ArchivedLogs:For the Best

For the Best
Dramatis Personae Kyinha, Marinov, Shane	2016-09-04 "Yeah...that's an uphill battle for sure."
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. It's a mild afternoon, the sky a brilliant blue dome dotted with puffy white clouds. A pleasant breeze from across the lake carries the scent of the woods into the garden amongst beds of flowers and shrubs gone -- despite careful tending -- slightly chaotic with leggy late-summer growth. Kyinha is sitting by the pond and staring around him as though he has never seen the place before. He wears a pleated skirt of watery dip-dyed blue cris-crossed with intricate geometric designs in fine rainbow metalic thread, and nothing else. A visible halo of golden light surrounds him, fluctuating slowly and making his jet black skin look even more uncanny by comparison. Up close, he gives of palpable waves of heat which, without the breeze, might be somewhat uncomfortable. From the direction of the woods, Marinov is returning from a jog. The student can sometimes be a bit of a recluse and has been spending more and more of their free time haunting the woods (at least in the short time since coming back). At the moment, the teen wears a short black skirt and a forest green crop top with a white stripe going up the left-hand side, having opted for a bit less coverup because it's still hot out. The teen stops in the garden, panting for a few moments to catch their breath, and then looks towards Kyinha. "Oh, hey," says Marinov, waving a hand towards the teacher, "Mr. Kyinha. Doing some gardening?" The last question has a tinge of skepticism in tone. The door to the mansion swings open, shuts again with a careless thud. Shane is nominally more dressed than Kyinha, -- barefoot, lightweight zip-off shorts, a quick-dry tank top, X-jacket slung over one shoulder -- though his claws are plucking at his tank as he nears Kyinha in a way that suggests he's Strongly Considering shedding it. "Lazy-ass gardener. Unless you can just /will/ the plants to grow." The hike of his brows and slight upturned hitch of his mouth suggests that he does not consider this impossible. "Oh no, not gardening." There's a faint note of laughter in Kyinha's hasty reply. "I leave that to those with actual skills in horticulture...or the ability to will plants to grow. I just realized I hadn't sat down in this garden since spring term ended." He waves at the beds of bright blue asters, pink zinnias, and purple coneflowers, his hand trailing heat-distorted air in its wake. "How lovely it is, and how different now!" His fiery grin grows brighter than ever it looked during the previous schoolyear. "I hope you have enjoyed your respective workouts? I am studiously doing /nothing/ today." "Yeah, my workout was fine. I'm getting pretty much the best at jumping," decides Marinov, "My legs are gonna be like fu- friggin' iron." The teen quickly catches themselves, quickly recognizing that swearing in front of teachers is not done. "I always lose track of people's powers around here. Is there anyone who can mutant magic up flowers here? That sounds like it'd be alright. You'd always win neighbourhood lawn contests..." They crouch down in front of the flowers curiously, sniffing at them. "Anyways, why're you doing nothing?" "Yeah, for goddamn sure getting my fucking ass handed to me by Joshua and Scott was what I wanted to do with my afternoon." Shane's tone is blithe enough as he peels his shirt off, flopping down on the stones at the edge of the pond nearby Kyinha. "S'a couple people who can magic up flowers. Or peripherally people who could magic up --" He shrugs a shoulder. "Rain. Richer soil." There's a brief flutter of his gills that lends a slightly breathier quality to his words. "Indoor sunlight. Whatever shit you need to /grow/ the flowers better." "Spend some time here or in the Conservatory once fall term starts, and you will run into gardening enthusiasts of the staff, faculty, and student variety." Kyinha stretches and sits back slightly more relaxed, bracing his palms against the ground. "And you will certainly see someone mutant magicking flowers about sooner or later. I've just been training hard the past week to make up for slacking off on vacation. Wanted to rest up just as hard before classes start -- you both also have those coming up, and more. Feeling ready?" "Well, I know Ms. Ororo does some gardening and stuff," says Marinov, scratching the back of their neck lightly. "I sort of wish I could mutant magic stuff up like that, but the only thing I can magic up is bite wounds." They wiggle their fingers to mime casting a spell. With a glance to Shane, they add, "You probably know what I'm talking about." Their ears swivel over towards Kyinha and Marinov continues, "I'm not really feeling ready for classes. I know that I can be a bit of a shi- cruddy student, but sometimes if I'm sitting still during the day, being awake feels impossible. I like the summer vacation, it's more my speed." The hairless ridge of Shane's brows lifts, his plethora of sharp teeth baring (quick-quick and sliver-thin) in a slice of grin. "Shit, is that magic? I must be a goddamn /wizard/. Anyway, you don't need to be a wizard to garden. I know plenty of people who coax these grounds to life like magic, no mutanting required. Well. I mean. /They're/ mutants but -- not. In the plant way. Bet you could learn too." One of his arms hooks behind his head, eyes tipped up towards the sky and clawed toes dipping into the pond. "Slacking off? What'd you do with yourself at home?" "As I see it, good gardening /is/ a kind of magic in itself, mutant or no." Kyinha cranes his neck to admire a cluster of early mums in a mix of fiery hues. "Sitting still for classes has never been my strong suit, either," he says with a (possibly sheepish) incline of his head. "I'm trying to work more demos and hands-on stuff into all of my classes, but it's still hit or miss." He turns to look at Shane, a slight narrowing of his eyes at the corners the only visible hint of his frown. "Talked to a lot of people about the sad state of education for mutant kids in Brasil. My father means to start a school there, and while I appreciate that I inspired the project...well, it has been a nonstop media circus." He shakes his head. "I couldn't even get any peace in the varzea! Reporters come armed with GPS and camera drones now. The Evolympics were a welcome break." "The Evolympics seemed pretty nice. I sorta like the idea of thinking that I could be allowed to compete in something official at some point," says Marinov, "So it's sorta like that and seems cool. Maybe I'll compete in a standing long-jump someday or something! And yeah... hands-on stuff would be cool in your classes." They kneel down where they are standing and pat at the dirt lightly, "A school for mutant kids in any place is probably a worthwhile sorta project. It can feel pretty scary if you feel like you've got nowhere to belong." Shane squeezes his eyes shut, one arm flopping over them. "I only wanted to raise money to open Evolve back up but the response we got was fucking overwhelming. People came from gorram everywhere wanting to --" He pauses, shrugs. "And already asking if we're going to do it every year, Christ, I'm barely recovered. Seems like there's /demand/ though." The talk of mutant school puts another flutter back in his gills, foot trailing slowly through the water. "Is your father decent," he ultimately wants to know, "or an asshole?" "I had a blast, met athletes from all over. Not that funding Evolve isn't a worthy cause -- I will certainly be pleased when it is up and running again -- but the games definitely had a life of their own." Kyinha sits up straighter again. "I'm sure, if you do decide to turn the Evolympics into its own /thing, that you will find many willing to contribute time and labor to make it happen again. Maybe in a year or two Marinov may be setting long-jump records!" His grin fades a bit at the question. "He's decent, but..." A small shrug. "...he's human." "Well, you probably hit on something with the Evolympics thing! There are lots've people who have probably never participated in competitive sports stuff but always wanted to," says Marinov, nodding a couple of times quickly, "I've always been sorta more athletic than brainy, but..." The teen trails off and then shrugs, "Y'know how it is! Seems like you did a good job of it." They glance over towards Kyinha and say, "Could be challenging setting up a mutant school without, uh, experiencing first hand some of the mutant stuff. I guess... he's consulting with you though?" "Well. Got the money for it now, so." Shane tips a hand up, tone bland. "Coffee." His head lifts more quickly after this, eyes opening again. Sharper: "Flatscan? Fuck 'im. Take his money. Don't let him touch the /school/." "Coffee /and/ cake /and/ community, among other things." Kyinha offers, his tone light. Then, with a smile, "And, better yet, a night club that won't kick me out." He shakes his head. "He's not setting it up /or/ running it -- just funding it. Still, the kind of fame and power he has at home means the school will always be associated with his name and his company, no matter how hands-off he is about it. He wanted /me/ to head the project, but I found people who are better qualified and less tainted in the public eye. For myself?" He laughs, the sound quiet and breathy. "Making math interesting is challenge enough for now." "Yeah... that's an uphill battle for sure," says Marinov on the subject of making math interesting. They pick up some of the dirt from the ground and then drop it back down slowly and then look at their hand. "Oh, I see how it'll be with the money thing. I dunno... I guess it'll be a net good? I took an ethics class with Ms. Moonstar but I feel like some of the philosophy stuff is over my head, but I figure if there are mutants who don't have to have a shitty time of it-" Pause. "Uh, cruddy time of it, that's for the best." "Mmm." Some of the tension leaves Shane at the clarification on the school, his thoughtful hum perhaps somewhat mollfied. Perhaps. Rolling up to his feet, he stretches out his shoulders, leaving his shirt behind where he's dropped it on the rocks. "For the best." His echo of Marinov's words is slower, turning them over like he's not quite committed to this sentiment yet. "Well. If you're consulting, 'least you have this place as a --" His smile is wry. "Lodestar. I gotta eat. Peace." His chin jerks upward to the others as he saunters off, away from the mansion toward the woods. "I hope it will do some good." Kyinha does not sound particularly confident on this point. "But even if it exceeds my wildest expectations, I do not think it will save its students from having a...cruddy time of it, any more than this school does. The rest of the world is still out there, and still hates us just as ardently. So...whether it's for the /best/ or not, it's probably better than nothing." To Shane's comment on his consulting, he says nothing. His lips press into a thin line, and a slight widening of one eye suggests an upraised eyebrow. "Enjoy your meal!" Then, to Marinov. "Now that he mentions, I should perhaps also eat. See you around." He rises and heads back toward the mansion, his pace also leisurely. "Oh, yeah, I guess I don't mean... that it's actually going to be the best in the world, just... the best of the possible outcomes that you could make come true in this situation? A kid with my face knows that the outside world isn't exactly friendly, but the school's helped. Though I don't know much about what you can make true," says Marinov, trying awkwardly to explain. "Yeah, alright, you guys eat well." The teen sniffs one of the plants again then hops back to their feet. Marinov comments to nobody, "Nah, gardening seems boring," and starts back to the dorms.