Summary:Kori Anderson and Eve meet Scott Summers Log Info:Storyteller: Koriand'r |
Related LogsTheme Song{$themesong} |
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~~
It's about a forty-five minute drive to Westchester. Give or take a bit. Traffic, road conditions, intemperate weather can make a mess of things.
Koriand'r does it in about ten flat.
She rarely flies, of course. It's dangerous for her cover, unsafe in the city, and provokes a lot of speculation. But like any other Tamaranean, she loves the feel of the wind whipping through her hair and the feel of energy flowing through her. Much speculation follows her path north, a subtle streak of red in her wake longer than her flowing hair.
She lands a little distance from the nearest bus route to Xavier's and gets changed while she's waiting. Brief purple shorts and a crop top are exchanged for a short-hemmed blue kimono and jean shorts with flipflops.
In short order she's walking up the long drive to the Xavier Institute, in no particular hurry, and being mercifully ignored by the New Englad mosquitos rising to the first warm days of spring. She knocks twice on the door and waits patiently for it to be answered, fingers interlaced and hanging demurely in front of her.
~~
It's not the door opening that greets Kori, but a voice from behind.
"Hey," Scott's deep voice speaks up, as the tall, svelte mutant crosses the drive from the large garage off to the side. He's wiping his oil and grease stained hands with a similarly stained red rag. And wearing stained jeans and boots, with just a plain white t-shirt that clings to his upper form like a second skin. "Kori. It's good to see you."
Scott flashes a bright smile that seems like it might even be reflected in his eyes, were one to see them from behind the ruby lenses of his ever-present sunglasses. Tucking the rag into his back pocket, he steps up to the front porch and places his hand on a pad beside the door, which prompts it to unlock automagically.
"So, you decided to come check us out, after all, huh? I was kind of worried I'd made myself look like an idiot too much for you to take me seriously, before."
~~
"Hello, Professor Summers!" Kori smiles at Scott, clearly happy to see him again. "I appreciate the invitation very much." She performs one of those peculiar little bows, grateful and polite but not subservient in the slightest. "And I am glad you remembered me. I know you must see many faces a day. And no, I did not think you looked like that much of an idiot," she tells Scott. On anyone else that'd sound like a sly dig. Kori's wholly innocent expression and polite smile confuse the issue a little. "If you had been that much of one, I would not have come by, and then we would not be having this conversation!" Can't argue with that logic. She follows Scott inside, staying a pace behind and to his right and examining the interior with an impressed look. "This is very handsome looking! Most of the places I have been are much less organic. Metal and plastic everywhere."
~~
Scott does one of those half-scoff-half-laugh things, looking away from the towering alien Princess for a moment and shaking his head. "Well, you're not exactly a forgettable person, you know. And Scott. Call me Scott. Calling me Professor Summers is just… It's just not something I feel fits."
Even if it is technically true. To Scott's mind, there is but one Professor, and that is his surrogate father figure, Charles Xavier. Those are some large shoes to fill, and Cyclops certainly doesn't feel like he's ready for that, yet. He's just Scott. Who teaches trig.
The inside is very handsome, indeed. Very classic old school New England architecture. Colonial manors at their finest. And here Scott is, traipsing in covered in motor oil and engine grease like it's not a thing. Of course, there are people about. Students. Some very human looking. Others more exotic. Clearly mutants. "Thanks, by the way. For saying I wasn't THAT much of an idiot."
~~
Believe it or not, Eve is frequently in Westchster. She may have even graced the grounds of the mansion once or twice over the years she's been active in New York state. It is, after all, a place of hilltop estates and terraced gardens in some places and those gardens do need tending.
This is how Eve makes her living and thus also why Kori's phone is dinging with text messages: "KORI"
"KORI WAS THAT YOU IN THE SKY JUST NOW IN WESTCHESTER"
"Is everything okay??" and such. Hey, when you see someone flying through the sky with purpose, and you're friends with them, maybe you worry.
~~
"Joy, friend Scott! And you must call me Kori," Kori says, with an effusive happiness. "And I am happy that my words make you happy," she assures him, easily keeping track. "I did not think of you as the idiot, but now that you have explained that you were being the idiot to some extent, I feel more confident about what that word has for meaning." She pauses and looks at her phone, firing off a text with a speed worthy of any millennial. <Yes friend! I am visiting a school in Westchester. How are the tomatoes today?>
She puts her phone back in the waistband of her shorts under her kimono hem. "Please explain for me though where the idiot moment was most at? Was it when you were attempting the courting ritual with Zatanna? She did give you her 'the digits'," Kori says. "Perhaps she finds idiots charming! What relief that would be for you."
~~
The way Kori speaks is dizzying to Scott. He's not certain how to take any of it. But he definitely gets that it's a distinctive language barrier to blame, and not that she's trying to give him a ribbing. He manages to do that to himself enough as is. "That… I wasn't trying to… I mean I was but I wasn't trying to do any "courting ritual" with Zatanna. I was just…"
He shrugs helplessly, and leans against one of the walls, folding his arms across his midsection as he scowls. "A friend of mine told me that I should try putting myself out there and talking to people. See how things go. I was just trying it on for size. See if it fits. Really, I just felt awkward and like I was trying to speak a language that I've only got a few remedial lessons in. Like, after you take a year of Spanish, you might be able to ask where the bathroom is, or if you can pet the cat, but not talk about philosophy and the meaning of life or anything too in depth."
A smirk, and he nods his head, casting his ruby lensed gaze to the floor, "But, she did give me her number, yeah. I haven't bothered calling or texting. I figure she did it as a consolation prize."
Lifting his head back up, Scott adds, "But we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about the school! I can tell you more about it, but… if you need to take a moment for whoever is texting you, we can wait."
~~
There is a brief pause in the messaging. Ping. "A school?" Ping. "Wait, THAT school? The super nice one with the big mansion?" PING PING PING "OMG" "KORI" "GET ME AN INTERVIEW TO DO THEIR GROUNDS. I've been trying to get more work there for AGES."
~~
Kori nods, thoughtfully. "I see. Then, *this* is the part where the idiocy is the happening?" she inquires of Scott. "You performed the courting ritual correctly and she consented to your proposition, no? I understand that the 'the digits' are a prelude to sexual congress." Kori doesn't really do an 'inside voice', so about twelve students hear her say that phrase with a straight face. "You took a risk and you were rewarded for that risk. Idiocy would be discarding that prize instead of… there is a word for it. Oh! The 'Double Downer'," she says, and fishes her phone from her waist band again. Someone ought to explain texting etiquette to her at some point. "It is my friend, Eve," Starfire tells Scott. She shows him the texts. "I do not know where I can find her an interview, but I will try to bring her back one when I return to the city."
She looks around the area for a moment, then back at Scott. "I do have questions," she admits. "I am not a Citizen of these United States. I am a political refugee." She roots around in her kimono with zero regard for propriety and digs out a billfold. A $20 is neatly folded and tucked under the money clip and she hands Scott her green card. It's all legitimate looking, of course, and Kori's grinning at the cameraman in a way that probably got her a lot of lectures. "I explained to the Principal at Midtown High that I was not a permanent resident and he said he appreciated my honesty."
~~
"What?!" Scott asks, and even those cool-guy shades can't mask the shock in his expression. "No! That's… that's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!!!"
Even as his face is filling up with heat and color, Scott is giving a quick glance around at the students who are now turning wide eyes to stare at the pair of them hanging out in the hall speaking of sexual congress. He raises both hands, one in each direction, and with his open palm pushes forward, as if miming some sort of barrier spell to push the kids away. "Alright! Get on to your classes, chuckleheads, or I'll be assigning each and every one of you a 10 page trig workbook for homework."
A few moments still, of stunned gaping silence.
"Now."
The way he sort of lowers his gaze, staring straight at the wall opposite of him rather than in any one direction, coupled with the authoritarian tone of his deep voice telegraphs to the students that he does, in fact, mean business. The tension snaps, as seemingly frozen kids burst into activity, clearing out the halls with a swiftness that is Uncanny.
"Dating isn't just about… that, Kori. It's about finding someone that you really enjoy being around and who makes you feel like you're more complete for having them in your life. It's about finding someone that fills up a void you never knew you had. It's about comfort and happiness and trust and friendship."
A beat.
"Sex is just a bonus."
He won't speak of the idiocy of not making use of said digits, though. Instead, he focuses on what comes after. He gives a brief scowl at the text, as if thinking on it, and just says, "Have her come on over and see the grounds. I can see if it might be good to put her in contact with the Professor. Can she come now?"
And then, moving on, he listens to her "situation" and nods. "The Xavier Institute has a long history of accepting students from any nation, and any culture. We've had Germans, Russians, Canadians, and Kenyans, and more. All here, under this roof, living and learning to deal with our unique powers, and how we might best live within the world outside. We don't care about where you came from here, Kori. Only in so much as how it colors you and your experience. You're from Malta, is that right? I have to confess that I have no idea about any political unrest in Malta, but… here, you're a mutant and a person, first."
~~
When the inevitable response from Kori comes, Eve is caught off guard.
"NOW?" she exclaims in her car, where she was furiously texting and googling and mapping and napping. That last one is an important part of her day.
Still, now is good. Now is very good indeed. Her minivan is not a gaudy thing of wealth but it has enough space for reasonably stash her gardening gear. The plastic sheeting down in the back to protect the seats from it all is just a bonus for body disposal. Ahem.
In any case, said minivan is not far away, and she's speeding along. IT is perhaps five minutes after the last text that it's at the gates to the estate, trying to get buzzed in.
"…was just told to come here because my friend is inside and …"
This could tke a minute, but hey, she's totally texting Kori: "I'M HERE" eyes wide emoji.
~~
Kori digs out her phone and texts Eve, immediately. <Can you come here now?> She texts the address on Greymalkin Lane to be helpful and focuses back on Scott again. At least she's not doing both at the same time.
She furrows a brow at Scott, accepting her ID back and tucking her billfold back in her shirt. "I am grateful for your willingness to speak openly with me on the topic of sex," she tells him. She doesn't seem to pick up on the fact that she's disrupting the (extremely hormonal) population of Xavier's Institute. Her casual attire is definitely more on the 'revealing' side than most would consider appropriate, even by the standards of a coummunity that is accustomed to skintight spandex. "My people— culture— do not hold sex in taboo as you do here. It is considered an accessory to a deeper fulfillment. Value in both the casual liasion and that of established couplings."
She gestures vaguely. "It seems here the pursuit of 'the laying' is more important. Which I would not find objectionable except that everyone finds it objectionable if someone else is having the laying and they are the not." She frowns heavily at Scott as if he's representative of his gender. "The males in particular at Midtown High seem obsessed with my sexual habits and not my personal ones." She leans towards Scott, very much in his personal space of a sudden. "Do you find the female students here fixate on your sexual interests? Or is exclusively the males? You have the 'buttocks of tightness' and athletic shoulders, which is a phenotype I have observed that are generally considered 'the hotness'."
Her phone buzzes and she draws it from her waistband again, examining the screen. A beatific smile crosses her face. "My friend is here! And I believe that emoji indicates … … " She trails off. "These hieroglyphs confuse me at times."
~~
"Well… uh…" Scott isn't uptight. At… least not in terms of sex. In fact, one might later discover down the road that his urges run deep and wild. He's far from some sort of repressed moralist. That doesn't make this conversation any more comfortable for him, however. "I mean, really, we're fairly okay, these days, with both uh… casual liasons as well as established couplings. Hook up culture is a thing. Sex positivity is on an ever increasing rise. But emotions do get involved easily, so it can be tricky and complicated, no matter what."
The rant about the pursuit of getting laid has Scott listening, and a slow grin starting to creep up on his lips, dimpling his cheeks and revealing a hint of white teeth that all too often are hidden behind a scowl or grimace. "What you're experiencing is a combination of things. First, it's just big talk. The obsession over getting laid. It is children trying to act mature, and mostly just joking around. But they're also teenagers who are going through puberty, so they're swimming in a swamp of ugly hormones, which means they're constantly hor— …aroused. On some level. They're interested in your habits because they think you're ho… attractive. But they don't know how to express that positively, and with the aforementioned hormones, you get a recipe for douchebaggery."
As Kori leans forward, though, Scott leans back. Sadly, he's already against the wall, so he can't really go too far when she nearly pins him against the wall by invading his personal bubble. Instinctively, he raises his hands to either side of his head.
"Yeeeeeah… Girls really aren't any better than guys. I've had a few of the students act inappropriately…"
She's dropping bombs. Scott feels his breath hitch in his throat and the pounding of his heart sounds like the roar of ocean waves crashing against a rocky shore in his ears. Despite himself, though, his soft, full lips do curl up into a goofy grin and his eyebrows twitch upwards as he shrugs his shoulders, and mentions, "Yeah… Well, It finally looks like I can mark being complimented on my phenotype as a check off of my bucketlist. Finally. I never thought I'd see the day when someone recognized it. But hey… your own phenotype ain't so bad yourself."
One of those hands up beside his head bends down at the wrist, and Scott does a finger gun, with a side-mouthed clicking sound of his tongue against the back of his teeth. One could swear he might have even winked under those red mirrorshades.
And he's saved by the bell. Buzzer. Intercom. Eve is at the gate wanting in, and it comes through on the smartphone in Scott's pocket. Slipping it up and into the palm of his hand, he buzzes her in, while agreeing with Star on emojis, "You and me both, sister. You and me both…"
~~
"Excuse me," asks the blue-haired goth girl of a passing student, "but have you seen an enormous woman the color of burnt umber?"
"What's burnt umber?"
"A shade of orange."
"Why didn't you just say 'orange'?"
"..shut up. Have you seen her?"
"No." r
"…thanks," says Eve, a hand going to her face.
A few more situations such as this go by. While Kori is hard to miss, it's a big school and a lot of people are going everywhere. A couple more moments and she has a proper set of directions and finally lays eyes on Kori and the weird guy with the glasses and what not.
"Oi! Kori!" The goth is bounding towards her. "Thank you sooooo much! I never thought I'd be able to get a real interview here for landscaping!" Now she has a chance. This is a landscaper? IS all she does black roses? Were it not for the slightly grubby fingernails, one would be hard pressed to see it, and even then, it's easy enough to overlook with all the fishnet and corsettery and what not.
~~
"I am?" Kori looks down at herself, then at Scott. "How peculiar! I am sure friend Peter would have said something if I were," she tells the X-man. She frowns. "And Mister Captain America said no such thing after I kissed him. Which is presumably when one would—"
and then Eve's darting towards Kori and the redheaded amazon catches her friend in a hug, spinning once. "Friend Eve! I am pleased to see you!" She holds the gothling off the ground for a few beats and sets her on her feet. "Pro— Friend Scott, this is my good friend Eve. She is on the YouTubes," Kori says, with grave solemnity. Because celebrity. "Her channel is called 'Morning Glory' and she turned my pepper plant into a tomato plant for me," she explains.
~~
Weird Guy? Other than being tall and wearing sunglasses indoors, Scott may seem like the most normal person in the building right now. A perfectly normal guy backed up against a wall by a scantily clad orange skinned alien that's just a hair taller than he is. And he is very tall.
"I can only assume your friend Peter is either just into other men, too shy to mention it, or just not really interested in romance at all. We do have all types here…" Scott mentions, before his gaze snaps back up on to her. "You kissed Captain America? How's that even happen? What'd he do? You know he's like old enough to be your great-great-grandfather, right?"
There's Eve. Kori rushes to greet the blue haired gothic gardner, and Scott lifts his back from the wall, relieved for the space and room to breathe. He trails ever so slightly behind, approaching as Kori gives introductions. Clearing his throat, and running a hand back through his thick, dark hair, the svelte and towering mutant puts on a lopsided grin that dimples one cheek. Offering out his free hand, he says, "Hello Eve. Scott Summers. I uh… I'm the senior most staff member here, so I tend to do a lot of work directly with the Headmaster, Charles Xavier. I'm curious how one turns a pepper into a tomato."
~~
OH WOW. Eve should have seen that coming! She's known and met Kori a few times now and she still manages to be surprised by the sudden hug and SPIN.
"Erk," says the goth. She looks a little dizzy when she's got hre feet on the floor, a hand on Kori's arm to make sure she has her feet steady back underneath her.
"Yeah, hi," Though there's a fairly well veiled dismay in her expression when Kori blurts out what she's capable of and all, it vanishes into a smile, all warmth, after a moment.
"Wicca, you know," she wiggles her fingers together. "All things are a possible. Or, you know, it's just something I can do. Plants are sorta my thing. And the channel is real enough. It's a fan channel. I have fans. Who knew? Maybe it's my impeccable sense of style." Goth never really goes away, after all. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Summers. I was hoping that you might want a new landscaper for the place. I had the opportunity to work here a couple times years ago and I always wanted to get back to it." The pay is good, see, and she could always find a way to use more money, even if she doesn't really much need it for anything.
~~
"No, I believe Peter is 'in the women'," Kori tells Scott. "Which seems to limit his options, but I am not one to be judge of him. And yes, I did kiss the Captain America," she confirms. "He was very noble and did me a kind service. It seemed an appropriate way to express my gratitude," she says with a nonchalant gesture. As for his age… he does not *look* one hundred and nine," she posits. "So I am unsure if it is such an important metric. Besides, it seems there is a standard of beauty applied to women but not men," she observes. "For instance, an older woman may not be kissed by a younger man. An older man being kissed by a younger woman is regarded as…" She lays a finger on her cheek, thinking. "An achievement for the male. So most of the objections I have observed to such pairings come from other men who are envious of his success, even by such a profoundly primitive metric."
She lets Eve say her piece, nodding along emphatically and with a solemn support for Eve's every words. "I, too, am one of Eve's 'fanatics'," she says, proudly.
~~
Scott listens to Kori go on about "metrics" and the standards of beauty and such, and his head just slowly starts leaning to one side in tandem with one eyebrow starting to lift upwards.
"Okay, Kori, first of all…" he says, holding up his hands in front of his face like he's about to proclaim this the work of aliens. "It is an important metric regardless of looks. Age gap is a real thing. People within similar age ranges have similar interests and experiences with which to draw on commonality. The farther an age gap between people, the… It just gets weird. And gross. And that's when an old man is kissing or is kissed by a younger girl. It's not an achievement. It's just gross. And anyone who praises him for it is gross, too."
Not to be outdone with double standards, however, Scott shrugs his shoulders, and says, "It's still gross if it's an older woman with a younger guy, but that doesn't squick me out as bad, I guess. I pretty much figure that a woman of that age isn't going to take a younger guy very seriously. Stella's likely just trying to get her groove back."
Turning back to Eve, Scott appraises her with those ruby red glasses, and offers up a slight smirk at the answer she had provided. Wicca. Right. Okay.
"You worked here previously? Then the Professor is likely to have you on file. We could always use forward thinking staff here, who are into things like "Wicca" and who understand that the education we provide to our students is unique, as is the student body itself."
~~
Naturally, Eve spends a considerable amount of time staring at Kori like 'what'. Her head slowly tilts as the orange skinned woman keeps speaking until her head is comically craned before she snaps back to attention. A hand over her mouth. She's trying not to laugh. It'd be impolite. Possibly.
But then she's back on Scott. "…Wicca is awesome," she informs him, solemnly. "I think so, yeah. It was a while ago. I do lot of business in these parts. Rich people, too much money, and too many plants they want. I mean, if I never get asked for a shrubbery shaped to look like some obnoxious media personality's hair, it'll be too soon." She chews on her bottom lip.
~~
"So…" Kori screws her face up in thought. "It is inappropriate for a younger woman to kiss an older man. So it was inappropriate to kiss Captain America. This is because he *looks* young but *is* old." She's on a tear now. "So a man who *looks* old but *acts* young would be a compatible partner, yes?"
"I am also unfamiliar with this word 'squick'. It sounds much like 'ick', from your facial expression. So you are not 'icked' by a younger male with an older female. This implies that older men are too mature for younger women, or that older women are not mature enough and are therefore well suited for younger men. In this case, I would expect to see more younger men dating older women, but given that is a statistical outlier, I have to assume that this is your personal preference, so— Ah!" She beams at Scott. "Your 'thing' must yearn for older women," she tells him. QED, Holmes. "That raises the question then if your 'thing' points towards older women with immature personalities— which suggests serious mental deficiencies— or women with mature personalities, which … no, wait, that runs contrary to what you just said." She frowns heavily.
"Do not pay me any of the mindings. I shall deduce an answer to what Friend Scott's 'thing' points at!"
~~
"What? No!" Scott scoffs openly, shaking his head as he looks back at Kori. "If he looks old but IS young, okay… that might be alright. I mean, it could just be because he does a lot of bad things, and it's made him age prematurely, in which case, you should stay away, but if he's actually young but just looks old, it could just be because of genetics or a medical condition. But that's fine. But if he's an old guy who acts young, chances are he's got issues. Stay away."
The rest of her tear is going to make Scott's head spin. It's hard to keep up with. And then it veers completely off into left field, and she's trying to deduce Scott's "thing". He lifts his hands, waving them in front of her and shaking his head vigorously, "No no no! That's not it at all. None of that is right. First of all, I don't have a "thing". I don't even really know what the hell I'm doing trying to date Zee. I'm just kind of flying blind there. But I definitely don't have a "thing", and if I did, none of that would be it. The thing is that if an old guy is trying to hook up with a young woman, ninety-nine percent of the time it's just because he's only thinking about one thing."
He just gives a sort of knowing nod in Starfire's direction on that one, assuming she'll get the meaning.
"Men and women just… have different approaches to things. If a woman is instigating a relationship with a younger guy, then there's far more likely that there's an emotional reason for that connection. OR… Or she's just trying to fool around. The difference between men and women with that is that most of the time, the guy won't be upfront about just wanting sex. The woman will."
He hopes that's satisfactory enough for Starfire to understand, at least. Looking mighty proud of himself for such a thorough explanation, Scott looks back to Eve and says "Well, Eve, I can say with absolute certainty that we don't do hair shrubs here at Xavier's. You may find us a bit boring, in fact, but we do have a hedge maze back there somewhere."
A pause.
"I think."
~~
Eve very quietly pulls out her smart phone.
She searchesf or a moment on it, eyes flicking this way and that. Then she turns the animated gif of Spongebob digging a hole, crawling inside of it, and pulling the earth in on himself.
That is all. She just holds it ther for him to see without further words becasue, frankly, this is celarly her impressiuon of the moment and nothing more needs to be said.
Well, that and the way she's barely constraining what would probably be a truly witchy cackle is in evidence. What else can she do? No need to get in the way of Starfire and said tear.
~~
"And … that entire dynamic doesn't strike you as needlessly complicated?" Kori asks, dumbfounded. "Wouldn't it just be simpler for people to find companionship or intimacy or pleasure wherever they wish?"
She looks at Eve, baffled, and then shakes her head once.
"I do not understand this country," Kori laments with a heavy sigh. "I hope that you have the time that is good, working here, friend Eve," Kori tells the gothling gardener. She brightens as a thought occurs to her! "If Scott continues to 'out the striking' with Zatanna, perhaps he will attempt to do the dating with you!" she encourages Eve. "He is still in the learning process, but I believe his enthusiasm is a valid trait compared to his inexpertise and confusion about human mating rituals!"
~~
Scott looks at the image on the smart phone presented by Eve, and then just looks up at her with a deadpan face. "I'm sorry. I thought you were here for a job."
He kids, of course. Or does he?
And then Kori is going at it again. His attention turned back on to her, he listens for a moment, and nods his head. "Relationships are complicated, yeah. And basically, people can be real creeps about them and use people for a lot of different things. Some forms of intimacy are healthy and others really aren't. Any time someone is taking advantage of someone else, it's not healthy."
But the words spoken to Eve have Scott's entire body tensing up, his posture straightening and his shoulders squaring off. He lifts one hand to ward off the commentary any further and states, "Uh, no. No, that's not what's going to happen. I mean, even if I strike out with Zee, that… no! I'm… what?"
He looks at Starfire for a long, long time.
"First of all, I'm not confused about anything, and I'll let you know that I'm not completely inexperienced or anything. I've dated before! I've had… Physical affection."
A kiss.
"At least once."
Only once.
~~
"We humans — we are very good at overcomplicating things to the nines. Don't ask me what the nines are. No one actually knows." Eve explains, solemn voiced, though with a smile edging in to her expression. Scott's response has her let out a laugh and she adds, "Well, you know, I don't actually NEED it but I'd love it, all the same. I get repaid three times for the good I do." See? She can invoke the rule of three and thus is totally Wiccan. She then turns back towards Kori, nodding again. "It's not just this country. It's like… even worse in other places. ANd maybe a little better in others. Overall, we're royally messed up culturally when it comes to alll… all of that," she waves her hands dismissively in the air.
"In any case, I," she draws out that I for a while as she searches for words, "do not think I want to be 'doing the dating' with much of anyone for the time being. Believe it or not, folks get all weird at the goth aesthetic and assume I wanna sleep in a coffin or something. It's weird and stuff. No dating here." Of course, there are other reasons, but it's way easier to blame the goth aesthetic.
~~
"I am gratitied that the two of you are feeling content with your current relationship status!" Kori says, with brimming enthusiasm. She claps once and hops a little. "This brings me much joy. People should seek happiness and build it whenever they can!" she declares.
"I appreciate you two educating me on this topic, and I will not ask any more questions," she promises them. "You are being very patient and I have the gratitudes for you both!"
She smiles at Eve, then looks back to Scott. "So Friend Scott, will you employ friend Eve here?" she inquires. "You need a gardener, and she is a gardener. It is the perfection!"
~~
"The nines is an idiom of Scottish origin, actually, having originally turned up in Scot poetry. It's widely thought to be a reference to the None Worthies, who are these legendary personages that represent and embody the ideals of chivalry in the middle ages," Scott remarks as if Eve had actually asked for an explanation of what the nines are. But her comment about being messed up culturally about all of that has Scott clicking his tongue against the back of his teeth and tipping his head sidelong at her with a fingergun. "You got that right, sister. Though, I think it's… mostly just a human nature thing. Emotions are complicated and messy. So anything that has to do with them is, by extension, complicated and messy. But messed up, all the same. But, Kori, it's really just healthiest if you form romantic connections and express intimacy with people that you have a valid connection with. Most of the time, that's going to be people who are around your own age, as you'll have similar outlooks and experiences."
As Eve expertly deflects the concept of dating Scott, the tall, athletic man only smirks, nodding his head quietly along, though he does give a curious glance when she blames it on the goth aesthetic. He looks dubious about that, and scratches the back of his head, but remains mum on the matter. That really is weird.
"People, man…"
Star seems appeased by all of this, so he breathes a sigh of relief, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly, and his back loosening up. He shrugs his shoulders, at the query regarding Eve's employment status, and says, "I'm not in charge of hiring. That's the Professor's job. But she's got my vote of confidence. As long as the plants don't wither and die, I'm satisfied."
~~
First, Even gives Scott a flat look once Kori has finished speaking and then he interjects explaining the origin of 'the nines'.
'I thought it was a golf reference," she says, solemnly, to him.
She mgiht be kidding. A nod to Kori follows, though, "I mean, if it happens, it happens. It's probably not going to happen anytime soon since it hasn't happened yet, and that's okay. Sometimes, that's just how things go. The important part is working on yourself at all times. ANyway, nothing withers and dies on my watch." Well, it /can/, but she can fix it. That, she's good at. "So, the Professor that runs this place, is he cool?" she asks.
~~
Kori smiles and stands patiently while Scott educates Eve regarding the status of employmenet at Xavier's. For the moment she has nothing intelligent to add to the disucssion, so clearly opts to be happy for Eve and support her silently as the exchange occurs. Hooray for friends!
~~
"Professor Xavier is… a great man. He's very cool. He's like a father to me, so that should tell you at least something, right?"
He looks between the two of them for a moment, awaiting confirmation from them before looking down and nodding.
"Right."
He slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugs his shoulders. "I'll take your information down and pass it over to him to contact you. He's been a bit busy lately, but I think he should be clearing up his schedule soon."
A brief pause, and he lifts his chin, turning his attention back on to Kori, "And as for you, we can schedule a time to enroll you, if you're interested in joining us here at Xavier's academy. We'd be required to give you a bit of a physical assessment, before finishing, though. Are you cool with that?"
~~
Quickly, Eve interjects. "He means like the kind you got at the doctor when you were doing your asylum paperwork and they learned all the things you can do. I mean, I presume. Anyway. Not that I know mucha bout that kind of stuff and most definitely NOT doing the 'playing doctor' thing, or any kind of him actually doing the doctoring, I suspect, because I don't think he's putting 'the moves' on you with that." She just wants to make sure this conversation doesn't get sidetracked a second time. Third time? Fourth time? She lost track of all the tangets a while ago before she throws an arm amiably around Kori's waist.
"ANNNNNYWAY! THIS MANSION IS COOL."
~~
"Oh!" A *barrage* of questions are cut off by Eve's explanation. And then Kori's being hugged! She squeals— it's almost a giggle, really, which is ridiculous on a woman of her height and bearing, and hugs Eve firmly in return with both her arms. "This mansion is very 'the cool'!" Kori agrees. "How many students and staff are here? It looks almost as large as Midtown, though it's much nicer as far as a school goes."
~~
At first Scott looks to Eve with a confused expression written on his face, evident even around those eye-obscuring reflecting glasses. But as she speaks, the realization dawns on him. Almost everything with Kori does seem to come back to inappropriate lines of thought. And as that concept enters his head, his gaze drifts from Eve and over to Kori, with his expression softening and becoming bittersweet.
Clearly, if the only thing she can relate everything to is about coupling in some form or fashion, at such a young age, she must have been a victim. That poor, poor girl. He raises his hands and nods his head emphatically, as he confirms what Eve says, "Yeah, nothing untoward. Just a few tests and all that. All very professional, and with nothing even remotely relating to anything to do with kissing or dating or being intimate or anything like that at all!"
Crisis averted, he breathes a sigh of relief when Kori just asks how many occupants of the school there are. As the player, however, has no idea on the actual count of NPCs that are around Scott just gives a suitable number for each, with a small number of staff and a respectable number of students who need to be app'ed.
"But, this school started as the estate of the Xavier family. It's totally privately funded our of the Professor's own pockets, which are pretty deep, if you know what I mean. So… take a typical New England WASP family mansion, and then dump a sizeable fortune into giving it state of the art everything to turn it into a full spectrum educational facility, even offering higher education options, and… well, this is what you get. You haven't even seen the coolest parts, yet."
~~
Huuuug. Eve does not mind the hugs, though Scott might notice a slight strain to her expression that's less than visible to Kori, given their positions and such. She turns a smile back on the one eyed wonder mutant. A shrug follows.
"I mean, I just want to make the flowers pretty, you know? Also, pray to Goddess' and do moon magic and what not. Moon magic pooweeeer," she sing-songs out, waving her hand. "Hey, I used to watch Sailor Moon too."
"And, by the way, if you've got like… other applicants you know who the job could be a boon for her, it's all good. Take them. I don't actually NEED the job. I just enjoy doing the job. You know?" A nod. She wants to be clear on this part.
~~
"I do not wish to be having the job," Kori assures Scott on Eve's heels. "But if you need help in mitigating the insect infestation, please let me know. I did not know wasps could build something so intricate," she says, looking around again. "I thought apes and dolphins were the only forms of sentient life on the planet," she remarks.
~~
"Well, I mean, the moon magic and Goddess stuff is fine and all, but maybe not on the clock. We here at Xavier's have students and faculty from all walks of life, with a diverse team comprised of many different cultures, races and religious beliefs. We try our best to keep our professional time here as neutral as possible," Scott says, though his lips part with a bright smile that shows there's at least some form of humor lies there. "I really don't know if we have anyone trying to break down the door for the job of groundskeeper or anything like that. We probably just hire people seasonally through a service. It might be nice to get a more personal touch on the place."
He then recoils, looking at Kori like she was speaking some completely alien language. It takes him a moment to catch on, and he starts to chuckle. "Oh. Not like that kind of wasp. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. It's a thing here. Basically old money white folks."
~~
When Kori next speaks, Eve bursts out laughing, of course. "Well, I don't know. I've heard there are some prettyy w-," she cuts herself off, not wanting to confuse Kori further with linguistic tics. Which are /not/ insects with a language. Then she's stopped for SCott's explanation and her hand goes over her mouth, both at his response to her and then to Kori, of coursse. She is not going to interject this time. Nope. She'll let Kori ask her inevitable questions.
A glance this way and that. Restless, perhaps. She's still hugging Kori, though, for lack of something better to do.
~~
Kori doesn't seem to mind being hugged by anyone, so Eve is kept close with Kori's arms loosely around her shoulders. "If it is not a problem, Friend Scott, I should like to explore the campus," she requests. "I am curious to learn more about this place. I do not think I am prepared to leave Midtown High School, but this may be a welcome refuge for me. The students are … difficutl," she hedges. It's as cross as anyone's ever heard her!
~~
"Well, unfortunately, I've got some things that I really do need to take care of now, but we can arrange for a full tour sometime soon, Kori," Scott says, offering up an easy, unforced smile at this point, as he slips his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and leans his head back a bit on his shoulders. "If not with me, then with one of the other members of the staff. Jean is usually the one who handles that kind of thing, but she's only here on weekends now."
He does nod his head, and adds, "But that's exactly what this place is. A refuge. Away from people who don't understand what it is to be different or to have gifts. Here, we present a safe environment where you can be free to be yourself openly, while also learning to better use your abilities and to keep them under control."
He leans forward a little bit, and says quietly, "So you don't start floating around on your ice skates in front of people again."
"But we've all been there. Everyone who lives at this school has been bullied and harassed by the people outside of these walls. If the students at Midtown are… difficult, then you might be better off transferring full time. We do have weekend furloughs, so you could still see any friends that you've made there. Just something to keep in mind, and we can talk about it more in depth when you come back for the tour."
~~
"So… part ways here, then! Okay! Nice meeting you, Mr. Summers! I'll probably be seeing you again sometime, possibly, if you guys want a new groundskeeper." She points at him with a finger and then turns toward Kori after letting go of her. "I should get back on my round, though, got another house to visit before too long. You're welcome to come with if you don't wanna hang around here and make more staff wildly uncomfortable with probing questions about thier sexual mores." She smiles. Cheerful.
~~
Farewells are exchanged with Scott and the two women walk off, Kori's arm still loosely around Eve's shoulders. "Why do these questions make people uncomfortable?" Kori asks, baffled. "It's not as if they are some deep and shameful secrets. None of them have strange deformities or something truly weird, like… tentacles!" She laughs, breezily.
~~
"Remind me to introduce you to anime later," says Eve, dryly, as she departs with Kori.