Log: Jono and Crystal

[x-sparky.livejournal.com]

Backdated to Tuesday, the first day of school.

Crystal and Jono run into each other on the grounds, and get along surprisingly well.



Slowly, Crystal floated around the tree grove. Occasionally, she rose a few feet up in the air, but mostly she remained only a few inches off the ground. She was supposed to go back to Attilan soon, had planned on it, but now... now she wasn't so sure that she wanted to go back. Not yet, anyway.

Across a nearby clearing, Jono tuned his guitar. While he preferred his electric to an acoustic, it wasn't really worth the effort to drag an amp all the way outside just to get some privacy. He hadn't expected the younger children to be so... enthusiastic about the Music class. He'd definitely have to rework the lesson plan to keep them busy.

As it was, the choices were to lock himself in the music room, thus telegraphing his location and acquiring an audience - or resort to the "one with nature" plan that he'd found himself using lately, much to his dismay.

Back and forth Crystal floated, circling the trees. She chose one and began a spiral around the trunk, her eyes closed. When she reached the lower branches, she began her descent, spiraling in the opposite direction.

Jono strummed out a few chords before working on some Spanish guitar exercises to limber his fingers. Fingers moving up and down the fretboard, he almost missed a note when he caught sight of someone flying around the trees. Not one of the students he recognized... which didn't narrow down the possibilities much. He stopped his playing long enough to shed his leather jacket and reslung his guitar, shifting into a downtuned version of Eric Clapton's "Layla".

Hearing the notes from the guitar, Crystal flight slowed and came to an almost-stop when she saw the guitar player. She didn't want to interrupt him, but she also didn't want to act as if she were hiding. Still hovering off the ground, Crystal came closer to the clearing where Jono was sitting.

Giving the slightest of nods to his 'audience', Jono threw himself into the music. Clapton led into the classic riffs of The Clash's "London Calling", accompanied by the occasional slap against the body of the guitar to twist the punk classic into a slightly rockabilly-inspired romp. He finished with a rising crescendo of notes, letting the last ones echo off into the air. Idly, he looked at his fingers. Still uncallused, yet not raw like he knew they should be from the intense playing. This new body wasn't reacting as he expected, and he didn't quite know what to make of that.

Adjusting the strings, Jono looked over at Crystal and gave the floating girl another nod. "Well, you're not flying for the hills, so that's a good sign, right?" he projected carefully. Strangers often had odd reactions to a disembodied voice in their heads, even those who expected the visibly mute Brit to have some unconventional mode of communication.

Crystal returned Jono's nod. "Greetings," she said, slipping back into the method of introduction she had used upon her original arrival to the mansion. "I am Crystal Amaquelin. I do not believe we have met or even communicated on the journals, not that I have been back here or on the journals for very long."

Jono had to think for a while before the name registered. "Right, visiting from Attilan, yeah? Got caught up in the whole disappearing thing this summer? You'll have to excuse me, I've never really been one to watch the news."

There was an odd sensation again. She'd just felt it a few minutes earlier, right after the man had given her a nod, but she hadn't been quite sure what it was. It was.. strange, and it was... someone trying to get into her mind? Except, no, there wasn't any force to it, it was just... soft. Like a gentle knock. And the man hadn't said anything... oh.

"I apologize. Have you been attempting to communicate with me? I did not 'hear' what you said. I..." This was the music teacher. He'd been at the school before, when she'd been a student, then left and come back. There was nothing to fear here. Of course, she'd thought that before, trusted completely, and look what had happened. It couldn't happen again. That wouldn't be fair. Her personal craziness was not of the Xavier craziness variety, it came from her family. From her home. "Please, try again." This time she would be able to 'hear' him. .

Jono arched an eyebrow. He'd thought there was something odd about Crystal's mental presence. Almost like Emma's had been in a way - that must be it, shields against psionics. Well, at least she was being polite about it.

"No worries, then," he tried again. "Crystal, from Attilan? I'm Jono Starsmore. Former student, currently roped into teaching music to... well, anyone who'll sit still long enough, it seems."

Crystal nodded again, willing herself calm as the 'voice' spoke in her mind. "From Attilan, yes. Former student as well, how long ago I graduated depends on who you ask, and I am currently on vacation. It is good to see that the school has its music teacher again."

"Well, it was either me or Alison Blaire, and that'd just be cruelty," Jono replied casually. "And yeah, I heard about the whole 'Endless Summer' adventure. Stuck for two years on an island with Forge, now that's cruelty."

"Why do people make it sound as if we were marooned together on a deserted island?" Crystal sat down in mid-air, repressing a shudder at the idea. No. Just...no.

Jono actually slid off the small rock he'd been sitting on, eyes squinting as he 'laughed' as well as he was able. "Horrible fate, that'd be. So what brings you back around here? They manage to collar you into teaching as well?"

"Oh no, this is just a vacation," Crystal said, not-quite-grinning at Jono's slide. "I teach at a school in Attilan, a mutant school, or I did. I have not had much of an opportunity to engage in teaching during the past month. Here, school started today. In Attilan, there are only a few months left until the end of the school year."

"Awfully convenient, then," Jono replied. "Lets you come visit while all the little anklebiters are otherwise occupied. They've got a school like this in Attilan, then? Brave new world indeed. Likely as not to see mutant schools start popping up like corner shops in a few years."

"Not quite like this one." Crystal let out a small laugh. "No jets or leather outfits or frequent trips to all parts of the globe for world-saving from the villain of the week for the teachers there, I am afraid." The fact of which she was rather relieved. "Also, Xavier's school is specifically geared for students in high school or younger, from all parts of the planet. The Amaquelin and Boltagon School was created while we were removed from the rest of the world and was intended for students of all ages who required aid with their powers or simply a safe place to practice."

Jono bristled inwardly at the mention of 'high school or younger' and the implication that graduation from Xavier's meant control of one's mutation. If only that had been the case. Outwardly, however, he reached for his guitar, pulling it into his lap and strumming out a few random chords. "Do you play?" he asked, gesturing to the instrument.

It hadn't been what she'd meant to imply. Quite the opposite, in fact, which was why when she'd come to Medusa for the idea of the school, her intent had always been to make it an all-ages place. Yes, those who hadn't finished their schooling would need to continue their education. There were plenty of mutant adults who had never had the opportunity to focus on what they could do with their powers, and still others whose best hope was to stay alive without killing everyone in the immediate vicinity.

"I have never played a guitar," Crystal told Jono. "I know how to play the harp, piano, and violin."

Jono stood up, eyes crinkling in his closest approximation of a smile. "If you're going to be visiting for long, and you want to learn some of the basics, the music class seems to be going well." He gave Crystal a wink to emphasize that he was mostly joking. "Though if you come by in the afternoon, you'll miss most of the rugrats."

Crystal couldn't say she was there to learn anymore, but this was not one of the things that had changed about her during the past couple of years, and she was still interesting in learning new things. Always had been, probably always would. "I will be taking Laurie to visit her mother in the hospital after school, but perhaps I can come by during the day and observe a class or two if that is all right with you."

"I'll expect to see you," Jono answered with a nod. "Who knows? You may find a real talent for it."