Log: [Jean, Haller] Avoidance by the lake

[x-legion.livejournal.com]

Jean goes for a walk in the wrong area, Haller brings a knife to a gunfight, and the two psis almost talk about their problems.



It was just as well the weather was still on the chilly side; while being near the lake wasn't particularly noteworthy, in warmer weather there would have been more people around to ask why she was crouched behind a shrub. Theoretically this fell under the aegis of a stamina-building exercise. In practice, certain parts of her acknowledged it was more likely to become a cautionary tale.

Her lips curled in a grin at the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was about to be drafted into the position of training partner.

Jean was out for a walk. The grounds were extensive enough as to be able to walk for awhile and still not see civilization. She came upon the lake, half frozen, and took a moment to stare out over the view.

A curious sensation made her turn her head, however, just before what easily felt like a gallon of ice cold water came raining down over her head.

Jean paused in the aftermath, completely drenched, face impassive before she narrowed her eyes with the Look of Death (TM).

Cyndi felt the water hit and risked a peek over the top of the shrub to see who the target had been. She held it long enough to garner impressions of "female," "red hair," and, after a moment of putting the two together, "now probably willing to facilitate your assisted suicide". Somewhere in the back, Jim covered his face with his hands and started composing a letter of apology.

On the other hand, since it was already too late . . .

Yards away a portion of water appeared to run up the shore, flowing uphill an inch above the actual turf. As they neared Jean the stream split into a myriad of slender eddies, each snaking towards the woman's feet like threads of a web.

Jean cocked her head to the side as the water headed her way. She's caught sight of the culprit, both in body and mind, and waited patiently until the water got just close enough to her penny loafers suddenly taking control of the water and sending it rushing Cyndi's way along with some wet sand from the lake shoreline.

"It's not nice to splash people with water, Cyndi. Especially when those people can do it right back," she said with a smile on her lips.

There was a yelp and the lanky telekinetic out from behind the bush, clawing at the back of her neck. "Hey, uncool! No fair using solids!" Cyndi made a face at Jean, scraping cold sand from her shirt collar.

Jean grinned, her hair wet with chunky red curls. Droplets of water clung to her face. It made her very cold but you wouldn't think it.

"Just like it's fair to splash unsuspecting people with water? I call it karma, sweetie."

"Oh please, it's totally training -- it's not like villains will, like, wait for us in the Danger Room," Cyndi lied shamelessly, making a show of rubbing the sand from her palms. "Or, y'know -- play fair."

A plume of fire ignited in the air about six feet from Jean's face at precisely the moment Cyndi released her hold on the water she'd managed to divert and then hold several yards over the woman's head.

Jean's eyes widened and the surprise of the fire combined with the water nearly knocked her off her feet. The water paused midair for a moment or two as if time stopped, before Jean lifted her head and sent the water rushing back toward Cyndi.

"Perhaps. But we're not in the danger room."

Cyndi beamed. "Touche, and ole!" she said, handily slinging the water back to Jean in a solid corkscrew only a notch below the pressure of a fire-hose. Jim was giving her a lecture about respect and Jack was informing her he wouldn't be shielding against anything that resulted from her own stupidity, but Cyndi was finding this water stuff to actually be fun. The primary downside of fire was that the few people who could handle tended not to appreciate the need for a new uniform afterwards.

For now, Jean was humoring Cyndi. Haller must've been stressed about something. But being soaked and freezing was not bringing back fond memories, so her patience was gradually waning.

The cork screw hit the equivalent of an invisible, or even a glass dome, the water spraying around Jean and gushing down behind her, spraying off some snow still on the ground to reveal the dead grass underneath.

"So this means, when you say powers training means not playing fair...." she said as she lifted Cyndi off the ground by her ankle to dangle her upside down, a smile on her face as she floated her over to the lake and held her over it.

"This also applies to both parties."

"Aw, for the love of -- fine, fine, I give." Sullenly, Cyndi crossed her arms and looked as defiant as one could while being dangled over a topographical feature. Her green eyes met Jean's own for a moment, then rolled away. One free foot kicked in irritation. "God, it's like team policy to drop me into a body of water."

"Think of it as initiation," Jean mused with a smile, yet she still wasn't letting her down.

"I need a promise." She'd taught enough students to know that just because she said she gave wasn't a guarantee.

Cyndi's mouth twitched to the side in displeasure, but she finally heaved a gusty sigh. "Okay, I promise. I will stop having fun and exploring my potential and possibly promoting pneumonia." The telekinetic's eyes unfocused, then closed. When they opened again one was blue and the other brown.

"And I'm back now," said Haller in a different voice, letting his arms uncross and dangle so his knuckles almost touched the surface of the lake, "so I can also promise you won't have to listen to any more clumsy attempts at justification. I'm sorry about that."

Jean brought him down gently, setting him back down on his feet.

"It's okay," she said with a smile. "Cyndi's...always interesting."

She ran her fingers through her hair to get some of the water out, no longer quite able to feel her fingers but close enough.

"And I think it would be grand idea for the both of us to head back inside and grab a towel. Sound good?" she said.

"Fine with me. In the meantime . . ." Jim gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged out of his coat, which he offered to her. "We caught most of the water. My inner pyromaniac can shiver through some penance."

"Thanks," Jean said with a chuckle as she took his coat and slipped it on, putting her hands on her pockets to warm herself up.

She walked in silence for a few moments as they made their way back to the mansion, listening to the snow crunch under her feet.

"So what's up?" she said, glancing over at him. Cyndi's appearance was a good signal of trouble in paradise.

"Nothing in particular." The younger man rubbed at the back of his head and added, "Nothing new, anyway. It really was intended to be training, but after major life-changes we just get a little . . ." Jim paused, then waved his hand dismissively. "I miss Betts, that's all. It's a little loose up here right now. It'll pass."

Jean smiled softly, then nudged him with her shoulder as they walked.

"There's a cure for that: copious amounts of alcohol."

She paused. "Well, it either cures it or makes it very bad."

Jim smiled and shyly returned the nudge. "Or first one and then the other. Though I'm up for it if you are, bearing in mind that we start to forget who I am when we drink." He hesitated, then glanced at her. He was always a reluctant to intrude on the other telepath's privacy, but he did wonder what had taken her out here alone. "How about you? How're you holding up?"

Jean shrugged. "I'm okay. Long couple of weeks, I suppose."

She glanced up toward the mansion with a rueful smile. "I guess you've heard Deathstrike's back."

"Yes -- oh." He hadn't really thought about it before, it had been before his time, but Deathstrike had been at Alkalai Lake. The place where Jean had been . . . lost. Jim looked at the redhead with new concern.

"I got the sense you'd been stressed since Madripoor," he said. "Amelia padlocking your office was a hint. Was it only because of what happened to the team, or are there other things, too?" He hesitated, then added, "Nightmares?"

Jean fell silent for a few moments, saying nothing, though that pretty much said everything.

Jim stopped and faced her. "Hey," he said, "you've been run pretty hard lately. Maybe you could take a break -- go to Alaska with Scott for a week or something. Just to rest and clear your head, you know? "

Jean stared at Haller a moment before stepping past him.

"I'll be fine. Once we find her and stop her."

He'd said something wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. The look in her green eyes had been unreadable. Had he offended her by suggesting she couldn't handle herself? Jean was among those who preferred to power through their issues, possibly matched only by her husband, but it was hard to tell. And while it was a little unusual that Jean had returned while Scott had stayed at the Annex, it wouldn't have been the first time the two of them had taken some time from one another, and he hadn't seen or heard anything to indicate they were having serious problems.

Whatever it was, he wasn't going to get it out of her. He could tell just from her body language. The best thing he could do now, before he said something really stupid, was to just back off.

Exhaling, Jim began to walk again. "Okay," he said. "But until then, I'm free if you want to talk, okay?" He gave her a crooked smile. "We know about nightmares."

"It's the same old, same old. Not much to talk about, "Jean said. They felt like a familiar tune she'd almost forgotten, but this time a few new elements had popped in with Deathstrike, making things a bit more lively.

"They'll pass. Can we please just talk about something else?"

"Okay." He wasn't sure he believed her, but they were nearing the mansion now. Jim decided to concede.

"By the way," he added, "thanks for humoring Cyndi. I'm sorry about the ambush, it's just that, well, Betsy left, and Lorna's gone to Muir, so I guess we're a little . . ." Lonely.

Jean walked in silence for a few moments before nodding. "I figured it had something to do with Betsy...but Lorna too...I'm sorry," she said. They hadn't done much talking since she returned. Perhaps that was her own doing. She hadn't really spoken much to her.

She didn't know what to say, just like she didn't know what to tell Lex. Were there perfect words? No, but she at least wanted to give them some comfort. Instead, she could think of nothing, nothing that rang true and just sounded like empty sentiment.

The younger man seemed to understand. It was fair enough, after all. With neither willing to put themselves forward it was almost as if they were two mirrors placed opposite one another: devoid of anything to reflect but the empty space between them.

Still, sometimes insight could be found even in empty reflection.

"To reiterate our own sage wisdom: it'll pass," Jim replied, giving Jean a half-smile. "It's true eventually." After a moment he added, "Though I still wouldn't mind giving copious amounts of alcohol a try."

Jean linked her arm within his with her own soft smile in return. "Then, my dear Haller, let's drink, drink like the wind."

Alcohol induced mindlessness, just what the doctor ordered.