Players:
Summary: Lucas tells James about his mother.
Date: February 19, 2010
Spreading News
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - James and Lucas's Room
This is James' room, and by his, we mean 'His.' From the looks of it, in the absence of a roommate, he's taken over the accommodations of two. In one corner of the room, two beds have been pushed together while the window itself has been covered by a few blankets and a large plank of woodprobably a desktopto block out ambient light. But even with such personalization, there's still at least one desk and dresser left intact. With school books in one and clothes in the other (although not necessarily in the right order) the room obviously belongs to a student. But, with a lack severe of personal effects to describe what type, all that you have to go by is a large occurrence of gnaw marks distributed randomly across several items.
Lucas opens the door to the room, his cell phone in one hand, a stack of biology books in the other. He closes the door, a little harder than nicely, and he drops the books to the floor in the corner with a sigh. He's wearing a pair of light blue tattered jeans and a tight wife beater, a blue flannel left unbuttoned over it. He yanks off the flannel, tossing it to the floor, and he flops onto his back on the bed with a huff.
James looks up for a book on engines and pans his gaze over towards you, "What's up?" One eye ridge raises higher than the other as the hyena looks over at you. He gives your scent a snort and turns in his chair to face you.
Lucas sighs, tossing his phone to the flannel on the floor. "Ah'm fine," he says, with an annoyance that says clearly he's not. He folds his arms over his chest, staring up at the ceiling.
James nods and tilts his head, "You sure?" He watches the little phone bounce, "Cause, well, I'm not going to press…but." He shrugs and slowly turn back, "I'm over here just in case there is."
Lucas grumbles, "My maw's cancer has spread," he says, through grit teeth. And then suddenly, he just begins punching the brick wall. Repeatedly, shouting with each punch, "GrrAGGHGH!! Arrgh! Arrgh! Arrgh!" He punches it and punches it, the bricks chipping from his slightly enhanced strength.
James springs out of his seat, "Whoh whoh whoh…!" He practically falls on top of you, putting his paws on his arms. Not restraining you yet he gets in real close, "Lucas, dude…." He looks down at you over his muzzle, giving you his best, 'oh I hope this doesn't freak him the hell out' look, "Dude, talk to me."
Lucas struggles for another second or two once James is there, before he settles, his face twisted in an angry scowl. He huffs, relaxing, and growls, slamming his head back onto the mattress in defeat. Slowly, he shakes his head, his lip curled, "It's metastasized in her lungs," he says, growling.
James stays there for a moment, hands pulling back just enough to in to make sure you're not going to do anything else. He looks down, pulling back just enough to remain sitting by your side, "Oh…sorry." The hyena falls quiet; unsure of what else to say since nothing he has to offer will be enough. Instead, he reaches out and places his hand on your leg, head slightly bowed.
Lucas isn't strugling anymore. He grinds his teeth, looking at the wall. He huffs, and then just mutters, "…She's gonna die, James. This is it… the beginning of over…" His leg muscles tighten under James' hand as he thrashes one single time, slamming his fist onto the mattress. "Fuck!"
James remains quiet, paw tensing a little as your leg does. He tilts his head some and looks towards you but, but not at you, "God Lucas…that's…" the sentence never finishes as he finds a nice neutral spot on the floor to direct his gaze. He then leans over and takes your hand in his, cupping both paws around it, "We'll find a way. Dr. McCoy…something. There's got to be something we can do." The word 'we' is an unusual for him, but it comes out automatically, without regret. He tries to pull you up into a hug, surrounding your smaller body with his should it happen.
Lucas tries to pull out of the hug, but not very hard. He's not successful, and he just sighs. He shrugs a little, "Dr. Brighten's done everythin' she can… She's… She's like Dr. McCoy… Connected… Smart… Same kind of resources…" He swallows, it's loud and heavy. "Ah'll, um… forget it, okay Jim?" He nods a little, composing himself some. "Ah'm all right."
"Dude," James says, "No you're not. And I don't need super senses to know that." He does let you go, "We can try, right?" He gives you a look, "Over isn't always over, right?" He shakes his head, moving his mane a little, "I know you don't need to hear, it, and it sounds all weird, but you know I care. So, you need anything from me, you let me know. I'll move mountains if I gotta."
Lucas sighs, and he shakes his head, "Last time Ah tried to make it better Ah ended up a demon," he says. "So… no… Ah trust Dr. Brighten. She's got this, and she's done it all…" He chews his lip a moment, and then sighs again. "Do me a favor, okay, just… Can we keep this between us? Ah don't need anyone's sympathy, okay?"
James gives that some thought. "No Rashmi?" he asks, "'Cause the rest of the school can kiss my ass." He puts his hand on your back, claws only digging in enough to make their presence known, "It's a team thing. No one else needs to know. We're like…I dunno…family is wrong. But you get the idea." He shrugs, continuing the thought, "But yeah, no one else."
Lucas grits his teeth again, and stands up, grabbing his flannel off the floor. "Ah need some fresh air. Ah'm goin' for a walk. Don't wait up." He moves to the door, laying his hand on the handle, and then looks at James. "Hey." He pauses, and then says, a little more quietly, "Thanks." He opens the door to go.
James nods and puts his hand up as he asks, "Hey, what are roommates for?" He gives you a final sniff, "Need anything, just ask." He stands up and heads back over to his desk to bury his muzzle in an engine book.
Lucas nods a little, "Ah'm fine." He gives a little smile to James, and then leaves.
