xp_logs | Forge & Crystal, in the parlor (not with the wrench)

Crystal finds Forge in the parlor to thank him for keeping her in the loop during the events of the previous week. Surprisingly she discovers something she never expected out of the young inventor: humility.

It had been a good idea for Crystal to send an e-mail to Forge asking where he was as the parlor was not on her list of places she'd expect to find the inventor. Although she was no longer spending all of her non-class time in what was now really just Monet's suite, Crystal was still not roaming around the mansion without a reason.

"Greetings, Forge," Crystal said once she stepped into the parlor and saw that yes, Forge was there.

Forge held up a finger as he finished typing an email, then closed his laptop and rose to nod politely at Crystal. "Evening, Crystal. How's the leg feeling, other than 'still broken'?"

"The leg is feeling 'fine'," Crystal replied. "Yes, it is still broken, but it will not always be broken and unless someone tries to kidnap me again and makes it worse, I should make a full recovery soon."

Forge nodded, then resumed his lounging on the antique sofa, careful to keep his artificial leg from snagging on the velvet. "So, you had something to talk to me about?" His curiosity had been piqued, but with the crisis over, he'd expected some indignation about his previous comments about the Attilan royals. Vengeance, after all, was best served cold. Or so he'd heard.

"Yes. I know I thanked you by e-mail yesterday when you let me know that Jennie, Marius, and Kyle had been found and were back at the mansion, but I just wanted to thank you in person for keeping me informed this week," Crystal explained.

Forge actually looked abashed for a few moments. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked out one of the windows. "Yeah, well. I know I really wasn't much use trying to find them. I just wanted to try and do something."

"They were found and they are safe. That is what is important, yes?" Crystal paused for a moment, summoning up the strength to continue on with what she came to say. "The fact that you kept me 'in the loop' as you promised meant a lot to me. True, it did not help find them, but it made me feel that they were closer to being found, and then when I finally knew that yes, they had been found and they would be fine I was able to stop worrying."

That brought a small smile to Forge's face. "Then at least I accomplished something. Thank you, Crystal."

Oh, you might not want to thank me in a few minutes. Or maybe she just wouldn't tell him right now. Or ever. Jennie and Monet would never turn her in, would they? At least not until after Medusa's engagement party. What if they told him about it during the engagement party? What about Ms. Marie? Would she tell Forge who was responsible for what had been done to his car?

"You are welcome. I, ah, heard about what happened to your car. Were the decals easy to remove?"

The mention of his car seemed to change Forge's mood, but oddly a smile crossed his face instead of a scowl. "I swear, I had a he... heck of a time getting those off. John helped some - that's John Allerdyce, our most recent repatriate - otherwise it'd probably have taken me even longer. Whoever pulled that off... man. This tops almost anything I can think up. I consider myself absolutely humbled. Schooled, as the kids say these days."

Crystal blinked. He liked the prank? Forge liked the prank? "You are not angry at whoever did this? You... appreciate, I suppose, what was done? It was clearly intended to make a point without actually causing any permanent damage to your property, but still... you do not wish to find this person and cause him or her to flee the country?"

Forge shrugged. "It would have been simple to just drop paint on my car, and that would have pissed me off, and probably escalated things. Or to do something petty like, oh, steal all my socks. But this? This took advance planning, leadership - obviously a multiple-person job -and timing. I mean, they knew I'd be out of town, and I can't imagine the time they actually put in to applying all the decals in just such a manner as to make them time-consuming to remove." He smiled, scratching his temple thoughtfully. "It wasn't just a prank, it was probably the first time I've ever been out-thought, pre-emptively even. This was some brilliant mastermind's gesture of saying 'I got you', and they did. One thing I've learned over the years, albeit not voluntarily, is when to accept that someone has gotten the best of me."

"Oh. I see. Yes, I agree; harming your car with actual paint would have been wrong, and stealing socks is a rather silly idea." Brilliant mastermind? Forge, without knowing it, had just called her a brilliant mastermind, one who could work out advance planning and had leadership skills.

"Precisely," Forge agreed. "Whoever this was, and whatever I did - I find myself in awe. It's like... well, I don't know if Attilan royalty does duels or anything, but it's kind of like that. I have been weighed, measured, et cetera."

Forge was in awe. He was in awe over something she had done. She had messed with his car, had his prize possession picked up and moved, and he was in awe. Revealing herself as the culprit now would just be embarrassing. Maybe he knew and was just trying to get her to confess by heaping "praise" upon the guilty party. "That is certainly very interesting to hear. Well, it is late, and I have a paper to finish writing, so it is now time for me to take my leave." Let him say he knew it was her if he knew.

"Certainly," Forge agreed, standing again as Crystal turned to go. "Oh, and Crystal?" he said before she could leave. "I'm glad they're back, too."

Crystal nodded, thought for a moment, then gave Forge a smile. A small smile, true, but a real one. "Good night, Forge." she said, then headed back to Monet's suite.