the places Sage feels most comfortable in the mansion is the attic. It's got flowers, vegetables, herbs and other plants for him to feel at home around, especially with his green thumb. Carrying a small basket in one hand he's going around looking at the various herbs, smelling a tray of mint before starting to pick a few leaves. Once done he turns the corner and spots his roommate. "Good evening Quenton, how are you doing tonight?" He asks in his British accent.
Nathaniel is here for reasons he likely wouldn't share unless he felt like it, visiting the school for the second time in a week. He has his hands in his pockets and seems to have only recently stepped in, taking the time to absentmindedly study a couple of the small trees. He winds up stealing an apple from one of them and rolling it against the softer fabric over his hoodie to buff it, not really necessary but fun to do. As he begins a slow, nibbling process called eating, he peers around the tree to see where that voice came from and to who the question was directed, blinking once at both Sage and Quenton - the camera of thought.
Flat cap adjusted a bit, Kieran's sort of meandering about again. He occasionally comes up to the attic during these wanderings because even for a guy who has a bit of a brown thumb being around plants that he doesn't have to maintain is a good thing. The fact that it doesn't get crowded as a rule probably helps. Hands in the pockets of the loose sweater jacket, he's got a bit of a distracted look as he meanders in.
Quenton goes rigid at Sage's words, glancing towards the other mutant, hands sliding limply into his jacket pockets. He had not expected anyone else to be up here this time of night. It strained his temper, but the mutant codenamed Rage beats his namesake back. "You go to bed late or something, too?" he wonders to the long haired boy, eyes searching his face. He shifts as he hears activity, and glances over in Nathanial's direction. And then he shrugs, before glancing towards Sage. "I'm fine, Rapunzel. Just came up here to… practice strength control."
Sage seems a bit confused at Quenton's statement and it shows on his face. "It's that late yet, but why do you keep calling me Rapunzel. She's a princess, I'm not a girl nor royalty or anything." He walks over to a tomato vine and picks one of the small cherry tomatoes to pop into his mouth. Hearing the sounds of footsteps of other people in the attic he turns in looks. "Oh, hello Kieran. And I don't believe we've met yet." He says to Nathaniel. "I'm Sage, pleasure to meet you."
Nathaniel shakes his head and admits, with a glance at Quenton, "I didn't think it would be so busy here at night, either. I'm Nathan. I'm a graduate, but… well, old habits die hard." He shrugs noncommittally, eyeing Quenton in an absentminded fashion as he turns the apple back and forth in his hand, considering. He smiles faintly at Sage afterwards, though, and nods to him, "It's nice to meet you. I think I've met more people since I started to come visiting than I did when I actually went to school here." He takes a bite out of the apple and adds, with another glance at Quenton, "You forgot that Rapunzel was also blonde."
"Hello again. Did you ever actually manage to meet up with Kevin or David?" Kieran asks curiously as he notices Nathaniel, before pulling a hand from his pocket to wave towards Sage,"Hey Sage." He says casually as he stretches out a little bit, his eyes going to Quenton,"I'm Kieran." he says looking towards the other teen curiously. He hasn't actually met Quenton yet so not sure how to handle him.
"Because of your hair," Quenton says, vaguely. "And if you want to be a princess, I'm sure we can sneak into some girl's room and get you a dress, green, to bring out your pretty eyes." Poor oblivious Sage might mistake Quenton's sarcasm for some kind of weird come on. His eyes flick over towards Kieran once Sage draws his attention to the boy, before he glances up at Nathaniel and shrugs. "Oh, well," he says, noncomitually. "I've met a Nathaniel. He has ice powers and can move very fast and hit harder than most humans." Glancing towards Kieran, he greets, "Hey, firestarter."
Sage offers a hand to Nathaniel and smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you Nathan. This is my first year here, they said I'm a Freshmen." Even though he's not fully sure what that means. "I'm sorry Quenton, I'm not quite sure what you're getting at but I'm not a girl. I have no desire to be a girl. I am quite happy with being a guy." He says frowning. "I'm not quite sure why you feel the constant need to poke fun at me, did I do something wrong?" He asks.
Nathaniel turns slightly to include Kieran in the conversation, just an idle courtesy as he tucks his free hand into his pocket, "No, unfortunately. I met David up later to hang out, though." He shrugs casually enough, smiling at Kieran before looking along to Quenton again when he describes the other Nathaniel, eyebrows lifting. He quirks a wry smile and points at himself with his apple-occupied hand, "Empath. Not much else." So long as you leave out willpower overriding and something like mind control, anyway. He adds, in response to Sage offering his hand like that, lifting his own hands as if surrendering, "Empath and, thus, not a big fan of touching. Sorry." Another look at Quenton before he shakes his head and offers to Sage, "I think he just comes up with nicknames for people. Rapunzel was known more for having long, extraordinary hair - I don't think he's trying to say you're a girl. Just something to call you casually, way of associating. Like calling him firestarter." He jerks a thumb at Kieran, glancing over to him as he tacks on a question, "Assuming you're a pyromancer, right?"
"I am not a pyromancer though." Kieran says shaking his head a bit before lifting his hands palms together,"I'm electricity mostly." He says as there are arcs of electricity passing from one palm to the other going from the lowest part up to his finger tips like something from a mad scientist's lab. "I think he's just teasing you a bit since you said something about not being a girl Sage." He says laughing softly. "So not sure how the term firestarter would apply to me."
"Poke fun at you? If I was poking fun at you it'd be different. I'd be putting you in a trash can soemwhere or something," Quenton says dryly. "No, this is me. Take it or leave it, get what you see." He shrugs. "You can always change room mates if you can't stand the heat." God, he's such a jerk. He squints over at Keiran a moment. "Oh. Right. I get you people mixed up." He shrugs his shoulders once more. "Heard about you, though, from Sage here talking to Tyler. And I think we're in the Paragons together. Joy." He turns his gaze up at Nathanial, lips pressing tightly. "Empath, huh? That blows."
Sage looks down at his feet and sighs with a small frown. "So I will have to deal with you calling me my Mother's name or Rapunzel for as long as we're roommates even if I ask you to stop?" He says picking another tomato. "So how long ago did you finish school here Nathan? I'm still adjusting here so I'm kinda wondering if it gets easier." He says before finding a spot to sit on.
Nathaniel sighs and nods at Quenton, his voice drawling as he says, "No fucking kidding." He shrugs nonchalantly afterwards, though, and adds, just as dry as Quenton was a second ago, "I don't think Sage was about to jump ship, either. Reel it in." He takes another bite, propping his hips against the nearest table and folding his free arm over his stomach as he looks back to Sage, "Your mom's name is Rapunzel? …don't let it get to you. I think Squid might be better for you, since your hair sort of reminds me of tentacles, but I doubt you'd like that much better." He shrugs a bit, scraping his heel against the ground and going thoughtful, "Uh, let's see… a little over a year? The only thing that changes is you, though. You toughen up a lot going to Xavier's. You lose a lot of…"
He frowns, searching for the word, and ultimately comes up with, "Arrogance. Drama. It's hard to posture in the face of someone trying to kill you and your friends." Another look to Kieran and he grins, shrugging as he says, "Then it's a mistake. Oh well. Maybe your nickname can be Buzzkill?" He seems to be teasing Kieran, though, not making fun of him, still grinning as he suggests it.
"Oh? What did they say? And yeah. We're on Paragons together." Kieran says casually, his eyes watching Quenton a touch nervously,"And how do you mix fire and electricity up? Because they're very different things. Well my roommate is a pyro." He adds after a moment, his hands sliding back into his sweater jacket,"Sage, you really need to relax. I think you worry too much about the violent aspects of the school and that stops you from enjoying other things."
"Yep, pretty much," Queton confirms to Sage, watching the tomato get picked up and tensing noticeably. Someone needs to give him a massage. Preferrably someone with super strength. The young mutant glances towards Sage, tilting his head and shrugging his shoulders once more. Then back towards Nathanial. "My mother's name is Olive, if it means anything to you, Sage. Lots of people are named after leaves and vegetables and whatever." He scratches at his lip a moment. "And I don't wanna be toughened up. I wanna control my powers and then get the hell away from people." He shrugs his shoulders at Kieran's query. "Maybe I got you and your roomie mixed up. Oops."
"Actually Kieran that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about classes and schoolwork. I wasn't worrying about that at all right now." Sage says as he looks around. "Actually I think I'll just be going now. I have some things I should do before I get ready for bed and I'm not quite in the mood to be around people who are negative at this time." He looks at both Quenton and Kieran as he says that. "It was a pleasure meeting you Nathan. Have a good night and cheers." He says as he starts to head back downstairs.
Nathaniel shrugs at Quenton, answering the comment regarding controlling his powers, "So did I. That's part of it. Control is just part of getting tougher, I think. What part are you trying hardest to control?" He cocks his head to the side when Sage seems interested in leaving, lifting a hand and offering an apologetic smile, "Ah, sorry. I'm too serious. It gets better, though, so long as you're, you know, open to asking for help. The teachers here are pretty good. Bye, Sage." He finishes his apple and goes about finding anywhere to put it, all so he can tuck his hands into his pockets.
"I don't think I'm negative." Kieran says blinking at Sage looking at him about being negative. "I'm still learning to control my powers. It's a pain in the butt." He says shaking his head a bit. "Kenta's helped with some of the control issues I've had. You can probably talk to him and try and work out some sort of training routine that will help you with controlling whatever powers you have. I don't really know what your powers are."
"You should go to your room and listen to the Beatles," Quenton agrees to the leaving Sage, lifting a hand in mock farewell. Towards Nathanial, he shrugs. "My strength. I can't control it since…" He trails off, opting not to tell them about that, though Nathanial can briefly feel overwhelming sadness. Quenton hides it easy, however. "I'll do what I gotta. If they can't help me, I'll find a way to help myself." Maybe track down the Hulk. He glances towards Keiran and shrugs. "Maybe. I like our teacher, Kenta. Dude's pretty cool. Can't go wrong with musicians. Who play real instruments," he adds, to the perhaps already gone Sage.
Nathaniel shrugs helplessly at Kieran, too, looking after where Sage went, "I didn't think I was negative, either. Maybe he's sensitive? Or maybe he didn't appreciate Quenton's teasing." He shrugs helplessly, focusing on Quenton again for a few seconds before adding, with a twist of his fingers as if turning a dial, "You can't control it because your temper's out of whack, right?" He pauses at the mention of Kenta, his brow furrowing as he runs his fingers through his hair, "Kenta… sounds familiar. I can't remember if he was here when I went to school or not. It's hard to remember some of the teachers' names." He sighs, shoulders drooping a bit, "I suck at names." He nods to Kieran after a few seconds, though, moving to hop up onto the table so he can sit, "I had a hell of a time controlling my powers, but I got some good incentive. I'm pretty good with them now, so don't worry. They'll work you guys out."
"I play a couple different instruments." Kieran says shrugging,"Kenta Gilpatrick." He says looking at Nathaniel,"He's also the music teacher here." He pauses for a moment before asking Quenton,"Do you play any instruments? I had to give up the electric guitar. I kept shorting out amps, and the wiring in the guitar on a pretty regular basis. Well the guitar, only damaged one amp and that was this summer when I got sort of… upset after Cerebra blew up."
"He couldn't stand the heat," Quenton says, simply. "Don't think any person they put me with could, but frankly, I don't give a damn." He glances towards the older mutant, shrugging once more. "I'm controlling it pretty good right now, I like to think. Letting go would be a decidedly bad idea, for both my sake, because I'm sure someone will show up to put me down, and someone else's, because I'll probably hurt someone pretty badly." He clarifies, "But since the last time I went beserk, my strength's out of whack. I might accidentally break someone's hand if I shake it, so…" He shrugs his shoulders. "They made my eyes all red, too, which is weird." At Kieran's next question, Quenton snorts. "No, I don't play, not even before, when I wouldn't break them."
Nathaniel arches a brow at Kieran and then shrugs a bit, ruffling the hair at the back of his head, "May be why I don't think I know him…" He considers a few seconds longer, but finds himself distracted from the issue by Quenton's words. He gives him a wry smile, eyebrow still lifted, before he folds his legs under him and says, "Honestly, I'd reconsider this view of yourself as some kind of fiery malcontent. I roomed with a cryokinetic who froze the room and we got along just fine. Not everything is about how abrasive you might be." He rests his hands in his lap, fiddling with the hem of his jeans, studying Quenton the entire time before he finally asks, "Mind if I try something? I haven't done it in a while, but it might help even you out. Not your strength, maybe, but the rest of it."
"Ah. I play guitar and piano." Kieran says shrugging a bit,"The guitar is the easier of the two." He say adds seriously and then saying,"You might not, or you might. There are certainly people that I don't know very well. A good number of the students that attacked the school I'd never met until they were destroying things. Like the girl who blew up Cerebra, no idea who she is really. Just know I do /not/ want to be on the receiving end of those explosions again."
"Honestly, I don't give a damn what you'd reconsider," shoots back Quenton, defensively, maybe, but his body stays still, hands still in his jacket pockets, sunglasses covering his eyes. "I don't care about your cryokinetic friend and how he likes to live in freezers. His problem, and apparently, was yours, at one time." He glances towards Kieran. "I bet being a classmate with Mason must make your musical side feel a little small, huh?" He shrugs, too, then turns his gaze towards Nathaniel, body going rigid. "If it's mind powers, stay out of my head. It's my thing. Just stay out." His hands slide out of his jacket, now. "And it was probably cupcake who destroyed Cerebra."
"I'm an empath. I was just going to suffer curbing your temper, not making you think you're a duck - though it might work out better for you, far as I can tell. You're on the fast track to friend-making and ally-acquiring with that fantastic attitude of yours," Nathaniel says, tone flat and drawling as he digs a lollipop out of his pocket and starts to unwrap it, adding, "He didn't live in freezers. He just made things cold. You know. Like a cryokinetic does. I didn't mind it." He looks over at Kieran now, apparently losing interest in duking it out verbally with Quenton and choosing the less antagonistic of the pair, "How many years have you spent working on two instruments? I know it gets easier, supposedly, once you've learned to read music, but it still must take some serious effort."
"No actually. Because he wastes talent on the pop crap that he does." Kieran says looking at Quenton quite seriously,"He might have trained more at fancy schools but if you spent most of your time just singing and dancing around to pop crap, what's the point of it? I mean he's good at the piano, but really, what's the point? He's someone in denial about himself. So can't really respect him too much." He doesn't seem upset really, just… blunt,"Cupcake? Who's cupcake?" He asks blinking a bit,"All I know is that she took a licking from me and kept on ticking. I didn't think anyone could take as much voltage as I hit her with and keep walking like she was fine." Turning towards Nathaniel,"Ummm…. Not sure really. Most of my life? My mom started all of us when we were really young. Taught us to read music while she taught us piano."
Piano. Quenton misses the piano. He had lied, of course, but they don't need to know that. "I didn't come here to make friends, or allies," he murmurs, shrugging. "People get close, you can get hurt easier. Fuck that noise," he mutters. He watches the man pop a lollipop in his mouth, then lifts his eyes to the domed ceiling above him. "Right,' he murmurs. And then his eyes fall on Kieran, and he shrugs. "I don't like his music either, but I had a friend who did." That temper of his slipping into sadness again, then blazing back, quick as its lost. "Cupcake. Pink haired chick. She can blow up," he informs.
Nathaniel studies Quenton for a few more seconds, then hops off the table and twists the lollipop's stem absentmindedly. Hurray for smoker's oral fixation! Or something. He looks from Quenton to Kieran again, twitching his nose absentmindedly before lifting a hand to rub it, "Maybe he spent so much time in uptight music schools and all he wants is to relax and have fun now? I've heard how having your hobby dictated to you can make you try to enjoy it later. Not to break into the judgmental thing you've got going on." He pops the lollipop free, flicking it in a general sort of way towards the pair of them, "I'm gone. See you later. Kieran. Monsieur Angrypants." The older man turns and heads off towards the door he came in through, stuffing his free hand back into his pocket - back pocket this time.
"Honestly he probably does the pop crap because it gets him attention. Mason's kind of the type of guy who seems to need to have as many people fawning over him as he can get, especially girls." Kieran says shrugging a little bit,"People get hurt anyway. If you try and push folks away, you just end up causing yourself more grief. There are plenty of people in this school that can take a hit and keep on ticking. While you may not have come here to make friends and allies, why not let it happen?"
"Monsieur Angrypants," echoes Quenton. "Real fucking clever, that." He watches the older man head off, before he grabs an apple… only to have it crush in his hand. He lifts it up, scowling, before lifting his eyes towards Kieran. "That's not your business," he says, simply. "Why don't you worry about you, and let me worry about me?"
"Talk to Chloe. She lost her hand awhile back and her fake one requires her to focus on controlling the power." Kieran says shrugging a bit,"She's on our squad and has probably the most real combat experience of any of us." He says sighing a bit,"Just offering you some advice. However, since you seem to determined upon your course of action, I'll leave you be." He says before turning to leave.
"Good for Chloe," Quenton mutters, though deep inside, he feels sorry for her. But that's not the image he's trying to convey. Keep everyone away, for their sake and yours. "Yeah. I'm determined in my course of action." He watches the boy leave. Friendship? No. He doesn't go after him. He just watches, fists still clenched.
