Players:
Summary: Nicholas and Quenton find out a bit about each other without biting each others heads off.
Date: December 7, 2011
Log Title: Not Everyone's A Jerk
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Stables
The smell of horse and hay immediately hit the sense for anyone who step in here. There are empty stalls for students with horses, and school owned horses for those who wish to ride. Tackle, saddles (English and Western), helmets, and grooming supplies are found neatly tucked away in a supply closet.
It's later in the night and Nick has been in the stable for the last hour or so. Soft country music plays in the background from a laptop set up off to the side. He's got one of the horses out, a bay quarter horse, and is currently grooming it. "You know Orion, I really don't know what I'm doing here. I don't feel like I'm me." He says as he speaks to the horse.
"Huh. So Orion really is a horse," a familiar droll voice mentions, and there he is, Quenton himself, in all his rebellious glory. Black shirt, black jacket, yes. We know the drill. He eyes the horse with raised brows, before shoving his hands into his pockets. "What's this crap that's playing?" he wonders to Nicholas, while he moves over towards one of the horses a moment, but for some reason it shies away from him.
Nicholas looks around as he brushes out the coat of Orion. "Yes, he really is a horse, he's my horse." He says almost defensively. "And that 'crap' is Keith Urban." He watches the horse shy away from Quenton and can't he but give a faint smile. "Horses tend to shy away from you if you're afraid of them, well I've seen it often enough. Most horses are fairly affectionate if you treat them right."
"I'm not afraid of them," Quenton replies, muttering, turning his red eyes over to Nicholas. "Who the hell is Keith Urban?" he wonders. "Some sort of hick folksong singer?" He just moves to lean against the wall, near one of the horses near the end, which just knickers in protest at him. "And it's not like I'd be able to rise one without fucking strangling it to death or something, anyway."
Nicholas reaches into his pocket and pulls out some sugar cubes, feeding some to Orion who nuzzles against him as he eats a few. "Many people are nervous around horses, you'd be surprised. And Keith Urban is an Austrailian Country Singer. I couldn't care less if you like him or not." Nick says with a bit of coolness in his voice. "Let me guess, you like that emo stuff."
"You'd be wrong. This is Austrailian? It doesn't sound Austrailian," Quenton murmurs, while he watches Orion and Nicholas quietly, red eyes flicking between them. "And yeah, no shit. Many people are afraid of animals in general." The horse near Quenton knickers again, a little more forcefully, and Quenton sort of moves away, clearing his throat, muttering, despite himself, "but I'm not one of them."
Nicholas looks over at the horse whose reacting to Quenton and shakes his head. "What's a horse in it's stall going to do to you?" He doesn't understand how people can be nervous around horses. "And when did you become the expert on what does and doesn't sound Austrailian? Because he's not singing about some Kangaroo?"
"He doesn't sound like Steve Irwin or the Crocodile Dundee," Quenton replies, while he eyes the horse a moment, before glancing over to Nicholas's face. "And what? You're the expert on what does and doesn't sound Austrailian? You don't sound Austrailian."
"That's cause I'm not, I'm American." Nicholas says flatly before giving Orion a pat on the neck and walking over to the horse by Quenton. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few sugar cubes and offers them to Quenton. "You don't even have to get on him, ride him or anything. Or her. Just, this usually helps." He says taking out another sugar cube and puts his arm over gate and tries to call the horse over to eat out of his hand.
Quenton doesn't take the sugar cubes, just muttering and shaking his head, grunting, "I shouldn't. Besides, what benefit do I get from a horse liking me?" He glances over at the horse, which sure enough rises its head and presses its muzzle into your hand, teeth nipping the sugar cube up and into its mouth. He watches, Quenton does, arms crossing over his chest.
Nicholas seems to have a natural way with the horse as it eats out of his hand. He lightly strokes his mane as he leans in and whispers a few things softly to calm the horse. "You get the satisfaction that you have a someone who doesn't give a fuck about what you did and likes you only for the sugar in your hand."
"Is that why Orion likes you?" wonders Quenton, glancing over the horse in question a moment. "'Cause you give him sugar cubes?" He shakes his head. "That's not the sort of love I want. That's fucking stupid," he grunts. "It's why I hate animals. I want - well, not me. But most people want people who like them for them, not because of they give 'em food."
"Nah." Nick says in regards to Orion before walking back and resting his head against the horse's. "Well people lie, they'll act like they like you for you and then something happens and their true opinions are revealed. Orion, he doesn't give a crap that I'm a mutant, he doesn't believe I'm a murder, he just, is the only being that matters anymore."
"All people?" wonders Quenton, while he interlaces his fingers behind his head. "You never had any actual person you trusted completely? That fucking sucks for you." He glances briefly over towards a horse. "There's a teacher here, the only good one in this stupid school, who knows I'm a mutant, who knows I've murdured people out of anger. He doesn't care about that, though. So it's not just animals."
"I used to have people I trusted till they all turned on me." Nicholas says bitterly. "My own girlfriend said that I beat her and made it sound like I'm this crazy mutant who murders his parents." He says taking a few deep breaths. "Well I haven't really met anyone here isn't an asshole." Including himself.
"Then you're not looking fucking hard enough. Just because people like you and me are around here doesn't mean the rest of the students in there are fucking dickweeds. Hell, half of them are so fucking nice it's headache inducing." Quenton rubs at his head, shaking it. "Not that I'm defending them." He's not, honest.
"Maybe I'm not but I don't really feel like looking either." Nick says with a bit of a scowl. "Sorry to hear that you murdered people out of anger." He says as he doesn't know how else to respond to that. "What happened?" He asks fairly bluntly.
"They killed my best friend," Quenton replies, upper lip curling at the memory. "He's one of those people who were genuinely good. One of those people who does't have a reason for caring, they just do because they don't know any other fucking way." His fists tighten as his body goes rigid. "Bad things happen to bad people. It was first time my final mutation kicked in. The only thing I'm sorry about was I didn't kill them before they killed Jake, or whatever the hell it did to me." He gestures to his face.
"Sorry." Nick says again but this time sounding more genuine. "I'd probably kill the people who killed my parents and Bodie if I had the chance. I couldn't save them, I wanted to. My powers saved me but I couldn't use them to save myself. I had my powers for years before that but I never knew I could protect myself from fire. I guess, you know how much it sucks. Bad things also happen to good people."
"So… wait a minute. The fire that killed your parents, someone started it?" Quenton's brow furrows, and for a moment he, too, sounds genuine, as he murmurs, quietly, "I'm sorry. That sounds pretty fucking bad. Couldn't imagine a world without my parents." He rolls his tongue in his cheek, before nodding, glancing off in the distance, towards the stable entry. "Jake was gay, my best friend. He got his ass kicked every day for it before I got my powers. I tried to defend him, got my ass kicked just as much. Then we got our powers, and I wanted to fight them off, but he told me, 'don't do it, Q. We need to be better than them.'" He shakes his head. "Bad things happen to good people," he echoes.
"They called themselves the Purifiers, purifying the world from mutants. Cause my parents gave birth to a mutant, they were just as horrible as I am." Nick says in a voice thick with venom. "Bodie…well…he helped me run away and next thing I see is an article in the paper saying that I caused the fire and shot Bodie cause I'm a mutant. The whole county painted me as this horrible person, my girlfriend, my best friend, my teachers, I…what happened. I didn't do anything to them." He says defensively before shaking his head, it's almost like he was starting to talk to himself more than Quenton. "I don't know any gay people, but that's cool I guess. That your best friend was, not that he's…uh….well that's cool that you used to defend him. I used to think David and I were like that but he's a lying bastard."
"Is that the reason you don't like the David in this school? He can be a good guy when he isn't trying to tell me to shut up." Quenton's still getting up there in the shut up record. "How long have you known you were a mutant? More importantly, how long do you think your parents knew?" he wonders to Nick, more somberly, now, while he watches the other boy.
Nicholas shakes his head. "I don't like him cause he's weird and creepy. I had no clue where I was when I woke up here and he knew everything about about. It was unsettling." And it set a lot of the tone on how he views the school. "And they knew as long as I knew, about four years now. It wasn't like it was something new, hell the whole county knew. You can't do anything in Sheridan county without everyone know, I swear to god."
"Four years, huh? And yet you still had a best friend and girlfriend until just recently? Doesn't sound like the town cared you were a mutant," murmurs Quenton, while he leans off the wall, wobbling a little unsteadily. Something he still has to work on. "Your parents must have been good people or something. How'd your horse get here, do you know?"
"They were." Nicholas says quietly before taking a few moments to answer. "Bodie, I somehow got free and made it out of the house and Bodie was there. He helped me get Orion saddled and gave me a few bucks and told me just to get away. I was going to head to Flordia but I ran out of money, I was injured and just passed out I guess. When I woke up both Orion and I were here. I pretty much just have Orion and the news paper article I saw a few nights before waking up here."
"So this Bodie dude, he didn't really fuck you over like everyone else did," Quenton murmurs, shrugging his shoulders now. "So really, I don't know. There's someone out there who cares something about you," he grunts, while he shoves his hands into his pockets. "That's worth something."
Nicholas shakes his head. "No, he didn't. He was our ranch hand ever since I was a little. He was like a brother to me growing up." He says as he continues to stroke Orion gently. "I don't know Q, I really don't. There's my Grandparents but according to Ms. Frost the Purifiers ended up doing something to them, I don't know what. Convincing them I did kill my parents or threatening them, I don't know. Just, Orion is pretty much it."
"Maybe you should try to get ahold of Bodie or some shit, just to see if he still wants to be in your lie or something. I mean, sure he just worked for your parents, but he gave you money and saddled up your horse here." The tall red-eyed mutant shrugs his shoulders again. "Hell, I don't fucking know, either." Quenton glances aside to Nicholas. "I don't even know why I'm trying to help."
"Cause they killed him too." Nicholas says chewing on the inside of his cheek. "I don't really know how, I was gone but I guess they shot him. Said I did that too. It's stupid cause I know I'd probably get killed if I went back but I just want to be back in Sheridan where everything is familiar."
"I'm sorry," Quenton murmurs to Nicholas, now, watching the other boy, before dropping his gaze, shrugging his shoulders. "These fucking Purifiers should be stopped. Some of us are just fucking kids." His fists slide from his jacket, clenched. "Should be put down, each and every last one of them."
"And I'm sorry about your friend Jake." Nicholas says to Quenton before finally turning around and running a hand through his hair. "Yeah they should. Both stopped and put down. I'm gonna head back to my room now, get my homework done. Uh, nice talking to you. I'm Nicholas by the way, or Nick."
"You already know my name, but yeah. Call me whatever the fuck you want." Quenton slips his standard issue cell phone out. Curfew was soon. He sighs. "During Christmas vacation I'm gonna take a flight over to Sheridan, see what's what. You have a good one," he murmurs, flipping it back into his jacket.
