Logs:TOT Explosive Club

TOT Explosive Club
Dramatis Personae Jax, Kyinha, Astrid
In Absentia	2021-03-01 It is good, anyway, to have something more than just -- fear and stress, about the exploding.
Location <XAV> Kitchen - Xs First Floor
The kitchen staff at Xavier's tends well to the needs of its residents. Always cognizant of its students and faculty's dietary needs alike, the menu has a wide variety of choices, and the longtime cook works wonders in the kitchen. The pantry, too, is kept well stocked for those who want to come prepare themselves their own snacks. The shelf, fridge, and freezer space is ample, though if anyone wants to keep their own food there, they'd better make sure it's labeled clearly, and even that is no guarantee it'll last. There's a tense air around the school as exams begin, a lot of last minute cramming, a few early breakdowns. In here, though, it's warm and cheerful, a sweet spiced smell flooding the kitchen. At the kitchen doorway out into the hall a plump one-eyed beagle is testing the limits of what Not Allowed In The Kitchen means, lying on the ground with his nose and paws over the threshold and slowly wiggling forward. Every so often, a soft mournful howl. Inside, Johnny Cash's "Man in Black" is playing from a country playlist on Jax's laptop on a counter, though Jax himself is contrastingly extremely bright in a rainbow color-blocked sweatshirt over black overalls patched liberally with iridescent dragonflies, his hair its usual bold purple-green-blue ombre. There's a tray of crinkly chocolate snickerdoodles cooling on the counter and he's measuring spices into a large mixing bowl; a faint glimmer of multicolored lights flicker and dance in the air around him in time with the music as he works. "No chocolate for puppies," he's telling the Very Sad Dog over by the door. "You can maaaybe have a chai spice one when they're out." Thankfully Astrid has not hit mental breakdown level of stress yet, and since she has been studying from the time she’s felt fully awake, decided to take a break and not push her luck. Maybe she hasn’t officially hit a point of diminishing returns, but considering she remembered that term from last semester, she is counting it as a win and going with it. It was the sounds of Johnny Cash coming from the kitchen that first caught her attention, but really the smell of fresh baked cookies is what sent her on course there. She stops at the threshold, bending down to give the one-eyed beagle several scratches behind the ear. She looks a bit disheveled, and dressed much more fitting to the man in black playing in the background - black joggers and a matching black hoodie. As usual, her thick black framed glasses sit crooked across her nose and her dirty blond hair looks matted down, evident that until recently, she’s been wearing a beanie. Head peeking into the room while still petting the dog, she catches sight of Jax. “Hey Mr. Holland.” She says cheerfully as her eyes search for the source of the smell. “What’cha got baking?” Kyinha is making his slow way down the hall and, likewise, lured in by the fragrance of fresh cookies. He looks less drawn and unwell than he had in the very depths of the dark months, but there's still a weariness to his carriage that does little to diminish his striking appearance -- not fire and darkness, even at the tail end of winter, but a breathtakingly handsome man with warm brown eyes, dark brown skin, and thick wavy black hair. He's wearing a pale blue button-down with watery patterns, a wide rectangular scarf in deep black -- almost as deep as his skin color in warmer days -- draped around his shoulders like a shawl, gray corduroys, and polished black ankle boots. He breaks into a broad smile as he enters, whether for Jax or Obie or Astrid -- or the cookies -- is not altogether clear. "Ah-ha, exam snacks! Is this only for the students?" This particular teacher is clearly hopeful of qualifying for exam snacks. Obie is very easily distracted from his piteous howling by scritches, wagging happily and bounding to his stubby legs so he can push his head up into Astrid's hand better. "Oh heya!" Jax glances over with a broad smile, glancing over to the tray of cooling cookies and then down to his bowl. "Today is snickerdoodles day but I'm taking dessert requests for tomorrow. Uhm there's hot chocolate there and these'll be chai -- I'm thinking maybe the last batch might be cookie butter. Ain't quite decided." His nose crinkles up and he waves a flour-dusted hand toward the cookies. "Don't worry, these are communist cookies. To each according to their -- hunger." “I’ll get you something.” Astrid whispers to Obie before standing back up and taking the couple steps to officially pass through the threshold into the kitchen. “Hey Mr. de Costa.” She says while making her way towards the snickerdoodle cookies and quickly snatching one up. She hesitates before taking a bite, shooting the beagle an apologetic look before following through. “Oh shit…” her free hand reflexively shoots up towards her mouth as if to block anymore swear words from spilling out. “Sorry, I mean these are really, really good.” Her hand drops back to her side as she ponders a dessert request. “Chai cookies sound amazing actually. So no requests here.” Kyinha offers Astrid friendly grin as he, too, helps himself to a hot chocolate snickerdoodle. "I will not tell the headmaster, but I am sure he has heard worse. And in fairness to you these are amazing." This praise comes even before he takes a bite, and while he does not burst into profanity after he does offer Jax a resounding thumbs-up, the power growing within him fluctuating for just a moment, sensible to the photokinetic, before quieting down again. The slight widening of his eyes and tensing of his shoulders he covers smoothly with, "Cookie butter cookies! Perfection! It is as intended by the circle of cookie life." Despite whatever previous instructions were constraining him, Obie takes Astrid's entry as a joint sort of permission, still wagging happily as he trots along in her wake, snuffling at the ground around her feet and the counter in hope of any spilled crumbs. "Obie, out." Completely ineffectual; the dog just continues snuffling, ears brushing the ground as he bumps up against a stool and then Kyinha's legs. Despite his small sigh Jax, hands occupied with measuring and mixing, doesn't seem much fussed about going to shoo the beagle away just now. "Oh good! Glad they pass muster. Figure folks can use a little extra sweetness 'round about now -- you ain't 'bout to explode, are you?" Even as soon as Jax says this he's blushing, glancing up from his bowl to Kyinha and hastily assuring Astrid: "I don't mean you sorry!" The swirling lights around him (now in time with Pete Seeger's "Coal Creek March") fade from view. "Kyinha just feeling a little fluttery. Ms. Savita would hardly believe it if I told her t'weren't me what blew up her kitchen this time." “Thank you.” Astrid responds almost sheepishly to her use of language being kept amongst them. Her eyes fall down, watching Obie pass by and giving him one more quick pet. “I’ll watch that going forward.” The last word is drawn out as her eyes lock to Kyinha’s thumbs up, lighting up as a grim slowly creeps along her lips. “Oh, that is… I mean… I didn’t think…” The gangly teen stumbles over her words, looking back and forth between the two teachers. Red has slowly crept into her cheeks Ana’s her glasses are quickly removed, left eye rubbed and glasses replaced. Her eyes fall back down to the beagle. “I definitely shouldn’t. Getting a better grasp on things.” She looks back up, eyes moving from Jax to Kyinha. “Wait, does that mean?” Kyinha's blush is faint, and not very noticeable against his dark skin, at least not to human eyes. "No exploding. Yet." To Astrid he explains, "You remember how I looked before the winter? All black -- actually like this, black." He flicks the tassels on his scarf. "I go back to looking like that in the spring. When it happens, I lose control of my powers and --" He mimes an explosion with his hands and blows a puff of breath out. "It is relatable to you, perhaps? Even if you are getting a better grip." Though his eyes actually flick to Jax as he says this. "I have not got enough sun yet, for that. Now it is only as he says, a flutter. Like ah, butterflies in the..." He frowns, uncertain. "... wherever the fire is stored." "Hm?" Jax is just finishing mixing his cookie batter as he looks back up. The design in his eyepatch -- previously a cheerfully smiling sun -- has shifted to a rainbow-hued butterfly that quivers, pulls itself free of the stitched design, glimmering like stained glass in midair as it wings its way over to Kyinha. The illusory butterfly lands on the other man's shirt, shimmers, vanishes (with another distinct fluttering feel.) "I'm pretty sure," Jax says as he shifts some large baking trays in front of him, "that the fire's just like -- all of you." He grabs an ice cream scoop, spritzing it with a little oil before he starts scooping neat dollops of batter in rows onto the trays. "Relatable, like, honestly, we could form a small club of folks what've blown up some part or other of this school. I think Kyinha usually only blows up the outdoors. I mean, like, on accident. Blowing things up on purpose all bets are off." Astrid’s head slowly bobs, acknowledging Kyinha’s pre-winter appearance and adds in a little vocal confirmation for good measure. “Yeah, I remember that.” Reaching for another cookie, she takes about half down in the first bite before placing the remains on the counter before her. She’s focused on the hand gesture. “You betcha I can relate. I mean, and it feels weird to say this and mean it, but I literally can relate to that.” Hands are quickly wiped clean of any cookie crumbs across her joggers as she watches the formation and flight of the butterfly as it makes its way toward Kyinha. “Unless I am way off base on what the requirements would be, bet I might already be in that club.” She displays a half smile before picking up the remaining half of the cookie sitting on the counter and finishing it off. “I can definitely check the outdoors off my list.” Kyinha chuckles at the butterfly, and this time the flutter doesn't surprise him so much. "Easy to forget about it when it is only a little fire. But it has been a lot of sunlight, as winter goes." He pops the rest the cookie into his mouth. "Not the most fun club in this school. Maybe should meet outdoors? I do try not to blow up indoors, but I did set more than one college dorm room on fire." His smile at Astrid is encouraging. "So you are doing very well by comparison! Are you very much worried about it?" "I mean -- there's a lot of great clubs in this school so it got some competition. I admit burning your classroom or -- classmates," Jax says with a definite cringe, "not the most exciting times but a controlled sort of explosion? Plenty of good can come of that. -- You been working with Joshua, though, right? He's real solid." Astrid offers up a lazy shrug, attempting to push back a stray strand of hair that has fallen across her face with a quick puff of breath. “Not as much as I used to be.” The strand, still hanging free, is tucked back behind an ear. “I don’t feel great about super stressful situations, right?” She frowns briefly, but only for a couple seconds. “But who does?” Leaning forward, both elbows are resting against the edge of the counter. “Yeah, Mr. Salinas has been awesome. He is helping a ton and thankfully I have not blown up my dorm yet.” She looks around for some wood to m o’clock on and quickly settles for the counter. “Kieow would kill me if I did, and I’d probably deserve it. At least all the others were understanding when I blew up the pizza shop and got everyone arrested.” A grin begins to emerge as she hasn’t felt at fault of that situation for a while. "I have not yet needed to dive out a window to avoid blowing up my students," Kyinha says brightly. "But it is always an option. I don't deny I have done some good with it, though." His eyebrows lift up. "My friends, they were not so understanding when I was young, but I am glad yours are. It is not always so, even at this school." He tilts his head, glancing speculatively at the cookies and then back at the other two. "We -- could actually have a club. I don't know whether other students would be interested, though, to hang out with -- how you say, the olds." "Stressful's conditional, right? So gotta be nobody by definition. Like if they felt great about 'em they wouldn't be stressed?" Jax bites down on his lip, frowning down at his cookies. "Unless you count ADHD-brain I-totally-perform-best-in-a-crisis but I don't think panic-brain feels good." He snorts, quiet, as he moves to tuck the trays into the oven. "I feel like a fair few kids would be glad to join a blowing-things-up-club if they had the chance. Teachers -- likely optional." He's turning back to set his dishes in the sink, pushing his sleeves up a little farther as he starts the water running. "You could be a real trendsetter, Astrid." “Dive out a window? I’ll need to remember that trick.” Astrid cracks a grin as her earlier chipper mood has made a full comeback. “Maybe I’m just lucky, but everyone I have met here are the absolute best.” She stands back up straight, arms crossing over her chest as she turns to face Jax. “That about sums it up.” She chews lightly on her bottom lip, head cocking slightly to the side. ”I suppose only time will tell, right? Hopefully I can avoid any supper stress in the near future.” She starts heading towards the sink and pauses. “Can we call it The Old Timer Explosive Club? I mean, I can be the youth liaison to get other students to join.We’ll screen print some cool club shirts and all.” She chortles at her own words, clearly very pleased with herself by the ear-splitting smile. Then she gestures towards the sink. “You baked, I clean.” "I'm not as much an action hero as I could be," Kyinha admits, "but I am a bit of one. I'm sure my class would be entertained, or at least happy to get the rest of the period off. If you want another pair of hands mine are free, but it looks like I might only get in the way." He pushes away from the counter and shifts further down to get out of the others' way. "I like that. My idea was The Boomers, but that isn't really so accurate as yours. It is good, anyway, to have something more than just -- fear and stress, about the exploding." "TOTEC? OTEC? TOT Explosive Club gives a wholly upside-down impression though that kinda makes it my favourite one." Jax's clothes have changed as he talks, sweatshirt shifting to display a bright screenprint-image of a bomb with a very rainbow-colored explosion. His expression lights at Astrid's offer, and he just washes his hands instead, flicking off excess water into the sink before he steps back. "You ain't wrong," he agrees brightly. "Everyone here is the absolute best."