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xp_logs2008-10-26 11:52 am
x-aerial.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2008-10-26 11:52 am
Crystal and Nathan - Food for Thought
Crystal follows a royal command to ensure that Nathan is fed.
Crystal arrived at the boathouse, hoping that Nathan was in. Next to her floated a few small boxes, wrapped food and drink inside. Gusts of winds sounded a knock upon the boathouse door, and Crystal waited to see whether or not the door would open. Her mind wandered back to the only other time she had played this role, that of food-bringer at the mansion, recalling that that time too it had been Nathan whom she had fed.
"Come in," was the distracted-sounding reply.
The door opened in front of her and Crystal walked in, the boxes trailing behind her. "I have brought food for you," Crystal announced when she caught a glimpse of Nathan. "I do not know whether or not you have eaten today, but given your past history when it comes to stressful situations and eating, Medusa has set upon me the duty of ensuring that her friend is fed."
"Even from half a world away," Nathan said, a wry edge to his voice as he set the memory crystal back on the the shelf. "You'd think she'd have other things on her mind."
"She and Blackagar and Ahura are fine where they are," Crystal said, the boxes settling down on the kitchen counter. "Medusa is concerned about the people here. Being almost an entire ocean away does not mean that someone ceases to care about others." The young blonde began to unpack the items from the boxes, taking out a variety of sandwiches as well as a container with stew, a thermos of soup, and a large plastic baggie with salad.
"I really don't have an army stashed out here," Nathan said, coming over to stand on the other side of the kitchen counter. "Just me. And on the subject of distant family - I'm glad Moira and Rachel are on Muir Island right now."
"You have spoken with them, I assume?" Crystal moved about the kitchen, taking out plates and bowls and placing them next to the assorted food items.
"Of course." As much good as that did. Bad enough to be going into a situation like this, but without even the chance to say goodbye properly, to see them...
"That is good," Crystal said. "They are safe, and you do not have to worry about them being in New York right now. Now, are you going to choose what you want to eat or is it necessary for me to choose your exact menu myself? As you have noted, there is enough food here to feed an army, and we are only two people, so there is plenty of food for the both of us."
Nathan made a face and claimed a bowl of pasta salad, going over and sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'm glad they're safe. I still wish they were here. You don't say goodbye properly when you expect it to be just for a weekend."
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "'Goodbye'? You do not mean to imply a permanent goodbye do you, Nathan? Perhaps the weekend apart is a longer weekend than originally anticipated, but that is what it is. Perhaps you will see them tomorrow afternoon, and perhaps it will not be until the following day or the day after that, but you must believe that you will see them again. You have survived so much already, and yes, I do realize that there is a definite chance that you or another X-Man will not return after you leave the mansion to wage battle against this so-called Apocalypse, but that is then and this is now and it is hard for me to believe that you would wish to go out and fight thinking that you will not see them again."
"That's a cheerful and pedantic way of summing up the situation." His tone wasn't sharp, even if the words could have been. "The last time I went out with the X-Men, Crystal, it was a simple investigative mission - and I was in a coma for a month."
"Forge went out to pick up a student and he was attacked by dead animals," Crystal replied calmly, putting food on a plate for herself. "He went out to get another student and he suffered serious injuries and spent the summer recovering from what happened to him. Being an X-Man is dangerous, yes. I do not have to be an X-Man to understand this concept."
"You're missing my point," Nathan said curtly, pushing at the food with a fork. "And stating the obvious. Do you think you need to tell me, of all people, that this job is dangerous? Or that I need to be reminded of Forge's recent experiences to know that?" He stabbed at a piece of pasta, then set it down. "I nearly died three months ago doing something that was supposed to be straightforward. Tonight I'm headed into a war zone - and that's something else I've seen far, far too much of in my life. I don't expect to die - I don't want to die, but I wanted to hold my wife and daughter before I left, and I can't."
Crystal shook her head and sighed softly. That hadn't been what she'd meant at all, she certainly hadn't been trying to remind Nathan of the dangers of being an X-Man. "I am sorry that you are unable to do this, Nathan."
His voice was maybe very slightly softer as he went on. "I know everyone has family and friends that they leave behind. I'm not special in that way. But Rachel's so little, still." So young, and every time he thought of not being there for her - thoughts that had loomed a little bit larger since this summer - it tore at his heart. "Do you know what I was doing when you came in? Putting a message in the memory crystal Forge made. For her. Just in case."
"I would say that this is a good idea, but not because of the current situation," Crystal told Nathan, poking the food on her plate. "Whether one is on an X-Man mission, walking down a street, or simply minding his or her own business in the supposed safety of a home, something can happen. All ends do not come about when someone knows that he or she is in a dangerous situation." Her parents, for instance. No one had seen that one coming, except for Maximus and Cortez, and they had been the ones to plan it.
Nathan just raised an eyebrow at her - and poked at his pasta salad again. "Again with the logic, Crystal," he said, and tried to convince himself that yes, eating would be good.
Crystal arrived at the boathouse, hoping that Nathan was in. Next to her floated a few small boxes, wrapped food and drink inside. Gusts of winds sounded a knock upon the boathouse door, and Crystal waited to see whether or not the door would open. Her mind wandered back to the only other time she had played this role, that of food-bringer at the mansion, recalling that that time too it had been Nathan whom she had fed.
"Come in," was the distracted-sounding reply.
The door opened in front of her and Crystal walked in, the boxes trailing behind her. "I have brought food for you," Crystal announced when she caught a glimpse of Nathan. "I do not know whether or not you have eaten today, but given your past history when it comes to stressful situations and eating, Medusa has set upon me the duty of ensuring that her friend is fed."
"Even from half a world away," Nathan said, a wry edge to his voice as he set the memory crystal back on the the shelf. "You'd think she'd have other things on her mind."
"She and Blackagar and Ahura are fine where they are," Crystal said, the boxes settling down on the kitchen counter. "Medusa is concerned about the people here. Being almost an entire ocean away does not mean that someone ceases to care about others." The young blonde began to unpack the items from the boxes, taking out a variety of sandwiches as well as a container with stew, a thermos of soup, and a large plastic baggie with salad.
"I really don't have an army stashed out here," Nathan said, coming over to stand on the other side of the kitchen counter. "Just me. And on the subject of distant family - I'm glad Moira and Rachel are on Muir Island right now."
"You have spoken with them, I assume?" Crystal moved about the kitchen, taking out plates and bowls and placing them next to the assorted food items.
"Of course." As much good as that did. Bad enough to be going into a situation like this, but without even the chance to say goodbye properly, to see them...
"That is good," Crystal said. "They are safe, and you do not have to worry about them being in New York right now. Now, are you going to choose what you want to eat or is it necessary for me to choose your exact menu myself? As you have noted, there is enough food here to feed an army, and we are only two people, so there is plenty of food for the both of us."
Nathan made a face and claimed a bowl of pasta salad, going over and sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'm glad they're safe. I still wish they were here. You don't say goodbye properly when you expect it to be just for a weekend."
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "'Goodbye'? You do not mean to imply a permanent goodbye do you, Nathan? Perhaps the weekend apart is a longer weekend than originally anticipated, but that is what it is. Perhaps you will see them tomorrow afternoon, and perhaps it will not be until the following day or the day after that, but you must believe that you will see them again. You have survived so much already, and yes, I do realize that there is a definite chance that you or another X-Man will not return after you leave the mansion to wage battle against this so-called Apocalypse, but that is then and this is now and it is hard for me to believe that you would wish to go out and fight thinking that you will not see them again."
"That's a cheerful and pedantic way of summing up the situation." His tone wasn't sharp, even if the words could have been. "The last time I went out with the X-Men, Crystal, it was a simple investigative mission - and I was in a coma for a month."
"Forge went out to pick up a student and he was attacked by dead animals," Crystal replied calmly, putting food on a plate for herself. "He went out to get another student and he suffered serious injuries and spent the summer recovering from what happened to him. Being an X-Man is dangerous, yes. I do not have to be an X-Man to understand this concept."
"You're missing my point," Nathan said curtly, pushing at the food with a fork. "And stating the obvious. Do you think you need to tell me, of all people, that this job is dangerous? Or that I need to be reminded of Forge's recent experiences to know that?" He stabbed at a piece of pasta, then set it down. "I nearly died three months ago doing something that was supposed to be straightforward. Tonight I'm headed into a war zone - and that's something else I've seen far, far too much of in my life. I don't expect to die - I don't want to die, but I wanted to hold my wife and daughter before I left, and I can't."
Crystal shook her head and sighed softly. That hadn't been what she'd meant at all, she certainly hadn't been trying to remind Nathan of the dangers of being an X-Man. "I am sorry that you are unable to do this, Nathan."
His voice was maybe very slightly softer as he went on. "I know everyone has family and friends that they leave behind. I'm not special in that way. But Rachel's so little, still." So young, and every time he thought of not being there for her - thoughts that had loomed a little bit larger since this summer - it tore at his heart. "Do you know what I was doing when you came in? Putting a message in the memory crystal Forge made. For her. Just in case."
"I would say that this is a good idea, but not because of the current situation," Crystal told Nathan, poking the food on her plate. "Whether one is on an X-Man mission, walking down a street, or simply minding his or her own business in the supposed safety of a home, something can happen. All ends do not come about when someone knows that he or she is in a dangerous situation." Her parents, for instance. No one had seen that one coming, except for Maximus and Cortez, and they had been the ones to plan it.
Nathan just raised an eyebrow at her - and poked at his pasta salad again. "Again with the logic, Crystal," he said, and tried to convince himself that yes, eating would be good.