xp_logs | Meggan and Korvus (Backdated)

Korvus takes Meggan to Homecoming at ESU. Things are awkward at first, before they decide to dance and talk about various things, including powers and Halloween costumes.

Korvus knocked on the door to Meggan's room. He was slightly early, though he had read he should expect to wait longer than usual, out of politeness. Without much of an idea what to expect, he felt himself fidgeting more than usual. He had learned to stay still, calm his thoughts, relax his body; at the moment he seemed unable to do any of that and it made him curious. He rocked on his feet, his palms were unusually damp, and his mind strayed from the VW Beetle improvements he had in mind toward self consciousness. He couldn't imagine how terrifying this would be if he hadn't spent years with his meditation techniques.

Meggan straightened a practically nonexistent wrinkle from a ruffle in her dress, when she heard Korvus’ knock. She was fixating on all the little things, and didn’t know why she was so nervous. “I’ll just be few more seconds, I promise,” she quickly called to him. Once she found the right drawer it was hiding itself in, Meggan put the put the finishing touches on the ensemble by hurriedly putting on her bracelet. With the silver and purple, it matched nicely—which was half of how she’d picked out the dress, after it had provided some inspiration as to what exactly she was looking for. A quick deep breath to relax, half a technique she’d been taught, and she opened the door. “Hi, Korvus,” she smiled. “Sorry, I needed to find something. But I’m ready now.” She hoped he liked the dress. She liked how he was dressed.

"You look wonderful." Korvus said with a smile as he offered her his arm. "This Homecoming will be better for having you there." He looking down occasionally when he feared he was looking at Meggan too much. He wanted her to be comfortable and not leering at her was certainly part of that.

Meggan was relieved, and slightly intrigued at how nervous they were both feeling. She had never been to a Homecoming before, so she hoped the dress was the right type. If he liked it, though, then it didn’t matter. “Thank you, that’s very nice of you to say,” she said with a small grin as she took his arm. With how he kept looking at her like that, she was beginning to think she had chosen a prettier dress than she thought.

"I am not familiar with the level of formality Homecoming requires but I am afraid to say I do not have the resources to provide a limousine. I believe we will be traveling with the rest of the residents in the manner the school has provided." Korvus didn't think Meggan cared about things like that but he wasn't familiar with how mandatory some of the customs he had seen and read about were.

She hadn’t even been thinking about that. “You don’t have to have a limo for getting to dances. At least not that I’ve ever seen or heard about. Normal cars with friends are good,” Meggan quickly reassured him. For her, it felt better. She would be worried about messing up the fancy cars. In the old movies she had watched where people were trying to get to a homecoming or prom, people just drove their regular old cars. “I think the biggest of the formalities are probably the dresses and suits, but that’s more out of wanting to have a night of fun than extremely strict rules.”

"Fun certainly is my primary concern." Korvus agreed as he escorted Meggan out to meet up with the rest of the group.

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"I do not believe we are acting appropriately." Korvus observed softly, leaning closer to Meggan to be heard as they sat at a table overlooking the dance floor. "Everyone is either dancing or kissing however we are doing neither. I am not familiar with American dance... or kissing of any variety. This may not have been the best venue for a first date. I can not play to my strengths here."

“Sorry about that. But I’m not too familiar with that dancing, either,” Meggan replied apologetically. She watched in amusement as an older person—possibly a teacher from the college—jitterbugged on by. “It doesn’t have to be good dancing, though, right? Or whatever the newest type is, or even American. It just needs to be fun, without any feet being hurt in the doing of it.” One part of what he’d said suddenly sunk in, and she was temporarily at a loss to what else to tell him. “There doesn’t have to be kissing. There can be talking.” Or finding snacks, but that didn't occupy a very long time at all.

"I am good at talking." Korvus said with a smile, silent for a moment until a slow song came on. He stood and offered his hand. "I have been watching and believe we can talk as well as dance to this. It does not look complicated, I do not believe we could do it incorrectly."

Dancing slowly had to be easier than the fast ones, Meggan mused as she took his hand. “Both sounds great.” They wouldn’t just be staring at others having more fun than them. “There’s not an incorrect way to do it, no,” she laughed. Listening for a moment, she decided that she liked this song, whatever it was.

After leading her out to the floor, Korvus turned, stepped in, and rested his hand on her lower back while offering his left. "Since I chose the song, you may wish to choose the topic of conversation."

A moment, while they got into position. She tried to come up with something once certain no feet were going to be crushed in the doing of the dance. Would powers be a bad topic of conversation? Best way to get to know a little more about him, without accidentally touching on any bad memories, she hoped. “Maybe some getting to know each other better questions. Power stuff first? When you use your strength, does it make you sleepy? Did it ever? I just wondered. Because it can make Molly sleepy,” she clarified after a moment.

Korvus shook his head, "I do not find it any more physically taxing to lift a ton or more than I did previously when my mutation had not manifested and I could not lift more than a few hundred pounds." One of the things he did know about America was their use of the Imperial measuring system, rather than metric. "I can now also run at speeds equivalent to a standard person's sprint for distances approaching a marathon with no more difficulty than I would have previously had running only a couple miles at a moderate pace."

People would be ending a marathon, exhausted and falling over, while he kept on going like the Energizer Bunny. That was impressive, and gave Meggan at least one more question. If he didn’t get easily winded, how long could he last underwater? “Right. With that endurance...could you hold your breath for a much longer time than most people? Like when you're swimming? When your head’s under?” She shook her head, and grinned. “I was just curious, since I can make gills if I need to.”

"I have stopped myself from breathing for up to fifteen minutes." Korvus nodded to confirm. "Make gills? I have not asked about your capabilities. Would you please share?"

Meggan nodded. “Right, of course I’ll share. I really should have told you about it earlier.” Somehow, it had fallen by the wayside. At least it hadn’t been surprise gills in the pool, to accidentally confuse or upset him. “I’m an empathic shapeshifter. It means I can feel what other people feel even if there are still some that I might have trouble knowing when I sense them, and I can change what I look like. Like with fur or feathers or different colors…different hair. Part of that is gills, but I can only do those for an hour, before it's uncomfortable—some of it’s that I can float.”

"Heightened empathy would not always be pleasant, I do not imagine. Shape shifting would be fun, however. Many more possibilities than are available to me." Korvus offered with a smile. He wasn't sure if people often complimented a mutation but he wanted to be polite.

“Sometimes it isn’t, when the emotions are the nastier kind. But it’s good to have.“ She wouldn’t know what to do if she couldn’t feel everyone else, what with having had it as far back as she could remember. “It’s fun to play with the shapeshifting,” Meggan had to admit. “Need to change your hair’s style for Halloween? No messy chemicals or gel. Using gills in the pool is relaxing…so long as I warn people so nobody thinks there’s someone stuck on the bottom. But yours sound fun, too.”

"They are practical." Korvus said with a smile. "There is something to be said for the benefit provided but my mutation is not as..." He thought for a moment, "Fun."

Korvus shifted a bit as the slower song gave way to something more romantic. Nervous about how to approach, and how everyone else on the floor grew closer to their partners, he stepped in just a little. "I like blond for your hair. It is exotic."

Meggan blinked at that, trying not to react by instinctively backing off a little as he drew closer. It was just a case of nerves again, she knew that. It would be rude, and this was nice. Really nice, come to think of it, and the song was pretty. “Really, you think so? Thank you. I like it, too.” She’d never thought it was exotic. Maybe the shade was for him, but it was oddly flattering and sweet. “It’s only going white and fluffy for Halloween night,” she said softly. “For my costume, and then it’s…popping back to this shade. Immediately. There will be blonde.”

"I have read about Halloween. What is it you will dress to emulate?" Korvus asked curiously. He found the practice odd but fascinating. The conversation helped him calm his nervousness, something he felt spreading to her by the tension in her back.

“I’m going to be a unicorn for the night,” she smiled. Good tension breaker he'd thought of. “One from a book, called The Last Unicorn.” Which she had given another read through of all the descriptions of the creature, shortly after stumbling across Korvus in the library. “It’s Amalthea, when Schmendrick had her halfway transformed into a human. So I just need to shapeshift for the fluffy hair mane combination and some white fur on my hands and a few other spots. Find a horn that fits, and the right sort of tail and white tights, and it should be finished.” Making her hands into hooves just wasn’t going to work, so it was white fur for that portion. She suddenly wondered if he was going to be anything. “Are you going to…emulate something, too?”

"I do not know what would be appropriate. I do not have any personal experience with Halloween." Korvus admitted, looking down a bit. "It is more difficult to adjust than I had anticipated. Many social things are so very different."

“A lot of costumes are appropriate that wouldn’t be any other night,” Meggan offered. “At least from what I’ve seen.” She was positive he wasn’t anywhere near small enough to work as Schmendrick, so that was immediately off the table. “I could help you find something. If you like. A lot of people will help you with suggestions, too, if you ask on the journals.” She just wanted him to feel better.

"Help would be very much appreciated." Korvus accepted gladly. "I do not know which American popular culture icons would suit me."

“Then you’ll have help. We’ll find something,” Meggan promised him. Could Conan work? She wasn’t sure, and the character probably didn’t wear enough to suit Korvus. “Maybe something historical, if you want.” There had to be something that would work, she just knew it. “It doesn’t have to be pop culture…or not just American pop culture. You could be anything, even a cake.” She was only half joking about the cake. She’d seen some funny costumes on the racks.

Korvus laughed softly at the joke. "I do not believe I would make good food. I am a fan of history, however."

Meggan realized it couldn’t hurt to suggest her previous idea, though, if he didn’t have any other options yet. It was almost historical. “What about Conan? From the movie. You wouldn’t need much to make the costume complete, maybe just a plastic sword and a tiny outfit that looks furry.”

"I have not seen the movie but he is a very famous literary character. He would be a fun character to portray." Korvus agreed with a smile.

“He would be, yes! Good, we can find something for you later,” Meggan declared, delighted to have helped. “There might be the right kind of sword back at the school, too. Or if you suddenly think of another costume that works, too, we can do that.” She wasn’t sure if the Conan outfit had changed from the book to the 80’s movie to the remake, but she could always check it out and see.

"Conan will be exciting. I look forward to it." Korvus said, keeping his smile. His mind raced as he tried to find something else to say as the slow songs continued, finding himself only to be awkwardly silent and more nervous as his mind failed him.

“So do I.” Since it would be his first time, Meggan truly hoped he would have fun on Halloween. When the next slow song started up, she thought it sounded familiar. “Oh, I think I know this one. It was on a jazz station that I ran across one day, I just never caught the title. It’s beautiful.” Maybe it was Norah Jones? She was almost certain that was her name. As with almost all of the others, it worked great for slow dancing.

"Then we will continue dancing." Korvus said, soft and polite. He certainly did seem to be enjoying himself despite his intense nervousness. As time passed he grew more comfortable as they danced. "I have yet to reach this kind of music in my studies."

Meggan liked dancing with him. Suddenly, she asked, “Do you like it? This type of music, I mean, from what you've heard so far,” she clarified. “Or is it too quiet for you?” There were so many types of music out there, he would be in for an awful lot of studying.

"It is my goal to enjoy all types of music. Judgments of goodness are something we as listeners apply to the music, not an inherent value. I do not believe they improve the experience but detract from it..." Korvus smiled, paused as he watched her, realized he rambled, and quickly clarified. "It is pleasing."

“Pleasing and soothing,” Meggan agreed with a small smile. “That’s a very good goal, too, even if there are sometimes certain things that don’t sound so nice as this. At least you’ll have tried it.” Bagpipes came to mind for the other end. The Not Soothing category. That would just be a strange extreme, though, and it wasn’t even a type of song, but an instrument. So she kept that one to herself.

"I admit it is difficult to accept the truth that things should only be experienced from what they are and not judged. I have not enjoyed seeing the other present women so much as I have enjoyed seeing you." Korvus offered his compliment. He had never dated but a compliment seemed like a good thing to say when he couldn't come up with anything else.

Meggan was slightly surprised by the compliment, but it was good to hear it straight from him. She didn’t know why it had surprised her, she just had. For a moment. “Thank you,” she replied. “I’ve really enjoyed being with you tonight, too. It’s been great. And seeing you, too.” What else could she say? It was the truth.

"I still believe you would have preferred me at the pool." Korvus revisited teasingly. "Despite having been born into affluence, I perform more admirably in casual situations."