Summary:Nightcrawler visits the community center and finds an opportunity for another community. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Mutant Town Commumity Center isn't the most well-off place in the city. Then again, most of the community centers in the city aren't exactly luxurious, so maybe it's not a matter of prejudice. Maybe.
Regardless, Jean comes by on a fairly regular basis to help out however she can. Today, that's taken the form of sorting donations. There's a folding table next to a pile of trash bags and cardboard boxes, and as Jean removes something from a bag, it gets inspected, folded, and sorted into a stack or discarded at the other end of the table.
Kurt is already present within the Community Center. He had initially come by to take advantage of the food, given that he had long ago run out of money. After a few days spent in the same fashion, he had begun to work in the place in return for a bit of food slid his way. Today he is moving along among those others that have come for a bit of food, delivering bowls of soup to a few people seated at a small rickety table near where Jean is working. Murmuring kind words, he turns away and lifts a hand to brush through long dark hair as his eyes sweep across the room, settling on Jean briefly.
Whether it's chance or just Jean's tendency to pick up on stray thoughts, she's looking up and catches Kurt's eye when he looks over, a friendly smile flashing. Even here, the more unusual mutants can get curious looks, but Jean doesn't seem to be surprised or unsettled when she sees him.
One sweater, with a large hole under the arm, gets discarded, but a pair of jeans makes it safely into the mens pile. "Hey there," she says, friendly. "New in town?"
There is a simple nod from Kurt in reply to Jean's question as he runs a hand somewhat self consciously along his jaw. Those hands are safely stowed away inside of his hoodie pocket as he begins to wander over in Jean's direction. "Yes," he finally says, his accent thick with german inflections. "I have only been in the city for a few days now. It has been… an eye opening experience, I suppose you could say."
"I hope not too unpleasantly so," Jean offers, though there's a rueful cast to her smile that suggests she probably knows better. "It's a big place. And complicated. And busy. But there are good people here too. At least a few of them," she winks. "I'm Jean, by the way," she introduces herself, sorting through and folding a few more pieces of clothing.
"Not too unpleasant, no," Kurt is quick to reply, his lips curling into a slight grin that reveals the pointed teeth of his canines. "At least, not yet," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "I am not naive enough to imagine that it will always be the case. But I have been attempting to spend my time here where I might help people." He falls silent as he listens to Jean's introduction, even chuckling at her wink before he says, "It is a pleasure to meet you Jean. My name is Kurt… though a few of my friends have called me the Nightcrawler."
"Nice to meet you, Kurt," Jean grins, continuing to sort. "And that's a solid codename. Unless it's a comment on your pub-crawling ways, in which case there's a weekly meeting in the basement," she teases lightly. "But welcome to New York all the same. Where are you from?" she asks. "You don't sound like you're local."
"Codename?" Kurt asks as he moves over to the table where Jean works and begins to fold a sweater himself, only after holding it up to his own hoodie for comparison in terms of quality. "It is a circus name," he says simply, offering a shrug of his shoulders as he reaches for another piece of clothing. "I was in the circus since I was a young boy. For many years I traveled with the troupe, doing the acrobatics and being gawked at. When the circus came to the United States, I decided that I would like to travel on my own. I ran away again."
Jean's brows rise at the explanation. "That's…pretty unique," she says. "So you ran away from the circus. You know, around here, kids usually threaten to run to the circus." She watches him for a moment, though she uses only her regular senses, leaving her powers out of it. "Having some trouble finding a place, though?" she guesses.
At this, Kurt really does laugh. The smile reaches his yellow eyes and for a moment his features are transformed into a gentler sort. Folding a t-shirt, he tosses it onto the stack before saying, "I suppose I am one of the ones that ran away to join the circus, and then also ran away to get free of it…" His mirth sobers for a moment then and he says, "I suppose I do not know what to do with myself. I wish to find a purpose for my life beyond what I have known, but that is easier said than done."
"Boy, that's the truth," Jean agrees, shaking her head. "I…left the place where I mostly grew up to come to school here in the city. But I just finished my degree, and I'm graduating, and I'm still not one hundred percent sure what I'm doing, so. I figure helping people out here is a pretty good place to figure it out, you know? Could be doing worse things with my time."
Kurt nods his head as he listens to Jean's tale, his expression something toward sympathetic given that he is pretty much in the same boat. "I had thought of going to school… but I am already in my twenties. Not to mention that I did not have much schooling growing up. Traveling with a circus is not the best place to study, yes?" he says, grinning toward the end. "What are you considering, Jean?"
"I can see where the circus might not offer the best education, yeah," Jean agrees, rueful. "I'm not sure, honestly. Part of me thinks I should keep going to school, work toward a higher degree. But I also want to make a difference. Help people. And I could go back to where I went to school, but I don't really want to be a teacher. I mean, if I wanted that, I could have stayed there in the first place. But…I've sort of been thinking that maybe a counselor would be a better fit." She looks up from a shirt, smile quirking. "You know. A non-traditional student like yourself could benefit from something a little more personalized, now that I think about it."
It is clear that Kurt is not quite following everything that Jean is saying, though he is listening quite intently. "Yes…" he finally says, offering a slow nod of his head. "You wish to be my… counselor?" he questions, as if this were what Jean were really getting at. "I am not certain that I need a counselor… but maybe I do? What do you mean something more personalized?" he questions, one dark brow lifting as he picks up a shirt that had been donated, only to find a huge hole in the stomach of it.
"Not exactly," Jean laughs, smile flashing. "Sorry. I'm rambling. What I mean is, it's hard for someone who doesn't have all the formal schooling experience to find a way to get a degree. But there are some places that are more used to dealing with that." She pauses, quirking a brow at the shirt. "Why do people even donate some of these things?"
There is a shake of Kurt's head before he tosses the shirt into the trash pile rather than folding it up. His eyes move back to Jean then and he considers her for a moment. "I don't know," he says with a chuckle. "But what sort of school are you speaking of? One of the universities?" he says.
"A private school," Jean clarifies. "One that's geared a little more toward that sort of thing. It's…kind of a very secure secret, so we'd need to do a little checking, but if everything you say is true, I think it might be a good place for you to get your feet underneath yourself here. Give you a chance to get settled."
Kurt listens and it is clear by his expression that the idea Jean is presenting to him is quite appealing to the man. His eyes widen just a touch and he nods a little too eagerly. "That sounds like a very good idea," he says with a grin before glancing around to the room as if to make sure no one were standing behind him to overhear. "What would I need to do, in terms of your security?"
"Well, we'll do a quick normal background search, which…" Jean smiles ruefully, shrugging. "Given what you've said, it's probably going to be pretty brief. But if you'll allow it, we'll also do a-" She pauses, a little self-conscious. "We'll scan your mind, to make sure that your intentions are good and no one's messed with your mind or your memories. I know it sounds weird, and it is a little weird, I won't lie to you, but it's usually pretty simple."
At this last bit of information, Kurt is silent for a few moments. It is clear that the thought of someone poking around in his mind is a bit off putting to the man, and it gives him pause. In the meantime, the man takes a moment to fold a few more pieces of clothing. Eventually he blows out a quiet sigh before saying, "I think that I would like to do this. If there is a school that can help me get to where I wish to be, then it is a small price to pay to do a few tests…."
Jean nods, looking over with a small smile. "Okay. I don't want you to feel pressured, so…sleep on it, okay?" she offers. "I'll be here. School's out, so I'll be around. You can let me know if and when you decide."