Players:
Summary: Sam has a chat with Heather to find out her goals for the new school year.
Date: September 4, 2010
Log Title: Understanding Heather
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Kitchen
This kitchen was designed to feed large numbers of people, and looks it with its bright white walls and stainless steel appliances. The stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher are all larger than normal. There is an island with stools around it for people to sit and eat around along with a table for twelve by the windows in back. Along the wall is a hole in the wall looking into the dining room so food can be passed back and fourth. Anything you want to cook or eat in the kitchen you will find the food and supplies to do so.
Odours coming from the kitchen at strange times in the day usually means that Heather has arrived at one of the times in her twenty five hour five part sleep cycle where she has come to the kitchen in order to prepare several meals for herself. In the strange evolutionary cooking method that she's used in the past, occasionally her dishes seem a little bit unappetizing: monteray jack cheese melted over a bed of sliced strawberries in the oven, chicken fingers sliced and used in a teriyaki stir-fry along with several different kinds of hot peppers, cauliflower and sliced asparagus, a steak cooked to medium rare but marinated in maple syrup, among many other strange concoctions. Some look good. Some seem atrocious. Heather zips between the different dishes, attending to them all in a hurried but calm manner.
It's an odd mix of smells that hits Sam and it's coming from where he's going. "So, what ya havin' for dinner?" He asks Heather as the cameras have already shown him where she is. He was trying to find her so they can have a chat similar to what he had with the other New Mutants. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and an Xavier's t-shirt and he doesn't realize the goggles are still on his head. "Ah was wondering if ya got a moment Heather."
Heather puts her tape recorder on the counter when Sam finishes speaking and plays, "I have several moments. I may seem like I'm not paying attention, but I am." After this part of the message, Heather looks briefly over her shoulder towards Sam and the recorder itself, before it continues, "And I am having many, many things for dinner. It's going to be good, tonight."
No comment on Heather's dinner from Sam, it's just, he doesn't know what to say. "Well, enjoy yer dinner than. Well since yer one of mah New Mutants this year Ah just wanted tah git tah know ya a bit." Sam says grabbing a can of coke before sitting down. "Now Ah know there's a file on ya, but Ah've been askin' everyone if they can tell me what their powers are in their words. Ah wanna hear it from you cause they can't always git it right on paper."
"My powers are a temporal disturbance centered on my body," plays Heather, after picking up and putting the tape recorder, "I am in Fast World, where time moves more slowly so that I appear faster to Slow Worlders, who appear slower to me." She stops zipping around to tend to her food, gesturing towards herself and then towards Sam at the appropriate times in the message. "The shift is five. I've recently learned that I have more potential than that, whether or not it will ever be expressed in this timeline, but that's where I'm at in terms of my abilities at this temporal instance." She pauses and plays, "Would you like anything to eat? I've made plenty."
Sam waves his hand. "Now thanks, Ah'm good. Ah prefer more cookin' like mah Ma's." Her food scares Sam. "Can ya explain tah me more about the Fast World and the Slow World?" Sam just wants to hear more about it from her as he does understand but then there could be something the X-Men is missing. "And what's this shift is five about?" That he doesn't understand.
"Well, time moves five times slower for me than for Slow Worlders," explains Heather's ever helpful translation machine, "So every time you feel a second pass you, it's stretched out to five in Fast World. Every time I feel five seconds pass, you've felt one." The speedster starts plating her meals, sometimes mixing parts from different dishes onto the same plates as she does so. "So that's speedshift five. It fluctuates, from what I can tell, between four point eight and five point two, I think. But that could also be measurement errors."
Sam actually did get some insight to Heather's powers that he didn't have before and it explains her worlds. "So Heather, any goals ya have for this year? See Ah wanna try to build a program in the danger room this year that suits you and the New Mutants instead of random sessions. Ah would like tah know what y'all want so Ah can build on that. With your times, it might prove interesting."
"I do have goals," plays the tape, "but I'm not sure if they'll make sense." She scratches her head, drawing fingers through tangled hair and noting, "I want to know what my potential can be. I want to learn how to play games better. And…" There is a pause on the tape. Heather presses pause, reconsidering the recorded words, frowning slighty.
"The potential bit, we can work on a bit in the danger room and really push your limits." Sam says but he's not sure how to do that with Heather. Her powers are going to be a challenge for him. "Playin' games better, if ya can elaborate on that since Ah'm not sure what kinda games ya mean." He's not sure if he can help with that one or not. "And what's the last one, Ah promise ya Ah won't think it's stupid or nothin'."
The tape recorder finishes playing as Heather finishes the thought at Sam's insistence, "…get my teammates to be confident in me, and not just dismiss me as crazy." She picks up the recorder again to get the next message out, "As for the games, I don't always understand the rules of reality. I'm very interested in strategy and tactics, but there are times that I do not know what to do. I want to get better at strategy. The Danger Room games," not that they're actually games, though Heather certainly thinks so, "I want to get better at winning them. I want to be the best at winning them."
"Well that Ah can understand and Ah'll help then realize that. Ah want all of you tah learn and all of ya to grow this year." Sam says as he thinks it's a very reasonable goal that he does want to help her with. Sure her diet might be weird but then there's tons of weird out there. "Well the Danger Room ain't exactly games, it's more practice but with strategy and tactics, Ah can figure a few things out. Ya play chess or risk at all?"
"I play lots of strategy games. Chess and Risk and Go and Checkers and Bagha Chal…" plays Heather, tilting her head as she contemplates them all. She sits down in front of one of her plates, quickly downing it. As it turns out, it's her teriyaki hot peppers concoction. She pauses from eating and raises her eyebrows, covering her mouth for a few moments as the tape continues to play, "Almost everything can be represented as a game, though. Goals, rules and potential paths. It's just sometimes hard to figure out all those things."
"Well what Ah can do is come up with danger room sessions that are definitely geared towards strategy." Sam knows he has a lot on his plate but he thinks he can manage. "Strategy is definately a great thing tah learn. Now on that thought, a bit, out of all yer teammates. Who do ya think would be best tah lead the team. Ah'm just bein' curious." Doesn't mean they will be.
"I would says myself," plays Heather, "but I do not inspire respect here. Is that arrogant to think I would be mostly suited?" She scratches her head and frowns, contemplating the question, "Connor is a lot like myself in some ways, but opposite in others. He's smart and focused. He is not confident, but he should be. Maybe I only think of him because I know him better than the others, though." Another bite is taken of her plate, like she just didn't learn her lesson the first time. Tears come to her eyes at this bite and she pauses again.
Standing up as Heather tears, Sam gets her a glass of milk to help counter the spice. "That should help with the heat. Unless ya like things that spicy." Who knows but tears aren't usually a good sign. "Ah want tah thank ya for yer honest answer. Ah appreciate that." Also it lets Sam know that confidence is something he'll have to look out for in Connor. "Well, Ah was a leader of a few of the teams Ah was on, it's a difficult job but sometimes ya gotta want tah do it tah be good at it. Who knows Heather, if ya inspire yer teammates enough, they might just look at ya as a leader." He really does think she might have the potential to be one at this point in the conversation.
Heather shakes her head at Sam's offer of milk and plays, "I have to measure all the qualities of the food honestly so I can judge if it survives. I will take the milk when I stop tasting it. Thank you." She looks down at the dish and waits a little longer before eating more. "I think it would be difficult to lead, yes, and there are lots of decisions. Goal organization would be difficult with people you care about. I might seem cold, but I do care about people here. I hope that I get a chance to get along with my teammates." Now, after the message finishes playing, she takes a swig of the milk.
The talk of food confusing Sam a bit but hey, to each their own. "The fact that ya do care is a good thing Heather. Ah'd like tah see ya have a chance tah lead them." He means it too. "Also Heather, Ah'd like ya tah know that this year, hand tah hand combat is gonna be mandatory for all of the New Mutants. Also Ah'm gonna be plannin' a few events for us."
"Hand to hand combat is good. I wouldn't mind surprising Chloe a bit instead of just using things she's taught me when we spar," plays Heather, thoughtfully. Chloe is pretty good at winning those sparring matches, having /far/ more experience. "And events are fine, so long as my temporal shift is taken into consideration. I take five one hour long naps per twenty-five hour cycle, usually evenly spaced. I can push them back a little bit if I need to."
"Well Ah'm definitely gonna need more insit on yer time and when ya need tah do things. Ya mind givin' me a schedule of yer typical slow person day?" Sam says getting the words world and person wrong. "Ah think Hand tah Hand is good for everyone tah know. Anyway do ya have any questions for me at all? Ah want y'all tah know that Ah'm gonna be around for ya if ya need anything."
"My schedule? Yes, I can provide you with it. Since it's a twenty five hour schedule, I will give you a month long calendar of my schedule, because it shifts every day, and sometimes I swap cycles," plays Heather. At least now she actually follows a schedule; when she started at the school, she would pretty much just go to sleep whenever and wherever she got tired. "As for questions for you…" the tape pauses as Heather takes another few quick bites, trying to down her meal as fast as possible, though it continues to play as she chews, "What do you think would be best for our team to focus on in your experience? I'm sure I will find out by your lessons, but I want to know."
"Trust." Sam answers without hesitation. "Ya gotta learn tah trust each other before ya can move forward. Ah ain't askin' y'all tah be friends but Ah think developing trust is key." He doesn't think any team can succeed without it. "And thank ya for yer schedule, it'll help me understand yer powers more Heather."
Heather stares silently after receiving Sam's response for a couple of full seconds before nodding her head quickly, answering, "Thank you. I appreciate your advice." After finishing her plate, Heather pushes it aside like it's evil and says, "I feel like I'm developing a secondary mutation: Fire breath."
Sam can't help but laugh as Heather mentions her secondary mutation. "Here a tip for yah Heather, if ya don't like the food, ya don't have to eat it." He says as he knows how hot peppers can get. "Ah appreciate yer honesty Heather. Thanks for openin' up tah me. Ah'm gonna get goin', Ah gotta find Max and Alvin before the school year starts as well. If ya ever need me for anything, Ah'm here for y'all." He takes the New Mutants seriously as they carry his old namesake.
Heather nods quickly at Sam, grabbing another one of the plates. Maple steak. Mmmm… "Thank you for talking to me. I will pay you a visit if I ever need anything. I'm sure it will be a good year."
