xp_logs | Maya and Artie. Backdated to April 30th.

Artie stamped on the floor a couple of times as he entered the room to catch Maya's attention. "How you doing?" he asked, walking in and leaning against the wall.

Maya looked up as she felt the thump of the vibration from Artie's stamping.

"Angry," She signed with a wry grin.

Artie was one of the very few people at the mansion she could have a genuine sign conversation with, without having to slow down or work around gaps in their education. She hadn't realized how much being around people like herself mattered till she had to basically use her second language on a constant basis.

It wasn't anyone's fault, and she certainly wasn't about to be a piss baby about it but it was just nice to not need to try sometimes.

"You okay after your trip?"

He shrugged. "Food poisoning is food poisoning. It sucks and you mostly wish you were dead." It was a much more visceral statement when signed. "You angry about something new or the regular stuff?"

Maya shrugged and gestured to one of the chairs, they were scattered about the main common room, probably so students could have a place to talk or simply hang out. Right now she was commandeering the games machine and playing a particularly old game, the original Halo hadn't held up well against it's more modern counterparts, but she enjoyed it all the same.

"People keep treating this place like it's Fort Knox when it's more like a leaky boat that some old guy who likes to drink a lot takes out on the weekends to fish," Maya signed expressively, the seething anger visible in her hand gestures.

Artie shrugged. "There's a lot of layers of security that you don't see. It's a good third of our workload. And no-one ever said you're on house arrest. There's like six cars down stairs for student use as long as you're back for curfew and - don't even say it! If you weren't living here, you'd have to tell your guardian where you're going, too."

Maya gave him a look before she shook her head in exasperation and pressed pause on her game, this conversation was obviously going to take a little more time. Not that she resented it, she liked talking to Artie but she obviously had forgotten to tell him one of the things that went along with all the other lovely pieces of baggage that made up her life right now.

"I can't even get near a car without having a panic attack," she signed after she'd put down her controller and faced him again. "And that's not even what I'm talking about, because I can catch public transport and it's good."

She worried at a piece of twine that had come loose on her jeans before finally leaving it alone so she could continue.

"Wade showed me some of the security anyway, which helped by the way. It's more that, I don't know. It's like an itch in my brain I can't scratch, even though Haller's helping. I feel like I have to keep checking though, and sometimes it gets away from me."

Well, you need to get the hell over that already. "That must suck," Artie replied easily. "If you have to check, check but believe me when I say 'it's safer here than out there'. You know, with the mutant slavers, the sewer mutants, the bigots who would cheerfully shoot you at a 100 paces in case you explode and all the rest. You could try to not be a total dick about needing to check up on the security after someone got their hands chopped off totally not at the mansion though."

He paused. Was that too harsh? Nah.

"Smooth," Maya signed, before leaning back into the couch she'd ensconced herself on for much of the day. "Is this where we have a hallmark moment and I turn out to be the brat with a heart of gold who just needed a little love? Because I think I've got some odd coloured socks and a homeless dog around here somewhere. You're a little young to play the old Mr Rodgers guy though, so maybe we can skip the lectures? I already promised Wade I'd come to him next time I felt like this place was about to implode on itself through the sheer power of hope and dreams."

"I'm not being Mr Rodgers at you. He's nicer than me." and probably makes better choices.. "When I got angry about this place, I beat the hell out of some students and ran away to live with my mom under the Upper East Side. So, is there anything that would help before you go run away and live in the sewers? And I'm not talking about a little love." Artie leaned against the wall, hands resting at his sides.

"You're nice enough," Maya signed with a smile, he would have to be if he was still talking to her. "And I don't run, except that one time and that was just out to the woods for a night and doesn't count at all. Clint traumatized me with his complete inability to handle a little crush, and possibly some light stalking, but that was not in any way what I actually meant to do. Besides, I haven't talked to him since and I don't even care anymore. But anyway, no running, it's stupid and people get hurt and then you just look like a complete dumbass."

Artie nodded and clung to the one detail he could focus on without calling Maya out on some really weak running away, as all of X-Force had had to run a casino job the last time he'd done that, so you know, Maya still had nothing on him. "Clint?" He repeated the sign name - a hooked hawk beak - incredulously. "You had a crush on Clint? This guy? Walks like this?" Artie shifted, his body language mirroring Clint's for a moment. "He's 40."

“Sort of…I mean, he’s hot in an old guy sort of way and he was nice to me,” Maya signed with an embarrassed shrug, she didn’t like to think about how truly desperate for something to hang onto that she’d been when she first arrived. “And then he got freaked out and was an asshole, so crush avoided. It’s not like I control my hormones or anything – I’m still trying to get Bas to notice me and he seems completely clueless to the fact I want smoochy times as well.”

"Bas?" Artie looked at her incredulously. "Isn't he gay? I thought he was in a thing with Stephen but I guess you could try..."

Maya gave him an almost identical incredulous look and then shook her head sadly.

"I think maybe you just need to stop guessing people's sexuality, you're absolutely horrible at it," Maya signed. "I mean, I guess they could be bisexual but both of them also liked girls the last time I looked. I mean, if they're really into each other, I won't be a weird creeper about it, but I asked Clea about whether Bas was taken and she said he wasn't. I guess I could ask Bas specifically?"

Artie blinked at her. "That would never work."

“Why?” Maya signed, confused.

The eyeroll was audible. "Talking to people. Never works. Better to just give hints or ignore them totally." Artie paused for an instant and then added, "Just talk to him and don't be a dick, okay?"

"Since when am I ever a dick?" Maya signed, trying to look affronted but failing completely. "I promise I'll be gentle.

"Good. Boys are fragile."

Maya snorted at that, giving Artie another amused look. She wasn't sure she entirely agreed on the idea that boys, or men for that matter were all that fragile, no more then girls and women, surely? But who was she to know? Her biggest male influences currently were a paid mercenary with an obsession for tacos and a spy who got random food poisoning. Maybe add in another several spies and she was beginning to wonder if she was collecting some sort of set.

Maybe she could suggest Funko Pop figurines? North would probably wonder what the hell she was talking about.

"You any good at console games?" she signed.

"Try me, infant. I was playing them before you were born."