Summary: Hildegarde tries to calm down Cale as he worries about his missing sister.
Log Title: Hush Now, Quiet Now
Rating: G
Xavier Mansion - Recreation Room
What was once the Parlor has been turned into a Recreation Room for the students. A nice plush carpet meets the light blue walls giving it a homey feel. A pool table at one end, a foos ball table at the other, and entertainment center with video game systems, movies, and of course, cable TV. Big comfy chairs and couches surround a coffee table for comfortable loafing. Long glass windows with a pair of French doors line one side of the room bringing in plenty of light during the day. The main rule in here is to clean up after yourself.
Despite the fair weather outside, Hildegarde cannot bring herself to leave the school today. The woman is enthralled by something in front of her on the TV. What is so interesting that consumes the woman's attention? Why it is some sort of fighting game. One of the characters in the game falls dead and there is a victory screen. "Noooo! I was so close that time!"
"Keep practicing, Miss Hilde. Eventually you'll be able to beat one of us." A green boy laughs as he performes some form of fatality on the screen. "But hey, I gotto get going. Play again later!" And then the boy is…Gone. He's just gone. Probably a telleporter.
Cale looks fresh from the shower this Friday night, after having visited Nick down in the med bay for a little while until the other boy probably tired out… he looks rather tired himself, and is still a bit sore from the day before, though his physical state doesn't bother him as much as the events of the day before that keep running through his head. "Is that the new one?" he gestures at the screen curiously, somewhat absently, "Oh, it is." He plops down into the now vacant spot, brushing his ever-present long hair out of his face so he can see the screen. His thoughts seem elsewhere than the game though. When he finally notices Hilde is the one playing it, he looks surprised. "Er, Miss Hilde, you play this?" he gestures towards the screen.
Hilde is making a very determined expression, her tongue sticking out slightly as she jerks the controller around, apparently thinking that moving the control pad will somehow make her character jump higher or move faster. "What? Oh yes. John has been…Showing me….YES! Yay! Finally!" She seems very proud of herself for knocking Cale's character off the edge, noticing when she looks over that he was probably distracted at the critical moment. "Oh you weren't even trying were you?" She seems less excited now.
"I… um…" Cale says awkwardly as he sort of holds the controller in one hand, having probably just picked it up. "It's not a big deal, I'm actually really bad at fighting games anyway; like, the worst, totes," he nods, "I like RPGs a lot better. More time to think," he offers, "So you probably woulda beaten me anyway." The teen smiles.
Hilde seems a bit confused. "Beaten you…Anyway? She sees that the boy is not really hitting any buttons on the controller and then looks at the screen to see "Cale's" character beating hers to death. "Hey! No using your powers for video games! That is unfair!" She begins fighting back, but it is too late. She has lost this match. "Oh well…" Glancing back over, "Ah, Cale. I hear you had a bit of a run in the other night. You are well I hope?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It was Nick that got injured pretty badly," Cale can't help but glance at the screen a little bit, giggling. "That's the AI, you know? Like the computer opponent, not me," he finds this to be pretty hilarious. "Anyway, really, I'm okay. It was pretty scary, but Nick woke up today, and he's gonna be alright, so it's not that big a deal."
Hilde stops jerking the controller around so much. "Oh…I can play against the computer? That must be how the others got so good…" That statement seems to be to herself more than to Cale. "Ah, but Nick is feeling better then? This is good news. I heard there were large diamond spines in the lot where he was injured? I think it was that crazy lady who is on the news once in a while." She seems to be trying to remember something. "I forget what she calls herself…I think it was Greed."
"Yeah, it gets harder as you defeat each enemy, there's usually like, ten or so levels in games like these, and then the end boss. 'n you can set the difficulty level, too. But usually normal is pretty good for beginners," Cale explains. "Even I can beat it on normal. Anyway, yeah… her name was like… Envy, I think. She was definitely way above our level."
"Ah…I will have to get good enough to beat the hard level, then I can maybe beat some of the kids around here." Hilde glances over at Cale, "Yes. Envy. She is not the friendliest person, I hear. It's best to get away from her if you're nearby." She sits the controller down and stretches her arms above her head. "But I'm sure you figured that out yourself. Have you spoken to Mikhail recently? I meant to check back on him about his college search."
"Yeah…" Cale rubs his shoulder a little, cringing at the soreness. "I haven't, actually… I mean a little bit… this whole thing happened, I've been busy making sure Nick is okay and with class and stuff, I really haven't had time until now to sit down 'n… not be totally stressed." He smiles faintly, "I'm sure he'll figure it out though."
Hilde nods, "Well of course. I just wondered if you happened to see him before…You know, that whole thing happened." She sighs. "But these things are not so common. Don't let that woman frighten you into hiding. And at least you guys were together. Things like that…Well it's why I always tell people to go into the city with a buddy."
"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Cale thinks about that for a moment, before recalling Mikhail sneaking out by himself, alone, despite being grounded… he's going to… not tell Hilde about that. Nope! Nopenopenope! "Yeah I mean I'm not like, scared to go out but… I've never, that is…" he pauses for a moment, "Almost never been attacked like that before."
Hilde gives a warm smile, "Well we hope to prepare the students around here for situations like that…Though we hope that they won't happen. If you feel a little uneasy you can set up some extra sessions in the danger room. It's there to help train the students' abilities."
"Well, I mean, I haven't had a single session in there just yet! So I suppose that'd be good. I'm still, you know, getting used to all this. The powers, I mean. I guess they can be pretty useful," cale does admit - which is kind of a big deal, because so far he's been pretty nonplussed by the whole experience.
Hilde nods knowingly. "Yes, it can be overwhelming. Why when I first started getting my powers, I gained nine hundred pounds in only a few years. It…I went through a lot of furniture. But now that I am used to the weight, and now that I am used to hadling things very gently…Well it is much easier for me. You just need to see your gift as…Well as a gift. And practice makes perfect."
Cale shakes his head, "Yeah, I haven't had anything like /that/ happen, it's just sorta gross, is all! I'm glad; my powers aren't extreme at all, I'm basically still pretty normal, not like Nick's roomy Ahmed or… I dunno, Shane or something. Where they had to learn to control them before they could live normally. Seems like."
Hilde nods. "Yes, some seem to have it harder than others, but that does not mean that it cannot be challenging for anyone to become accustomed to even the most mild of abilities. Everyone has their own experience."
"Yeah, I guess… I don't know…" Cale ponders that for a moment. "I wonder how my sister's doing with her powers…" he trails off, typically cheerful face going pretty mopey when he thinks about it. "Come to think of it, she should DEFINITELY be out of the hospital by now…" the boy sighs, tugging on a lock of his hair anxiously. "I'm really getting worried."
The woman looks a bit concerned. "Is she still in the hospital? Or are you unsure? You are in contact with your family still, are you not?" Hilde knows that several students cut off communication with their families when they are found to be mutants. She was almost the same way when her parents were still alive.
"No, I mean, well, I don't know! They won't let me see her. Won't tell me /anything./ Bound by confidentiality agreements or some stupid crap!" Cale raises his voice a little, "No, I mean, I'm not - we're not. It's like - well, our parents are dead. Murdered, probably. In a car 'accident.' Which meant we ended up in guardianship of my dad's /brother,/ who's a bigoted jerk, but he wanted nothing to do with us, and us over to the state, which someone decided we should go here… Anyway. We got hurt kinda bad in the accident. I was out cold for like two weeks, and Amy, I don't know. I don't even really know what /happened./ We talked a little after, but." He flops back forcefully onto the couch. "I don't know. I'm worried. There's something weird going on. There has to be. She'd be out by now."
"I see…Kind of…" Hilde makes a mental note to look into this matter. Perhaps Miss Frost has more information on this boy's background. "But you did speak to her? Do you have an address? We may be able to arrange a visit. Even if it is fairly far away. Why we even traveled to Africa not too long ago so that Hosea could visit his friends." Not that the trip went well at all, but he doesn't need to know that.
"We got moved to a hospital here in the city… I know where it is," Cale chews on his lip nervously, "But last time I went there, they told me that there was nobody by her name there, and they didn't even have any records, after the /same people/ telling me I couldn't see her before. I mean, that's ridiculous. I KNOW she was there. I woke up, and we talked for like a half hour but she had to go 'cause I was still kinda weak and they were worried…" he curls up on the couch. "I mean, that's pretty weird right? People don't just /get lost/ like that."
Hilde seems a little concerned about this. "I'm sure she's fine. There is probably just a miscommunication somewhere. Let me ask around and see what I can find out." That does sound oddly suspicious. She'll see if she can get someone at the embassy to look into the hospital in question. Probably Rashmi, if she's not too busy.
"Yeah, maybe," Cale wraps his arms around his knees. "She's basically my best friend. I mean we are super close. I don't know if anybody could really understand. I guess that'd be good though. I mean it's not like there's a ton I can really DO besides, I don't know, tearing up the place myself. But there /are/ sick people in there and stuff… 'n… not to mention it's illegal." Though he sounds like he wants to do that anyway… despite not being a particularly violent person. Maybe he'd just /sneak/ in instead…
Hilde shakes her head and places an oddly heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now now, you can't go doing something like that. If you go around doing things like that…Well if you're not careful you could end up just like that lady that attacked you the other night. There are better ways to go about doing things.
"Yeah but…" Cale whimpers, "Amy always protected me. Before all this happened. From bullies, jerks, whatever. She's tough! I mean like, really tough. You have no idea. Kicking guys' butts twice our size, even!" he glances at Hilde, "Okay, maybe you do. But still. Whatever's happening, I feel like it's my turn. Even if I'm kinda weak. I mean, I'm not… I don't know where to start, even. Asking around? Is that where to start? I guess."
Hilde can't help but chuckle slightly. "If only my sisters were like you and yours. But no…Violence should be your last resort. Ask around, yes. For all you know, she could be perfectly fine somewhere but for some reason unable to contact you. You can't expect the worst and act on that. There are consequences to just barreling into a hospital and tearing the place up."
"Well no I didn't mean like… that…" Cale shakes his head. "It's just, like I said. When our parents were killed, we were there. It was definitely on purpose. Like we got run off the road. Even the cops are treating it as a possible homicide. What if someone is trying to finish us off, and they got to her?" he rests his chin between his knees, eyes tearing up. "Ugh. I'm sorry. I'm being depressing. It's just. Arg."
Hilde looks mildly uncomfortable now. "We'll figure it out, don't worry. I'm sure you'll see her again sooner than you think. And if she IS in the hospital, then maybe they just have her hidden in case they think someone is after her. And if the police are treating it like a homocide…Well maybe she's even in protective custody.
"Oh… wow…" Cale blinks, "I totally never thought about that…" he bites his lip. "But then, why am I here? I dunno. Maybe they figured it'd be better to seperate us. For some reason." It's rather amazing the way the his mind works… any optimistic idea he can grab onto, he goes for it. "Anyway… I guess I'll let you ask around. I just. Needed someone to vent at. Thanks for listening, Miss Hilde," he nods, uncurling for the couch, "And keep practicing," he gestures towards the game, "You'll get better eventually. It just takes repetition to get the combos and stuff down." With that, he darts off towards his room for the night.
