In Like Flynn

The title's not really in regards to Laura so much as the general situation Kurt's finding himself in. :)

WHO: Kurt, Laura
WHEN: September 1, 2011
WHAT: Kurt runs into the little angry one and the two have a chat.


Back Grounds - Xavier's School - Westchester

The back grounds are far more sprawling than the front grounds, but no less cared for. Manicured lawn stretches off in all directions, tall trees, shrubs, and bushes places here and there around the area. Dirt footpaths run between gentle hills, leading off in various directions. Tall hedges separate off the pool and basketball court, shielding those within from view.

The mansion towers over the lawn, large windows looking out over the grounds here. When the light is right, one can catch glimpses of students and teachers milling about within. During the summer, music and voices occasionally drift down through open windows.



Thursday afternoon finds Laura 'hiding out' in the back grounds. She's curled up in a nook where two hedges meet, a notebook open across her crossed knees and a pen in hand. But she's not paying attention to the blank page beneath that hand. She's staring off at the basketball courts... or is she? Her expression is semi-blank... and rather calm... is she daydreaming or just lost in her thoughts? There's almost a strange 'glow' about her. Could it be that the angry one is just lost in what little happy thoughts she's got somewhere among the cobwebs in the back of her mind?

Kurt has been busy lately. Very busy. It's no secret that the events in Clinton have been weighing heavily on his mind. He's been a bit scarce since the other day -- but not for his previous reasons. Those aware of some of the less public areas of the Mansion might have run into him downstairs, of course, but even one who can see in the dark needs a little daylight from time to time. So now he's taking a break, having taken the elevator back up to the surface and ventured into the kitchen for a cold drink he sets out for a stroll. Half-full glass still in hand he starts into the back grounds from the direction of the side lawn. Though he hasn't noticed Laura yet he's nearing her little hedge-nook.

Picking up on the movements of another person in the area, even in her distracted state, Laura blinks and then jumps a bit with a start. She swivels her head around a bit until she focuses on the source of the 'disturbance'. Ah, Kurt. She relaxes a little, though it's rare that she truly relaxes fully. She's not heard too much about the event a few days ago in Clinton save for what was on the news, because she's not really been at the school much herself... only just in time for curfew. Tilting her head a little, she calls out with a brief, "Hi," after a moment's hesitation. Anyone else, she might have tried to ignore a bit longer, but Kurt seems to be one who 'gets' her a bit... so he's not quite as annoying.

Laura catches Kurt a little off-guard with her greeting. He starts just the slightest bit, turning toward the hedge to find the source. "Oh. Hi there. I didn't notice you." Thank you, Captain Obvious. But despite being busy and distracted himself he seems to realize that he should probably put forth a bit better conversation than that. "How're you? I haven't seen much of you lately." He throws a brief glance down to the notebook in her hand but seeing that the paper is as yet blank he looks back up to her face, taking a sip from his drink.

Spotting his glance to the book, she protectively closes it, even though there's nothing on that specific page. Well, what if he can x-ray-view the page before with those strange eyes? She doesn't know he can't! Clutching it almost like a shield before her, Laura offers a one-shouldered shrug. "I'm alright. And I've been..." She pauses, obviously not wanting to give too much away. So she says, "...spending most of my time in the city." Not a lie, for certain. "How are you? You seem distracted," she points out after tilting her head to one side to regard him from that angle.

As Laura quickly closes her book and goes into protective mode on it Kurt raises an eyebrow, caught somewhere between curiosity and amusement with a bit of a grin creeping across his features. "I'm not going to read through your diary, liebchen. I promise." But as she responds he gives a nod and allows his expression to sober slowly. "I've been better, I'll be quite honest. But I've also been worse so I suppose I should count my blessings." That gets a short laugh from him, at least. "Have you heard yet about the disturbance in Clinton, by any chance?" If she's been spending a lot of time in the city, she might've heard already. Then again, she might not have.

Laura's face reddens a bit as he calls her behaviour out. "Uh... sorry. Force of habit," she finally relents, relaxing ever so slightly. Glancing down at the book, she adds, "I think I'd have to bust heads if anyone read this..." Though she doesn't explain why. But does she need to? It's a diary. Most folks don't want that read by others. Clearing her throat, she asks, "Lebchin?" No, she's obviously saying it wrong, but the unspoken question remains: it's something she's never heard before, so what is it? She then skips over that to consider the rest. "Well... I've been... kind of busy." No details on that. "But I heard something in the news recently... is that why you've 'been better'?" Though she doesn't know exactly why.

"Liebchen," Kurt corrects her, saying it a little slower this time. "It's German. Like me." He flashes her another smile, broader and a bit toothier than before. "Nothing dirty, I promise." Because even the nicest of German phrases can sound a little rough to unfamiliar ears, can't they? "Think of it as a term of endearment... And ja, you've hit the nail on the head, so to speak. I was there when it happened. Ralph and I both were. Though I'm not certain if that was more to our fortune or misfortune at this point." Because he can easily find reasons for either argument.

As he reassures her that it's not dirty, Laura actually laughs a bit. "Well, good to know. Though if you do say anything dirty, I want to know what it is and how to say it." There's something appealing to knowing forbidden words in foreign languages. "But at least I know you're not calling me shithead or something to that effect." She has no issue speaking like this, despite being on the school grounds. But as the conversation sways away from the topic of language, her dark eyebrows shoot upward briefly. "Hey, wait... -you- were there, too?" No, she couldn't have been there... maybe she knows someone who was, though. "My god... are you... is Ralph... are you guys okay?" She's already scrambling to her feet, concern in her expression obvious.

Kurt can't help but laugh as she replies to his 'liebchen' explanation but with visible effort he wipes his features back to something more akin to what one might expect from an authority figure. "Ach, no. I don't think I'll be teaching you that particular lesson." His admonishing look falls a little flat, though, as he can't quite will himself to get that worked up about a little swearing. Particularly when there are more sinister practices at hand elsewhere. "We're both fine," he assures her, free hand going out to stay her as she gets to her feet. "Relatively speaking, anyway. I think that Ralph is still a bit shaken up... Let's just say we've found out a little more about who has been snatching the mutants off the streets."

Laura even looks disappointed as he refuses that particular lesson. "Damn. That's boring," she teases, though it's half-hearted as she notices his expression changing, and she focuses on the situation at hand. "Okay, so... you're both alright... physically, at least. That's something." It's a start. She's trying to remain calm, but as he mentions the missing mutants getting snatched, she perks up. "What? Who? What have you found out... tell me..." This is something her friend who was there did not share with her. Mental note: beat on Julian later.

For the time being Kurt just lets go the topic of verboten foreign phrases to focus on the more serious portion of the conversation. "Well, no names or locations of secret hide-outs. Nothing like that... unfortunately. But Ralph and I have both seen the one who seems to be in charge of the operation. And, also unfortunately, he had a good look at us as well." He frowns and a ripple of displeasure runs through his tail. But if Kurt was out in public surely he had some sort of disguise. Right? So then perhaps it's not so bad for him? "We also found out that they have no shortage of resources at their command. They were originally trying to snatch a little girl and in a short span of time they used some sort of device to switch off all of the electronics in the area and a cannon... Or gun of some sort to melt their van once they'd exhausted their need of it. The men they had -- and there were quite a few of them, I might add -- were armed and armoured. And the Man in Charge seemed to have some sort of forcefield cast around him." So they're not dealing with amateurs here. Not at all.

They blamed the little girl in the newspapers for the electrical issue!" Laura blurts out, having obviously been keeping up on the story. But she forces herself into silence as he continues to give her more information. "I... a cannon? They... they melted the van? Why?" It takes her a moment before she adds as though something's dawned on her, "Leaving no evidence? And... a forcefield? Shit. That's... wow. Like out of a movie, like they were saying. But... wait. They saw you. But they didn't -see- you, right? Except Ralph... well... he's less obvious too, right?" Unless anyone took a swing at his nose? She's only speculating. "Man... something -has- to be done... they're pinning this on 'us', you know. It's ammo for the MRA." For some strange reason, she flashes a slightly guilty expression over her face as she groans, then she waves it off.

"Yes, they did," Kurt confirms on the subject of the little girl, his tone calmer than Laura's but troubled. So that poor little girl was used as a scapegoat. He takes another long drink from his glass as he listens to her go on. "They /saw/ me," he says grimly. "For... obvious reasons I need a disguise for prying eyes when I'm away from Herr Xavier's grounds. Unfortunately that disguise just happens to be electrically powered." So that answers that. "I don't know what they thought of Ralph. It's true he's less obvious than I am -- less obvious than the other mutant that happened to be there as well. But they /did/ attack us and he did a very good job of defending himself for a teenager pitted against trained troops." Too good a job not to be noticed in some way, in other words. He pauses, brow furrowing a little as he notices her guilty look. "What's wrong?"

Laura's look of guilt switches rapidly to alarm. "They... oh no. I didn't realize... how stupid of me." She's smarter than that, but it hadn't occurred to her when the electricity went out, so would his disguise. "Oh man... so... you're lying low for now?" she half-asks, half-suggests. She looks almost stunned by his account of Ralph standing up against the troops, but then switches gears... that stunned look transforms into one of pride. "Good." That's all she has to say about it for now. As he suddenly draws attention to the fact that she was looking pretty guilty a short time ago, she flushes a bit and blinks. "Uh, what? No... nothing. It's... nothing, really," she insists, shaking her head. "You... you said there was another mutant there? Who was he?" She's probing a bit with a bit of a nonchalant expression... but she knows the answer already.

"Well, lying as low as I can. Once I'm certain that the image inducer -- er, my disguise, that is -- is fully back to normal I'll go out again. Until then, I'll have to wait for nightfall to do my investigating." Because Xavier doesn't have ungodly resources at his command to investigate with here. Of course not! He gives her a scrutinizing look as she does a poor job of covering up her guilt. "'Nothing' and 'nothing, really' are two different things, I think." But he goes on to answer her question after another thoughtful moment. "I didn't catch his name before he left and I was a bit too pre-occupied to pay him too close of attention through most of the incident. But he was glowing green and floating above the ground after the troops retreated." And that's about it, really. Though if pressed Kurt might give his opinion on Julian's cockiness, though he didn't get too good a sample even of that.

There's a nod from Laura. "Of course," she replies about him lying low or waiting for nightfall. But as he calls her on her apparently poor cover-up, she blinks and then almost goes a little pale. At first she stammers a bit, trying to come up with something better, but then finally just blurts out, "It's nothing, really... just... feeling guilty that I was out enjoying myself while you guys were dealing with that crap." Then again, she already had her share of crap with Soundtrack a little bit ago, too. There's something that suggests she's not sharing everything but that this sentiment's at least genuine. Clearing her throat, she adds, "I think I know that guy. He's... uh... a friend of mine." And she's going to leave it at that for the time being.

Kurt tips his head to one side as she stammers so, clearly wondering what's got her in such a state. Aside, of course, from people that she knows being attacked by some high-funded secret group that's kidnapping mutants all over the city. /Aside/ from that. "There was no way you could have known what was going on," he says gently. "Unless I'm much mistaken that isn't something you've been gifted with." Not that he really knows much of her powers beyond those claws. "And I'm sure that you'll get another shot at these people. This, after all, is not over by any stretch of the imagination." He shakes himself out of the grim revery he's just started down, though, as she mentions that other mutant guy he'd seen and he looks over at her with obvious surprise. "Really? Ach. Well, tell him that he should watch his back as well. Though I'm sure that he's already figured that much."

He can keep wondering, it seems because she doesn't appear to be giving up any further details behind her 'state'. Shaking her head, Laura replies quietly, "No. I'm not psychic or anything... but... I haven't exactly been around for a few days, so I had no idea you guys had gone through all that. I'm sorry for that..." Not that she can really do much but perhaps lend an ear or some emotional support? As he seems surprised, she nods a bit and replies, "I'll let him know. I'm sure Julian will appreciate that." And no doubt, the cocky young man has -not- thought about how his back might not be so guarded. If nothing else, the young man has a name now?

"It's alright," Kurt say to her apologies. "It's nothing. We move on now and prepare for whatever's next -- that's the important thing." He considers her reply on the subject of that mysterious young man -- not so mysterious now as before. "And make sure that this Julian keeps his eyes out for any further trouble." Yes, he caught the name alright. "And of course if you hear anything from him -- or from anywhere else -- let me know, ja?" They have to keep this network of information going if they're going to do something about this, right?

Nodding slowly, Laura replies, "I will. Tell him, I mean. I'll email him later." So that's how the pair are keeping in contact. "Everyone in the school should be alerted and told to take extra care, maybe. I don't know. I mean, I'd think that's what would need doing... what are we going to do? It sounds like... it was pretty crazy. Broad daylight and they can still blame us?" Us. Mutants.

"Ja, I agree. I've already alerted Herr Xavier of the situation and I'm going to try to spread the word to the other students. I'd appreciate if you'd spread it too if you get the opportunity. Aside from that, though, keep your ear to the ground, as they say. And your eyes open. Perhaps we'll take a look around sometime soon and see what clues, if anything, we can find." That's not to say that he's not going to be hard at work in the meantime, though. He sighs through his nose and runs his free hand through his dark hair. "Yes, and still they blame us. Frightened people often believe what they want to see. Or what they're told. Despite direct evidence to the contrary."

Nodding a little, Laura replies, "I will. I'll tell others." Whomever she sees. "And... I'll try to get back out there to my old haunts. I'll see if I can find anything else out." She's just as eager to get to the bottom of this as he is. "I'll let you know if I find anything... uh, lemme know if you find anything, ok?" She's very obviously concerned. Holding her notebook with one hand, she shoves the other in a pocket as she adds, "Idiots. We're the good guys. At least... we are." She knows there are others out there who are not as nice, but to attack a small child? Clearly the mutants on the scene were not the bad guys.

"Just be careful if you go out there, eh? I'll definitely let you know if I find out anything more." Kurt frowns thoughtfully down at the ground between him and Laura. After a moment he reaches out to pat her shoulder comfortingly -- which, of course, may or may not be a good move. He's still not too familiar with the angry girl, not enough to know about any latent space issues she might or might not have. "Ja, we are. But it's very difficult for some people to believe that 'different' does not mean 'bad'. We /are/ the good guys -- all that we can do is try to show them that." Even if the sheep are so often blind.

As he pats her shoulder, Laura stiffens visibly, but she doesn't pull away. She seems rather uncomfortable with someone being in her personal space but she doesn't point this out. Instead she replies, "You'd think in this day in age, people would know better. That they would have learned. It's racism of a different thread, of sorts." But then, racism still exists in the world, doesn't it? Perhaps this thought occurs to her as she ducks her head a little and sighs almost sadly. "Anyway, I'll do what I can. And don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. Tougher than I look..." This scrawny thing?

Really, she doesn't need to point out her discomfort. Kurt pulls his hand back to hang at his side after another moment or two. "You're right: it's just another form of prejudice, no better than racism. Nothing new, really. But also nothing that can't be overcome in time." /Much/ time. "All that people really need is to have their eyes opened. Perhaps a few of the eye-witnesses saw what /really/ happened in Clinton. Perhaps a few actually glimpsed the truth." Well, at least he's one to look on the bright side? "Anyway... Tough or not, be careful. There's no sense in endangering yourself needlessly." He draws a deep, strengthening breath and straightens a little. Though he often hunches his shoulders a little he rarely realizes he's doing it. "I think I've had enough fresh air for now. Perhaps it's time for me to head back inside..."

With a brisk nod, Laura says a little more firmly, "I'll be fine. You guys don't have to worry about me." Whether that's because she's tough and can handle herself or that she'll stay out of trouble, she doesn't elaborate. Her expression and tone softens a bit. "Well, I guess all we can do is hope someone saw the truth and that it gets around. It doesn't... seem like enough sometimes, but... what else can we do?" She's giving up on this a little too easily for such a fiery girl. Maybe she's just wrapped up in her own thoughts. As he straightens and states he's heading back to the mansion, she takes a step back. "Don't let me keep you. I'm... going to stay out here for now." In her little nook, probably thinking again.

Kurt dips his head in a nod, though whether that's meant in regards to her musings on what can and can't be done, what is and isn't enough, or whether it's meant to address her last comment is left for debate. "Alright. I'm sure that I'll run into you again soon enough." He starts to turn away at that, apparently intending on taking the long way back indoors instead of just teleporting back in. "Until then, take care of yourself, Laura." That much applies whether she's here at home or out there in that dangerous world just beyond Xavier's gates. He starts away, though at the pace he's moving he remains in earshot for a bit longer.