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Noriko wasn't the only young person who enjoyed the library. This was actually a fairly busy spot in the mansion, especially during the summer - at least for the type that wasn't going on hikes or playing sports outside. Not so Noriko. Physical activity - too much of it - seemed to bother her. Getting too excited was a recipie for her powers getting so charged up in spite of the gauntlets, so for the moment, she was choosing to avoid it.
And for now, that was quite fine, as there was a treasure trove of books and things to read.
In this moment, that was a selection by Jane Goodall, on her lap - one leg folded over the other, gauntleted hands drawing over the page as she reads, sounding out a word to herself upon occasion. In the little cove of comfy chairs, there were two others occupied.
Armando was spending some time at Xavier's and he's always one to be drawn to a good library. For now, he wanders the stacks- quietly perusing the books to see if any draw his interest. When he notices Nancy he smiles and moves over to grouping of chairs and waits to sit. "Mind if I join you?" he wonders curiously, "I can go another place if you're busy…"
One of the other students glances up - Nancy, for her part, draws a little scrap of paper up from her armrest, and tucks it into the book. With a smile given up towards Armando, she gives her head a shake, drawing the book closed. Unfolding her legs in that moment, she leans forward and says, in a slightly hushed tone, "I'm all for conversation, rather than keeping my nose in a book all day - do you want to go someplace and talk?" she asks. "Or you can join me here, as well. So long as we keep quiet enough to not draw the attention of the wicked librarian," she says, with a wryness.
"I think we'll be fine. I have a way with librarians." Armando offers, with a bit of a grin. "What are you reading?" he asks, then, curious it seems. "Unless you'd rather go for a walk? I haven't really had a tour of the grounds, yet, either."
Pausing a moment, Nancy offers the book up to Armando - a fairly recent novel with a colorful cover of many different neons. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest," she says. "It's… kinda disturbing of a book, actually. Have you had the pleasure of reading it? I can't imagine you have much time, with all the busyness you tend to get up to," she says.
"I have." Armando says, "I do a lot of reading." he admits. "ITs an interesting critique on behaviorism and humanistic principles. I've heard its going to be on Broadway, soon. They've started calls for it, if I recall the Village Voice advertisement." Armando smiles still. "You're right though, its quite disturbing." he agrees, "Before Warren hired me though, I spent all my time in the library- either at Columbia or NYC Public. There really wasn't a lot to do- and no one would hire me." he offers, "But, things are better now."
"Things are better now that Mr. Worthington is trying to change things - if only with his company," says Nancy, a note of respect dancing in her tone. A handful of moments more, and she draws her fingers over the cover of the book, a spark dancing across the wires of her gauntlets, beneath the plastic cover. "They're making a play out of this?" she says, kinda crinkling her nose.
A moment more.
"What do you think about that?" she asks. A few moments more. "…and," she says, "What was your favorite sort of book to read? Would you have any recommendations?"
"I'm all for the expansion of art- and, perhaps it'll get more people to read the book. I think its planned for November. They always take a few months of practice before putting it up. Time will tell if its any good." Armando says with a little smile. "I'll read anything, Nancy. I've read at least half the books in the New York library." It doesn't seem like he's lying, either- "But, I can read extremely fast." he says with a little grin. "And remember most of what I read. It also helps I can understand any language just be hearing it or reading it- so, language isn't a barrier, either. I really just like reading. As for recommendations- I'd want to know what you like."
"I don't think I've ever been to a broadway play, either," says Nancy. A handful of moments more, and she draws a hand up to the side of her head, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, her eyes narrowing. "The closest I've gotten to that is a kabuki play when I was young, but," her eyes go lower, her jaw tightening. A moment more, and she glances back up again.
"Because of your power - the more you read, the faster you get?" she asks, tilting her head a bit to the side. "So you must already know how to speak Japanese then - goodness, I wish I had your power for English class, when I was younger," she says, with only the slightest trace of an accent. A beat further. "As for what I like?" she asks, considering.
"I don't like this novel, for instance, but I enjoy thinking about the themes. I like books about strange animals and places I have never seen before. So I suppose I like thoughtful things, and things that expand my… universe. Without me actually going there," she says, with a smirk.
"I don't, actually. I haven't come across any Japanese speakers before you, and I haven't been able to find any books in Japanese in the library. I have heard of one I want to read- but I'm told the language isn't modern- so…. it likely wouldn't help." Armando smiles, "If you want, I can learn it." he offers, "It must be difficult not hearing your mother tongue- all I need is a sentence." he says, "And I'd be glad to talk to you in Japanese." He then goes on to books, "Have you read any philosophy? Plato, perhaps? Or are you looking more for novels for entertainment- I rather liked The Bronze God of Rhodes. Oh- and anything by P.G. Wodehouse- if you want to learn English, he's the guy to read. His work is like silk."
"I would rather… learn English, and become American more fully," says Nancy at that, drawing her thumb over the book in front of her. "I know Mr. Logan has differing ideas about where I come from, but…" the edges of her lips draw downwards, and she rolls her shoulder in a shrug, her eyes glancing back up towards him. "A mask for everywhere, like Alex… Havok… says, right?" she says at that.
"«"But if you need to listen to Japanese to learn it, I would not mind practicing with you,"» she says in Japanese, letting her eyes narrow a touch as she glances to the man.
"I have read Plato's Republic in school, but… not as an adult. It might be interesting to see a refresher, but I think I will go with Wodehouse next - I am curious what silken work reads like," she says with a wryness."
Its odd how he listens closely, first- and nods. Then he speaks, without a hint of accent- perfect Japanese from only a sentence. «"Oh, I only need a sentence to learn a language. Just a few words, or something written. Communication is vital to the survival of the human species, and language was one of our first evolutionary leaps."» The tones are like they came from Kyoto from a true native speaker. <"<As such, language is no barrier to me. At least, that's how I think it works."» he says with his own wry smile.
He switches back to English, "Now, I can help you learn English all the better." he notes, Armando still smiling. "But Wodehouse is the way to go- his Jeeves and Wooster books are absolutely lovely. Funny, light hearted, and easy to read with spectacular language."
Nancy pauses a handful of moments, surprise on her features. Her own Japanese, if he can sense as much might have an Okinawan accent. Especially as she was surprised. "How does that work? You are using words I did not use - you are speaking in a way that I haven't… given you any indication on what is correct and what is not," she says. "And you have a very proper accent as well," she says, leaning back in her chair, and peering at him. "Unless this is a trick, and you spoke Japanese the entire time," she says, wryness on her lips.
"Is that what you will teach here? English?" she asks. Her own voice bore only a trace of an accent, it wasn't nearly as bad as many other native Japanese speakers. But it was enough to set her apart, perhaps.
Armando smiles. "I never heard a word of Japanese until you spoke it to me just now." he assures her, "Its part of how my mutation works- survival for the human species came from advanced communication- and so, I am able to communicate in any language I hear, or read." he assures Nancy. "Now, I'll have to find some novels in Japanese- unfortunately, while the language comes easy, the culture is something I have to learn." he says to himself, a sort of quiet memo.
"I'm not sure what I'll teach here. I'll likely be a student teacher- and continue my own studies. I don't really have the training to be an actual teacher- I've only just graduated from secondary school." Even if it was a top-tier boarding school he went to on full scholarship.
"I wonder how that works. If you're not a psychic or something, and just… pulled all the Japanese from my brain just now," says Nancy. A handful of moments more, and she purses her lips. "There's a lot of rules, I admit," she says. "American society is a little more… free, but. Perhaps it is fine the way it is," she says. "Social… uh… exclusion is less of a threat here, yes?" she says.
A moment more.
"I always assumed you were a little older, Armando," says Nancy. "I suppose it's because of the suit all the time, and the way you talk," she says. "Makes you seem older than most guys your age," she says.
"I'm only eighteen." Armando admits. "But, I don't have to tell you that finding yourself on your own- with no family- sort of changes how things go. Honestly, I didn't have any friends growing up- I was the freak. I've always looked odd, and it only got more obvious as I aged." he shrugs, "The suits came because I was most comfortable in my school uniform- blazer, slacks, button up shirt and a tie. It.. was kind of like armor, you know? Even if I don't look normal- at least I can wear nice clothes. And if I do, people look at me a little differently. They… don't automatically assume a lot of things I'd rather them not assume." he explains.
"I think it has to do with my intellect- the language thing, I mean. My first evolution that I can remember was when I was taken to do a test. The stress triggered something- I wanted to do well. I Thought, maybe if I do well on this test my mother will love me. So.. I did so well they weren't even sure what to do with me. I tested off the charts- they said 'One of the brightest minds in America, perhaps even the world… and so, a bunch of different schools were interested in my matriculating." he says, remembering back to when he was much younger. "In the end, my mother sent me to Biltmore- a very prestigious boarding school here in New York. I got the full scholarship, and she never had to see me except during holidays… and even then rarely. She stopped coming to pick me up maybe three or four years in."
"You were born with your mutation… like that? I didn't know that could happen," says Nancy, her lips pursing. It was a look of sympathy, with vaguely softer eyes, but she wasn't trying to overdo it. "It was something…" she says, folding her gloved hands in front of herself, the leather creaking. "It was a mask. Perhaps not you, but something to blunt the danger of being seen as you entirely," she says.
"And so you just continued, even without the support of your family," she says.
Her lips tighten a bit more. "…your mother, she stopped coming because of your mutation, yes?" she says. "That is something… I am unfortunately too familiar with," she says.
"Yes." Armando replies, nodding quietly. "I came to visit one last time- after she stopped coming. I suppose it was luck I did- the house was burning." he licks his lips, thinking back. "I didn't think. I ran inside and found her- the flames, the smoke, the heat… it didn't hurt me. I grabbed her and I carried her to safety. That was the day we had a word for what I am. Mutant." he says, "She slapped me in the face. Called me a freak… and said there was no way I could be her son. She left me forever that day." He shares that story- a bit of pain in his eyes. It just sort of flows. "Yes…" he says then finally. "I gathered from our conversation on Father's Day." he says softly. "You seemed in pain- but… I didn't know you then. I wished I could do something, though." he offers quietly. "You're nice, friendly, and exceedingly lovely. You shouldn't have to have that sort of pain, too."
Nancy remains quiet as Armando says what he does. Her eyes watch his own. "Thank you, for your kindness," she says. "And for trusting me with your story," says Nancy to Armando. Lips purse, her eyes draw downwards. Chin rests on her folded hands, before she lifts her eyes back up to Armando. "You wanted her to love you. You fought so hard - to do so well on tests, and other things - to run in, be a hero and save her, and she turned her eyes away from you," she says.
"You feel betrayed, perhaps, and saddened? Like you are not worth… being a part of the group?" she asks, the tightness in her features showing emotion restrained on her end.
"You seem in pain now, Armando. I think… what I most admire about what you are doing with Mr. Worthington," she says, "Is how you are working to build understanding of mutants. So that what you felt, what you feel… might not happen with the next generation of mutants. And to do it at the same age as me," she says, with a wryness, trying to lighten the mood.
"You have quite the headstart."
"I've had help. Moira took me in- its not all tears." Armando says, "And she's a human- no mutation. She studies mutation… but she's been like a mother to me since I was abandoned, even. Tried to adopt me, too- but, her husband wasn't having any of it." he informs, closing the story. "I'm not in the same pain I used to be- that ended with a suicide attempt. Turns out, I can't even kill myself." he says with a bit of a laugh, a dark humor- but humor.
"I still can't bring myself to hate her." Armando says. "I don't think its in my nature." he mentions, "But, I have to look forward- like I said. I have to make the future I want to live in. The best way to do that is to foster understanding. I'm going to live in that future, too- so its not a wholly selfless act. I want to make their lives easier, yes… but I want a brighter future for me, too. Where I can help everyone live happier and more full lives…." he looks quietly to Nancy then. "Its our time, Nancy. I can't do it alone. Warren can't do it alone. Charles and Erik can't do it alone, either. We have to be united, and we have to show the world that we're not to fear. It won't be easy… but I want a world where you, and me, and everyone else can live happy and free and go as far as our inborn abilities will allow us."
Nancy's face grows tighter - a little more grim, as he talks about his suicide attempt. Eyes draw down, and back up again. "…I know I, for one, am glad to hear that you didn't kill yourself. I'd imagine most people here, especially, would say the same," she says.
A moment more, and she inclines her head again.
"We have to be united. And I don't think… that the average human is going to be united with us. And I don't… know how we could ever change that," she says. "Not without anger, and fighting, and pain," she states.
"Its like Plato's allegory of the Cave, Nancy." Armando replies. "The world, most humans, are tied and can't move their heads. Their eyes face the cave wall, and only see dancing shadows. We've been untied- we see how the world *Could* be. The world is ready to come out of the cave- but they can't be dragged out kicking and screaming. We have to draw them out slowly…and show them the light of the sun." he says softly.
"Suicide is funny. Half-way through it, you realize it was a big mistake. I'm lucky that a jump from a bell-tower isn't fatal to me. It was… a rebirth, in a way."
A slow nod of her head.
"Well, hopefully we are the ones untied," Nancy says. "I would imagine that they would argue that we are the ones watching the shadows," she says, with a wryness. "I feel it is more like what you said before. They live in fear, and they just have to be shown that we are not the ones to be afraid of," she says, bringing up a hand to tap the end of her nose.
His allegory to suicide, was… "It makes your experiences, all the more precious, then, as you know how low you can go," she says.
"They're both the same. The Cave is their fear, and the shadows are what they think." Armando offers quietly, "All I know now, is that I want to live a happy and long life with friends, and a family." he says. "And I want a better world for them. I want it to happen as quickly as possible. It might not happen immediately- but I'll never stop fighting for it."
There was a space in the library intended for comfy reading - with overstuffed chairs, tables, benches and other such things. In spite of being a beautiful summer day, the library was enjoying a bit of brisk business, so to speak, with a variety of students lingering about.
It was on those overstuffed chairs that Armando and Noriko were chatting, the young woman kinda nodding her head at what Armando says.
"We have quite the struggle ahead of us, then," she says. "But this is not the sort of thing I think happens quickly," she says.
Jubilee drags herself out of bed after going into the city last night. Yawning and stretching, she shuffles into the library, not quite yet awake enough to notice other people here, and walks over toward where the book is, she came in here to try to look at.
"We do. But, I still have hope." Armando says quietly. "We have to keep our hope- with hope and hard work we can make it a beautiful world." he states with a quiet smile, nodding softly. "I'm sure of it. That world to come… it keeps me going."
It was that awkward little moment in the conversation, when Nancy had exhausted basically everything she could think of to say. So she entreats Armando with a smile. Of course… at that moment, Jubilee comes into the library then, and draws Nancy's eye for a variety of reasons.
Another quick glance to Armando, and Nancy lifts one of her arms - covered as it was by a gauntlet made of plastic and wires, to wave to her. "Good morning," she calls, but returns her eyes towards Armando.
"So. What are you going to do for the rest of the day?" she asks.
Clomping footsteps resound from the rooms entrance, then Sam Guthrie comes into view, lugging a pile of magazines and wearing an especially harried expression — even considering the southerner's usually high anxiety levels. He's paying so little attention that he nearly bumps into Jubilee on his way to the armchair nearest the window, into which he tosses the magazines before starting to mess around with the catches in the middle of the pane.
"Ah can't believe y'all're willin'ly locked up in here," he mutters as he tilts the window open. He turns around and, for the first time, notices Armando, blue eyes widening as he takes in the man's unusual features. "Or are you allergic to sunlight?" he asks, apparently serious. "Like a, what're they called? Albino."
Without really waiting for an answer, he flops into his chair. Then he extends his legs to raise his pelvis in a crabwalk posture, drags the stack of magazines out from under his backside, and sits back down. "Ah got all these horse magazines, though. Also, Ah think Ah work weekends at the tack store, now. Been a busy mornin'."
Jubilee is slowly waking up. So Sam does get a tired reply from her. Her voice still a little sleep though, she looks over. "I don't know if you've noticed, but my skin isn't as pale as some of you guys." Just throwing that out there, she finds her book, and lazily shuffles to find a place to sit. Not that far from Sam as it turns out. "Allergic to sunlight though? What do you take me for, a vampire?"
"Albinos are white with red eyes." Armando offers as he turns his featureless white eyes towards Sam- gazing at the man with an almost unreadable gaze. "Suffering from a total lack of melanin they do tend to burn in the sun. I, however, do not burn." he offers, with a raised eye-ridge. No hair on his head- not even eyebrows.
"I'm Armando." he offers, simply. "A pleasure to meet you." he says, "I trust you've met Nancy?" he wonders.
Nancy snaps her fingers in the air. "Shoot! I forgot about the horse!" she says. "I was supposed to make a big plan on that - and I got stuck in another novel," she says, taking the lack of return from her greeting to Jubilee as a result of the other young woman's tiredness. A little flicker of her eyes towards her.
"You'd need the cape and the haircut, for certain," she says. A beat, and she looks towards Sam. "You think you work weekends? You mean, you got a job, but you're not sure if you did?" she asks him, canting her head a bit to one side as she looks towards the other.
Nancy lifts her hand in response to Armando saying her name. "How do you do?" she says.
Jubilee is in fact tired, and only now, after sitting down, does she weakly greet everyone. Lifting her head, she waves to everyone. "Good morning Nancy, Armando, Vampire hater," she nods to each. "No horses for me today thanks. Just coffee and not too much sun."
"Not you," Sam clarifies for Jubilee. "Him." He points at Armando, patently unaware that doing so might be rude. "And Ah ain't that pale!"
He reaches across his chest to rub at his collarbone with one thumb as he raises an eyebrow at Armando's explanation of albinism. "Sure, Ah know Nancy. Nearly crashed right on top of her when I first showed up here." He has the decency to look sheepish about it. "And Ah figured you were a mutant, not an albino, but Ah thought your skin might work the same way. Ah don't know much about science stuff, though."
Then he realizes that there are introductions being made, and offers, "Sam Guthrie. No callsign yet." His lip twists. "Thinkin' about 'Watch Out!' though. 'Mayday.' 'Crater Man.' Ain't never met a vampire."
"A pleasure, Sam." Armando offers. "I don't go by a callsign- I'm not sure why everyone here seems so hip to them." he admits, as he shakes his head. "It seems silly, to me- but I mean, I guess I can understand Havok's opinion on it- taking his own identity and all." he leans back as he's pointed at. He just looks at Sam, then over to Nancy- then back to Sam. "You really do crash into social situations, that's for sure. What's it you do?"
"I like 'Watch Out' - it's kinda a cute codename. 'Watch out, fellow badguy - it's Watch Out!' and as the second bad guy tries to figure it out…" Nancy drives a fist into the palm of her other hand. "Bam. So. Job? Yes, no, maybe so?" Nancy asks Sam. A little snort though, her eyes flicker back and forth between the others.
"I'd hope you haven't met a vampire. They don't exist," she says.
A beat, and her eyes return back towards Armando. "It's one of those things, I suppose. You choose the masks you wear - and for some - that's a stronger mask, right? One you choose for yourself," she says.
Jubilee snorts and smiles. "Callsigns. I just… go by a nickname. Which really is just a shortened version of my full name, Jubilation Lee. You don't have to make something up that's flashy or anything." She then finally cracks open the book she was checking, and slowly starts paging through it. "Vampires don't exist at all no. They're a terrible idea and make no sense."
"Myths sometimes have basis in facts." Armando offers. "Its not impossible for that sort of thing to exist- we exist and human beings with quasi-magical super powers were only myth." he notes. "I'm not saying they do- but there is certainly the possibility." he notes, "Maybe they're just mutants, too- with strange requirements for their survival. We're not all so lucky to appear wholly human."
Armando nods to Jubilation. "A pleasure to meet you, Jubilation." he says, then smiles to Nancy. "You may be right."
"If you dug someone a new swimmin' pool every time you came in for a landin', Ah think you'd see the appeal of goin' by a fake name," Sam tells Armando darkly. "Ah fly real fast, can't control where Ah'm goin', and smash stuff to bits when Ah land."
He turns to shake his head at Nancy and laugh. "Ah don't know if anyone's gonna go for a goofy name when everyone else has serious ones, but Ah'll suggest it to Alex, just to see his face," he tells her.
Jubilee gets a searching look. "Jubilation? Like… 'woo hoo look how happy Ah am'? That's a real weird name. Maybe it's a…" He trails off and glances at Nancy, then ventures, "Japanese thing?"
"If you dug someone a new swimmin' pool every time you came in for a landin', Ah think you'd see the appeal of goin' by a fake name," Sam tells Armando darkly. "Ah fly real fast, can't control where Ah'm goin', and smash stuff to bits when Ah land."
He turns to shake his head at Nancy and laugh. "Ah don't know if anyone's gonna go for a goofy name when everyone else has serious ones, but Ah'll suggest it to Alex, just to see his face," he tells her.
Jubilee gets a searching look. "Jubilation? Like… 'woo hoo look how happy Ah am'? That's a real weird name. Maybe it's a…" He trails off and glances at Nancy, then ventures, "Japanese thing?"
Jubilee looks over to Sam. "Chinese, not Japanese, and yes. My parents picked a happy, wonderful word in English, and made it my name. It's hip."
"Cantonese. It means Plum, or Plum Tree." Apparently, it made sense to Armando- but he's a City boy. "Very popular name among Chinese people- tons of Lee's in China Town." he says with a quiet smile. "If you're up for it, I'll bring you to a nice place in Chinatown for dumplings." he says. "They also make an *amazing* fish soup. Never had anything else like it. Simply spectacular." Armando smiles then, nodding to Jubilee. "I like it, for what its worth. It has a lot of character."
A beat.
"Her last name is Lee," says Nancy to Sam, as if that explained everything. Letting her eyes track towards Jubilee, she cants her head a bit to one side. "Why do you say they make no sense?" she says, a little smile dancing upon the edges of her lips. "My codename is Surge. Guess what my power is?" she asks Jubilee, grinning.
Armando knew way more about Chinese than she did - so she inclines her head to him when he says what he does. "I want to go to California, one of these days. I hear that's where they have a lot of their Japantowns. Not so much here on the East coast," she says, with a heady sigh.
Guthrie puts up his hands when Jubilee and then the rest of the group corrects his guess as to her ancestry. "Okay, if y'all say so. Ah never learned know how to tell Orientals apart. Don't know much about what's hip, neither. Kinda reminds me of one of them pilgrim names, though — Temperance McPhee, sorta thing — only bein' that happy ain't a holy virtue Ah ever heard of."
Looking down at the magazines in his lap, the southerner suddenly remembers that he didn't answer Nancy's question from earlier, and explains, "As for the job, Ah went into a place in Salem Center that Ah found in the phone book and started lookin' through the magazines there for ads for horse traders. They asked what Ah was up to, so Ah told 'em the whole story and they just kinda offered me a job."
He shrugs and admits, "Truth be told, Ah think they were just interested in the accent. Genuine country boy, farm fresh. Hard to pass up more money to send back home, though."
Jubilee looks to Guthrie, and smiles with a shrug. "I'm used to it. At least you're not staring at my eyes. Yet." She pages through her book a little more. "I woudlnt' know anything about Japantowns though. No, not a bit. And yes, Cantonese in my case."
"Why would someone stare at your eyes?" Armando asks, as he turns to look at Jubilee with his own white eyes. It was difficult to tell if he was staring- or even looking directly at her. HE seemed to look through people- or into them with those blank white eyes that had no features to them apart from their paleness. "Really, if anyone here at the school wants to go into the city- I'm happy to show you where a lot of things are happening. I've lived there all my life."
A beat, and Nancy glances towards Armando as he says that.
"Because it's different, that's all," she says, lifting up her hand to kinda gesture towards her own eyes. A beat. "I get the same thing, sometimes, if I go into the wrong part of town. But other parts of town - like Mutant Town, and perhaps the Village, it is less of a thing," she says.
"But I think most people don't fear it - not as much as they fear these," she says, bringing up a hand to tap one of her gauntlets, her eyes returning to the book at her side, that she pulls up unto her lap. Nancy glances up to Sam, though, as he talks about things.
"They want to add a little extra authenticity to their shop - I know we talked about this before, but you actually don't know too much about horses themselves, do you, Sam?" she asks.
Jubilee smiles and nods to Armando. "My eyes look funny to Americans, like I'm squinting and slanted. It's just skin folds, but try telling that to 100 people every time I go out. I get used to it, it's fine. Those aren't the people who are a problem." She then throws her arms in the air and makes a big stretch and yawn. "Pardon me."
"Skin folds…?" Sam murmurs, voice barely audible. Then, true to form, he is staring at Jubilee's eyes, trying to pick out the skin fold she's talking about — it never once occurring to him that the fold in question is, in fact, on his own face.
After a moment, he realizes what he's doing, and refocuses on his own lap. Horse magazines? Oh, right. "Ah can care for horses and Ah'm a pretty good rider," he tells Nancy, looking up at her. "Ah just don't really know the first thing about buyin' 'em. Or what you'd need in a barn; Ah've helped build 'em, but there was always someone tellin' me what to put where." He shrugs, shows a helpless face, and hefts the topmost magazine. "Maybe there's more in here."
"Ah dunno about goin' into the city. Ah hear people get up to all kinds of weird stuff there," Sam says to Armando. The sentiment would feel right at home in the voice of one of the severe church ladies he grew up around; coming from the lanky teenager, already so far from his comfort zone, it carries a conflicted undertone. The emphasis isn't on 'weird;' it's on 'hear' — this is secondhand information, and perhaps should withstand a bit of first-person verification. For purposes of fact checking, of course!
"Your eyes look funny?" Armando asks, with a bit of humor- looking to both Nancy and Jubilee both- shaking his head. He just grins to them both. "Trust me- travel with me, and you won't be stared at. I promise." he says, "You'll be almost invisible." he teases, not seeming bothered at all. "The city is great, Sam. You can't just toss it out the door without trying it. I mean, New York City is right on your doorstep- one of the greatest cities in world. You'd be silly not to take that opportunity." he says, shaking his head. "Epicanthic folds. That's the scientific name."
Nancy can't help but smile, giving her shoulders a shrug. "Overseas, their…" A pause, as she was about to gesture towards Sam. "His eyes would look funny," she says. "But it's not a big deal," she says, kinda miming what Jubilee was saying. A beat. It was Sam that draws the majority of her attention then.
"It would be a good thing to learn, especially if we're going to be building stables here on the property," says Nancy. "…so I appreciate you beginning the research into that, very much."
A beat. "People are freer in the city, this is true, but," she says. "There's people of all kinds - I bet you would find people that make you uncomfortable, and people that make you incredibly comfortable, Sam. Maybe even other people from…" A beat. "…the country," she adds.
Jubilee sits back, since the others in the room seem better equipped to explain the cosmetic details of her anatomy better than she is. Smirking paging through her book, she laughs "I repeat, no horses for me today, thank you. Also no sun."
"Ecka-pantha-what-now?" Sam asks, boggling at Armando. "Why in the heck would you just know a thing like that?" He seems almost offended at the idea.
He turns to Jubilee and Nancy, still wearing a slight frown. "Well, Ah think Ah got plenty enough to adjust to just here at the school. But you'd really stay indoors on a day like this?" He raises his eyebrows at Jubilee and gestures at the window. "Maybe we'll do some kinda exchange. You go outside and ride on a horse — once Nancy helps me work out the details of gettin' em, of course — and then Ah'll go into New York."
He peers at Nancy curiously, as though he's trying to work out what she's getting at with her significant pauses. Then again, it's not like comments going over his head is exactly a new development; he eventually shrugs and answers, "I'm sure I'd like some of 'em. It just seems like an awful lot of people to sort through to find the good ones."
"Epicanthic folds." Armando says again for Sam. "I do a lot a reading." he explains, "And I live with a geneticist. These things come up." he says, with a little smile. "I find libraries to be relaxing." he explains. "They're bastions of knowledge and safety- at least, for me. Its easy to disappear in a library. People are quiet. They won't bother you and you can learn a lot just by reading. I imagine you could even find a book on how to buy a horse."
Jubilee snickers, looking right at Guthrie now. "I'm picturing taking you to a club, with the liquor and the cannabis going, you know, where the college students go, and wondering if you'd just shoot out of the front door."
"If you think they know how to drink in the city, let me tell you: they invented drinkin' in the backwoods," Sam answers Jubilee with a smirk. "Ain't tried this 'cannabis' stuff, but I guarantee you, it ain't as potent as what Pa used to make out in the still."
Armando gets a small frown from the southerner, though. "Ah looked up the tack store in the phone book, and Ah got these magazines there to find horse traders. Ah know how to get information from books. Just 'cause Ah don't know some nonsense name for eyelids don't mean Ah'm stupid," he says, lifting his chin with a hint of pugnaciousness. "Ah just happen to like good weather and bein' outdoors. That ain't a crime, at least not in the state of Kentucky."
"No one suggested you were stupid, Sam. I was just trying to help." Armando points out, first. He shakes his head- something about the country boy sort of rubbed Armando the wrong way. Not in a horribly offensive way- but in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on. "Really. You think you could outdrink anyone in the city?" he says next, giving a little smile. "You think you could outdrink me?" Armando neglects to mention that he can't get drunk- that its literally the same as drinking water for him. "I'm not so sure about that…" he says, looking a touch skeptical. "I mean… I'm kind of famous for being able to put'em away."
"It's such a crime here, Sam," says Nancy. Her tone of voice was tight, tense - so much so that it might be easy to catch her play. "If you don't like rainy, windy, cold weather and being indoors and griping about the weather - why, you might find yourself in jail one of these days," says Nancy.
"And for me - it is just… there's so much knowledge here, and I feel I'm so far behind. I want to catch up, you know?" she says, canting her head to the side. A beat.
"I don't know much about alcohol, but trust me when I say that drugs are overrated," she says, picking up her book a bit as she glances towards Jubilee. "But… a friend," she smiles at Armando, briefly, "…reccomended a jazz club in the Village to me. If you haven't been, and you like jazz, we could go jazz it up sometime - if you find such things groovy," she says.
A glance to the others, "You could come as well, if you'd like."
Jubilee snickers. "Sure I'll go toa jazz club some night with you, thank you." She gets up closing her book, to go put it back where she got it. "Nightlife is great. And well, if the worst thing that happens to me in the X-Men is that I go to jail, I'm doing pretty well."
Sam stares at Nancy, first with shock, then skepticism. "You're pullin' my leg," he says. Then, with a hint of uncertainty, "Ain't you?" People get up to all kinds of weird stuff in New York — who can ever be truly sure?
"Ah mean, nothin' wrong with likin' books, I guess. Lord knows I got more catchin' up to do than most," he admits. "But the book'll be there when the sunshine and the breeze ain't. Seems a shame to waste a beautiful day."
When he addresses Armando, it's with a grouchy look on his face. "Ah never said Ah was a big drinker," Sam clarifies, crossing his arms. "Pa died about a year ago, and Ma doesn't hold with the stuff." He shrugs. "So Ah've had a little bit a few times, all a year or more ago. Ah'm just sayin' Ah ain't timid enough to run out of a bar, fearin' for my immortal soul, at the first drop of liquor spilled."
He shrugs tightly, irritated, and finally turns to Jubilee. "X-men? That some kinda school club?"
"There are a couple of great Jazz clubs in Harlem- only the one in the Village. Folk music is the big thing there, now. Folk rock, and bluesy rock. Sort of the center of the 'counter-culture'. You know, beatniks, and the like. They're pretty chill to mutants, though- consider us cool." he says with a chuckle. "Its good fun to be accepted- even if it is mostly because its 'the cool thing to do' and not because they genuinely want to accept you. You can tell the difference- and some of them do, genuinely, want to accept you. They're the ones you can tell really believe the whole counter-culture thing and aren't just along for the ride. The ones who actually drive the whole thing. There's this guy down in the Village, though- amazing- his name is Bob Dylan. You gotta see him if you can." Armando loves music.
"Well, its an open offer, if you think you can manage it." ARmando offers to Sam with a little grin- "Sorry to hear about your Pa, though." he does mention, with genuine emotion.
"Great. It'll be fun, I hope - you, at least, seem the clubby type, so you can help keep me out of trouble," says Nancy to Jubilee, with a grin. "Or I can keep you out of trouble, so you don't have to worry about jail!" she says. A handful of moments, and she glances towards Sam.
"I am pulling your leg," she says then, admitting at his not-suredness. "But you have a point. Perhaps it is a good opprotunity to go for a walk," she says, bringing up her book to kinda fold against her side.
The thing about the X-Men - Nancy just smiles. "Bob Dylan - got it," says Nancy. "Maybe I'll see if I can't find a flyer as to when he plays next, and we can make a field trip of it," she says.
"But next time we meet, Armando - I would like to try to head into one of these places as well. If you wouldn't mind being a guide," she says, with a smile.
Jubilee slides her book back on the shelf. She loks to the others, and laughs. "Uh, if you two can explain what the X-Men are… that'd be great. I've got to actually go do a little X-Men training now. Good talking."
"Of course. I'll even pay. I know what its like to be at a school like this and not have a lot of cash- and Warren pays me really well. So, it be my treat." A chance to throw money around with friends? Armando has dreamed of that all his life.
The mysterious 'X-Men' quickly forgotten, Sam nods when Nancy fesses up. "Ah knew it," he says with the certainty that wasn't there a second ago. "But yeah, Ah think Ah'll take these" — he lifts the stack of equine magazines — "up onto the roof, or something." He smiles, stands, and says, "Ah'm too easily distracted to be decent company and read at the same time. Didn't realize quite what a hot spot the library was around here."
He starts to step away, then hesitates for a second. "If'n y'all do go into the city, Ah suppose Ah wouldn't mind taggin' along. Make me kind of a hypocrite to say all that about not missin' out on good weather and then go and miss out on a whole city."
"I would not want you to use too much of your money on it, Armando - but as I do not have a job yet myself, I would be happy to take your generousity - if you would allow me to pay you back when the time comes," says Nancy, with a wryness. "But alright, Sam - I will see you later? And certainly, I think it would be an experience for everyone."
"Sure. If that makes you more comfortable." Armando offers simply, "But really, I'd be glad to do it. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all the cash. I'm buying Moira a car." he says with a grin. "She could really use it to help her get around." he mentions, with an easy smile now. "Its really nothing- I've already gotten myself a few suits. I might get myself a car- I think I found one, but it needs some work. I figured to get the nice one for Moira and get the fixer-up for me. I could use the practice- I want to learn something more about mechanics."
A moment still, and Nancy inclines her head.
"You just need to stick your hand in a car engine, and you'll learn how the car works, right?" she asks, perhaps a bit teasing in her tone of voice. But she had her book against her belly, she starts to head towards the exit of the library. "I'll see you around, either way?" she inquires, pausing just long enough to hear his reply, whatever that might be. With a smile then, she was heading out - to the door of the institute proper, to find someplace in the sun to sit and read.