ArchivedLogs:Important

Important
Dramatis Personae Kai, Ivan	2013-04-29 No one is alone. Truly.
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. There are still a couple of classes left in the day, for the majority of Xavier's students. Some, though, are not so encumbered, whether it's from having an advisory hour, or simply finished with the classes they do take. Either way, it means that the lawns and the Garden are largely unoccupied, at the moment. Largely only in that there are one or two students who've slipped down here to steal a smoke between classes, or (in the case of one young couple) to make out under the gentle spread of tree limbs. Kai does not smoke, and he has yet to make out with anyone. But he is here, well away from the others and sitting towards the back of the gardens. Dressed in a green plaid button-down shirt and jeans, his feet are (as usual) bare, his legs cocked so that he can dig splayed toes into the thick grass. On his raised knees, he has a schoolbook, a notebook laid on one side into which he is transcribing what appear to be basic math problems. Occasionally, he looks up to the nearby hives, tilting his head thoughtfully. Between classes? Or BEE-TWEEN classes? Because it's time for bees, you see. At least for Ivan, who happens to wander into Kai's line of sight on one of those occasional glances upward, wearing faded jeans and a white dress shirt, sneakers somewhat tiredly trudging through the grass today as he makes his way toward the bee hives. When he arrives there, he simply... stands in front of the middle one. Staring downward. For a while. Maybe he intends to stand there all break. Perhaps Kai's location is coincidental, or maybe Ivan is just the person he was waiting for. When the other boy wanders into his line of sight, Kai begins to smile; a feat that doesn't happen when he notices the way that Ivan is trudging along. "Ivan," he calls, just loud enough to reach his friend. The textbook and notebook are slid of his lap, and Kai pushes to his feet, dusting his hands against his rump as he approaches the other boy. He doesn't seem to be afraid of the bees as they buzz around him. In fact, he barely notices them as he moves to Ivan's side, and tries to shift his head to a position that will reveal.... "Ivan, what are you looking at?" The look of surprise Kai receives from Ivan suggests he had not noticed him prior to arriving at the bee hives! It takes him a few seconds of staring before-- finally, a smile makes it on his face. A bit weak, but warm. No verbal greeting, but he does lift his hand in a halfhearted wave. Then, his eyes return to the hives. "I..." His voice is a bit rough, but he clears his throat and eliminates most of the hoarseness. "I am checking. If they are okay." Nothing in his voice implies they are not. And indeed, they seem happy enough, buzzing about the gardens and surrounding area. "Are you well?" Kai's brow twitches, and he tilts his head, listening for a moment. "Why would the bees not be okay?" he asks, genuinely curious. "It is a nice day, and there are many flowers for them. If I were a bee, I would be very happy here." His smile is a flicker, and he scrunches his nose. "I am fine!," he says slowly, bobbing his head. "Miss Walters asked me if I would like her to be my advisor." This is said in a bit of an amazed tone. "It is like a tootler, but not so." His gaze is on Ivan's face as he talks, and his brow furrows. "Are /you/ well?" There is a silence from Ivan as Kai speaks - as always, he waits for several trains of thought to arrive at their respective stations before he speaks again. The news of Kai's potential new advisor is met with another smile, though it's slightly crooked in what looks to be something along the lines of bitter amusement. Then, "Some times, bees have trouble with new homes. These do not. They are good bees." As if in response, there's a little /wave/ of bee movement that happens down at the base of one of the hives. A few dozen bees leave it at once, but scatter into the rest of the gardens individually. Ivan glances toward them, a little distractedly. "I am in trouble again. I do not like it. But it is what happens when you..." He ponders for a moment, then looks to Kai again. "Do you know what it means when someone says they have 'lost their temper'?" His smile fades. Apparently this is /serious talks/. "You are a good friend," Kai says, clearly stating a given fact. "You are good at making bees and people feel comfortable in a new place. They will do well, under your care." He watches as the bees swarm briefly before heading off, and he might be tracking an individual insect, given how /sharply/ he watches. The thought of Ivan being in trouble, let alone 'again', seems to baffle Kai, slightly. "How are you in trouble?" he asks. The question gets a small clamp of his lips. "Yes, I know this term. It means to become angry, yes?" Ivan's response comes in a nod, before he crouches down and inspects the hive that the bees erupted from closer, leaning to rest both hands against the wooden panels. His fingers trace down the sides, slowly, as if feeling for a fault. Occasionally, a bee trails past his hands, but they seem to prefer to wander in a circle around rather than over his fingers. "I got angry. It is bad." His voice doesn't exactly back this fact up. Then again, he's not the most emotive of students. Similarly, though, the next sentence comes out almost /bored/, his eyes intently tracing where his fingers touch the hive. "I attacked someone." Kai is silent for a long time after Ivan's confession, and his brow furrows as he chews on this new wrinkle. His head tips, and his eyes narrow thoughtfully. "Did they deserve it?" is off-handed in its delivery, although Kai's expression is somber. In contrast to the silence, Ivan takes no time to answer at all. "Yes." There's no question about it, but even /it/ comes out largely neutral-sounding. It is simple fact. Ah-- his hands pull back from the hive, and he leans back to watch the bottom of the hive with renewed focus. As if waiting for something. Kai's gaze is laser-keen and studious as it's trained on Ivan's back, and his body is ramrod-stiff, his hands gripping the seams on his pants legs. "Did you kill them?" Bees bees bees. Ivan's still waiting, and this time he is slow with his response. In fact, he's taking his sweet time, leaning forward when a particularly large bee emerges from the bottom of the hive, to let her walk onto his opened palm. Then... only then does he actually seem to process what Kai just said. He twists around to face Kai, eyes wide and brow furrowed. Kai is, similarly, studied pretty closely at this point. "... I thought I did. But I did not." The bees that aren't currently airborne around them /bristle/. The flicker of yellow at the edge of Kai's inky eyes when Ivan scrutinizes him could be a reflection of the light. It really could. Kai's expression is neutrally somber as he works through the answer, ignoring the bee in favor of studying Ivan's face. "Are you sad because you did not kill them, or because you thought you had?" he asks, tilting his head. "Or are you sad you are in trouble because of it?" More bees spill from the hive's opening, as though in response to their queen leaving their company. Like molasses spilling from a fallen jar, gathering at its base. Ivan stands up, now, his upturned hand in front of him as the queen swivels 180 degrees. Maybe to face Kai! Ivan's expression... changes. To something unsure, something doubtful. "I did not say I was sad." He is quieter than before, shoulders rolling back, then forward again in idle thought. "I was. Surprised. Shocked. If I am sad /now/, it is only because I do not understand why my reasons were not good." There's hardly a pause between this and what he follows it up with, though his tone changes to something a little more direct. "Kai. Are you sure you are well?" "I am fine." Kai's eyebrows twitch, and his eyes flick to regard the queen bee in Ivan's hand. His gaze goes briefly cool, and then he's looking back at the other boy. "You appear sad," he says, with a sudden sympathetic pull to his mouth. "Sometimes, things that happen make a person sad, and you said this was a thing which happened." His smile is brief, and mildly apologetic. "I am sorry if it is rude to ask these things." He's quiet a long moment, and then inhales deeply. Looking at the queen bee, his voice is soft when he speaks. "Who said your reasons were not good? You are a thoughtful person; you would not do something without good reason." Kai's words nor apologetic smile do very little to make Ivan's stare back yield. It is hard, locked straight onto the other boy's eyes. Until... they are aimed downward, at the queen bee, just as harshly. He lifts her to his face, eyes narrowing as she turns again. This time to face him, her wings briefly unfolding only to neatly be returned to their idle state. "Rasa does not think it was the right decision." His eyes flit back to Kai, then. "Do you want to hold her?" Rasa? ... The bee, actually, if his hand with her on it lowering toward Kai is any indication. Kai doesn't waver under that stare, but his eyes lack that yellow flicker now. Perhaps the sun shifted. His mouth pulls to one side thoughtfully at the mention of Rasa's input, and his brow furrows. "It was maybe not a wise decision," he admits, lifting his hand automatically for the transfer of the queen. He watches the fat bee wander into his rigidly-held palm, and smiles as worker bees begin to use his palm as a makeshift air strip as they buzz in to check on their sovereign. "But you are a thoughtful person. I do not believe that your reasons for it were not strong." There's a long silence, save for the bees hovering. "It is important to you? What Rasa thinks?" "As important as... something very important." Ivan replies, a deep breath leaving him in what could very well be relief. The small blanket of bees that emerged below slowly breaks apart, off to find something to do or to head back into the wood structure. "As important as /the queen/." Yes, that works! Ivan straightens with an awkward little smile, though his attention remains divided equally between the queen bee and Kai's face, occasionally switching focus. "Without her, the bees would be alone, and leave." And then-- find another queen, but that either does not occur to Ivan, or simply is not mentioned. Kai nods. "It seemed that way, when I met Rasa," he says. "When I talked about our club, Rasa said that she had to be okay with bugs because of you, and would ask if you wanted her in the club." He lifts a shoulder. "I did not know what was meant, until I heard someone talking about it in the baths." He wrinkles his nose as bee feet tickle his palm, and then frowns up at Ivan. "If Rasa left, you would not be alone," he says. "I will always be your friend. And Peter." He lifts his eyebrows in encouragement. "We are not as important as queens, maybe, but we are your good friends." Something brings a pause to Ivan's actions, because in the middle of reaching for Kai's hand-- he just stops. Then, slowly, smiles. It's a tired sort of smile, but definitely some sort of happy. "The queen is not more important than the workers. Only important /to/ them." He reaches again, aiming to touch Kai's hand with the tips of his fingers so the queen may wander back over and onto his knuckles. "If you and Peter were not here, I would not come out of my dorm room. I am very glad you are here." An addendum to that sentence comes slightly too late to be considered part of it - separate, yet attached. "... Kai." Kai watches the bee transfer herself back to the more familiar hand, and glances up at Ivan. "That makes a queen very important," he says, and there's that flicker of yellow that flares and dies too quickly. "To the workers. That puts her above them, does it not? In their many eyes?" His smile is almost teasing as he brushes his fingers against Ivan's in withdrawal. He pinkens a bit, at the compliment, and reaches out to place his withdrawn hand on the other boy's shoulder. "You are my very first friend, and I am glad that /you/ are here." There's a light pat of that shoulder, so as not to upset the queen bee, and his smile this time is wide and warm. "Ivan." "You are not alone here, Kai." Ivan does not waver when Kai's hand is on his shoulder, nor when it pats down. His smile is still there, but has left his eyes by now. The other questions are pointedly ignored, if not deemed unimportant. "You will make more friends. And maybe--" Ivan leans down, then, to lower the queen back onto the ledge she came from. Either through the urge to follow /her/ or something more direct from Ivan himself, the bees left perched on Ivan or Kai take to the air to swoop down after their queen. "Maybe they will join our club. Tomorrow I will bring /butterflies/. Some of them only live for a day." When he straightens, now bee-less, he starts slowly back toward the gardens. And, subsequently, the school. "I am glad not to be alone," Kai says, bobbing his head. "And I hope to make many friends. There is a girl who is new, Kris, who is becoming my friend." He narrows his eyes thoughtfully, for a moment. "I do not know if she would be a good person for you to talk to, though. She likes bugs to /eat/." He half-whispers the last sentence, as if this will soften the shock to Ivan's system such news will undoubtedly bring. "I hope that many people will join our club," he says, trailing after Ivan and pausing only long enough to scoop up his books. "We should make a sign to let people know about it. We can put it on the bull's board." Kai continues as he trails in Ivan's wake. "I would like to see butterflies," he says. "It has been a long time since I have seen one." Then they're in the mansion, and the bell is calling for the last class of the day. And whatever else might be said by the two quiet teens is swallowed up in the sluggish mass confusion of students trying to get to the end of their Monday.