In Like Flynn

WHO: Kurt, Rahne, Ralph
WHEN: A couple hours, if that, after the "This... is a problem." log.
WHAT: The boys fill Rahne in on what's happened.


Parlor Room - Xavier's School - Westchester

Like the dining room attached, the parlor is a bit more formal than the rest of the mansion. Still, the room is largely designed for comfort, and soft touches here and there try to keep it from seeming too stuffy. Overstuffed couches and chairs in a dark maroon fill the room, arranged into small clusters for conversation groups.

Windows line two walls, making the room seem bright and cheery during the day. Under the windows, low shelves have been set into the wall, lined with books, their surfaces covered with cushions to create a long, L-shaped window-seat.

Come night, table and floor lamps cast a gentle glow over the room; a few sconces mounted between windows provides reading light to the window-seats.

In one corner, an old-school hotel elevator has been built into the wall, providing easy access to the floors above, lighted circles above indicating which floor its currently on. Another corner is taken up by a baby grand piano in a highly-polished black. A matching bench padded in red velvet holds a small but wide selection of music.



After the incident in Clinton earlier Kurt has been craving a quiet place to think, about everything that's occurred -- the riot-clad men, the little girl, and his very unexpected 'outing' as his inducer gave out -- as well as what the Man in Black said to him before he left. So some time after he and Ralph arrived back at the Mansion he decides to head for the relative quiet and comfort of the parlour room; the confinement of his room just won't do at the moment. With a *BAMF* he appears, perched atop the back of one of the room's cushy chairs.

The pudgy one, meanwhile, stumbles out of his own room after a brief nap - yes, he'd found out the hard way that hitching a teleportation-ride with Kurt is not the best way to recuperate after a stressful situation. He heads for the kitchen first thing, to pour himself a tall glass of water and grab himself a bag of Doritos that should really be reserved for a group, not a Ralph. Still, he's stressed, dammit. He heads toward the parlour, though hasn't reached it yet.

Rahne has settled into the parlour, just playing around on the piano, trying to play Moonlight Sonata from memory. She does okay for the first bit, but when the repetition starts to get more complex, she falters in her chords. She's just started over again when Kurt suddenly appears with his trademark *BAMF*, and she hits ten discordant keys at once with a crash, giving a rather abrupt end to the melody. "Ach! Kurt! Yeh startled me!" she exclaims, though not really chiding so much as sheepish. She really should be used to this sort of thing by now.

"Sorry, meine kleine," Kurt replies immediately, turning to give Rahne a quick grin. His good nature is fleeting, though, as he seems a bit distracted. "I didn't expect anyone to be in here." His tail flickers anxiously. "Actually, though, perhaps it's a good thing you were in here after all. I should probably let you in on something." Though he's being a bit vague his tone seems to hint that this 'something' isn't exactly good news.

Ralph pushes the door to the parlour open, water and Doritos in hand, blinking at the girlfriend and the teacher. "Oh!" He blinks, looking from one to the next. "Uh.... h-hi... Hey, Rahne... Kurt... uh..." He blushes slightly as he realizes how blatantly obvious it is he was just about to pig out on an entire bag of Doritos by himself, which he proffers forward innocently in an attempt to cover. "...H-Hungry?"

Rahne's eyebrows go up a little at Kurt's serious tone, and she gives a solemn nod, whatever grin of greeting she'd summoned up promptly chased away. "Is it, ach, private business?" she asks, with a pointed look at the elevator, referring to the sub-basements below and thus the X-Men, though maybe some of that gets lost in translation. But with her thoughts running thus, she's a little surprised and looks almost guilty when Ralph suddenly enters, sitting up straight and accidentally putting her elbow down on the keys with another crash of notes. "Ach! Ralph! Hullo." She doesn't even notice that he was going to eat the whole thing of Doritos, just turning to the piano to close the cover so that she'll stop pounding the ivory by accident.

"Mm. Not so much. But thanks," is Kurt's reply as Ralph offers the Doritos. Despite the seriousness of the conversation he was on the verge of with Rahne he offers the pudgy boy a bemused smile. "Come over, though. I was just about to fill Rahne in on our little misadventure." So that answers the girl's question of whether or not it's private. Though it may very well involve the X-Men and soon it /already/ involves her boyfriend. "Ralph and I got a bit of insight into the kidnappings that have been occurring..."

Ralph pulls up a seat and puts his water down on the table, freeing up both hands to open up the Doritos. Doritos help any situation. "Oh... y-yeah, Rahne, you definitely want to hear about this, it's... it's crazy." He shudders and shakes his head. "It was earlier today, a-and... well... Kurt should probably tell you about it, my powers kicked in and you know how that kinda... muddles things," he admits with a cringe. And then starts eating Doritos.

"Li'l misadventure? Wha'?" Rahne asks, looking between the lads with a perplexed expression. Her eyebrows go up as Ralph begins filling in a few bits and pieces, though it's all still pretty hazy a picture. "Yer powers? Why woul' yer powers kick in?" she asks in confusion, sliding to the edge of the piano bench to better face the two. Since Ralph suggests Kurt would be the one to ask, he's the one her questioning gaze ultimately lands upon.

Kurt flashes Ralph a sympathetic look as he relinquishes the telling of the tale in exchange for the munchies. "Ja," he picks up, glancing back over to Rahne. "Crazy is definitely one way to put it. Perhaps it's best if I start from the beginning. We were out in the city just picking up a few things and, well the short of it is that a little girl -- an obvious mutant -- ran off from her mother and called a bit of attention to herself. The mother caught up to her and I thought that was the end of it." Once again there's an twitch of his tail like that of an agitated cat. "But suddenly there was this noise. All of the electronics in the area began to shut off. Everything... My image inducer..." He raises his wrist to indicate the watch-like device strapped to it. "There was nothing I could do..."
Ralph nods fervently to Kurt's description so far as he stuffs handfuls of Doritos into his mouth, interspersed with long gulps of water.

Rahne looks more and more concerned as the story goes on, still a little confused as to where it might be going, how it could possibly tie into the mutant kidnappings or why Ralph was using his powers. "Aye, I can ... see how tha' woul' be a problem," she murmurs, with a sympathetic grimace at the idea of Kurt's image inducer going out. She glances aside at Ralph, but not getting much of a clue there, her attention goes back to Kurt.

"Just a bit of a problem, ja," Kurt agrees a little wryly. "Things sort of... escalated from there. Men arrived -- men suited up as though they had been just waiting to strike. They attacked Ralph and I and another mutant. I didn't catch his name. And while some of them were set on us several others were busy dragging the girl and her mother away toward a van." So there's where the kidnapping thread weaves in. "I was able to get the girl to safety but we still had to contend with the... soldiers." He shakes his head. "Or whatever they were. Ralph did a fine job of defending himself." At that bit of praise there's a look thrown to the boy.

"I... uh... w-well, you can probably guess what happened with me..." He sighs. "I-I probably wouldn't have even gotten involved, but one of the soldiers tried to shove me out of the way, a-and, well... you know what happens then..." He shakes his head. "K-Kurt was really good though! I think he would've even gotten the guy in charge, except... except he had this weird, um, force-field or shield or something around him..."

Rahne's eyes are wide as saucers by this point as she follows the narrative. When Kurt explains Ralph's role in things, she looks over at him with a supportive smile. "It's good tha' yeh were able to take care of yer ainsel', Ralph. I dunna wha' I woul' have done if something had happened to yeh," she says more softly, going just a little pink at expressing this sentiment in front of Kurt. "An' I'm glad tha' yeh were both able to save the day an' no' get yerselves hurt! I didnae realize the kidnappings were so ... violent."

Kurt nods as Ralph adds a few details, not really denying or affirming whether or not he was 'really good' out there. His brow knits and he falls silent, just listening to Rahne go on... Though he's pulled out of his thoughts as she shows a little affection toward Ralph. That's new. Or perhaps there's more than new students that Kurt's missed lately. Still, for now he doesn't acknowledge beyond a slight arching of his eyebrows. He'll just file that away for another time. "Quite violent, yes. And I'm afraid that things are going to get even more complicated now that those men have seen our faces." Kurt is, after all, particularly identifiable when not hidden by a hologram. "And I can't deny that it worries me that they have such technology at their fingertips." Forcefields, EMPs... That's not child's play.

The Dorito consumer blushes in return at Rahne's comment. "Ah... r-really, I figure you w-would've just wolfed out and gotten me out of there," he responds with a shy grin. He covers his embarassment with another gulp of water, then nods in agreement with Kurt. "Y-yeah... these... definitely weren't amateurs. They really, /really/ wanted to get their hands on some mutants..." He frowns. "Even if it was just a little girl..."

"Aye, well, maybe," Rahne agrees with a shy little grin of her own to the idea of coming to Ralph's rescue. Because demure reply aside, she totally would. As they go on though, the mirth is short-lived, that troubled frown returning in even more force. "When it comes to this sort of thing, people dunnae always care abou' things like li'l girls," she says quietly. Not that she'd have any idea from personal experience, of course. "Bu' aye, tha' is troubling, tha' they are so ... prepared. It sounds bigger than jus' some bad men snatching mutants off the street. Yeh will have to be carefu', if they know yeh," she adds, giving both lads a serious look.

Meanwhile, Kurt isn't missing the surge of Cute between the young couple. He can't stop a small grin of his own but he tries to wipe it clean quickly enough. That's not exactly a difficult task as the conversation focuses back on the disturbing events of earlier. Rahne gets a thoughtful look at her quiet reply. "Ach, that poor girl. What a thing for someone so young to endure." He narrows his eyes, looking almost pained -- and suddenly wanting so very much to jump back into action even if little Maria is safe (or safe for the time being). But running headlong into the night in search of... mysterious mutant-hating soldiers? Probably not a very good plan. So he stays put on the back of the couch. "We'll be careful," he assures the girl after a moment. And he gives Ralph a little look as if to reiterate that. As if he really needs to.

Yes, the further talk of serious matters definitely takes Ralph out of blushing mode and into slightly pale mode. He even pauses in munching Doritos, gasp! "Y-yeah... I'm definitely not going to head out anytime soon." He shudders. "I mean, what if... they remember what I look like? Even if they /don't/ think I'm a mutant, they still saw me... f-fighting their people..."

"Aye," Rahne replies to Kurt's pained reply. "It is verra horrible. I hope tha' someone can do something abou' it." Her expression remains level, serious, solemn, but there's something knowing in the look, as though she has 'someone' (or rather 'someones') in mind here. Which, of course, makes her feel a little guilty for speaking in code around Ralph, because she really does hate lying and secrets. Looking over at him with a gentle smile, she nods reassuringly. "I'm sure tha' yeh'll be fine, Ralph. An' there isnae anywhere safer tha' yeh coul' be than righ' here. So yeh dunnae need to worry." Because, in hindsight, warning these two to be careful is maybe a bit of overkill.

"Ja, someone should most definitely do something," Kurt replies to Rahne with certainty, not failing to pick up on that code of hers. He holds her gaze for just a moment with his pupil-less eyes and then turns back to Ralph. "She's right. No one will bother you while you're at the school." He hopes, anyway. "Even if someone was foolish enough to attack here, they would be in way over their heads." Of that he's quite certain. But that seems to remind him of one last troubling tidbit in this story. "But should any of us venture outside we need to be especially careful, yes. Before he and his men left the one in charge said something to me, right to my face. 'We'll find you'," he quotes solemnly. "'And the rest of your mutant filth.' He called us a disease, something to be eradicated. Needless to say, he's not going to be easily dissuaded and our foiling his plans with the little girl might well prompt him to be more bold." Perhaps. He's really not sure at all as to what the next move will be, of course.

Ralph, being the keen and perceptive super-sleuth that he is, completely misses any and all veiled meanings in the conversation. He nods to Rahne, then looks rather sickened by Kurt's recitation of the man's words. "Ugh... great... m-more people hating us for what we are..." He sighs, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

Rahne just nods in return to Kurt's own coded response, leaving it at that for now, not wanting to press her luck with Ralph's obtuseness about these things. Plus she really does feel bad about even having to lie in the first place! She frowns down at the polished surface of the piano as Kurt echoes back the man's sentiment. "Aye, tha' ... doesnae sound good. Perhaps it wouldnae be a bad idea to remind everyone to be carefu'?" she suggests, glancing back up and over at the other two. "Bu' aye, he sounds like a zealot. An' they arenae ever good news." She's gone quieter as she speaks, running her finger over a ridge in the carved wood, watching it with her eyes.

Kurt dips his head in a nod to Ralph, his expression tight, unreadable. "I doubt that sentiment will stop anytime soon. May God give us strength to endure... At least everyone came out relatively unharmed. And we have more information on these disappearances now. So there are most definitely bright spots." And wasn't it nice to actually be /thanked/ after all was said and done? "That's a good idea: reminding everyone to be careful out there." He regards the girl thoughtfully, not failing to note the change in her tone, but addresses both of the students as he continues. "Not good new, no. More like 'potentially deadly'." He frowns. "Someone definitely needs to stop this madman. But until then, I suppose that being careful is about all that we can /do/." Well, all that some of them can do, anyway.

Ralph gives Rahne a half-sympathetic, half-curious look when she trails off. Is she talking about... her "father"? Still, now doesn't seem the best time to ask, especially given what happened the last time that subject was broached. He scoots over to give Rahne a slightly awkward yet nonetheless sincere one-armed hug. He, too, nods to the idea of reminding people to be careful. "Y-yeah... between this, and that Soundtrack guy from the news... it... seems like things are getting dangerous around here again." He sighs.

Rahne looks up with a tight smile as Ralph hugs her, giving her head a little shake. "I'm all righ'," she assures them both, still in that quiet tone. "I jus' want to see these people brough' to justice before they can hurt anyone else," she resolves with a nod. "Bu' aye... righ', we'll be carefu'. An' help in wha' ways we can. An' tha' will jus' have to be enou'." She gives another nod with that, glancing towards the window. "I think tha' ... maybe I will go for a walk," she decides, feeling the need to be out in the woods, some time as the wolf, despite her assurances that she's fine. But it's a lot to think about.

As Rahne assures them that she's alright Kurt nods slowly. "Jawohl," he finally says as she abruptly announces that she needs a walk. "Meanwhile, I should inform Herr Xavier of the distressing news. And perhaps I can begin to get the word out to some of the other students about being careful." And perhaps he can try to inform the other 'someones' about the current situation. He shifts in his crouch and suddenly, deftly hops down from the chair.

Ralph nods, gently letting go of Rahne when she says she'd like to head off for a bit. As both she and Kurt seem ready to head off, Ralph feels something's expected of him too. "And I'll... uh... be in my room." And yes, he grabs the unfinished bag of Doritos for good measure, too.

"We can talk more later," Rahne promises, though she's not sure which one of them she's actually addressing it to. Oh, the trials of a double-life. "I jus' - I need some air." She rises from the piano bench, giving Ralph a tight smile and then nodding to Kurt. "If yeh need me in the meantime, I'll jus' be in the woods." And again, she's not sure which one of them that applies to, so it's said to both. Crossing her arms loosely over her chest, she gives then another tight smile and nod respectively and then starts heading for the door.

Naturally, given their super-secret team membership, Kurt assumes that Rahne is speaking to him in regards to talking more later. "Of course," he answers, nodding a little. He's already starting for the elevator though, giving one last considering look to the other two as he does so. Surely he's heading upstairs, back to the dormitories. Right?