Red X: Reconstruction - Kevin & Tommy, Backdated: Tuesday night

[x-wither.livejournal.com]

After a day of work both are looking for time away from the others. Kevin's practicing his powers by trying to make something for a mutual friend of theirs.

The nights were cooler than the days and Tommy was glad to get out of the crowded quarters. It was nice seeing so many people get together to help a community rebuild...but that didn't mean he wanted to be around all those people all the time. Hands in the pockets of his jeans, he moved out away from the building and it was while he was walking that he spotted Kevin out by himself. As he walked closer, he spotted what he was doing with his hands. "That's nice work." He said by way of greeting, nodding to the piece of wood.

Kevin, despite how much more friendly he felt most days in the past couple weeks, still preferred to be by himself most of the time. It calmed him and centered him in a way. Solitude and silence was what he was used to now; being around all those people at once constantly gave him a headache or made him jumpy. The first night he'd found a tree out behind the school he could run away to with scrap wood from the day's work. Ever since Haller suggested trying to learn control over the way his powers work by using them on wood he'd been up to it every night. Sometimes it exhausted him and sometimes he was alright after it. It was a day by day thing.

For the moment Kevin was just trying to focus for control but was mostly just carving to make something pretty. He was carving Yvette into a block of wood. It wasn't the way she was a lot of the time, small and spiky, but the way she'd been when he first came back to the school with her hair in those perfect ringlets. Or at least there'd be ringlets eventually. For now there was just her face without details. A voice pulled his concentration away from the wood, though and Kevin's hand pulled away before he looked up. "Huh? Oh. Thanks. It'd be better if Ah coul' control it more. Sometimes it works. Sometimes no' so much. Ah though' she migh' like it, if Ah don' end up sinkin' in a cheek er somethin' like tha las' attempt."

Kevin didn't actually know the person he was talking to. He'd seen him by face, knew he'd come with them from Xavier's but that was the extent of their acquaintance. If it wasn't for the fact he'd been carving his shoulders would have tensed, but as it was his voice was simply a bit quieter than usual. Quieter than usual for Kevin, though, was quiet enough that most people would have to strain to hear him with the distance currently between the two.

The thought of creating things to practice with your mutation was something Tommy could understand intimately: Kevin's carving acting like Tommy's jewelry making. While he didn't think of himself as any kind of artist, though even now, when he was trying to concentrate more on medicines and such, he still enjoyed creating a piece or two every few days, even trying to create new alloys and working on those those that still alluded him, like gold. It had become calming if anything. And now with Terry having helped him set up an online store to sell them, he was even getting custom orders. A calming hobby and a small business, all from his continued quest to practice with his mutation.

As he looked closer at the piece, he cocked his head, and then smiled an easy smile that was rarely seen around the mansion, usually only when Tommy was around Terry or Yvette. "Yvette will love it, sunk cheek or no. And I know how that goes. Some days it comes easy, others you have to fight it. But that's what practice is for right?" His voice was soft, yet sure of itself as he spoke, his own gloved hand coming out of his pocket so he could lean his shoulder against the tree, looking out over the woods. "Your good working with wood, I saw you on the site today when I was reinforcing parts of the structures." He added by way of polite conversation.

"'Vette'll love it more if she's got her cheek still, though." Kevin smiled in a way that few people ever saw, fondly. He did sad smiling and playful smiling and whatever other kind of smiling around people, but he didn't show genuine fondness that was just that and nothing more very often. "Can' go an' give yer kindred somethin' ya don' think's up ta par. Even though she'd jus' 'bout die o' happy tha' anyone went an' made her anything ta begin with."

He peered at Yvette's wooden face for a moment then looked at the other guy. After a few moments of just staring he placed him from earlier in the day. Paying attention to every other person around? Really not Kevin's strong point. "Ah jus' like bein' useful. Ah'm better with metal, actually. Been makin' metal sculptures for a couple years now. An' the practice thin', well, tha's jus' startin'. Sometimes Ah get lucky but mos' tha time it jus' gets this look like someone threw acid on it."

The fondness was mirrored in Tommy's expression. "Yvette's something like that. When she first came to the mansion, I accidentally scared her. I made her a necklace out of material her skin wouldn't break in apology and she was so amazed. Not many people like that anymore." At least no one who treated him like that. He felt people were on edge with him, it was rare when he felt himself around someone. There were so few.

At the mention of metal sculptures, Tommy's reactions turned to a mix of curiosity and interest. "Really? Ahh...your the one with the workshop in the mansion correct? I've admired some of your work. I work the other way. I make things out of other materials and then" He raised his gloved hand. "Alchemist's touch." It was then he spotted the feather around Kevin's neck with a considering expression. "Like that necklace your wearing."

"'Vette's a unique sorta person, though." There weren't many people in the world who were truly grateful for anything. Yvette seemed grateful for every little thing she was given. It was a little strange in a way, but it was also refreshing. Kevin thought maybe e should take a note out of her book, but then he also knew it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine for her. Being grateful for what you had didn't make you any more okay with what you'd lost.

Alchemist's touch? Kevin's eyes went from the gloves down to the feather that was hanging around his neck. Jay's feather. He hadn't actually realized it was literally one of Jay's feathers, just thought it was a little more symbolic than that. "You always gotta wear gloves ta make sure ya don' use yer powers?" It was a point of curiosity for Kevin just because he couldn't shut his off. He always wondered how many other people had things they couldn't shut off that actually impacted their daily existence. People like him or Yvette, not people like Mister Logan who just healed and wasn't bothered by it, was even helped by it.

Tommy could only nod in agreement. Yvette was one of the people who Tommy felt actually saw past what he used to be and truly didn't care. He couldn't help but adore her. "That she is."

At Kevin's question, he looked down at his hand that wasn't in his pocket. "More a precaution but yeah. My powers work when I concentrate on them, but sometimes, things happen on accident, like when I manifested. And I'd rather the gloves get transformed then someone I'm touching." So no, it wasn't so much he didn't have an off switch, more an unreliable one.

"Lucky you, it jus' bein' in yer hands an' all, Ah mean. Leas', Ah'm assumin' it is, righ'?" It was hard to not be a little envious of people who had a power that was touch-based but was also only something that happened through their hands. It was one thing to accidentally turn your gloves to gold and another thing to turn your hat to silver or your boxers or something. It made you nearly free.

Nearly. There was the worry about what exactly you were turning things into. Not everything on the elemental table or compounds made from them were safe around humans and while Tommy didn't know if he was immune to them, he wasn't about to risk the people around him. It went against everything he believed in, as a member of the FOH and now. "You assumed right. I'm guessing it isn't the same with you."

Kevin shook his head slowly, eyes turning back to the piece of wood. "If there's skin it does this," he traced his finger down an untouched side of the wood and watched as only a very thin, very superficial layer of it turned to ash that was blown by the wind. "Hair, too. Only safe part o' me's mah mouth. Good thin' Ah figure since decomposin' mah food'd probably suck somethin' beyond tha tellin'."

Tommy couldn't help his eyes going wide for a moment at the thought. To not be able to touch anyone..."Must be rough." He didn't want to belittle the situation by making a big deal out of it, but what Kevin went through deserved to acknowledged, so he let his voice's tone say it instead of cheapening it with words.

"Sometimes." His voice was softer than it had been a moment ago, thoughtful. Sometimes understating something was more accurate than using the sorts of words it called for. "Figure Ah'm kinda used to it. Jus' tha same ol' thing mos' days. Synthetics help," he pulled at his shirt with his bare hand. "Jus' imagine if it was jus' me an' tha cotton. Nudist colony here Ah come, y'know?"

A considering look came over his features after he chuckled at the joke. "Your powers only work on basic elements, but not man made?" His brain was already going through chemical formulas and he had to pause and take a deep breath to clear is mind.

"If it's organic it'll go through all the stages of decomposition at an accelerated rate so long as Ah'm touchin' it. If it's inorganic it's safe. Makes life...interestin'." It made life a royal pain in the ass, really, but Kevin was too polite to use such words. He wouldn't be crass with someone he barely knew. At least not intentionally.

Tommy got the drift though. He wanted to offer his help, but he honestly didn't know if he knew enough to do any good. When they returned to the mansion he'd have to add to his research to see. "I can imagine."

"Don' 'magine too hard," Kevin warned. He turned his eyes back to his decomposed wood that looked like his friend's face. "'Ventually ya 'magine stuff tha's pretty scary an' realize it's all possible. Hey, your power any good at selective stuff? Ah mean like turning part o' somethin' ta metal but not all o' it?" The conversation change was abrupt and obvious, but Kevin wasn't in the mood for dwelling on the wholly depressing complications of his powers.

"Depends what you want it turned into. Some metals are harder then other." He said conversationally, not at all disturbed by the conversation change. Not wanting to talk about ones powers was something he could relate to, even if that was all people at the mansion did at times.

Kevin thought about it, then he shrugged. "Ah dunno. Don' really make much difference t'me, actually. Ah was jus' thinkin' if Ah managed this sorta sculpture o' 'Vette that'd be kinda interestin' if 'er hair was actually metal. Tha's all."

Tommy couldn't help a small smile. "I can do a red-gold really easy, if ya want?"

Kevin immediately grinned. "Yeah, that'd be great. Figure Ah can jus' use a red stain on tha rest an' paint a little bit o' it like her eyes an' details. Gotta finish it firs' though."

"Bring it by when you are and I'll gladly help. And I'll let you get on with it." He gave Kevin a friendly grin before turning to leave.

Kevin nodded at him with a smile that thanked Tommy on his behalf as he waved. "See ya."