2010-02-05: Tackling A Problem

Players:

Lucas_icon.jpg Dallas_icon.jpg

Summary: An accidental late night meeting leads to a tentative truce.

Date: February 05, 2010.

Log Title Tackling A Problem

Rating: PG-13.


Xavier Mansion - Communications Tower

This large metal tower has many mysteries and stories surrounding it. Deep in the woods it supplies most of the radio frequencies of the school. Danger and High Voltage signs hang all around the tower, but that doesn't stop the occasional group of students from trying to climb it.


t's late. The moon is high in the cloudy sky, and Lucas has snuck out of the mansion. He has his duffel bag, packed with his clothes, slung over his shoulder. With a heave, he tosses the bag up and over the wall, before jumping up and pulling himself up to the top of the property fence, and beginning to slide over the top of it.

Dallas isn't /strictly/ late for curfew but he's also used to keeping whatever personal life he has locked down and quiet. Thus he's running through the woods outside the school in shadow form, all but invisible except in breaks in the trees where the shadow-wrapped figure can be seen bounding over the snow mounds and running fast enough that he barely cracks the surface other than landing from jumps. Near the wall he takes a single huge bound and sails over the wall in a sort of horizontal swan dive position, arms outstretched and body parallel to the ground. Unfortunately, the section of wall he's passing over is suddenly and inexplicably occupied by Lucas. Given the laws of momentum and gravity, either a quick duck or a sudden impact is going to come next.

Dallas lands next to Lucas, laughing a little, because, well, it's been that kind of night and he hasn't seen who he impacted yet. His shadow drops as his concentration wavers and he's left revealed. He looks over to Lucas and the goofy grin on his face vanishes, to be replaced by a scowl and then, grudgingly, a more neutral expression. He speaks. "Sorry. You okay?"

Lucas rolls his eyes, and grabs his duffel bag. "Like you care." He pushes himself to his feet, slinging the packed bag over his shoulder. "Good luck, X-Man." He turns, and begins to walk towards the woods.

Dallas stands himself, giving Lucas a flat look. Well, there goes neutrality. He says, "I don't care. But I don't want any more detention. And why are you wandering through the woods with a bag?"

Lucas shrugs, not looking back. "Ah'm gettin' outta your way." He begins to shove his way through the branches of the underbrush, no shadow helps him do it easily. "Good luck with the boathouse."

Dallas considers that and then shrugs. His voice is faintly mocking as he says, "I would have guessed you for a lot of things but a coward wasn't one of them. Good to know, I guess." He turns and starts heading down the path towards the school at a casual speed, his expression carefully (and somewhat falsely) neutral.

Lucas stops, turning around, "Yeah. Maybe Ah am a coward." He shakes his head a little, and his tone is more defeated than angry. "You WANT this. This is your dream. You wanna be an X-Man. Ah wanna be… Well, Ah can't be what Ah wanna be." He gestures a little with his hand, "An' as long as Ah'm here, you can't either. So…" He sigh, "You'll be a great X-Man. Ah've done enough damage here already."

Dallas rolls his eyes and says, "Oh, bullshit." It's probably the strongest curse he's used at the school. "If you're running away, it's not because you're making way for somebody else. It's because things are hard and you don't want to deal with them." He turns back to Lucas and adds, scornfully, "And let me guess, Rashmi is the last to know, right? So you know, you're turning tail and running on a challenge and on somebody who, for no good reason /I/ can see, actually cares about you because oh, somebody doesn't like you!" He shrugs. "News flash, hick boy. You're not that likable. Plenty of people don't like you. In fact, I'd say that I could fill a /football stadium/ with people who didn't like you just on general principles without knowing you're a mutant or anything else about you. Running away just gives a whole NEW group of people a chance to dislike you. And they won't have the means to not get fried."

Lucas furrows his brow a little. "Ah can deal with no one likin' me. And yeah, Ah can even deal with leavin' Rashmi." He shakes his head a bit, "But Ah've made a mess of things what Ah can't undo. And now, it's makin' it so people who WANT to be here are gettin' in trouble and refusin' to do what they need to do, like you, like Mikhail…" He shrugs a little, very calmly. "Ah'm moving aside for the greater good, Dallas. You CAN'T fail here."

Dallas looks angry, "Stop taking credit for what I do. Or what Mik does. Those are on us. You /don't/ control us, no matter what your ego tells you. Mik clocked you because it was the right thing to do, given your personality. Robyn and I feel the same way. But that's not because of you, just in reaction /to/ you. So you know, if you want to help, how about just not being a dumb ass rather than running away." He shrugs again. "Your call. But I'm guessing that with those oven mitts, your temper problem and a general lack of funds, you're going to be in big trouble soon enough. And making the rest of us look bad when you do it."

Lucas sighs again. "Mikhail tried to kill me in the cemetery a few days ago, and has swore to keep tryin'. And you got extra detention because you don't wanna work with me. You both feel that way because of what Ah done. That IS my fault, and it ain't ego." He shakes his head a little, "Ah ain't lookin' to get credit for nothin', Dallas. Ah'm tryin' to get outta your way. You should be glad Ah'm leavin', not out here tryin' to beg me to stay."

Dallas snorts. "I'm not begging you for /anything/. I'm pointing out that you're being stupid and your stupidity is going to make things tougher for me. Also, Mik's leaving and I'm … going to try to deal with you. Fine. Okay. The demons stuff wasn't you. But you were a jerk before that and you're being a jerk now." He starts to walk away again. "Stay. Leave. Whatever. I'm sick of taking abuse from your emo, pity-party, 'look at me, my life sucks' ass. Suck it up. Either here or whatever prison you end up in."

Lucas watches Dallas for a moment, and then says, more quietly, "Ah ain't emo." He begins to follow Dallas back towards the mansion. "My life sucks, but Ah ain't emo. That's Robyn." And then he smiles, identifying that as humor, awkwardly.

Dallas looks back and nods, grinning faintly. "He's okay, when he's not mad." There is a sense of hesitation and awkwardness from Dallas as he looks towards Lucas and then he sighs, taking Jericho's words to heart because the alternative is a permanent state of war. He shrugs, "Ok, let's start over." And then, rolling his eyes, "And get that stupid boathouse rebuilt as soon as we can. Who needs one in the middle of winter, anyway?" Of course, buried in there is that 'start over'. It's an offer. A cease fire. And one that he can make without falling into that 'begging' description. He leaves the ball in Lucas's court and just keeps walking.

Lucas tilts his head a little, stopping walking. After a moment, he smiles, that giant, toothy dimple laden smile that is so contradictorily charismatic. He begins to walk again, a few steps behind Dallas. "Thanks," he says, almost inaudibly, before making the rest of the trip in silence to not ruin it.

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