Players:
Summary: Cooler heads prevail when Rash and Spotty talk through a recent issue
Date: August 28, 2010.
Log Title: It's Who We Are
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Woods
Pine, Oak, Birch, and many other trees can be found in these woods. Paths lead all through out them for students to take walks. The occasional bench can be found along the paths. Students shouldn't worry about wandering too deep in these woods as its almost impossible for them to get lost here.
The sun is barely starting to set on a fine Saturday early-evening. One that James has been enjoying to the fullest out in the Back-40. School starts soon, and with it a full load of classes and extra security detail as the incoming students return to Xaviers—or appear for the first time. Laying not far from the tree line, James holds one of the many pamphlets Dr. Strange gave him when Kenta brought the student to his home. Tonight's light reading: Handbook for the Almost Nearly Recently Deceased.
For James, it's easy to tell Rashmi's poking around out in the woods, coming from the direction of the school's little-used chapel. Not precisely the most stealthy outdoors traveler, the sound of twigs breaking, muttered complaints about stray branches, and leaves crunching carries rather a long ways. Once, a broom is set down for ease of disentangling clothing from flora.
Setting the flyer down, James turns to watch and wait for the disgruntled owner of the sounds to become visible, only slightly considering a quick retreat before the former Junior leader shows up. "Hi Rashmi," he says at an elevated volume as if to direct her, "Over here," looking only slightly bemused.
"Just a minute!" comes the call from some yards away, and the sounds of the redhead failing at woodscraft draws closer. Finally, she emerges from around a tree, picking twigs from her braid. "Um… hi," she mutters, flushing a bit. "Was I bothering you? Sorry. Just sort of got….*ow!*" and finally the stick comes free. "…tangled."
James shakes his head, eyes half-lidded, "Not at all." Watching the red-headed girl remove the stick, he adds, "And welcome to my world. It's why I stay on trails." That and ticks. Ewwww. "Everything alright? Or were you looking for me?" From the tone, he's not sure, but given their last run it, he wouldn't be surprised.
"Well yeah, but, not many people *go* to the chapel, so, it's pretty easy to get turned around…" The stick is dropped, hair pulled over her shoulder and unbraided. "Actually no, but, it *is* good to see you," she says, flashing a sincere smile up at the hyena as she pulls a brush out of her book-bag. "Feeling better?"
Patting a spot nearby, James responds with, "I'm abiding. Mostly." Folding the reading material he got from Strange, he stuffs it in his pocket. "Out of everyone here, I like to be mad at you the least…but it's your choice to do what you do. Just be ready for the eventual fallout, you know?" He offers a soft, non-confrontational shrug.
Rashmi bobs her head, gathering up her hair and sitting where offered. "I know," she says quietly. "Remember, James… I *lived* in the City, and it was like one of his favorite targets here, y'know?" Looking down at her brush, she pauses a moment, and shrugs. "…But even if something goes wrong… I don't think I could have stodd it if I didn't *try.*" Looking up at James, she chuckles. "Guess it's just the busybody in me, right?"
James smiles, or does the next best thing, and says, "Or idealist. Which I'd hate to see you not be. But, the man isn't going to change. I know that's hypocritical since I've asked for so many chances. But, I'm also not going to flatten a city because someone got my pizza order incorrect." He sighs and shrugs, "I honestly say I fear for your life. Being that close to him. It' just…crazy."
Rashmi leans over, looping an arm around James' shoulders. "Honestly? Thanks for that, James. It's good to know there's someone who *doesn't* think I can suddenly make miracles just by looking at whatever." Letting loose a quiet sigh, she closes her eyes. "I know… it's crazy. And if something goes bad, I'll be right there, and it'll probably be me taking the hits and maybe getting seriously hurt. But, y'know…? Still wouldn't be worse than the cage, and the fire pit. So… I can deal."
James puts his arm over Rash's and gives it a snug before the girl pulls away. He can understand her willingness to take hits, kick ass, chew bubblegum, and change the world. It's not that far off his own ideals—if you squint really hard, tilt your head, and turn off the lights when you're comparing the two. But still: "I know," the hyena says as his ears fold back a little, "It's just, I'm a tired of super villains. The demons, Sinister, Selene, Wendigo, Selene again. And when I hear things like Magneto is going to be a teacher and that he's digging up killer robot pieces in our back yard…it's a little bothersome."
Rashmi doesn't seem much inclined to pull away, at the moment. Probably at least part of it has to do with the mass of hair she continues to brush out, but there's contentment in her scent, a sense of peace. "Yeah… but it's funny, none of it stopped for me when I got out. ….Actually when you think about it, it sort of got even worse… I mean, supervillains *from the future,* how crazy is that? Hmph… but I'll deal. If it wasn't that, it'd be shellfish bank robbers, and besides half the clients Ms. Walters deals with aren't even on the *planet.*"
James sighs and shakes his head a little, "Forgot about Ahab. Thinking too much about the effects, not the cause." To the rest of the news, he smiles, "How's it feel to be big league now? I mean, wow…that's awesome. You're gonna be doing 'that' with your life. Dealing with aliens and stuff. How cool is that?" It never really works out like that, but the teen don't think that far in advance. Or that he's involved with equally wild things. "Hey…" he asks, sheepishly, "Did you get future dream-sorta-stuff too? Or was it just the school?"
"…Yeah," Rashmi mumbles after a short pause. "…Yeah I did. … …I don't like to think about it, and anyway it's not going to happen now, no there's no sense worrying."
James nods deftly. He likes that idea of forgetting it all. Somewhat. He thinks. Yep. For sure. Well…maybe not. His flashes weren't so bad. At least, the stuff he bothered to deal with. He missed the bigger picture, more concerned with the immediate threat of 'Jinx' than just a bunch of fighting. "So…I'm…sorry about the other day."
Rashmi chuckles. "It's okay, you know. It's not like I didn't understand. I mean, everything you've had to deal with, and suddenly I show up and tell you that?" One shoulder lifts and falls, the hair gathered up for braiding. "It was good to see you. Good to see you *happy.* You really should be happy more, I liked seeing that."
"I'm trying," James says as his ears point sideways for just a second, "Things changed for me recently. I'm trying to make stuff work. I just think maybe this is my one shot, so I better start trying harder to do it right." Near death has that effect on some. "But, I'd be happier if I knew my friends were safe," he says as he grins a little, poking lightly as he puts a spin on the negative.
"I'll do my best," Rashmi says sincerely. "As much as I hated worrying for everyone over the summer, I *definitely* don't want to put my friends through that." The ribbon ties the end of her hair off, and she lets the plait fall into her lap, peering up at the hyena. "So what book were you reading, anyway? Thought you didn't like to sit still long enough to stare at words, y'know?"
There's a smirk from the creature, "I'm more of a reader than anyone figures. I had almost 2 years to get acquainted to a lot of books before I can here. And my grandfather had a bunch." Which might explain a lot. All that time coped up on a farm, then released on an open range of sorts. No wonder he's overly kinetic. Pulling some of the papers out of his pocket, he shows pamphlets with such titles as, 'Demonic Possession and You,' '7 things to consider before Selling Your Soul,' and 'Don't touch that Succubus.' "Dr. Strange felt I needed extra help since I'm a crap magnet."
Rashmi blinks sharply at the pamphlets, eyes going wide at some of the less… believable titles. "…Wait. Who's Dr. Strange?" Shaking her head, she chuckles at a thought, looking up and raising an eyebrow. "Also, maybe you'd like to have my notes after the semester's done? We have a Supernatural Studies teacher, and I'm *pretty* sure I'm going to be taking that class, so…?"
James nods, "Sure! I'm already done with a few of these." He hands her, 'Vampires: good idea or BAD Idea?' and 'So, Your Mother was a Werewolf.' To the question, he says, "Some doctor guy with a house and a boyfriend in New York. Kenta took me over after Selene told him that I still had her voodoo stuff on me. The Doctor took it off and said I'm really, 100% free of anything. So, from now on, if I try to bite Robyn, it's all my fault." Mmmmm…forbidden Robyn. "That's a class? That's awesome! What else are you taking?"
Rashmi grins, blinking down at the pamphlets. "Yeah, um…. turns out I was carrying a little left over from the demons, too… So our medic, this guy with these weird holy tattoos and wings made out of Sanskrit took care of it. Actually it's *really* neat there James, I think you might like it… well. If you could deal with, y'know… sort of government military stuff. There's the Supernatural thing, and my pre-law introductory classes, and the Powers training stuff… I'm sort of taking it easier a little this semester, I kind of didn't want to tell Robyn but I've been working myself into the ground lately. Mostly making up for the custody thing, then so I could do something other than worry about everyone. Y'know."
Rather flatly, James says, "No" to the idea of Barnes, "I don't want to be a government tool for a country that keeps trying to push anti-mutant laws. But…it does 'sound' cool. And at least they remove your demon stuff." There's a flash where he wonders if the 'stuff' was his fault. But, if memory serves, Rashmi handed him his ass, "Custody thing?"
Rashmi inclines her head, not precisely an unexpected answer, but she doesn't seem to want to belabor the point. "Yeah. See… I was like one of two people that Ahab guy wanted to get ahold of, that wasn't living here, right? So Ms. Walters I guess got the Avengers together to figure out how to keep me safe, since he was *traveling time* and nobody knew where he'd try and show up." There's another small shrug, and she looks down at her lap. "So, y'know… rather than keep a whole bunch of *really important superheroes* worrying about me, I just decided it'd be better to stay at Barnes when I wasn't at work."
James blinks a few times, "He wanted you? Like specifically? Whoh…that's pretty huge." He raises an eyeridge, unsure of how someone as nice as Rashmi can piss off someone enough to make them travel time just to put the hurt on. "But everything's okay now, right? I mean, he's gone, isn't he?" He'd like to ask *why* but given the reaction to the Future question, he avoids pressing the issue. That, and his tit for tat involves telling someone he and the girl that kinda hated were trading spit on a regular basis. Blaaah. "And…The Avenger? Like Captain America?" Stars instantly appear in his eyes, "Did you meet him!?"
Rashmi sighs heavily. "If *only.* God, that would have been *incredible.*" Matching stars in the redhead's eyes. "But like Iron Man, um… They were talking about Daredevil, and of course Ms. Walters… Iunno, I wasn't there for the meeting, I just know what Ms. Walters told me."
"Still though…you're working for one of them that's still awesome worthy. I hear she's great! And someday you'll meet him." He smirks big, "If you do, get him to sign something for me." He falls a little quiet, deciding now's the time to ask, "You're *okay* right? I mean, everything is fine and you're happy? 'Cause, we all still miss you." And by 'we' he's speaking mostly for himself—but he won't let on.
Rashmi nods slowly. "I'm okay. I miss you guys a lot though… really. It's nice having Mike at Barnes, but it's just not the *same,* you know?" Sighing, she leans in against James' shoulder. "As much as everything kept going crazy… I like it here. It's *nice,* seeing kids running around, having friends who can understand what it's like… even if it's just a little, you know? It's just so… *huge,* out there. I mean it's cool and all, but sometimes I don't know how I got to *be* there… Like the party. Oh *God,* James, you should have been there, it was just *incredible.* Like some kind of fairy tale… And I still can't stop thinking, 'I'm just a kid from the Kitchen! What am I even *doing* here,' you know?"
James reaches up and gives his friend a fond hug with his arm, "It's because you're the most awesome of all of us. Someday, you're going to be running that place, or this place, or something even better. And it's all because it's…just who you are." He grins and nuzzles with the side of his head, "Okay…I'll admit it. I miss you lots."
Rashmi smiles gently, reaching up to hug the hyena's arm. "That really means a lot to me, you know… I worry about you a lot. Not just because of everything that's happened, but… It's always seemed like you could never figure out what you wanted, you know? Sometimes it'd be to be like the rest of us, sometimes to get *away* from everyone, sometimes trying to be Mr. Cool like Lucas was… But you never really stopped to think about *you,* y'know?"
James grins, "Only took dying to figure out what that was. And that I already had it to begin with." He gives Rashmi's form another squeeze, as if to indicate her and several others of her ilk: Friends "I won't pretend I have my act together. But, I'm ready for my senior year. And, anything else I'll figure out along the way, you know?"
Rashmi nods, smiling brightly. "Yeah… I guess that's just the trick, right? But don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, okay? Just having friends is nice, but good friends give each other a hand when they really need it."
The sound James makes isn't an encouraging one, even though he's verbally agreeing, "Yeahhh." Some habits die hard. His self-regenerate. "You give me your number and I'll call. Maybe see you more than just at the mansion." It's the best he can promise in regards to seeking help. But, then again, the kid who once though himself more than just a big dumb animal now knows different.
"Here," Rashmi says, pulling a photo packet…not entirely full, either, judging by the heft…out of her bookbag. "My number's on the inside flap. I've got a packet for everyone, just so nobody thinks I'm too far away to care." Inside, most of the same pictures she'd showed off the last visit; some of Rashmi and Jennifer as Glinda and Elphaba, some of the 'road trips' work at the firm is known to require, some of the her family's apartment by the Kitchen, all small spaces and warm colors. None of Barnes, or of the office itself, however.
James takes the packet and set it on his leg—after checking for said number, "Alright. And mine never changed." He stretches a little in his seat, "Alright, it's getting a little late. Not that I care, but *someone* is going to have to guide you back, less you get trapped in the briar patch. So, it might as well be the guy with the half-mile night vision." He stands and resumes his normal omfg-height that lefts him put his head on Rashmi's as he gives her a real hug, "Magnet-Head gives you trouble. Call me. I'll let you take me to dinner after I get out of the hospital."
Rashmi wraps her arms around the heyna's waist, hugging tightly. "Doesn't have to be after you get out of the hospital, you know," she says. "I don't even know what to do with all the money I'm making at the office." $10 an hour isn't much, especially after taxes, but when your only expenditures are more books to fill your collection, a lot gets left over. "So call me when you feel like coming to the City. I'll show you around, and we can stop for dinner someplace, okay?"
"Deal," James says with some finality. The type that says he might actually do it. "Maybe I'll bring Connor or Lucas. They both need to get out more. And, you know…for someone who can go anywhere…Connor doesn't get out enough. Yeesh!" He turns to go, hand on the small of Rash's back, "Oh…check it out." He shows off his face, "All gone. No line, no waiting! Isn't that cool? I don't have a mark on me." Good news, until you consider that this is free license to do realllllly stupid things with the idea that he'll be fine a week later, "Next week…I'm gonna Base Jump off the tower!"
And a hand comes up to close over the hyena's muzzle, the Look of Infinite Patience dragged out once more. "Yes, James, I'm *very* glad you healed just fine, and you look great. How about we pretend you didn't say the rest of that, okay?" And with a bright smile, she slips her arm around James' waist, allowing herself to be led through the forest.
