Summary:Caden's foray into being a lumberjack becomes the entertainment for a pair of his old friends. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
   |
Outside and Autumn, the leaves are starting to turn in that broad majestic treeline that borders the rear grounds of Xavier's. Already there's a dusting rush of leaves fluttering across the immaculately cared for lawn. Already there's a chill in the air that lingers beyond the sunrise. It's a turn of weather that encourages sweaters or sweat shirts, and it's no surprise that when this first turn comes… a lot of the students of the school stay inside.
But for now, out in the back area with the woods nearby and the leisurely path to one side, right near the tool shed is one former student who is fully ready to let the Summer go.
Caden Pryde stands at the old wooden stump next to that shed. A length of tree has already been felled, roughly, and dragged up along the path to this point. It's been split into sections by someone else and now all that is left to do is to split the wood into usable fire wood to make ready for coming bonfires or camp time.
Now, perhaps for the first time, Caden stands there with axe in hand… and is pondering the task before him. He'd seen it done plenty of times before. Piotr was the best at it. Those big steady thumping /CHOKS/ of impact with the axe just splitting the wood cleanly.
But Caden, that was always something someone else did.
So he stands there in his jeans and with a black sweat-shirt over his chest, lightly balancing the axe in one hand and eyeballing the defiant wood. He takes a deep breath, draws back, swings…
/CHOK!/ A clean strike, nicely done, but the wood doesn't split fully. It sticks to the sides of the axe. This confuses him. Briefly as he lifts up that half-split log and peers at it. Then brings it back down on the tree stump for a _whack_ that splits the wood nicely.
There. One down.
With Siffror pressing hard to spill the Lifeless Realms into Earth, and using Limbo as the highway to do so, Illyana has been busy. Anomalies have been showing up in Limbo and despite all the power she's supposed to command, she hasn't been able to purge them. Maybe, because she hasn't been willing to really give it everything she's got. To pay the price to play the game at the level the other splinter lords do. It puts her in between a rock and a hard place, and the decisions she's weighing sit heavily on her shoulders.
Which is probably why she's showing up where Caden is. He's one of the people she trusts if she wants to talk, and whose presence helps to soothe her. The flare of the stepping disk might go unnoticed, but he might catch the sound of grass sighing as it's crushed underfoot. The faint scent of smoke and cloves. And then a light touch at his waist.
With Caden's last year, she might be lucky if he isn't jumpy and takes a swing at her with that axe. It would be certainly be one way to end her problems, if a somewhat surprising one. "I'm surprised you didn't youtube the best way to do this."
The blonde sorceress is dressed in her usual black-on-black attire. A sort of heavy metal meets goth, with silver decorations in spikes and chains and arcane symbols.
Outside. That is where Laura preferred to spend her time. Certainly, she knew more about being social due to her years at the Mansion. Sharing dinner, listening to others chatting in the kitchen and throwing in a comment here or there. Sometimes they would gather in the rec room where students were playing video games, something she didn't understand even to this day. If she was going to be indoors, she preferred to be training in the Danger Room or at least working out in the gym.
With the cooler temperatures, she wandered outside. Dressed comfortably in jeans and a gray Property of Xavier's School sweatshirt, a pair of well worn sneakers on her feet with that telltale hole in the front of them.
She walked off the patio into the grass then paused. Her head was tilted back, eyes closed. She took a deep breath, the millions of scents that the outdoors carried filling her senses. So much that could be picked up. The squirrels over on the tree chasing one another. A third further over eating a nut it had found somewhere. Ah, the feeder nearby, probably filled with peanuts by the students to allow for the squirrels to enjoy. The hint of water from a small stream out in the woods. The song of dozens of birds.
/CHOK!/
That noise didn't fit with the rest. Not unfamiliar. She'd heard it hundreds of times out here. Someone cutting wood. Then the scent followed the sound and she opened her eyes, looking in that direction with her brows knit together. That is not who she expected to be cutting wood. Well, trying to as he had to give the extra whack to free the axe and finish splitting the piece.
She turns and walks that direction, footfalls quiet on the grass but not trying to be sneaky. When she is about twenty feet away, the stepping disk arrives and she pauses, watching until it disappears and leaves Illyana where it had been. A tilt as she waits where she is, not coming closer until she sees how this plays out.
With all the things that have passed, Xavier's, crazily enough, has become something of a haven against the wild goings on beyond the school's boundaries. Perhaps the mad events of the past clinging to the X-Men was due more to the student and less to the setting and situation. For with only a handful of the X-Men remaining present on school grounds proper… the place has been somewhat peaceful of late.
Even with that, however, Caden is aware of Illyana's arrival. Just a look over his shoulder and a smile as Illyana comes nearer. He rests a hand on her shoulder and gives a squeeze. "Who's to say I didn't?"
He points at the split log and says, "See, evidence." Though he smiles a bit wryly. The axe is hefted in one hand and he runs a thumb along its edge as he comments in a cheerful sing-song tone, "See. You apparently hit it with the sharp side." His head nods slowly as if this were quite the revelation.
But then his hazel eyes unfocus a little beyond Illyana, espying Laura's approach and catching her silhouette some small distance away. "Oh hey!" He lifts a hand to wave and then murmurs to Illyana, probably easily heard with Laura's enhanced senses. "Laura's back in town." He says as if imparting such wisdom that she couldn't discern by say, looking over her shoulder.
When Caden squeezes her shoulder, Illyana steps in closer so her touch at his waist slides across his back so she can loop her arm around his waist. "'Pointy end goes into the other man?'" Illyana quotes, looking at Caden dubiously as she quotes Zorro, a smirk on her lips.
Surveying the wood to be chopped, Illyana briefly debates helping. Her stepping disks could certainly cut through the wood. Or she could bring a demon to do it. But then she wouldn't get to watch Caden do it. And maybe complain. That would be especially fun.
When Caden points out Laura, she turns with him to look over and see the other woman. It might be then that Laura notices that the blonde is older than she should be. Their years at Xavier's only overlapped two years, but Illyana should be about eighteen, not closer to twenty five. Illyana raises her arm in greeting, and answers Caden back, "It's good that you told me, otherwise I'd think she were a weird tree." Her tone is oh so very sarcastic.
Illyana and Laura had a bit in common when they started at Xavier's. That whole needing to be socialized thing. It's why Caden originally got stuck as Illyana's 'mentor', since his phasing could keep him safe after Illyana broke another student's arm when they touched her without warning or permission. Oddly, while Illyana retained that dislike of most people touching her, she could often be pretty damned touchy with the few people she counted as friends. Certainly, she had a tendency to treat their personal space as her own.
The blonde will wait until Laura chooses to get a little closer to give any greetings. No sense in yelling.
No violence. That was surprising. There were at least ten different ways she would've reacted to a person touching her unnanounced and none of them were the one she just witnessed. Of course, she wasn't as close as this pair were with anyone either. Thus it made sense perhaps.
At the greetings, she moves closer and stops about six feet from the stump that is used for wood chopping. "Hi."
No elaborate greeting. Nothing super fancy. She is looking curiously at Illyana now though, Caden there but not as unusual as the other woman. She knows Illyana. She's seen and met her before. But this Illyana does not match the Illyana she remembers.
What had Caden said? Something about Piotr and Illyana were older now. It hadn't occurred to her how strange that would be to see in action though.
"You got old." There is that social inadequacy. While she has no intention of being insulting, it's her way of opening the conversation to the elephant in the backyard.
A grin as Caden gives Illyana a hug with an arm around her shoulder and adds in rejoinder, "A particularly stabby tree." But it's clear he's pleased to see the other X-Person as he leans over to the side and scoops up one of the logs, dropping it on the stump and then swaps his grip on the axe to the other hand. He advances a few steps and his voice shifts to that friendly tone he uses when he's out socially.
"Got everything squared away?" He asks her as he sets the axe down in front of himself, resting the head of it on his work boot. Though that question is kind of… superfluous for Caden. Considering /of course/ she got everything squared away. She only had a backpack. And that was just the other day.
"Was just, you know. Chopping some wood." One piece. Of Wood. As if he did it all the time. And it's possible at that point that Illyana, or Laura, might well remember the young Caden of seventeen some few years ago who was always a bit awkward around the new stabby girl named Laura Kinney.
Then he tilts his head towards Illyana, perhaps pained as if asking her for help somehow. Failing.
Illyana Rasputina's casual hold around Caden's waist easily falls away as he steps back over to the stump. She gives the back of his head a pained look at his sudden social fail. Hooking her thumbs into her pockets, she moves around so if Caden decides he wants to take some more whacks at the wood, she won't be subject to loosing a limb.
As to Laura's less than diplomatic comment on Illyana's age? The blonde smirks. "The guy that I got away from found me and hauled me back to my own little corner of hell." Then, realizing Laura might not have remembered, since it's not like it affected her, she adds on: "Time runs different there. Faster, usually. Half a year here, seven years there." Seven years is a lot of time. People can change a lot in seven years. Certainly, the pale blue of Illyana's eyes seem colder. Emptier. There's something in the way she meets Laura's eyes and doesn't look away that's almost quietly aggressive. That sense of another predator that won't back down. Illyana's always had it to some degree, growing up with demons. It's just worse now.
As Caden gives her that beseeching look, she adds, "What brings you back this way? Feeling nostalgic?"
There is a slow nod from Laura at the explanation, an understanding about personal demons. At least for Laura, that setence is metaphorical. Illyana's situation, it's quite literal.
The locked eyes hold for longer than might be considered polite. Laure recognizes the predator, moreso than it was in the past. She isn't challenging. It's just a slow acknowledgement then the tiniest dip of her chin in a sort of nod to acknowledge the understand one another.
The question has her brow furrowing again and she lets her eyes break their stare, glancing to the tip of her sneaker. She can see the little hole there, a few strings sticking out. How does she answer that question? She looks to the building and the furrow is still in her brow as she searches for the answer within, to be able to give it verbally. "Dunno." She gives a shrug. "Home?" A question in the tone, as though she isn't even quite sure that's the right reason for it.
She then turns away, trying to dismiss the conversation since it is getting too personal, too close. "Chopping wood." She echoes Caden's words then looks to the pitiful results of his effords. "That's what you call it?"
Fortunately, for all concerned, Caden doesn't take another swing at the now placed log. Instead he just sort of holds the axe in one hand, then shifts his grip on it as if it might be more comfortable another way. But hey, at least he looks kind of the part with his broad chest and few days worth of stubble, and wild hair. But then again looks aren't exactly everything.
"Yeah, like I mentioned. Things have… kinda changed a bit." Caden looks over at Illyana and takes a deep breath, then looks back over to Laura. "I mean still…" He rubs the back of his neck and gives Illy a sort of quirk-eyed glance, "The main thing that keeps tripping me up is every-time I see Piotr's daughter, Elena."
That… is enough to trip someone up who attended the school in the same years they did.
But then Laura has the casual effrontery to impugn his wood-chopping talents. "Heeey." The chestnut-brown haired youth's smile is warm and reaches those hazel eyes as he seems to slip more back into that social dynamic they all had before. "Don't disrespect my skeelz." He actually says it that way, skeelz. But Illyana can probably recognize he's playing up into that role he adopted so often. "I was just getting started. I'll have you know."
Home. That's certainly something Illyana can understand. She looks back over towards the main body of the school. It still resonates as that, even though she's set up shop down in the City. At least here. Limbo feels the most like home, though. She's spent more than half of her life there, even if most of *that* was awful.
Looking back to Laura, Illyana nods. "And no matter how far you range, it always will be." It almost sounds like Illyana's quoting something, but if she is it's more obscure than the Mask of Zorro. "So between things, basically?" There's usually those moments, when something is finished but the next isn't yet started that one feels the need to touch base.
The commentary on Caden's wood chopping gets a snicker from Illyana. "You were. I look forward to watching you." She winks over to Laura. "I'm betting the sweater comes off like, a quarter of the way through." Pulling her hands from her pockets, she holds them up in a defensive 'I give up!' sort of manner. "No, no, that's quite true. You were just starting."
When Caden mentions Elena, she nods and then looks to Laura. "Elena goes to school here, so if she smells familiar, that's likely why." Always best to preventively put the Laura at ease. "She lives down in the City with Piotr and I." She doesn't mention Keiko or Mikhail, since Laura doesn't know them.
"Can't disrespect. Don't got any." Laura sums that up succinctly, again not even thinking about the fact that she might hurt Caden's feelings. Thankfully they've known her long enough to realize she just says things most times. She doesn't think about it. For her, it's simply a statement of fact and not her being rude. "Practice. Get better." There, she was being encouraging!
She probably shouldn't be put on teaching staff anytime soon with that sort of 'help' though.
She settles in to the side of Illyana, ready to watch the show that is Caden showing off his skills. She gives a moment then tilts her head at Illy. "Less. Five minutes tops. Betcha a beer." That's about as social as she gets so she's apparently relaxing a bit.
She considers the explanation about Elena, glancing to Illyana as she instinctively sniffs the air. So many students, so many new ones, she hadn't really picked up yet on Elena in the mix. After all, she knows Piotr and Illyana's so a lighter blended version just is in the mix in the air unless she meets her Elena directly and pieces the parts together. "Powers or just because it's here?"
Again Caden sees the need to defend himself, only now it's from two people instead of just the one stabby one. "Heeey." He looks between them and though he's acting all offended the flush in his features and the grin there… he's eating it up. "Give a man a chance. I'm tough. I'm all… you know, outdoors-ish."
And then, spirits preserve him, he actually hefts that axe and holds out one hand, "Spread out. Spread ouuut." Since this isn't dangerous at all, especially with a Moe of the Three Stooges voice affectation. He does adjust the collar of his sweatshirt, however, then lines up.
Just like the Youtube video.
He brings the axe up and around, settling it in place against the top of the log, then brings it back as he focuses his breathing. An exhalation as the axehead rushes forward and /CHOK!/ the log splits. Nicely even. But what might be all the more amusing is the brightness seen in Caden's eyes. The pure happiness there that whispers…
'Yay… I didn't mess it up.'
A grin and he scoops up another log, "Stand back ladies. Super Masculine Guy working here." /CHOK!/ And so it begins.
Laura's blunt commentary gets a snickersnort from Illyana, the blonde bringing up a hand to try to keep from guffawing at her best friend. "Ohhhh, she's got your number, Pryde." At his claim of being 'outdoors-ish' Illyana smirks his way. "Uh huh. I'm gonna ask Nick what you got in his Survival class." The older werewolf graduated from Xavier's much earlier than the rest of them, but still helps out in that important-if-you-wanna-be-an-X-Man class.
When Caden waves them further back, Illyana makes a small gesture, stepping disks stealing a bench from a distant part of the campus to give Laura and herself a place to sit. "You're on." She offers out a fist for Laura to tap, letting the other woman decide if she wants to make physical contact.
As Mr. Outdoors manages to split the log cleanly, Illyana offers up some applause, smirking. She can totally read his expression. "Just y'know, a whole tree to go." She says, 'encouragingly'.
It's so not. It's definitely mocking.
As for Laura's question? "Powers. Not sure on the extent of them, and it might be messed up from being conceived and born in Limbo. She's like, five. Hopefully she's not too scarred from it." If anyone can sympathize with terrible childhoods, it's Laura and Illyana.
The actual snort comes from Laura at the outdoors-ish. "Test that later," she murmurs. WHich could be perceived as a threat since she is all about outdoors and survival. With little to nothing in hand. Well, something in hand but he doesn't have those. It might be considered cheating by some but her theory is simply there is no such thing as cheating as long as you win.
As he manages to get the next piece of wood in a single try, Laura gives a negative shake of her head. Though she doesn't say it, she's being dismissive. At least, not as encouraging as Illyana is. Which makes her grin even as she moves to the seat the other woman has provided for them and sprawls there with her legs extended out in front of her.
She glances at Illyana and gives a nod about Elena. "All she knew then. Maybe this is harder for her now?" It was for Laura at least when she first came to the school. It wasn't anything she knew and she had to retrain herself on so many things. She knows it was the same for Illyana.
"She has you both. You'll help her." Full sentences now. She's much more at ease, completely relaxed in her almost boneless sprawl as she turns to watch Caden working.
"I know," Caden says defensively over his shoulder toward Illyana, but that smile doesn't leave, "I'm just getting started and all." He straightens up and hefts that axe over his shoulder, affecting a /stern/ lumberjack look over at the young ladies who are…
Sitting in a bench and watching him? He barks a small laugh at the situation and shakes his head.
"Just wait til I get my groove on," He advises them as he shifts the next log over onto the stump and sets it upright. A deep breath is taken and then he brings the axe up and around /CHOK!/ the log splits, though he has to wiggle the axehead a little to get it free and break the pieces fully in twain. It's enough to send them falling into the 'completed' pile which now has all of four logs split.
He hums to himself, "No one's slick as Gaston."
/CHOK!/ "No one's quick as Gaston."
"No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston's." /CHOK!/
He continues to hum happily to himself as he works, the axe coming down again imbedding in the wood… and sticking. "Oh I saw this one on Ice Road Truckers." And as he says that he lifts the axe, log still attached, and then brings it down. /CHOK!/ to split the entire thing. Like an actual axeman.
"Hah."
Perhaps he's a natural, or perhaps… he's just lucky. But in any case for the next half hour or so… he keeps working at it.
Illyana Rasputina did her own fair share of survival training when she was younger, though Limbo's twisted version of a savage land isn't likely to be any of the biomes she might end up on Earth. But while Illyana may enjoy her froufrou coffees and ice cream, there's very little the pretty blonde won't do to survive. More even, than she's shared with even her friends and family. Sometimes, people don't want to know you that well.
After Laura returns the fistbump, which given what the one woman has up her 'sleeves' is really a trusting gesture, Illyana stretches her arms about behind her, leaning back on them and crossing one leg over the other as she watches Caden. As he starts into Disney tunes, she gives a small, laughing groan as she shakes her head. She leaves off any additional heckling though, conversation turning to Laura.
"She wasn't alone. Piotr and her mom, Keiko, managed to give her some shelter from the worst of it. She's actually been doing really well. She's got us, her mom, a few of the staff she's already charmed." Illyana nods. "She'll be fine." That sounds more like a vow than assurance. Like Illyana will make sure that comes to pass.
"So you have any plans, or waiting to see what pops up so you can make Snikt-a-mole?" It's like whack-a-mole.
Only more fun. And stabby.
"No plans. Didn't plan to be gone so long. Was following a lead. Didn't pan out," is the extent of an explanation for her absence of almost a year. "So guess depends on if I get another lead."
She's always on the lookout for anyone and anything related to The Facility and its possible return. Not everyone was on site when she eliminated it years ago. Every once in a while, there is a rumor or a whisper and she goes walkabout to be certain there isn't a loose end needing to be tied up.
The vow from Illyana to protect her niece has Laura smiling a bit, giving a sidelong glance at the blonde. "Going all Mama Bear. Is funny." Not a side she would've expected from Illyana when they met so long ago. Laura has seen it though. There are some Illyana let's behind her walls. Piotr was always there, of course. Caden found a way through the armor. Some others. For those, she would literally do anything to keep them safe.
Laura could relate. They were such similar creatures beneath it all.
She jerks her head to toward Caden as he hums along, not getting the song or reference. "He said he was taken in Japan. Group trying to change him into an assassin. Said they were nothing to be worried about." Now she looks right at Illyana. "Won't tell me much. Maybe you will. Do I need to go kill them?" For her, eliminating the problem makes the most sense. And she knows that Illyana will understand that more than perhaps most of them. She'd asked Caden if he had killed them, or if he needed help doing it, but he had dismissed her offer.
Illyana Rasputina gives a soft huff at Laura's observation. "Get it right, it's like 'Aunty Bear' or something at best. And I'll take the bear bit, since that's pretty Russian." While never especially close to Laura, the small woman is familiar and even those that Illyana was even more standoffish with, if they went to Xavier's, they could usually count on her help. Being in this place that rings as 'home' for both of them as well, it's easy for the blonde to relax.
Laura's 'business' gets a nod from Illyana. "Well let me know if you need a quick jump somewhere. Oh." Illyana sits up a bit to dig out her phone, thumbing the security open and offering it over to Laura. "Texting is usually better than calling. If I'm in Limbo I don't get signal." During her years at Xavier's, she kept most everything about Limbo fairly quiet. When teleporting through, her riders just got quick glimpses. Most just know it as a hell realm where time moves differently. Maybe Illyana told the counselors more, but she's always been pretty close-mouthed about her own pain. "Interested in doing anything in the meantime?" Because much like Illyana, Laura's not great teacher material.
When things turn to Caden, who's too focused and far enough away he's not likely to overhear their conversation, Illyana frowns. "He actually hasn't told me much. And I'm sure there's loose ends. 'Nothing to worry about' is the same line I used when I escaped my captor." She shakes her head at the question. "Not yet. Not until he asks for help." Or things are pushed to a head. "I think he needs to feel in control of how this gets dealt with, more than he needs us to ride in like the white knight to his damsel in distress."
Being denied the chance to go hunting is a tad disappointing for Laura. It isn't that she wants to kill. She just happens to be very good at it. Hunting is like an instinct for her so she enjoys that aspect of it. She gives a shrug though, recognizing the wisdom in Illyana's assessment. "If he asks." Therein being the rub. After all, Caden can be a bit stubborn. Illyana knows that more than anyone probably.
At the offered phone, Laura takes it and quickly adds herself to the contacts. She then hits the dial button and there is a vibration sound from her own back pocket. She passes Illyana back her phone the pulls out her own, swiping open the screen and adding in Aunty Bear to her contacts. Yes, as that name.
Finishing up, she puts the phone back in her pocket and glances off at Caden as he is starting to work up a sweat. Then attention to her bench companion as she gives a curious look at the other question sent her way. "Kinda sad the team is scattered and not around as much. Did you have something in mind to do? Will need something if they aren't around to train with." And keep her busy before she goes stir crazy. It won't take long if she isn't training, then she might end up walkabout again.
Illyana looks a bit amused as she catches that hint of disappointment from Laura. "It'll come." She says. "Trouble always comes looking for us."
Accepting her phone back, Illyana also texts her the address of where she's living in the City in case she needs somewhere to go before tucking it away. She's not like most women her age, constantly attached to it. Illyana's never been a fan of most technology which makes her friendship with Mr. Computers even more amusing. He probably *is* why she's at least as savvy to the internet trends as she is, though.
"Mmmm. You could check in with Nick and Isis. I know Caden's been helping them out with something. He's doing that whole PI thing so might have some use for your talents. I've got some crap going on but it's all mystical mumbo jumbo for the most part. Nothing that needs killing." While Illyana doesn't kill herself, both because that's the line that the X-Men have always pushed on the students and because of her own dance with damnation, she's pretty blase about it. So long as it's not happening to someone she cares about. "I think there's still enough folks around teaching to get some training in." Which reminds her, she's been a bit remiss in her own of late. Something to talk to Caden about, probably.
Phones are a necessary evil. It's the only reason Laura has one. Not that they seem to last long. She's going through one every few months. Usually, she forgets about it when she gets into a fight and by the time it's over, she's in need of a phone again. They really should be made more durable. Even those boxes that are supposed to keep them safe tend to fail in her case.
"Good," is the response, punctuated with a nod, at the fact there is enough staff to keep her in the Danger Room if she wants it. Of course, she would prefer with those she knew better and had trained with often but beggars can't be choosers.
As Illyana mentions Caden, the feral woman looks his direction. Just in time for the sweatshirt to come off. "Damn. Seven minutes. I owe you a beer," she mutters as she smirks, looking back to Illyana. She focuses back on the conversation.
"Can see if they want my help." She shrugs. "If not, I'll find something." Which may or may not mean she'll wander off again. "Don't do mumbo jumbo but if you need my skills, just say the word." An open offer of assistance at least, even if it doesn't involve gutting someone.
Illyana Rasputina also tends to go through a lot of phones. Limbo tends to do a number on them. At best, they just stop working. At worst, well. They can bite and need to be put down with extreme prejudice. Luckily Caden makes sure she's not constantly having to get people's information again.
"And if you just want exercise, well, I've got some rebellions you're welcome to be my instrument of destruction on." That might not make as much sense, as Illyana's control of Limbo is something new and she hasn't been advertising it.
Illyana laughs as Laura admits defeat, leaning in towards her. "Double or nothing the shirt comes off before he finishes." She offers. Not that Caden's ever been prone to go around half-dressed, but if nothing else the teasing Illyana at least will engage in should get some prime blushing out of him.
The offer gets a nod, as close as Illyana is likely to say 'thank you' to just about anyone. That and 'please' are words the blonde doesn't tend to use often. Like Laura, it's not a specific attempt to be rude. It's just too close to owing someone from that demonic mindset that lingers in her. "I know Scott was taking the team out to help defend some stelae that have been under attack, so you might get more action than expected."
"Action is good." Laura's version of enthusiasm with that brief flast of a feral smile before it is gone behind the girl-next-door appearance she has. Even when she was younger, that was part of why she was so good at what she did. She just didn't look like what someone considered to be a predator.
Only certain folks knew what to look for though. Illyana was one. After all, she had those intincts herself, hidden behind those glacier blue eyes.
Glancing out at Caden again, Laura shakes her head negatively. "Not takin' that bet. Positive that shirt's gonna come off." She gives another smirk to Illyana. "He's proud of his new body." She had already noted he was changed from his experiences in Japan and mentioned it to him on her first day back. "Cause 'Super Masculine Guy'," she says, quoting his words from a bit ago. "He'll do it on purpose, not cause he's of exertion."
The part that didn't make sense as her tilting her head in that way that was more animalistic than human at times. A moment to try to understand. "Rebellions?"
Luckily, Laura and Illyana met at Xaiver's and so there was some influence to not go trying to prove who was the more dominant of the then much more feral mutants. Well, Illyana never considered herself feral. She was very well socially adjusted. If you were a demon.
Illyana gives her own grin, full of teeth and a flash of predatory hunger as Laura declines the bet, laughing softly. "I certainly won't object. He's always been in good shape." Most of the Xavier students were. While Illyana was never one to do the high school dating game, she never shied away from watching.
"He just needs to make sure he doesn't spend too much time in front of his computers." She glances over. "They're in his room, of course. Easy for them to be the first thing he goes to in the morning and the last thing at night." And it's easy for him to loose time when he's working on them. Something Illyana and Laura likely boggle over.
The question gets a pause from Illyana, and her expression slips into something more serious. "Getting back out of Limbo involved overthrowing the ruler. The one that held me. So now I rule." They do say it's better to reign in hell than serve in heaven, right?
Computers. While Laura can use them, was even trained at The Facility to utilize them, it was purely a tool to be used. The idea of computers for leisure was confusing. Video games. Chat rooms. Wikipedia. Dating apps. Blogs. Might as well be a foreign language she just couldn't quite master. She could use them she just preferred not to because they were a waste of time when not being used for an explicit purpose.
Caden had always ween strange. He loved the things. Had even shown her things back when they were trying to help her acclimate to being normal. Didn't really stick very well. "Could move 'em. Put a weight bench there." That would likely lead to a apoplectic fit followed by much screaming as he came through a wall into her room. Maybe not such a good idea. "Or not."
She went back to the rebellions. "Congratulations." For winning. She realized that didn't probably come across so added more words. "Overthrowing the ruler. So you are President? Queen? Demons not happy?" Wait, was that an oxymoron? Were demons ever happy?
Poor Caden. It seems like he got stuck with all the crazy wimminz. Well, half feral that just didn't appreciate his computer savvy. "Mmmm. I might break something." Since she'd probably use her stepping disks, and the edges of those can be deadly. "And he wouldn't *say* anything…" But it would hurt him in a way that Illyana doesn't like to hurt her friends. "I tried to convince him they needed moving the other morning. I didn't get real far. I suppose I could have worked harder, but that would have been pure manipulation."
"I tend to go with 'ruler'. Queen is pretty common, though." Illyana just shies away from the title. "Some aren't. I'm too human for them. They want me to do bad things and I keep telling them no, so… they're interested in replacing me with someone that will accomplish their goals." It's like a really bloody democracy!
OK, it's totally not.
That sweatshirt had indeed come off, it was wrapped around his waist right now and that pile of wood was beginning to grow and grow. It looks like it might be good for a good half dozen moderate bonfires or a couple huge ones. But he keeps plugging away.
For a moment he pauses, leaning against that axe and catching his breath. The t-shirt's soaked through the front and under his arms though he still uses it to dab at his brow, holding it up and rubbing at his face. He straightens, forearm sliding across his features as he sort of looks down at few dozen remaining logs left, then eyes them askance.
If they were telepaths they might tell his thoughts, not quite along the lines of what they imagine. Not so much, 'ha ha, now I get to take off my shirt!' It's more along the lines now of… 'Ok, how much grief will I get if I take off my shirt?' It's all in there in those hazel eyes as he looks at them, smirks a little, and the gears turn.
But it was a sucker's bet to be sure, for after a moment he reaches up and balls up the back of that shirt over one shoulder and pulls it off, then tosses it aside for now. It leaves him there bare from the waist up with that dancer's physique clearly visible and the defined contours of his toned back and shoulders.
That done he brings the axe back up and starts back into his work.
/CHOK!/
"Demons huh? Can do that. Let me know if you decide to go that way," Laura says, as she shifts a bit on the seat, pushing up a little bit as she seems to be sinking. That's what happens when sprawling and not using feet to keep herself in place. Once she has scooched up, she rests her hands back to either side of her on the bench.
"Probably should let him be him. Computers and all," she elects as she looks back over to Caden. "He sucks at choppin' wood. Gettin' better though." He really doesn't suck but he doesn't have it down to a practiced, muscle memory routine like the regulars do. Might have something to do with learning it on Youtube.
It is that precise moment he chooses to take off the t-shirt. Laura takes a moment to look over the lines of him, then watching as the muscles work under his skin when he starts working again. "Glad I didn't take that bet."
Illyana Rasputina brings her fingers up to her lips and gives a sharp whistle as Caden tosses the shirt aside, mostly to make him blush. She's cruel like that. That's followed by the slow clap of applause, Illyana's pale gaze dancing with amusement before turning the bulk of her attention back to Laura. She keeps watching Caden, though. He's better than television.
"Eh, he's getting through it without getting himself or anyone else hurt, with reasonable logs. I think we can upgrade him from 'suck'. Besides, we're all pretty terrible at stuff we're doing for the first time." As for the bet? "I say we drag him along for the beer. We can go hang out at Harry's whenever he's done." A pause. "And showered." If he's lucky, the two of them won't hang out in his room gossiping about him as he does so.
Illyana lifts her chin towards him. "You ask him to keep feelers out for your targets, by the way?" Speaking of asking for help.
The response to that is immediate and adamant. Laura shakes her head negatively. "No." She sits up now, scooting back on the seat properly then leaning forward so she can rest her arms on her lap. She leans her weight against them, eyes going to Caden. Only right now, she isn't focusing on him. Her thoughts are inward and she isn't really seeing what is in front of her but instead flicking through information.
"My problem." Going to shorter answers, blocking out the very concept of anyone helping her with her own situation.
Helping others? She's fine with that. But the idea of asking for help? Of anyone getting into her business and, more importantly, being endangered because of it. Another negative shake of her head. "Just no."
She frowns and looks down at her hands. Specifically at the spots where her claws would tear through skin to appear if she willed them to. She tightens one hand into a fist, watching the place of muscles. No claws appear.
She realizes what she is doing. It's something she was told she does. Something she knows to be on the lookout for. She frowns and sits up, taking a breath and holding it for five seconds before exhaling. "Sorry. Habit. Bad one. I…" She needs to put it in words. "Don't want him in danger. Or anyone else. Not for me."
Illyana's blonde head turns to look at Laura at that sharp, abrupt answer and watches the other woman for a long, quiet moment as she works through things in her head. Pale blue eyes dip down to watch the flex of muscle and tendon in Laura's forearms. Even with only Laura's short answers, the quiet doesn't really seem awkward. More pointed.
The apology gets a flicker of a smile. Something Laura can bring herself to do that Illyana can't. While the blonde sits fairly close to Laura, she doesn't offer any soothing touch. Maybe Caden could pull it off. "So. I didn't tell anyone much about what happened to me, or look for help when I was kidnapped. And then when I came back, I pretty much didn't tell people things. I figured they'd be safer that way." Much like Laura is looking to do now. A breathe is drawn in deep into her lungs and then Illyana lets it out, looking into the distance but not really at Caden. "But it didn't matter that I tried to keep them at arm's length and in the dark. Danger came for them. My brother was taken to Limbo for seven years to rule in my stead when I got trapped elsewhere. Keiko was taken with him, her life used to make him obey. A friend was nearly killed, and is only alive because one of my enemies did something even worse to him. Another put a sword through Sam Guthrie's chest to get my attention."
Illyana looks back to Laura. "Danger will find them. And sometimes it's best if they're armed with knowledge, so they're not just waiting to be someone's victims."
In all her time here, there are things Laura has not shared. Would not share. Everything has been kept to herself. They know she was created, not really born like a normal child. They know she was turned into a weapon, a living one that would be the perfect assassin. They didn't know the details of it all. Perhaps some of the telepaths had more detail, knew the horrors. Maybe it had been shared. The tale had never passed Laura's lips though.
She wasn't sure if she ever could.
Her abilities really told the tale for her. From the moment she came to this place, for her reactions to the others and needing to be dealt with in special ways. No normal classes and talking about boys. More 'don't stab him' and 'put the claws away'.
She looked back over to Illyana as she opened up, gave more detail than Laura had heard before. It made her frown a bit. Her arms were drawn up, folding over her midriff, as she was pulling away from the ideas physically even though she understood. She knew it was true.
Even running wasn't enough apparently. If the Danger came for them though, she would never forgive herself. "It's why I hunt them," she admitted. "Leads. Rumors. Anything. To make sure they can't. But there is always another one. And another. I…don't know if I can talk about it to them."
The pair of women have a lot in common. Especially in their preferred method of dealing with things. Illyana perhaps managed to 'civilize' a bit better than Laura. Maybe she just cared to blend more than the stabby woman.
Illyana tilts her head a bit in a nod at Laura's words. "I know. I've seen how relentless you are about looking for them. Even just from the sidelines." The blonde nods over towards Caden again. "They're not helpless, just because they're not as hard as us." She doesn't try to give Laura her 'you need to have someone to be your light' speech. She knows Laura well enough to know that she's not gonna be open to that right now. They've never had that sort of relationship, either.
That is perhaps the one difference between them. Illyana had Piotr before she was taken to Limbo. She had him to be her shelter in the storm, even upon her return.
Though, Laura had that too. She had her mother. Doctor Kinney. She had read her stories of Pinnochio, giving her that thought of being a 'real' girl even back in the place where she was created. Yet, now? Doctor Kinney was no more.
Laura looked at her hands. Her 'mother' was no more because of her. Dead at her hand. All things she couldn't share. Wouldn't.
She sighed and closed her hand into a fist. Then another drawing in of air, long seconds counted holding it, releasing it and attempting to let the tension go at the same time.
"They aren't helpless. But they aren't us." She gives Illyana that moment, full eye contact, the darkness in eyes that should be bright and full of youth. Eyes so much older than the face they are a part of. Then it is over, contact broken, as she looks out at Caden and uses him to change subjects.
"He's almost done. Didn't even cut his leg off."
Even when Illyana was in Limbo, there were those that helped her at some points. She had her parents for those earliest of years, even if she can't remember them. Their eyes, dark and light meet and hold, and at the end Illyana gives a nod in return. She's not going to try to convince Laura with words. Words mean little to those like her. Illyana too, though she's likely more open to them.
Maybe someday, they'll talk about those dark times and make those darkest of confessions. How they killed those they loved. But today is definitely not that day.
As Laura calls attention to Caden again, Illyana looks back over and chuckles. "Which is good. He doesn't heal near so well as you." The blonde pushes up to her feet. "Why don't we see about those beers, hmm?"