xp_logs | Nathan and Medusa, Saturday afternoon

On his way back to the boathouse, Nathan meets yet another of the new students. Medusa finds out that she may have something of a kindred spirit at Xavier's after all.

Medusa stood atop a grassy hill behind the mansion, her red hair whipping around her in agitation. She still could not believe that her parents had sent her to New York. Sure, Columbia was a great school, but what could she gain there that she could not at home? Her place was in Attilan, not in America. She knew the real reason they had sent her off and it did not please her. Though it would be good to spend some time with Crystal. She had missed her little sister dearly and that thought caused her hair to settle and float around her more peacefully.

He quite seriously ran into more people going back and forth from the boathouse to the mansion than he did at just about any other time, Nathan thought in weary amusement as he spotted the redhead on the hill. He paused for a moment, watching her hair finally settle again -and wasn't that one of the more fascinating powers he'd encountered here - and only then decided that it wouldn't hurt to stop and say hello. Another headache was coming on (the reason he'd left the library) but it wasn't too bad yet.

Nathan walked up the side of the hill, smiling amiably at the young woman as she heard his footsteps on the grass and looked up at him. "Hello. Medusa, right?" He extended his hand - his left hand, finally the proper hand again, good-bye, damned cast, I won't miss you!. "I'm Nathan."

Elegantly extending a perfectly manicured hand, Medusa smiled back at the man. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," she said with a slight bow of her head. Though she was anything but pleased to be at Xavier's, her personal feelings did not interfere with her royal training of how one was to greet a stranger. His name rang a bell and she quickly racked her brain for information and was rewarded with the memory of a conversation with Crystal. Ah yes, the one with the rather advanced child.

Immaculate manners, just like her sister. Nathan supposed that was inevitable when you grew up in a family like theirs. He gazed down at the lake, his smile lingering. "Quite the view from up here," he said, his eyes straying briefly in the direction of Mick and Tim's memorial stone, several feet away. "One of my favorite spots on the grounds, actually."

"It is rather beautiful," she agreed. "A loving touch obviously goes into caring for the grounds." Her eyes passed over the flowers that were artfully arranged around the lawn. The effect was simple and understated, a sight that was more agreeable to Medusa than some of the ornate and overdone exhibits she had seen in the past. Turning her attention back to the man in front of her, she asked, "Are you a teacher here?" She already knew the answer from her conversations with Crystal, but it was polite to ask such things.

"Yes, I am," Nathan said, suspecting that this was official small talk and she already knew that he was staff. "Have been, on and off, for... well, more than two years, now. I've taught quite the range of courses, but this fall I'm back to my first love," he said, and was rather tickled by the image - and the symmetry. He had started off with languages, after all, in those summer courses back in 2004. "Languages," he said by way of explanation. "A Russian class, and Arabic and Hindi reading groups this fall. Something else in the spring, most likely." Something else in the singular, he expected.

The instant Nathan mentioned languages, Medusa's attention switched from polite interest to avid fascination. Languages? Perhaps this will not be a waste of a year. As she spoke, tendrils of her hair became active, almost curiously exploring the air around her. "I consider myself a student of all languages. It is my goal to fluently learn as many as I am able to manage. I have never had the opportunity to study Arabic or Hindi. Are your courses oriented only towards the younger students here?"

Nathan gave her an interested look. "Well, no, not really. The Russian, yes, but the Arabic and especially the Hindi are geared towards our older students, and in some cases our resident graduates who want to keep up the skills they learned while they were students here. I'm more than happy," he said after a moment, "to do one-on-one teaching, too. I actually rather enjoy it." The schedule for that sort of thing could be flexible, after all. Having to schedule a meeting, even for a reading group, was one thing. Meeting a student for lunch and having the conversation in Arabic was another.

Medusa's face broke out into a smile as she nodded. "That is a very gracious offer and I would be delighted to benefit from your instruction. I had worried that I would become stagnant in my studies here." Her tone was quite serious, but the way she spoke made it apparent that she had great affection for the subject. "I believe it is extremely important to master not only a language, but the intonation and accent appropriate to it. Languages are...they are like music! So much more beautiful when the pitch is correct."

"I've always been very fond of them myself." He decided to spare her the explanation of why he'd picked up as many languages as he had. "Let's see, what could I offer..." He ticked them off on his fingers. "German, French, Spanish, Portugese... although given what part of the world you're from plus your interest in language, I'm guessing you've possibly got those down already. Russian, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Serbo-Croatian, Farsi, and Kazakh. Those are my fluent languages. I have a respectable level of fluency in several more, although I wouldn't want to be teaching them just yet."

Medusa was struck with the desire to clap her hands together in delight, but she was a well bred young lady so she merely smiled more broadly, her eyes dancing with delight as she easily switched into Portuguese. "~You are correct, I already speak most European languages. I have also studied Russian since a young age. I would love to start mastering Arabic and Mandarin in particular, if you are sure you do not mind and it would not be an inconvenience.~"

She shifted back into English before continuing. "Perhaps..." she paused, wondering if her next offer was appropriate. "It also seems I speak a number of languages you do not. I am fluent in Japanese, Dutch, Greek, Latin and two types of sign language. If you ever have any interest, I would be more than happy to return the favor."

"You know..." Nathan paused, then smiled, his eyes sliding sideways to the memorial stone. "I've always wanted to know how to speak Greek properly. I've got a traveler's grasp, but that's it. And," he said more briskly, "I should really be taking a little time for myself this fall." Oh, hah. Like his schedule was going to permit that without some serious bending, folding, and mutilating. "I'm still semi-convalescing - I was injured back in July and my powers were temporarily burned out."

A soft gasp escaped Medusa's lips before she was able to compose her face and tone. "How terrible. I can not even imagine what that would feel like. I am glad to hear that it was just a temporary issue and I hope that your recovery continues to proceed favorably." Her hair moved to wrap protectively around her body, as if trying to comfort her. "Do you mind if I ask what your powers are?" She gestured to her hair. "Between my post and the activity all around, I know my gift is fairly obvious."

"Interestingly enough, I'd hazard a guess that your powers and mine are from the same basic mutation-family," Nathan said whimsically. "I'm a psi. Telepathy and telekinesis. When they're in working order, the first is medium-range and communications-oriented, and the second..." He paused, then mentally shrugged. She might very well find out from the gossip around the mansion, or even reading back on the journals. "I was on the beach in San Diego helping hold back that tsunami in July, after the earthquake. That's how I was injured." Glossed over more than a little, but it was basically true.

Medusa arched an eyebrow at the mention of telepathy and strengthened her shields automatically, despite the phrasing that implied Nathan still did not have full control over his powers. "That was very brave of you, to face the wave. We were watching the events unfold quite anxiously and it is amazing that the damage was not more severe." She refrained from mentioning that she did not think it was quite appropriate for Crystal to have been allowed to help without informing her family.

"You are correct about the similarities between our powers. My control over my hair is psychokinetic as far as we can tell. I can even continue to control it once I have allowed it to be cut." She paused and coughed to cover the laugh that was trying to escape her throat. "I believe I terrorized quite a few palace workers in my childhood."

"It's a fascinating ability. Does it respond to your emotional state?" Nathan raised a hand with a slightly defensive smile before she could respond. "My telepathy's still offline except in fits and starts. I'm just going by what I saw of your reactions and body language."

"Yes, though I have more control over it than when it first manifested, obviously." She concentrated for a moment and her hair grew down to her feet, shortened again and wrapped itself into an intricate design atop her head, before settling into a simple braid down her back. "It still tends to whip around when I am upset, but stray hairs no longer weave into little dolls to scuttle around the floor after the tutors I do not like."

"I still make furniture rattle if I get upset - when my TK's not burned out, I mean." She obviously had very good control, and that was good to see. Attilan seemed to teach its young people very effectively. "One of the hazards of having a gift tied to your thinking process, I suppose."

"Indeed," Medusa agreed. "With so many newly manifested adolescents present, I can only imagine what the school looks and sounds like during stressful times." While she and Crystal had possessed their powers from a young age, she knew that most people did not come into their powers until adolescence. She could not imagine what it would be like to suddenly have an ability at fifteen. When she was that age, she had already been learning control for five years.

"We have our share of explosions, fires, and weird happenings," Nathan said reflectively. "Although sometimes the staff is responsible." He gave her an amused look. "I'm sure your sister's filled you in on that."

"She has told me many colorful stories about events that take place here. Some are more...concerning than others, but I am reserving judgement until I see how things unfold with my own eyes." A slight frown crossed her face as she thought of one of the frantic phone calls Crystal had made, but she soon smiled again. "Crystal has never spent an extended period of time away from home or her family in the past, so I know it has been a big adjustment for her to be here."

"There's more to this place than meets the eye," Nathan said very seriously. "You'll find that out, probably sooner rather than later." The first time the 'Bird came out of the basketball court would be a dead giveaway. "It's nothing bad. In fact," he said, and smiled a bit crookedly, "I think it's pretty amazing. I am however biased."

"Appearances are often deceiving." Her training had rooted that idea firmly in mind, but she also considered herself hard to amaze. "I look forward to learning more about this place." Ah, the royal lie. You look forward to getting out of this place as soon as you can arrange it. Nathan was not the only one who was biased.