| Extracurricular Activities? | |||||
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| What: Doug and Illyana discuss extracurricular activities with a couple of students... | |||||
A quiet calm winter afternoon at Xavier's Institute.
A cold brisk wind follows Doug into the mansion, and the young blond man quickly closes the door behind him, pulling off the wool cap and gloves.
Momentarily, Doug knocks at the Professor's door, but upon receiving no answer, he shrugs.
Ah well. In for a penny, in for a pound. Might as well gather up the prospective student profiles, and see what he could find out about these people. Not that he was sure he was going to be a teacher at the Institute itself, that had to be worked out, but as a field instructor... things could be interesting.
And so, after gathering up the prospective files, Doug tucks them into a small briefcase, and heads back towards the hallway. Upon seeing a familiar face or two, he greets them with a "Hello!" and a smile.
Well, it's not that hard to find Jocelyn. She's coming down from her dorms, a bookbag slung over her shoulder. She appears to have invested in gloves, as she's wearing a black pair of leather gloves regardless of the fact that she's inside. She spots Doug as she's walking. "Hello Doug," she greets the man casually. She's also got a smartphone clipped to her belt as the other new addition to her outfit since the last time she saw the older man.
"How're you doing today?" she asks. "You sure seem to be around a lot for an alumni," she adds. It did seem a little bit odd to her, but it had turned out to be good the other day, so she wasn't complaining!
Stepping in from the direction of the lounge, Anole begins down the stairs- earbuds in his ears. He seems fairly 'into' his music, not noticing Doug or Jocelyn until he's nearly on top of them. "Woop!" he exclaims, startled by the sudden 'people'. "Ahoy-hoy!"
Flash. Light flares from down the hall. Flash. Again from another direction. Overall, not too terribly unusual at Xavier's. Nothing to be concerned about, right? Flash. A stepping disk opens next to Doug and, without a hello to him or the others that happen to be there, the blonde woman ah hahs! And reaches out to relieve Doug of the files he has in hand. "Thanks, dyadya." Today, Illyana wears a whole lot of black leather. From the high-collared top with long sleeves to her wrists that ends just above her navel to the low-riding pants that dive into heavy-soled boots that climb up to her knees with silver skull buckles that march up the side. A slim silver chain wraps her hips twice to serve as a belt and her long blonde hair has a few streaks of vibrant blue in it.
"Doing pretty well," Doug smiles in return. "Oh, I'm still an alumnus, but well, I might be doing something else for this institute soon enough. Was talking to the professor and... whoa, there!"
Reaching out with a hand to avoid a collision with Anole, Doug is distracted enough that the folders are taken from him. "Illyana...!" Trying to take the briefcase with the files back from Illyana, Doug reaches. "That's the files on the..." And cuts himself off, glancing back at Anole and Jocelyn.
Stepping off to the side quickly when Anole nearly runs into them, Jocelyn smiles a bit. "Careful there Vic," Jocelyn replies to her classmate as he nearly runs into both her and Doug. That reminds her to pay better attention when people with headphones are around, if only for her safety's sake.
"Can't go anywhere, can you?" Jocelyn quips as Illyana takes what seems to be important documents from Doug. Ah, well, Jocelyn is content to let the two of them figure out the details, though she does raise her eyebrow and shift lightly at the way Doug cuts himself off. "Something else?" she asks, her interest rising a bit.
Anole just gives an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, I got caught up in the music. You know how the rhythm may or may not 'gitchya' if you're not careful." he offered with a bit of a chuckle. "What's up?" he wondered, as Illy just appeared. He took a half step back. That was something that took getting used to.
Illyana arches a brow at Jocelyn's comment. "On the contrary." She smirks at the younger woman. "I can pretty much go anywhere." And does. "And yeah, what I'm looking for." The latter is said to Doug without much mind to Vic at the moment. She's currently trying to figure out the easiest way to open the briefcase considering she doesn't have a... "Hands." She tells Doug, shifting the case so she can put it on the incoming hand-table that Doug will no doubt be making for her.
Pausing in the attempt to grab his briefcase, aware that he's not presenting a suitable appearance for the younger generation, Doug straightens up, tilting his head. "Well, I already was somewhere else, but yeah, it's hard to just abandon this place," the young mutant grins, before nodding at Anole.
Hands reaching up automatically at Illyana's command, Doug shakes his head.
"Illyana," he says, "has a way of showing up when you least expect it..." And then he quickly reaches up to close the briefcase and reclaim it -immediately-.
"I was actually referring to Doug," Jocelyn says to Illyana casually. She was more amused by the play-by-play going on between the two adults than anything else, really. "Not much. Just thinking about grabbing some space outside to get this studying done instead of inside, you know?" Jocelyn tells Vic. "Still got history to do". It was much more obnoxious to finish when you were restricted to actual books instead of electronic sources.
Jocelyn then just gives Doug a look at the way he goes to grab the briefcase. "Yeah. You have a fairly important job, don't you?" He did tell her that he worked for the U.N. But he was here a lot? Weird.
Anole grins and nods, as he begins to side step the trio. "Well, I was just about to hit the kitchen and see if any of those cookies from lunch are still around to be munched on." He had no interest in school work, once classes had let out for the day. "Homework is for later, now is time to enjoy freedom from classes." He says towards Jocelyn, grinning.
"Dyadya can go anywhere he wants too. I'll take him." Illyana assures Jocelyn, the leather-clad blonde not batting at eye at her apparent misinterpretation. Like a cat, it was clearly all part of the plan. Her brows come down, eyes narrowing as Doug recloses the briefcases and moves to pull it away, smacking at his hand. "Nyet. Mine. Gimmie." She demands. "It's Friday. Who does homework on Friday?"
"Apparently not," Doug says as he secures the briefcase. There was a pause as he remembers that Vic was one of those prospectives, and so Doug tilts his head to observe him. A bit free-spirited, easily distractable... but potential there, wasn't it? "Thank goodness for Friday, eh?" he asks him.
Holding up the briefcase above his head automatically as Illyana smacks him to try and claim it, Doug grins at Jocelyn. "Getting it over with before trying to cram it in on Sunday night means she's probably that annoying student who shows up all bright-eyed and peppy on Monday morning."
"Don't blow that secret," Jocelyn says, though the slight shift in her weight might indicate there's something else there she's not mentioning. "I just hate feeling rushed with it, and it's routine, so that helps". She offers an easy shrug. "Besides, it means I get some space to myself to do what I want while everyone else is trying to cram it all in Sunday night". She's all for not having to cram it all in at once. The girl does give Illyana a curious look, however. "Okay, I have to ask. Dyadya?" Embarrassing nickname for Doug? Something Illyana is making up? Jocelyn has no idea, but wants to know!
A look is given to Vic. "Well, perhaps I'll join you. See who can get the better haul," she comments to the boy with a small smile. Competition to see who can get the best food from the kitchen sounds tasty to her.
"No kidding, between the studies downstairs and the troubles outside, I'm just glad to have a weekend!" Vic said, with a laugh. "Got me a lot of plans for the weekend." Vic was ever in motion- between sitting in on Drama, and his 'extra work' in the Danger Room, and just finding time to get to New York to try and catch shows. "You've got a bit of a pensive look there, Mr. Ramsey? Something on your mind?" he asks of the adult, curious.
Illyana's blue eyes glitter with annoyance, like sunlight glinting off of icicles. A stepping disk opens at his feet to make him fall through. But only a few feet, and then his feet would hit something solid, leaving the upper half of his body in the here and the lower half... elsewhere with nothing visible past the glowing surface of her portal. That should put the briefcase right at chest-level for the pushy blonde so she can reach out to take it back from him. She either ignores Jocelyn's question or leaves it to Doug to answer. Hard to tell which. "I know, right?" She comments when Vic mentions plans. "There's a few groups playing in the city I want to catch."
"Just a bit. You're taking... extracurricular classes?" Doug says calmly, glancing towards Jocelyn as a bit of a warning to not talk too openly, but just enough that Vic is aware that the man addressing him is looking to talk to him about -those-...
And then Doug finds himself falling, and standing partway through the floor. He's afraid to ask what he was -standing- on, however, other than giving Illyana a mildly annoyed look. "Put me back," he says, before sighing at Jocelyn. "Dyadya... means 'uncle'. I know, I know. Long story."
"Ah. YEah, I'm taking extracurriculars." Vic said as he slowed a bit, his stride broken- eye-ridges coming together in the way brows do for folks with bodyhair. "I'm guessing its about those?" He stopped his stroll- giving Doug a bit of a look. Particularly as he's falling partway through the floor with Illy's magic at work.
Illyana takes the briefcase back and leans down to kiss Doug's cheek with a smirk. Hey, someone gets what they want. Doug slowly rises up through the floor as Illyana moves the disk in Limbo while keeping the one on Earth stationary. Portal physics. It's cool. When Doug's at the correct level again, the portal winks out.
"... something like that," Doug sighs, nodding at Anole. "Since I'm working on... wait a minute. Illyana, what -did- you mean, you needed those papers too?" Something was sinking in, belatedly, about just why Illyana would want those files. "You're...?" he asks Illyana, eyebrow arched, letting that one word and expression ask the full question for him.
Jocelyn has been zoned out a little bit, watching the portal's energy open and close. It's just really kind of cool to watch. However, she seems to come back to Earth a little bit as the portal winks out. She shifts her weight onto her back foot as she chews over everything that's being said, and not said, and chooses at this point to mostly remain silent, listening to the conversation further.
"I see." Vic replies to Doug. Otherwise, the teen is quiet- listening now. Watching Illy and Doug 'fight' over paperwork- or at least a briefcase. "You guys realize this is a little odd, right?" Said the kid from Normalsville USA. "Fighting over a briefcase and otherwise making a fuss on school sponsored extracurricular activities." He won't go into the extracurriculars he did on his own. Loose lips sink ships.
Illyana turns her attention over to Vic and gives him the smirk that seems to live on her lips. Like the world's a joke and she's the only one that's laughing. "I usually go way beyond 'odd'." Then she looks back to Doug and arches a brow. "Piotr asked for my help." Which means Piotr didn't take 'no' for an answer. The demon queen of Limbo has a bit of a soft spot for her stubborn brother.
"Piotr..." There was a nod, followed by a shrug. "All right. So, if I'm not -wrong-, there's going to be -two-... advisors for extracurricular activities?" Doug tilts his head. Shrugging, Doug glances at Anole. "Well, yes, a bit odd. But I was supposed to be your new extracurricular advisor. And apparently, so is she." Tilting his head towards Illyana, Doug grins sheepishly.
A glance goes to Jocelyn. "She's not involved in extracurriculars yet, are you, Jocelyn?"
"Depends. What sort of extracurriculars are you talking about? I have things I do outside of class, but nothing officially organized". Jocelyn's tone is a bit more measured than usual, almost as though she's keeping a firm clamp down on some sort of emotion for those who are good at picking up things in the voice.
"Congratulations on the new roles," she adds to both Illyana and Doug. She shifts the shoulder her bookbag is on, adjusting it's position in the process, as she waits for an answer.
"Ah. I see." Vic said, apparently a little more involved. "Oh, no. I haven't seen her in any of the extracurriculars I'm taking." Vic looks between Illyana and Doug. "Er, yeah. So, what about them? Are you two going to be taking over?" Vic was a tad confused- his 'extracurricular' activities had been seemngly hosted at random. And by random teachers, for different purposes. "Will there be more of an actual curriculum, then?" He asks, with a teasing smile.
"Is that what we're calling it?" Illyana asks, arching a brow at Doug. "'extracurricular activities'?" She ffffts. "Lame. First order of business, give it a new name. Names are important, you know." Sayeth the mage. Jocelyn gets an amused look. "Oh, I don't think congratulations are in order. More like... Condolences." Her tone is full of her dry, sarcastic humor. Doug gets a glance with Vic's question. "I'm not writing a curriculum. I'm more a trial-by-fire sort. Or ice. There was that winter I had to survive by myself..."
"Well, for students who -aren't- taking extracurriculars... yeah, that's what we're calling it. We'll have to go over all the files, but... yes, Vic, there -will- be more of an actual curriculum," Doug smiles. "From what I was told, more... club activities, peer guidance, field trips... outreach activities, perhaps." There was a pause at Illyana's words, and then a sigh. "We'll sort it out. Although things could be interesting, if Laura's going to be joining the club..."
"Laura? She's pretty damn scary, have either of you even seen what she can do?" Vic has. Clearly. It shows on his face, "I mean, trust me- she's really nice, but.. She's got a look in her eye when things start to get vi..excited." Vic changes words mid-sentence. "Its all spooky River Tam style." Hoping his 'teachers' would understand what was said. "She's just spookily calm under pressure." Vic still took a moment to absorb the rest, "Er. I see. Club activities and peer guidance with field trips. Not the type I'd be getting a parent's signature for though, are they?"
Jocelyn frowns. "Well, I'll let you all talk then," Jocelyn says. Frankly, she's had enough of this secret club stuff, as apparently she wouldn't get an answer and it seemed everyone kept stopping short after letting something slip about it. "I"ll catch you all later". The tall girl turns and starts back up the stairs, mumbling something under her breath. She gives a glance to Vic as he speaks up with Laura. "She's not that creepy. Sparred with her the other day. Just have to read if she's angry or not". Which Jocelyn still hadn't mastered, but still.
"I've got an idea." Illyana says to Vic in reply to Laura, her tone turning almost eerily serious. Laura went into one of the Limbos with Piotr and 'Berto. Yeah, she's got an idea. Illyana hooks her thumbs in the back pockets of her pants as she watches Jocelyn head away. She slides her attention over to Mr. Languages and arches a brow,not saying a word.
Running his hand through his hair, Doug frowned. He hated doing that to the poor girl, but they -had- to find out if she wanted to be part of... extracurriculars or not. That was something that would have to be sorted out soon. Nodding to Vic and Illyana, Doug nods. "Shouldn't need signatures." There's a -look- at Illyana. "Whatever you have in mind, clear that with me first. Especially with her... temperament."
Sighing, Doug glances at Anole. "Maybe if you show us what you were doing, we could work out something...?"
"Hey, I'm just saying what I saw." Vic's hands are up and open. "I'm no expert in the crazy, backwards shit that seems to have happened or will happen to half the kids here. I just wanted to make mention of something that might be important." Vic nods towards Illy. "Isn't it like River Tam? Just.. how straight faced she is through all of it."
"I wasn't up-close and personal, but I'll keep the insight in mind." Illyana says, nodding to Vic without looking too rattled about the information. Doug's directive to clear things with him first? That just gets a smirk and she reaches out to pat his cheek. "You're so cute." She slips one of her arms around his waist so she can hug him tightly.
B... but...
Sighing, Doug glances ceilingwards, before looking towards Vic, a 'I have no idea what just happened here' look, followed by a shake of his head. "It's not going to be like Firefly, and -she-'s certainly not River Tam. Although if there's a Saffron, send her my way."
"You could always check the escort listings in the yellow pages for that sort of thing, Mr. Ramsey. Let your fingers do the walking." Vic suggested, in what had to be the most innocent tone of voice possible for a young man, playing it wholly straight and deadpan. "Anyways, sure. If this is your awkward way of asking me to be involved, I will."
"You'd think someone whose mutant power is languages could be a bit more eloquent. Less awkward, huh?" Says the leather-clad blonde sorceress as she continues to hug Doug tightly. Illyana beams a smile up at Doug, resting her chin against his chest. Sadly, Doug's facility at languages makes it all too clear she's not sincere in that innocence, and her eyes are too cold, to hard, too empty to truly carry off light-and-whimsical to those with eyes. Being under their attention even, is unnerving to many. Luckily, she turns her attention back over to Vic. "Great! I'm a fan of exotic locales."
"Hey, try and be circumspect in public," Doug sighs. "Speaking of which, uh... Illyana..." Yes, the humor and the coolness clash, and Doug doesn't quite know which to believe. The eyes, most likely. "You can let go now." And while he's at it, he'll try again to grab ahold of the briefcase.
There's a -look- at Vic, while he's at it. "I meant one who looked like her, not one who does the same job. Although she was more of a thief than a courtesan, wasn't she?"
"I think they call that the girl-friend experience, when the chick steals from you." Not that Vic would know. Women were odd creatures to him- excellent buddies to go shopping with, and see shows with. Vic generally got on with girls in the same way he did with animals: non-sexually, and with plenty of treats. Chocolate seemed to garner the best results. Anole's humor was high, and the smile on his face playful. "When do we meet then, this new group? Hopefully not tonight. I have a date tonight." It is friday, after all.
"There you go using big English words I don't know." Illyana says, batting her eyelashes up at Doug, but again it's all false. The smiles, they humor, they all overlay something much colder and darker. She chuckles when he says she can let go. "Of course I *can*, but you're warm. And you smell good." She pulls the briefcase away and behind him and with him surrounded by her arms, it's not exactly easy to get to.
This was bound to get very misinterpreted, and Doug sighs, giving up on the chase of the suitcase and concentrating instead on getting himself disengaged from Illyana. Whatever deities there be, please don't let Piotr or Kurt wander by.
As arms twist around to try and get himself fred from the grip of Illyana, Doug nods at Anole. "Not tonight. Soon. You should get an announcement at some point."
Hopefully by then, Laura might actually have -passed- her exams...
"Alright. Its not like you guys don't know where I live." Vic's eyes look towards the kitchen. "I've probably missed any cookies that were left over, by now. I guess I'll go to enjoy my afternoon off." Just to make sure, however, Vic gives Doug and Illyana his phone number, quickly. "Call any time, just not tonight between eight and curfew. Like I said, hot date!" He grins, and wanders on to the rest of his day
Illyana can't help but chuckle as Doug tries to get the briefcase and she works on keeping it away. This it seems, is a fun game. At least for a few minutes. She goes up on her toes, dragging Doug close enough to kiss his cheek. "I gotta run." At least that means he manages to get free of her! She dances back a few steps, gives Doug a wink and teleports out. With his briefcase.
... Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all. Sighing, Doug glances towards the Professor's office.
"I don't -think- with this group is going to be very relaxing, sir," he mutters softly. "This group'll kill each other before that."