xp_logs | Cain and Medusa, Thursday early afternoon

Backdated to earlier this afternoon. Cain finally meets one of the Amaquelins. Medusa feels short and accidentally compliments Cain, while he in turn tells her a few things she didn't know about mansion life.

Medusa sat atop a hill behind the mansion, a thick blanket spread out beneath her, her hair rustling despite the absence of wind. She had some of the Arabic handouts Nathan had given her spread out around her and she was working through them rapidly, the letters and rules easily flowing through her mind. She had been disappointed when Nathan had canceled their lunch, but had then decided to put the time to good use so she could impress him upon his return.

"He's hooked another one of you, huh?" Cain leaned against one of the tall oaks that kept half the hilltop in shade. Giving Medusa the barest of nods, he indicated the Arabic papers. "Nine out of every ten new students coming through here end up taking something Nate teaches. You ask me, he's still got that Pack Alpha mentality. You'd think once he got a kid of his own he'd quit trying to collect the whole set."

Strands of hair extended to secure each piece of paper in its place before Medusa rose to her feet. She was quite surprised to find she still needed to look up over a foot to see his face. "Greetings, I am Medusa," she said with a slight bow of her head. "I do not believe we have had the opportunity to meet yet." She wondered what a Pack Alpha mentality was, but knew that introductions were necessary before any questions could be asked.

"Cain Marko," Cain said in response with a nod in return, "You're one of those visiting royals, ain't you? From... whatsitsname, little tiny place in Europe, right?" Cain hadn't paid a great deal of attention to the announcement on Crystal's arrival, and Medusa's had slipped by him as well. As far as he was concerned, any place that still had a king and queen in this era was probably just some backwards European fairytale country with far too much bowing and funny-smelling cheese for his tastes.

"Yes, I am from Attilan. It is located in the Azores, off the coast of Portugal, and is quite small, so I am not surprised that you are not familiar with my homeland," she said, keeping a small smile on her face. "I did not realize that Nathan had such a following. Are that many students interested in learning languages?"

Cain chuckled, leaning against the large oak. "Ain't so much the languages - Nate tends to be kind of a... well, he wants to be everyone's buddy. It's why he's always running around with the team, with classes, with his business stuff, plus his family, plus all you kids he takes under his wing. Busy guy. Good man, though."

After a moment, Cain glanced down to where Medusa's strands of hair were arranging and sorting her notes. He arched an eyebrow in curiosity. "Now that's a neat trick. Ain't seen anyone do that before."

She considered what Cain had said about Nathan thoughtfully. "I did not know that about him. How interesting." She would have even more questions for the grey haired man when he returned. Turning her attention to his last comment, Medusa smiled. "My hair is rather useful," she said, a tinge of pride in her voice. "And it does seem to be one of the more unique abilities that exists in the mutant world."

"Yeah, you're all wonderfully special snowflakes," Cain said with mock cheerfulness, picking up an acorn between thumb and forefinger and absently flicking it into the sky. "This time of year, usually starts getting cold out here. Most of the kids do their studying indoors, unless they're the type that just don't like being around folks." Given the tabloid that some of the kids had been giggling about, Cain didn't think Medusa seemed to have ANY problems being "social" with at least the menfolk her age.

Medusa raised an eyebrow at his first comment, but politely declined from commenting. "I suppose there is a chill starting to enter the air, but that is what layers are designed to combat," she said, gesturing at her clothing. "It is strange, but I have found that there is more privacy outside than inside." Medusa's smile hinted at the fact that this was a matter she found rather displeasing. "It can be difficult to find a quiet space within the mansion except for perhaps my own room. But truly? I enjoy sitting outside because of the grounds. My mother does a fair bit of managing the gardens and landscaping at home and I appreciate a lot of the work that has gone into keeping such a large area well manicured."

Cain openly beamed at the compliment. "Just takes attention. Ororo takes care of the plants and stuff around the house itself, but the rest of it, well." He crouched over by Medusa, pointing to where the small creek along the woodline was beginning to swell as autumn approached. "That creek there's been flooding pretty regular for about fifty years, since they dammed up the north end to put the access road in. So every so often you gotta go dig some revetments to keep it from eroding the hillside. In a couple years or so, it'll change the whole course of the stream, but you gotta think long-term with a place like this."

She looked in the direction that he was pointing, nodding and listening attentively. Cain was reminding her of Ambur when she got excited about a new development to the palace grounds and Medusa had to fight hard to keep her homesickness from showing on her face or in the movement of her hair. "It truly takes one with foresight to plan out something this extensive. People always think that all that goes into something like this," her hand gestured broadly to the area around, "is deciding what to plant at the right time of year and do not realize the extensive planning that most go into the seemingly simple matters."

"Kids these days," Cain remarked, "only think in the short term. High-speed internet, fast-forwarding DVDs, instant microwave meals - it's the rare one that can plan ahead for stuff like this." He shook his head, sitting down on the hillside. "You know a bit about landscaping, got a bit of a green thumb yourself?"

Gracefully folding her legs underneath her, Medusa returned to her original position on the blanket. Shooting Cain a wry smile, she shook her head slightly. "I appreciate the end result very much and understand a lot of the work that goes into procuring the results, but I have never actually done any of it myself." Ever since she was a child, she had been drawn to gardens, but only to appreciate their beauty. If questioned, she would give an excuse about not having the time, but in all honesty she did not have the desire to do the necessary dirty work.

"Fair enough," Cain said with a shrug. "So I understand you're here to do the college thing, sort of like Chuck's first real 'exchange student' who ain't here to learn to control their powers or whatever. Bit of culture shock, huh?"

As far as Cain knew, wherever these royals were from - Attilan? Something like that - might be a flourishing economy or it could be a one-goat, one-chicken town with delusions of sovereignty. Either way, the both of them seemed to go out of their way to be excessively polite, which rang of aristocratic privilege to him, but he appreciated the manners.

Her voice grew soft as she considered one of the conversations she had had with Nathan. "I suppose I am one of the lucky ones. My parents rejoiced when I manifested and nurtured my gift to the fullest extent possible. I have been told by quite a few people that coming here without a powers dilemma is the exception rather than the rule." Not to mention the parental support. "Culture shock is probably an accurate description. I have a lot to get accustomed to about American phrases and behaviors, though I will never understand why people shorten entire phrases into a series of letters." She was finally learning to decipher Mark's speech and writing, but she still had to use a web browser every time he threw a new abbreviation her way.

"You think you've got it rough?" Cain replied, a tinge of amusement creeping into his voice, "Try sleeping through two decades. You wake up and suddenly th' entire world's changed out from under you. Takes a while to get used to."

He pointed down to the creek again. "Some stuff, thankfully, don't change. Half them classrooms up in the house used to be just spare rooms, you know. Parlors, reading rooms, always did think the house had too many rooms. Chuck found a way to put it all to use, though. But the place as a whole ain't changed all that much. Sure, the house is full of all you kids runnin' everywhere and doing your thing – but out here? Same old place." With a nod, he patted thr ground next to Medusa and stood up. "It's a good quiet place. Treat it right, and it's yours as long as you need it."

Medusa gave him a slightly bewildered look as he rose, working through all the information he had just spouted, her hair flaring outwards slightly. "Were you in a coma then? And who is Chuck? And the mansion...you almost talk about it as if it is yours." She blushed slightly, embarrassed to have asked so many questions of a man whom she had just met. "Pardon my curiosity," she said. "But I continuously feel as though everyone here has all these facts they expect everyone else to know and understand and I am frequently in the dark."

Cain laughed, looking out to the horizon. "Spend the better part of two years trying to keep it all a secret, and now I wind up having to tell all the new folks. First, yeah, I was in a coma for the better part of... nineteen, twenty years? Accident back in '64. And as to the last, the mansion... well, it kind of is mine. Mine and Chuck's. Charles. The Professor. He's my stepbrother."

"I see," she replied. She began to wonder just how complicated the relationship between the stepbrothers was and concluded that 'strained' would be the appropriate term based on Cain's mannerisms. There was something beneath the surface of his words that spoke volumes. Not quite the picture perfect image I had first thought of this place. How interesting. "It must have been difficult, keeping a secret like that."

"Just didn't feel it was anyone's business," Cain said quietly, staring out over the trees. "Few months back, things changed. This place... it's home to me. All I ask folks is to treat it like it was theirs, little bit of respect is all."

Slowly, Cain rocked back on his heels, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. "Might go without sayin', but you're welcome to have the run of this place so long's you don't abuse it. Might not be as fancy as you're used to, but we get by."

"Perhaps to others it may not matter, but I appreciate knowing that you have granted me your permission," she said sincerely. "I would never dream of abusing a place like this and it saddens me that anyone would." She looked out across the expanse of rolling hills, her eyes settling on the lake. "I find it rather peaceful. Often fancy displays are too garish for my taste, distracting from the simple beauty that nature provides." She smiled up at him. "I will also have to find you on those days I find myself feeling too tall. I believe you are the first person I have met who makes me feel short."

"I have that effect on people," Cain admitted with a smile. "Moira tried to tell me some men are intimidated by tall women. I told her I ain't never met one."

He pointed down to her Arabic papers, smirking openly. "Still might want to keep studying, though. Like you or not, Nate's still one of the biggest sticklers for detail when it comes to his classes. Amazed you haven't heard the students cursing his name yet about his Russian pop quizzes."

She shrugged. "Languages have always made sense to me." A strand of hair waved a piece of paper in the air. "The language might be different, but the technique to learn it is the same." She smiled, allowing a bit of her true self to shine through. "Plus, I cannot fail a class that I am not taking. This is all outside my college work."

Cain gave her another quick nod. "Then I'll leave you to it, Miss Medusa. Dinner should be on in a bit, don't stay out too late or you'll be scrambling for leftovers." With that, he turned to head towards the mansion, looking back once to watch the sky change colors slowly.