Players:
Summary: Hilde finds Theo out in the woods after curfew.
Date: September 8, 2010. 11:13pm
Log Title: Westchester Bears
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 clouds partly cover the night sky, though some stars still peek through. Theo likes it out here. He can escape the sounds of machines back at the mansion. The communications tower is still out of range for him to pick it up, but as he becomes more sensitive, he's noticed that the distance he must keep is becoming greater.
The boy skipped the first day of classes. The straight A, intellectually boastful, and academically stimulated boy was nowhere to be found. Now that the evening has worn on, he's back in the woods, having given no explanation for his absence to anyone. He sits against a tree in the thick brush, the light of his iPhone's screen lighting up the darkness as he silently stares at a picture saved to it.
There is a soft thudding approaching from the distance. The sound moves down one of the paths and pauses for a moment before continuing onward. It would appear that Hildegarde is on a late-night walk through the forest. Perhaps this is an odd thing for someone to do, but the woman was having a hard time sleeping and these woods remind her of her parents' estate in Germany. She is wearing her usual metal boots, though they do not clang since she is on soft earth. She has on a long white dress and has a scarf over her hair. As the moonlight peers through the clouds above the woman stops again, removing her scarf and smiling up at the sky. It is lovely here, though the light from the city is too close. She cannot see as many stars as she could back home.
The technopath would easily be snuck up upon, were it not for his senses telling him that machines had moved within range. He darkens the screen only moments after Hilde comes within range, and quickly stands to his feet, brushing the dirt off of the seat of his pants. He turns around to see who has come into the woods, almost as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "Who is it?" he asks, with a tone that is a mix between accusatory and intimidated.
Hildegarde bends down and appears to be beginning to remove her boots when she hears the voice. She stands back up slowly and frowns, cocking her head and trying to determine where the voice is coming from. She looks over in the general direction of Theo and frowns slightly. "Hildegarde." She had learned during classes that many of the students had a difficult time pronouncing "VonReginleif" and had simply told the students to call her "Professor Hildegarde". She narrows her eyes, "Who are you, and what are you doing outside this late? You sound like a student. The woods can be dangerous this time of night. Bears and raccoons and coyotes."
"Theo," comes the quick reply. "And I'm minding my own business." Beat. "Bears in Westchester? Seriously?" he asks. "How come you're out here?" he challenges in return, as if there was some sort of equality in authority.
Hilde searches her memory. "Theo…Theo…" She seems to remember there being an issue with him in the lounge a few weeks back, but there are so many new faces to learn she is not entirely certain. "What? Yes bears in Westchester. They are always going through people's garbage and the like. And they tend to stay in wooded areas like this." She shakes her head, "And I am allowed to be out after hours, I am a professor, you have a curfew." The woman crosses her arms and tilts her head slightly. She is silent for a few moments before continuing. "Do you come here often? It is a lovely forest."
"I go inside when I feel like it," Theo answers. It isn't with a challenging tone, though, more with a matter-of-fact tone. "I come out here a lot, yeah. It's quiet, I don't have to listen to all of the machines. The more I learn about my power, the more of them I hear." His tone calms considerably as he talks. He looks around. "Reminds me of camping in Boy Scouts."
The woman nods. "Ah, you are the one who can communicate with machines then." One of the students had warned Hilde about this ability. Apparently someone in the school liked to use this ability to play tricks on people, though whether it was Theo they were talking about she is unsure. "I see, well I suppose being away from all of the mechanical devices would be a good way to wind down." The woman moves over to a rock and sits down on it, finally spotting Theo standing in the shadows. "Have you tried finding a way to block the effects? Perhaps a metal of some sort? I hear that Magneto has a helmet that can block psychic energies." She ponders for a moment. "I mean, you probably shouldn't seek him out, but someone here may have information on its properties."
Theo arches one brow against the dim light. "Why, you afraid of him?" he asks. He expects that most of the staff would be intimidated by the master of Magnetism. "I don't really care for handicaps," he says. "I'm going to learn to deal with it. I don't like relying on a crutch. If you rely on a crutch, people can kick it out from under you." May say worlds for the way he processes things.
Hildegarde seems to ponder for a moment. "Fear him? Magneto?" She makes a noise as though she is trying to choose her wording correctly. "I do not fear him, exactly. I do not think that he would have a reason to cause harm to myself or to this school. Though I do fear what his actions and message could do to harm mutant rights. He lacks patience, and his actions are too impulsive. It makes things harder for the rest of us." Hilde nods, "Seeing a crutch as a weakness is perhaps a wise way to look at things. Though there are also advantages to dulling down your abilities. It can make it easier to interact with others and then if you need to use your powers to their fullest you can remove the crutch. I often wear heavy weights on my arms and legs to decrease my strength slightly."
Theo huffs. "Well, I try not to make my life revolve around using my powers," he admits. "I would rather people see me as a person apart from my powers. It pisses me off the way people here all think that we are some sort of superheroes just because we have something a little different. Maybe that's why mutant rights really suffer. Because mutants really DO think they are better than other people." His recent brush with death notwithstanding.
Hildegarde shrugs. "It is possible, though it is likely that the major factor here is that the humans are affraid of what we can do. When something goes wrong and a mutant tries to fix it, they see it as us showing off our powers. But at the same time, I doubt anyone would rather someone remain trapped in a burning building or die in a car wreck." She glances back up at the sky as the moon passes behind a cloud. "But you have those who do not understand when to use their powers and when to let the police handle each situation. People like Magneto and Dingo. People do not like their violent forms of justice because they tend not to care about who they hurt in their quest for "Justice"."
The technopath leans back against a tree, a smile crossing his face as he looks upward unspecifically at the branches over him. "Justice, their justice, your justice, or just us." He uses the play on words. "Who says they are wrong and you're right? Who says you're not both wrong. Who makes the rules on this sort of thing anyway? My best friend Kyle, he's one of those Christians. He's always talking about how God decides what's right and wrong. Probably the most consistent view on morality I can think of. But if he's right, then that means we all pretty much suck at "justice."
Hildegarde shrugs. "I cannot say what is right or wrong, I am merely a human. To decide for yourself what is right and wrong in your eyes. To look at the goings on in the world and decide what action you will take in response, this is what it means to grow up. Some people find the answers they seek, and others spend their entire lives wondering if they are doing what they should do." She pauses for a moment. "But from what I have seen in my life, I have decided that the life chosen by the radical mutant rights groups is not the life that suits my world paradigm. And it seems that society has made a similar decision." She smiles softly and replaces her scarf. "Well, I should probably head back before it's too late. Try to get in at a reasonable hour, and at least try to get to class tomorrow."
