|
   |
It is time for exploring. Ruth hasn't been here long enough to get the place figured out yet, and so the young woman has got a narrow, light cane in hand. It's swept in front of her on rare occason as she moves, wandering the grounds that are closest to the big manor house. Her skirt is ankle length and her shirt has long sleeves, the blindfold over the top half of her face the same dark blue as the shirt is. There's nowhere in particular she seems to be going, just taking her time to make herself at least somewhat aware of the back yard.
Julie comes rumbling up in her rather hopped-up custom '56 Nomad, …cameo-locket two-tone, this one, to back up to one of the garage's entrances. One of the local rock and roll stations playing some ballad over the radio, and she gives a bit of a wave toward the blindfolded girl in the yard, …because, well, it's that kind of place, here. She shuts down the engine, and gets out, glancing up at the sky, before meandering over to the yard, since it seems to be another new face.
The sound of the engine brings Ruth's chin up, and she tilts her head to listen. When the car door slams closed again she turns to start making her way over in that direction, using that little cane of hers to check the ground until she gets closer to where Julie is approaching her, the tip of it held from the ground as her 'head towards Julie' gets more direct with proximity. "Hello," she greets. "I'm Ruth."
Josh has a cooler, and he heads out back, intending to go to the lake, swim some, and drink some beers and have some snacks. But he's drawn by the sound of the engine, so diverts himself over that way some, and he nods to Julie with a light smile before his attention falls upon the blindfolded woman. He blinks, and moves over towards her, "Hey, Julie — and Hi, I'm Josh." He's not around the institute a lot, spending most of his time in the city, and he's rather new to the institute at all, so he hasn't met everyone quite yet.
Julie smiles a bit and waves. "Hey, how ya doing, nice ta meetcha. …I go by Dizzy, if the professors don't give you other habits… Hey, Josh, how's business?" she winks as he comes along, …her accent's New York Italian. And turns back to Ruth again, "Kinda thought I saw a new face out here. Think much of the place, yet?"
Turning her head and tilting it just so as she catches Josh approaching, Ruth holds herself still for a moment before she offers up another smile that's aimed somewhere between the two of them. "Hi, Josh," she says. "Hi, — Dizzy." To Josh, she notes, "Ruth." The tip of her cane rests between her feet on the ground, both hands lightly wound around the plastic. "I've just been here long enough to get a good night's sleep," she admits. "It's very different." Her own words are touched with a hint of a southern drawl.
Julie nods. "I'll say. But, at least you can kinda relax a bit, just about everyone here's a mutant, and it's pretty safe. She glances to Josh's cooler, says, "You need a hand with that? I just brought back a cooler of something, myself, if folks are planning something. Got plans for classes, yet, anything like that?"
"If you don't mind me asking…" Josh offers to Ruth with a tilt of his head, "I'm a doctor, and… more. How did you lose your sight?" There's a gentle note to his voice, before he nods over to Julie, "I've got sandwich-makings and some beers, I got it. I was going to relax by the lake. As for classes, I'm going to be teaching first-aid and the like to as many as can learn it. THe more people know how to keep someone from dying, the more likely it is I can help with minimal effort by the time I get there."
"I never had it," Ruth does not hesitate in explaining, shaking her head to go with the words. "I was born without any eyes." One of her hands uncurls from the cane to gesture up towards her face. "People just don't like looking at it." There's a pause there, before she asks of Julie, "What do you mean, pretty safe? I was under the impression that it was a safe place?"
Julie nods to Josh, "I guess count me in, really. That could come in handy." She adds to Ruth, "I teach shop and driver's ed, and taking some college-level courses now that we got those." She smiles, there, since she hadn't had a chance. "Oh, sure it's safe, well, maybe apart from a few people's crash landings," she winks. She adds to Josh, pointing toward a matched pair of brand-new Pontiac Tempest wagons. "Just been working up a couple new school vehicles, maybe you got suggestions on what to put in the first aid kits, outside of what come with em."
Josh blinks: born without any eyes? He offers his hand, hesitates, since that's sorta dumb, and adds, "Would you mind if I took your hand?" He nods then over to Julie, "Oh, it's safe. The only danger is really, some kids don't quite know how to us or control their powers yet, but this is where we can teach them… but until they do? Well, having a healer around will come in handy from time to time. Are you hungry, either of you? I have plenty to make sandwiches for everyone."
Tilting her head forward a touch, Ruth is silent and unreactive briefly. Eventually she gives a nod and straightens up again, her hand lifting to shove the blindfold back like it's one of those cloth headbands, displaying the smooth skin where eye sockets ought to be. She does reach out with her other hand towards his, though not unerringly so — if he doesn't grab it first, she has to spend a moment waving her hand around until she manages. "I don't mind," she says, along with the gesture. Josh's explanation seems to make sense to her, and she nods. "Pretty safe; I understand," she finally decides, tone agreeable. "I do not know what I am going to do, yet," she tells Julie. "I am here to be safe." Pause. "What kind of sandwiches?"
Julie ahs, "I could eat, I guess, thanks. Got some beers on ice in the car, figured there was bound to be some kinda Halloween party somewheres." She hrms, squinting a bit sympathetically about the eyes. "Good question, I guess, though: I ain't too picky, unless maybe you got pastrami, Josh, then you're a prince." She follows along and said, "Yeah, though, if you got trouble with controlling something, it's the place for that. I can generally keep my stuff from going haywire, but coulda probably used the help when I was a kid."
Josh isn't disturbed by the sight at all, but he's a doctor. He takes her hand and closes his eyes a moment, as he scans through her physiology, consideringly for a long moment, before he shakes his head and lets go of her hand after that. "I was hoping I could heal you; I can heal almost anything. If it were as simple as making you eyes, that'd be no problem, but it seems like the portion of your brain that processes sight… is being used by … I'm not sure what your gift is, but its using that area. If I were to connect eyes to it it might very well not work, or interfere with your gift. I can't read *what* someone's power is when I read their biology. I'm sorry." He sounds genuinely sorry, but he does add, "I have the fixings; salami, turkey, roast beef… I was gonna make an everything sandwich." He flashes a grin at Julie, "Pastrami, alas, no. I'd have to go into town for good pastrami, and I just raided the kitchen."
She's still for a moment in apprehension of reactions, and there…really aren't any. So Ruth brings her free hand back down to tug the blindfold into place again. "I'm not a kid," she points out for Julie. "But I—do need the help. It's a story." Josh captures the whole of her attention when he lets go of her hand, and she is entirely attentive to his words. "Oh," she says. "No, don't apologize. I don't know what I would do with eyes if I had them." She turns then, shifting a bit, vaguely pointed in the direction of the cooler. "That sounds good." Which part, she doesn't specify.
Julie nods, sort of thinking about what Elixir could mean by his analysis, "Hey, well, like I said, you come to the right place. The Professor's real good at that sort of thing, you don't gotta tell stories you don't want to." She heads on over. "You want a hand, Josh, or these your own creations here?"
"I just don't like the idea of problems I can't fix." Josh offers to Ruth, "Not that you need fixing, you're obviously adapted." Crouching, he sets his cooler down, opens it, and pulls a blanket out that he had set on top. He spreads it, and then gets to making sandwiches, "Oh, I can handle the grand art of sandwich crafting." he offers to Julie with a grin, then looking between the ladies— again realizing later that the nod for Ruth won't mean anything. Ahem. "Anything either of you *don't* like? I have lettuce, tomato, swiss and chedder, mayo, dijon mustard, onions…"
"I just see differently than other people," Ruth explains, tugging her blindfold into place just so before she moves to sit down somewhere nearby. Still close enough for conversation, surely. "There's nothing you said that I don't like," she assures Josh. "It all sounds very good, thank you." Julie's words just have her worrying at her lower lip with her teeth for a moment, nodding.
Julie hrms. "I guess maybe hold the tomato, if anything, sounds OK to me." She plunks herself down next to Ruth. Does say, "So where you from, then? Somewhere down South by the sound of it. You won't be the only one, that way. And wait till you get a load of New York City. Biggest place in the world, all that.
It doesn't take long, but soon Josh is handing over a sandwich with the works, sans tomato, to Julie, and then reaching over to gently touch Ruth's hand, and murmur, "Okay, I'm putting it in your hand." And putting the sandwich there, taking care to make sure she's got a hold of it before letting go. He looks curiously to her a moment, "Oh, you see in some other way? Is that what your gift is? It could be why its using the optical lobe." He chuckles and nods at Julie about the whole south thing, "Yeah, we have a few southerners. Jay, for example. He's got wings and can fly. Me, I'm a born and bred Manhattanite."
She takes the sandwich carefully; offering up an appreciative smile. "Thank you," Ruth tells Josh, before she answers Julie's question. "I grew up in North Carolina, but I've been in New Jersey the last few years," she answers. "Never been here before. To New York, I mean. But — I've met Remy." He is most certainly from down south! "I, uh. I can read peoples' thoughts."
Julie nods, "That's really something else, too, people flying. Well, I can kinda manage with a couple things I put together off an old Sikorsky, but been too busy to really get the harness right, and that ain't the same thing." She winks, "Brooklyn, here." An Italian 'thanks' for the sandwich, and she says, "Well, that's always pretty amazing." She kind of imitates how the Professor puts fingers to his temple. "I got this kinetic control thing, basically, I make things spin."
Josh inclines his head to Ruth, pauses, winces, "Hey, no problem." He laughs softly, "If there's any odd silences from my way, its probably just me not being used to body language being sorta pointless over here, Ruth. But hey, reading thoughts is a good one. I'm a biokineticist, I directly control anything organic that I touch. Though it mostly gets used for healing, thus 'Elixir' as the name." He looks to Julie, curious, "I've never been entirely clear on makes-things-spin, what it does. What, do you make cars go faster? Since what little I know of engines involves spinning." And then he's got his own sandwich finished, and bites into it. Mmmn.
The wince is followed by a laugh from Ruth, a little squeaky thing that's brief but was certainly there. She shakes her head at him and smiles. "It's fine, I promise," she assures him. "Don't worry about it too much. That's really interesting, both of you." While there was a brief bit of wariness after she spoke of her power, when neither of them seem to get all worried about it she relaxes again. "I'm sorry for not being fixable," she does note, and she actually sounds as if she's genuinely sorry about it. And then she eats a few bites of sandwich. Those bites taken are very small.
Julie nods to Josh, "Well, I sure can, though usually I do that by building em that way. With my stuff I can take em as fast as the tires and bearings can handle, do all kinds of tricks. Not that I'd cheat in a race or something, generally for crazy speed I just put er in neutral and spin up the driveshaft or the wheels myself. It's kind of all in the application, really. I can pull a bunch of stuff off with it." Nods over to Ruth, "Anyway, it ain't much like reading minds or healing people, but you're not alone, there. Actually a lot of the teachers can, part of how they keep the place safe. Me, I dunno, but if the cops came for you violating laws of conservation of momentum, I'd get busted."
"Between the Professor and Jean, I don't think anyone assumes they really have any secrets around here. Partly that might be a little embarassing, but yeah, as Julie said, its what keeps us safe." Josh nods his head emphatically, adding with a smirk that can be heard on his tone, "Emphatic nodding." He laughs lightly, "BUt yeah, since everyone here has been vetted by the Professor, anyone here on the grounds can be assumed to be trustworthy." He takes some time to gobble up food, adding, "I only spend about half my time here; I maintain the clinic at the Mutant Town Community Center, too. Its not so much a clinic since what I do isn't really doctoring, but still." He looks over to Julie, "I think you're safe." he grins.
"There are police for that?" Ruth asks of Julie, her tone touching puzzled for a moment. She goes 'ah' a few beats later as she apparently makes _sense_ of it, nodding agreeably enough. She laughs for Josh's narration, another smile flashed before disappearing again. "Everyone…trustworthy. That's. I mean, how do they keep people out? What if somebody came looking for me, I mean, and knew — somehow how to find me."
Julie seems to be enjoying the sandwich well enough, says, "Just kidding around, a lot of what we do is kind of baffling if you think too hard about it, is all. I don't think most of us know the half of what they do to keep this place out of sight, apart from yer basic secrecy, and I guess you can't even really see the place unless someone lets you." Pauses to say. "Pretty good sandwiches, Josh," then says, "Had anyone after you back home, Ruth, torches and pitchforks, mad scientists, anything like that?"
"It's a private boarding school. There's gates— no one is allowed in, and no one thinks its anything but that… A private boarding school." explains Josh, nibbling, and going for a beer. "Do you want a beer, Ruth?" One is handed to Julie in a wordless offer, "The Professor is supposedly one of the most powerful telepaths around; I don't think anyone can get near to the school without him sensing them. If there were to be trouble, he'd warn the X-Men, and we'd deal with it. But, really. Secrecy and a facade of a sort of place visitors are never allowed to just visit, goes a long way." He flashes a grin to Julie's compliment, "I can't cook but I can sandwich like a pro."
"My brother," says Ruth for Julie's question, tone touching flat. There's no further explanation to it than that; her attention shifts back to Josh as he explains the pattern of response for trouble. "A beer? Oh, can I have a beer?" She sounds uncertain about this, for all that it was just offered. When Josh finishes speaking she nods her head in agreement, and then after too long she notes, "I am safer here than anywhere." Not quite quick enough to place it with the conversation immediately, though it's easy enough to figure out what it was in response to.
Julie pops the top of the beer and drops the pull-tab in. "Drinking age is 18 in New York, salud, there's a couple campus rules, too, so don't go crazy, is all," she says, "Real shame, though. Family oughtta stick together, not that my own relatives really know. Get the feeling my uncle Angelo does, but he never said anything in so many words. "I never really get lit, anyway, never know when I might really need to drive." She adds, "Your brother dangerous or something? Cause mutants gotta stick together, too, when it comes to stuff like that. But maybe he'll come around eventually, who knows."
"You're 18, right?" Josh assumes so, and reaches over to touch her hand again, and put the beer in her hand. He nods to Julie on the subject of family, his voice turning a little bitter, "My fiance left me, my family disowned me, when I first healed someone and turned gold and was obviously a mutant. Family should, but.." he shrugs, "They don't." He looks to Ruth at Julie's question on her brother, "Yeah, we have to stick together, for sure."
"I've never had a beer before," Ruth informs both of them, a lopsided smile appearing on her lips for the beer in her hand. She brings it up so very carefully, taking a sip and the making a face, nose wrinkling up and all. Then a beat later, she takes a bigger swallow. "Huh," she says, and lowers it, though she doesn't put it down. "Thank you." There's no reaction at all for it being a shame, though she shakes her head for the question of whether her brother is dangerous. "He's' dead," she says. "He won't come for me until I can't defend myself and all of you are gone. I was just curious, about here. It really does sound like a good place to be."
Julie hrms, at the odd thing to say. "Well, I thing we know a few people who could help you defend yourself against dead guys…" She waggles the can a little. "I…. dunno what to think about some of that magic stuff, …I mean a couple teachers thought I was a witch over some stuff with like some pencil sharpeners and a few other things when I got kinda pissed awff, so I never thought much of the idea till I guess I saw some of the real stuff." She adds to Josh, "And, yeah, I'd probably at least start a lot of fights in mi familia: I can guess who'd be on what side, mostly, but it ain't something I'd want to drop on em if I could help it." Well, that and sometimes other things. "Anyway, if you need help there, let someone know, kinda why this is a good place, and all."
"Its something of an acquired taste." Josh grins at Ruth, pauses, "Grinning." And he laughs softly, but then things get serious about her brother, "Yeah, it's good here. But not everyone can be here, which is why I volunteer at the community center." He nods over to Julie, and pauses, then glances down at his wrist, "Whoops, I have a thing." He rises, and gestures to the cooler, "You can leave it there, and help yourselves to more. I'll talk to you guys later. Nice meeting you, Ruth. Welcome."
'Grinning' makes her laugh again, and Ruth takes a bigger swallow. "Yeah, acquired," she agrees. "It was nice meeting you, too, and thanks." She doesn't seem particularly _bothered_ by her doom-y words. Julie's response has her shifting to reorient over towards her, but eventually she just shakes her head. "It's…fine," she says. "Thank you." There's a little bit of confusion in her tone, but it's clear that she's not going to ask.
Julie laughs a little, then nods to Josh, "Hey, that reminds me, I met this dude at the Eight Ball, talking about wanting to be a benefactor around there, thought we ought to check him out. Big guy with green hair named Leonard. Also, Lorna turned up there, I was thinking we might take it in turns going to help her out with the neighborhood watch, she's kinda got that stuff to work through, I guess, and there's been a few gangs of kids coming in and causing trouble lately." She looks back to Ruth. "So, it's something like you see… Other stuff?"
"I think I need to be getting going, too," Ruth tells Julie, shaking her head a little. The last of her sandwich is popped into her mouth, her cane grabbed as she rises. "I think…I think I've been around people too much, words aren't making very much sense any more. It was very nice meting you, and thank you for being so nice."
Julie ahs, and nods, "Awright, then, not that you'd know most of what we were talking about, anyway." She hrms, then, and hefts the cooler to carry it on her hip, and her beer. "Guess I better tuck this stuff away, so I guess I'll see you up to the house. If you're looking for me, I'm in the garage here a lot. So, ah, welcome to Xavier's, and all that."