xp_logs | Meggan and Jean (Backdated)

Lured by the promise of free donuts from Count Donutula’s, Meggan goes to pay Jean a visit. Self-defense, baked goods, and ninjas are the topics of discussion. Set a few hours before Meggan's first self-defense lesson with Wade.

At the promise of free pastries from Count Donutula’s, Meggan had quickly made her way over. No need to ask her twice, she knew how good they were. She had several hours before she needed to meet Wade for training, so there was more than enough time for the tasty treats. She certainly wouldn’t be hungry when she met up with him, fuelled by both lunch and however many there were in her teacher’s possession. Knocking, she poked her head in and waved. “Hi! Do you happen to have any bacon-maple or strawberry donuts hiding away in there? I love those.”

Jean opened up the box she'd bought, complete with the glassy-eyed looking doughnut vampire on the front.

"Just strawberry, I'm afraid. I think the bacon-maple was a unique flavor of the day," she said. She usually got extra in case anyone wanted any. And if she left it on the table in the kitchen unguarded that usually ensured them being gone within 15 minutes.

Plucking a simple glazed doughnut from the box, Jean took a bite and nodded toward the two glasses of milk she'd poured a couple of minutes earlier upon anticipating her arrival.

"So how've you been?"

Those were good doughnuts.

That was slightly unfortunate, but she still loved the strawberry ones the most. “Mmm,” Meggan hummed as she bit into the first one. Strawberry plus glaze was better than simply strawberry. “These are the best, better than before. Thank you.” She had managed to grab a sample before they disappeared in the kitchen once. Some donuts weren’t as good the second time around, but Count Donutula’s only improved with each visit.

She took a sip of the milk to wash it down, before answering. “I think I’m doing mostly good, really.” Between the nightmare drama and the other night, things had been strange, but they were getting better. At least she wasn’t hanging out with psychedelic hallucinations today, she could have missed out on this.

"I think they put something in the batter to make it addicting," Jean said as she tore off a piece and put in in her mouth.

She glanced up after a moment, frowning at the word 'mostly' but the rest sounded sincere. Mostly was better than not okay. It took time.

Finally nodding, Jean picked up the glass of milk and took a sip.

"I just...wanted to say I'm sorry, for what happened. For putting you, all of you, in that position."

Meggan had to agree, there must be something in the ingredients to make people flock to it each and every time they were available. They were so good, each bite better than the last. She blinked at the apology in the middle of another bite, and quickly swallowed so she could answer.

“But that wasn’t your fault,” Meggan replied, only momentarily puzzled. She didn’t even need to think about that, because it really wasn’t. “You didn’t do anything wrong, he was the one that did everything.” She blamed the man that had orchestrated the nastiness of those terrible nightmares, not her.

Jean glanced down, nodding a little. It's what everyone kept saying. But she still felt partially responsible, and if anyone felt the same way she wanted to be able to make it right.

"Still...I just thought I'd say it," she said, managing a soft smile. She nodded to her.

"So I read on the journals Wade is going to start teaching you self defense?"

Meggan understood her feeling that way, even if it wasn’t something that needed to be apologized for. It was just beyond her control.

It would have started yesterday, if she wasn’t tired and slightly headachy after that wacky night. “Yes,” she nodded. “He just wanted to teach me a few extra things. Kata, too. It's a good idea.” Kata sounded like something that would be fun figuring out, in addition to being useful.

"Kata," Jean repeated, nodding. The name sounded familiar, though not as familiar as she'd like. "Sounds interesting." So interesting she'd actually like to ask him about it.

She picked up another doughnut. "What other extra things?"

It was good he was teaching her. The body was more in tune with emotions than one would guess. To be able to control one's body seemed like a logical step in getting in tune with their emotions.

“For meditation, since it’s supposed to be soothing,” Meggan explained. That was a big plus for her. “For extra, it’s something with hand wraps--he brought me multi-colored ones. So he can teach me some moves safely, but without actual hitting.” While she had successfully punched Kyle in the nose, it was still a very good idea to learn more, and safely. She wouldn’t know what else he would be teaching her until she met up with him in the gym in a few hours. That was all up to him. Whatever he thought would be something she needed to know, if she didn’t already.

She picked another donut from the box. Ooh, there was some wonderful chocolate in the glaze of this one. They had the best recipes, an opinion that was only reaffirmed when she bit in.

Jean nodded. "Sounds like a good idea," she said, squinting into the box as she found all the glaze were gone.

"Hmmm," she said, picking up one with a napkin. "It seems they did put a plum one in."

She glanced back up with a broad smile. "So by the time you're done you'll be part ninja?" she mused, resting her chin in her hand.

Plum wasn’t Meggan’s favorite flavor. “Plum always manages to sneak into the box when you’re not expecting it,” she sympathized. Occasionally hidden beneath a glaze as a surprise, but not often.

That was a strange, but funny thought. “Oh, no, just a little better at defending. I don't think there are any throwing stars or smoke bombs in my future,” she said with a laugh. The only way for her to disappear like a ninja would be if she floated, and nobody thought to look up.

"Ah well, I'll leave it for an adventurous soul," Jean said, putting the doughnut back into the box, then laughed.

"I suppose that's more Kurt's schtick, at least the smoke part anyway."

Would it be cruel to leave the box open in the kitchen, for the unwary to nibble? It could be a bad surprise for someone expecting something else, so Meggan wouldn’t be the one to do it. “You’d think there would be a plum aficionado hiding around here somewhere,” she said before finishing off the remaining strawberry portion.

She nodded. “And the swords,” Meggan grinned. Kurt loved swashbuckling, so she could easily imagine that aspect. “They always have to have a katana, right? Kurt’s all set there.”

"I like plum," Jean said, then curled her nose. "But there's something about it being in a doughnut that isn't right. It must be the texture."

She took a drink of milk. "Hmmm...He also has the added benefit of being a deep shade of blue, so he would blend into the shadows nicely. If being an X-Man doesn't pan out he could definitely have ninja as a fall back."

It sounded similar to Meggan’s own opinion of peppers having anything to do with showing up in meatloaf. She didn’t like them there. “It’s like it’s just the wrong place to feel it. Surrounded by powdery, cakey donut or glaze, you’re anticipating the strawberry or chocolate, and…bam, there’s unexpected plum texture hitting your taste buds.”

Kurt might just be a wonderful ninja, since nobody would ever be able to spot him unless they were actively looking for him. He might have teleported away by then. “Oh, yes,” Meggan laughed. “Instead of just those throwing stars, he could carry a few bags of marbles on his belt, too. When he’s teleporting, if he’s missed pinning someone with the stars, then start the bad guys rolling off their feet. I don’t think that’s normally ninja arsenal, but he could start a trend?”

"Precisely," Jean said. "It's not as tangy as you'd expect, I suppose."

Meggan's description had her grinning before ultimately culminating in a laugh at the idea of men scrambling about like a cartoon before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

"After all, you may not want to pin the person, merely knock them down," she said as she rested her chin in her hand.

"If its not a trend it should be. We'll have to mention it to the Ninjas union. The next time I see Mr. Logan I'll have him mention it. I hear he has a few friends," she mused.

“Exactly,” Meggan nodded. “Have them tip over like bowling pins, but without hurting them.” It couldn’t be more than a bruise or five, if they ended up splayed on marbles, could it? Nothing major. “It’s more distracting, and very time consuming to get to firm footing. By then, Kurt’s gone again, and they’ve failed whatever it was that was their mission.” For whoever was left, free entertainment as the bad guys scrambled.

If the topic ever came up, she would love to see Mr. Logan's face. “That’ll be funny. If there is a Ninja Union, then it’s probably such a well kept secret that half of them don’t even know that it’s there. Because I can’t see ninjas sending out a mass e-mail on the topic, unless it’s extremely cryptic, with hidden messages everywhere.” She wondered if they had to perform a unique task to become part of the pretend union. Climb a tall mountain, and bring back a twig of a rare tree or a certain fruit. Mission accomplished, you’re in, and get benefits of some type.

"If they ever do, then that'll definitely be something to worry about," Jean mused. Glancing into the box, she leaned back.

"I think we're out."

Meggan had to agree with Jean on that one. All joking aside, secret messages in cryptic mass e-mails might make a ninja even more formidable.

Meggan looked over to the box, seeing only crumbs sprinkled here and there, if you ignored the one dreaded plum. It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, given how they tore into them. “Oh, so soon? I think that batch might have been the best they’ve ever made.”

Jean laughed, then grinned, resting her chin in her hand. "You know, you might want to see a doctor about this addiction you have to doughnuts."

“But it’s only a little one. Only for the Count’s, and not all the time, or I'd grow tired of them,” Meggan teased with a laugh. Not a bad addiction to have, really, and she wasn’t alone in it. The prescription would be fewer donuts, unless this doctor in question were also a huge fan of the things.

"Hmmm..." Jean said, sitting back thoughtfully. "It is very difficult to argue with that. If challenged the only doctors that might find this a problem are addicted to Twinkies and coffee, respectively, so they can't say much."

Meggan couldn’t help but smile at that admission. The Count’s pastries were better than Twinkies, but that was just her own opinion. “I wouldn’t do too much challenging, I promise.” Out of curiosity, she asked, “It’s the cream filling that’s the most addictive for the Twinkie lover, isn’t it?”

Gaze lazily drifting up to the ceiling, Jean tilted her head. "I think it's a combination of things, really. The cream filling is the best part but...I think the sponge cake helps too. The combination of sponge cake and cream filling seems to really draw people in. Or at least, so I've heard," she said with a wry, innocent smile.

"I'm more of a Ding Dong fan, myself."

Meggan had never tried more than one Ding Dong, but she could almost understand that appreciation. ”Oh, Ding Dongs. I think I’m more Ho Ho happy, even if the ones I tried were very close in taste,” she decided after a moment’s consideration. “Sometimes Sno Balls. The white ones with the coconut flakes.” She loved those little coconut shavings around Easter, but she could do without their cream filling.

"Hmmm, the sno balls have a bit too much marshmallow for my liking but I do like Ho Hos," Jean said, then laughed.

"I don't think I've ever spent a half hour talking about baked goods and ninjas."

Those thirty minutes had flown by for Meggan, helped along by the baked goods that had drawn her here in the first place. “Me, neither,” she chuckled, before drinking up the last of her milk. While she had had some unique conversations in the past, she was positive that none of them had ever featured the entertaining notion of Kurt as a master ninja setting trends as he defeated bad guys. It was so worth it, even if she hadn't been craving Count Donutula’s finest.