xp_logs | Rahne and Crystal - Food for Thought

Backdated. Rahne and Crystal have their first meeting during their first volunteer shift together in the medlab. After discussing former reluctance to come in for treatment, they get into a discussion of that extremely popular, time-honored tradition at Xavier's: bringing food to people who, for one reason or the other, aren't feeding themselves properly.

Rahne hurried down the stairs toward the medlab. It was to be her first shift there in some days, between lessons, homework, and work at Elpis, and she was rather looking forward to it. Not that anything exciting was supposed to happen, but that was all for the best considering that excitement in medlab was usually not a good thing.

She entered briskly and was starting to the sink to wash up (again, having done it once before she came down) when it actually registered that the other volunteer there was the newest. She'd heard Crystal had been added to the list, but this was the first time they'd been in at the same time. "Good afternoon, Crystal," she said, then blinked. "And good to meet ye at last! I've seen you about, but I think we've not passed close enough to speak before. I'm Rahne Sinclair."

"I am pleased to meet you, Rahne," Crystal replied. Rahne knew who she was; there was no need to state her own name. "I have heard Medusa speak of you. Rest assured, they have only been good things."

"That's kind of her. She's been very helpful with Elpis."

Crystal smiled. "Yes, she enjoys her volunteer duties there very much. I did worry about her quite a bit when she went to Prague, but I understand why she wanted to go with Elpis. It was... an experience." An experience Crystal knew was currently denied to her despite the fact that she was sure she could handle such a situation. She'd have to make do with Red X for real world experiences right now, although it was not good to wish for a reason to have to go off with Red X.

Rahne's eyes shadowed a little as she finished drying her hands. "That it certainly was."

Crystal nodded. "Sorry. I know it cannot have been pleasant to be there. I know it must have been hard." She knew it had been a chaotic time, both there and at the school, and in the midst of it all her sister had been there. The students had complained that the X-Men weren't running off to save the day, but Medusa had been there. Medusa and Nathan and Rahne and Angelo... they had all been there, doing what they could. Maybe people thought that wasn't enough, but they had been there, and surely they had done the best they could under the circumstances.

Rahne gave her a quick smile. "You've nothing to apologize for." Some people, on the other hand.... Well, they'd been worried too, and not so aware of how hard people had tried to avert the crisis. Let it go. "It was hard, but I'm glad we went. And it did some good in the end." She glanced down at her hands. "I was glad to have worked here, too, when we got to the clinic...."

Crystal nodded. "Yes, I can see that learning skills here can come in quite handy."

"How do ye like it so far? Well, I know you've just started -- last week? But still."

"I am learning a lot." And, as always, that is why I am here. "I am glad to have the opportunity to learn new things, even if they are ones we can hope I will never have to use. Still, it is good to know these things, just in case. People do seem to end up in the medlab or the infirmary quite a lot."

"Between the X-Men, attacks, powers mishaps, and the usual ones of a school this size...." Rahne gave her a wry look. "Not to alarm, but would ye believe we're improving? We had the worst trouble for a while with people refusing to come in. That's part of how I got started helping here, myself."

"What do you mean?" Crystal asked curiously, not quite certain what people refusing to come in had to do with Rahne choosing to volunteer.

"We've had trouble at times with people being very reluctant to come in for treatment. Some of them I understood why -- well, eventually. Others I still do not. But I suppose what first planted the idea in my mind was catching someone meaning to self-treat a pretty bad infected cut." Her mouth quirked upward. "Why he wouldna go to the doctors no matter how I argued, but would let me help with it before I had any training...." She shook her head.

"Well, if Dr. Voght was the only one on duty at the time, I can understand why," Crystal told Rahne. "I am sure that she is an excellent doctor as far as medical knowledge goes, but I would not want to have to be treated by her."

Rahne winced and laughed at the same time. "She is very, very skilled -- I was going to say she's not so bad, but then I realized that if I'd had to go to her when I first came to the school, I might have cried. This was before she came here, though. 'Twas Dr. McCoy then, and I always found him very kind."

"Oh, I am sorry," Crystal apologized. "I know that the common beliefs about people are not always true, and I did not mean to insult her, but I... well, I am not used to doctors like her, that is all." Crystal recalled Terry's question to her when Crystal had announced on the journals about calling in a doctor to see Medusa when she had been ill. "If I may ask, why did people not want to come in at that point, then?"

"I'm not sure if anyone is used to doctors like her," Rahne said, mouth twitching a little. She respected Dr. Voght's abilities, but certainly wasn't planning on emulating her bedside manner. "I'm sure I'd have been afraid of her at first, myself -- I was very shy when I first got here. Why people avoided the infirmary... I think it varied from person to person, but the overall effect was really... exasperating." She sobered. "Some had had very bad experiences with medical personnel before -- not just brusque or arrogant, but uncaring, or cruel and unethical. Some were not used to having medical treatment readily available, and so had developed different standards for when they should seek it, and when it would just be weak or wimpy or a waste of time. Some were just so determined to keep doing their work that they'd not notice, or not believe it, when they needed to stop and deal with the results of pushing so hard. Or, ye know, when to stop pushing before that." She paused. "We still have some of each, really, but there's been a lot of work toward getting people to recognize when they need to come in." She smiled. "And a lot of work, less formally, toward bringing friends food and reminders to sleep and that sort of thing."

Crystal laughed lightly. "Yes, I have noticed that one of the traditions at Xavier's is feeding people or trying to make sure that they do not work too hard. People can get very into their work and do not stop to think about all of the silly little things like eating and sleeping and taking a break every now and again."

"Aye," Rahne said ruefully. "Daft, aren't we?"

Yes? "Well, I suppose it can be understandable sometimes," Crystal said thoughtfully, "although it does seem to happen more than it should. For 'feeding people' to become a common pasttime at the school, it must be something required by numerous people."

"It does seem to be. True plenty of times it can be out of friendship rather than worry, but forgetting to eat is all too common a response to stress." Rahne shook her head. "Although I confess to hoping that making enough of a point of people being willing to cook or deliver food will help, at least when it's really a matter of time pressure. Ask for food, take time to go find some, either one is fine with me."

Of course, it can be easy to 'forget' when you know that there are many people willing to make sure that you are well supplied with food. Crystal nodded, not much into the idea of cooking and delivering food to everyone who wasn't eating properly for whatever the reason. Most people already seemed to have a long line of people just waiting to feed them. "No one should have to be afraid of starving here," Crystal said.

"No." Rahne sighed. "It especially bothers me since that's how a wolf-pack hunts sometimes -- run prey without leaving it time for rest or food." She fell silent briefly, hands busy, and then changed the subject. "What do ye do for fun here? I think I saw ye riding with Sooraya once...."

Fun? Crystal nodded. "Yes, I go horseback riding with Sooraya. I also dance, jog, fly, practice using my powers, find new uses for powers, swim, practice archery, work out, sort mail for the school, play piano and violin, play video games..." She thought for a moment, trying to recall if she'd left anything off the list. "I believe that covers it."

Rahne blinked. That sounded remarkably like it belonged in an application for something, though she couldn't think what. "Ye sound busy," she observed. "I couldna make such an orderly list, myself... but I like to run in the woods at night, as a wolf. Or write, or cook...." She smiled ruefully. "Or volunteer at the local animal shelter, though I've had less time for that than I'd like lately."

She had to keep busy, had to fill up her time until her year-long sentence was finally over and she could go home. She was learning all she could, even "teaching" others, and was glad to see results from her efforts. "I do my best to keep myself busy," Crystal said with a smile. "Still, I do find myself left with unscheduled time. What do you do when you volunteer at the animal shelter?"

That got a bright smile. "Play, mostly. The official aspects, paperwork and medical things, usually have to be done by the employees there. But giving the animals a chance to exercise -- especially the bigger dogs -- and socialize with different people, for all of them, is very important to keep them healthy and able to be adopted. And there are enough of them that the employees are hard pressed to spend enough time with them all."

"Do they need any volunteers on weekday afternoons, after classes are over?" Crystal asked Rahne.

Rahne smiled. "I think they'd be glad to have you come in."