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xp_logsAfter a night in the hell that was sun-shiny-happy-land, Fourteen just wants to be left alone. At least, that's what she thinks. Jubilee is there to make everything even more complicated.
14 had pulled Celeste out of the meeting just as soon as she could. She didn't want to hear empty sympathy from people who didn't care. She'd gotten a few passing "You okay?"s as she walked through the halls. She knew they were mostly out of politeness. A nod and a small "I'm fine" would generally send most people off to check on someone else
Everyone had somebody more important to worry about, it seemed.
There were at least two groups that she knew of that had gone off on their own direction, doing whatever they needed to deal with what had happened that night. She hadn't been invited to either. She hadn't expected to be, but still. It hurt, just a little.
She maneuvered Celeste towards the mansion's ballroom, where her other selves were already waiting. She needed to do something, anything really, to pull herself back together. She kept telling herself she was okay. Eventually, she'd believe it.
She threw the doors open and walked over to a small table in the corner. She'd already had Irma set up a chessboard and made the first move (pawn to e4). Off to the side, Esme was checking over the piano, while Phoebe had claimed a large open area and was working through her Tai Chi.
Black pawn to e5, and 14 let herself get lost in ebony and ivory.
Jubilee realized that someone was already using the front parlor before she even entered the room, piano music plus the sounds of movement obvious signs.
She wandered in anyway, violin case gripped under one arm as she opened the door.
"Oh," she exclaimed - seeing several of the new students who she had not yet met formally. "Hey there, you mind if I come in?"
Esme hit the wrong note at the sound of someone else entering the room. At least it was a better question than the standard 'Are you okay?'
She was just tired of dealing with people, but even more tired of not dealing with them. (White pawn to f4). Even Phoebe and Irma couldn't muster up anything more than a detached sort of apathy. It was just... whatever.
(Black pawn takes pawn ef4.)
"No. Help yourself."
It'd be nice to pretend someone cared, even if just for a minute.
"Thanks, you're the one called Esme, right?"
Jubilee set her violin case down on one of the small tables that littered the room and opened the clasps.
After a moment she pulled out the violin and the bow, settling it against her chin.
"Mmm," Esme grunted in agreement. (bishop to c4, black queen to h4) The piano slowly tapered off.
"You'll have to forgive Esme," Sophie said, not looking up from her book. "None of us slept very well last night."
"I heard about that," Jubilee noted, allowing the violin to rest on her shoulder for a moment. "Must have been a bit of a surprise, ending up somewhere you didn't expect without warning."
Sophie closed her book with a snap. (king to f1) "It's something we're getting more and more used to, it seems."
There was a quiet pause, then... "Do you know Brain Crain's 'Rain', by any chance?"
"Does a bear poop in the woods?" Jubilee said with a grin, and gestured for Esme to start. "It's been awhile since I played a duet, and my teacher was always going off at me about my lack of focus but I'm game if you are."
(black pawn b5) Esme made a noise vaguely sounding in the affirmative. "Just don't miss your cue."
Then the music started. It was sweet and high and reminded 14 of light rainfall and clouds and the earth at night. She had run through this song a hundred times before. There was no thought as she moved. B, A, B, G, D, bishop b5, black knight f6. It was all automatic, letting her mind fall away to the routine she'd done so many times before.
And then the violin started.
Jubilee was certainly no Lindsay Stirling, and it had been a long year - filled with things that made it impossible to practice, but despite all this her playing was adequate and she found it no significant problem to keep up with the music.
And after awhile, it was like nothing else mattered quite as much as listening for her next cue. It was something she'd been needing for awhile - a way to just let go, even if only for a moment.
Rook to g1, black pawn takes bishop cb5. Breathe in and out. Pawn to h4, queen to g6. Pawn to h5.... queen to... g5... and in...
Her force on the piano lessened. What had started with a total domination of piano was slowly tapering off, dialing back to let the violin shine through. Queen to f3. Both instruments took center stage in harmony, as equals. Black knight to g8.
Phoebe stopped mid-move, letting her arms fall to her side. Bishop takes pawn, f4.
Sophie closed her book, setting it on the table besides her. Black queen to f6.
Irma's next move (knight to c3) never came. Rain swept 14 away.
It was beautiful, and soothing and just what she'd needed for awhile. A moment of pure peace that needed no more from her then steady hands and a willingness to lose herself in the music.
Jubilee wondered briefly between notes if Kurt might like to hear her play; she'd not shown him this side of herself.
It was sweet and strong and absolutely breathtaking, but all good things must end eventually. As the last note faded out to silence, 14 felt... better. Better than she had in a long time. Esme especially felt just incredibly relaxed, smiling a smile that 14 had absolutely no say over. All five pairs of eyes were closed.
There was a long pause, as 14 just took in the moment. All good things must end.
"That is a very beautiful instrument," Esme said. "I'm glad its owner is so skilled."
"High praise," Jubilee noted but there was a smile in her eyes as well as the upturn of her mouth. "The instrument was a gift from an old friend, I lost her during M-day, but music helps me remember the parts of her she felt most defined her. So, if I were to ask, and like - no pressure, but what would define you?"
That was a hard, personal, and very private question. Esme cocked her head to the side.
"Tell me a secret," she said instead of answering. "Something only you know."
"I've got a lot of secrets, and I'll give you a safe one if you really want," Jubilee noted, curious despite the cynicism her regular job had almost trained into her. "But is there a reason you want to know?"
She was smart and cautious. 14 realized she might actually grow to like her.
"You asked a personal question with a private answer." Esme shrugged. "We're not against telling you, but it's a personal policy of ours not to exchange information for free. That's all."
"Not a bad policy to have," Jubilee mused, sorting through memories and trying to find something both appropriate for a teenager to know, and something she was willing to share. "Just don't let a desire for quid pro quo lead you away from true friends. So, something only I know. How about...I once was so nervous before a competition that my mother had to promise to buy me ice cream just to get me to attend. And not only did I completely suck, but I almost quit gymnastics entirely. If it hadn't been for Dad asking me to stick with it, I never would have."
It was interesting, 14 reflected, the things people gave away without realizing they'd done so. Still, an agreement was an agreement.
Knight to c3.
Esme closed the cover that protected the piano keys and leaned against it. "We were fourteen when we realized we were adopted," she said eventually. "It was obvious, in hind-sight. We looked nothing like our parents. But until our first day of high school... well." Black bishop, c5.
She trailed off. She might have already said too much, honestly. Why was she saying so much? This wasn't like her.
Not the worst story she'd ever heard but life had always been a case of relativity, just because you hadn't been made a magical battery at an early age didn't mean the shit you did go through wasn't tragic.
"Sucks, dude," Jubilee noted after a moment, "So did you confront your folks about it?"
Esme shrugged. Knight to d5. "Of course, for all the good it did us. There were empty platitudes and confessions and everyone went to bed upset. By the next day we'd all just pretended it hadn't happened."
It wasn't like anything had changed in that moment, after all. They were still her parents and she was still their daughter. It was possibly the only truly 'serious' fight they'd ever had.
Black queen to b2, takes white pawn.
"Did you want it to have changed things?" Jubilee asked, plucking out a tune on her violin, something silly and lighthearted, just like her or what she would have been had she not taken the paths she had. "Like, would you wanted anything in your early life to be different?"
"Why would we have wanted anything changed?" Celeste asked. 14 didn't understand. "If something had changed, we wouldn't be who we were now."
And she liked who she was now. It wasn't like she'd ever known anything different, after all. Sure, her immediate situation wasn't perfect, but that was changing quickly enough. She was getting her feet back under her and consolidating what little power she still had to grasp. She could use that, at the very least.
"Good to know," Jubilee said, changing her plucking to a sort of violin plucking version of scales after a moment. "Not everyone has that sort of realization."
Esme shook her head. Bishop to d6. "Never let it be said that people are intelligent creatures by nature. Always clinging to what ifs and could have beens. Always wondering what could have changed."
Black bishop to g1.
"People aren't all bad, although individuals can be decidedly stupid, as you say," Jubilee replied, before she opened the violin case she'd brought with her and placed the violin carefully within. "Remember to always look beyond the surface, though. Most everyone hides who they are to some degree. You're a telepath, right? So that's gonna be easier for you to read but it'll still be easy to not pay attention."
The irony nearly killed her. Speaking of which, pawn to e5. "I think we understand better than you could ever imagine." Secrets were her currency, to be bought and sold. And nobody ever just left money lying around when they could help it. Black queen to a1.
Check.
"I don't doubt it, although, like, spy and artist, so the imagination ain't entirely lacking," Jubilee replied with a grin that could only be described as sunny. "Still, how many moves you got left till Checkmate?"
14 made a show of studying the board. Despite the seemingly-overwhelming advantage for black (having just taken both rooks and surrounded the king on the far line), Celeste shook her head. "Bishop to g1 was a mistake. Mate for white in 3 moves?" She asked. Irma nodded.
"Why do you play?"
Jubilee nodded to the board, although she didn't think they'd need the visual queue. The girl's appeared quite observant on their own.
Irma shrugged. "Why does anyone play? We enjoy it. There hardly needs to be another reason, does there?"
"Good, then you won't mind if I ask to join you for a game?"
Jubilee preferred Go, to be honest, but Scott had taught her how to play chess back when he was vetting her for the X-men, before shed chosen a different path.
She had enjoyed the game, if not the need to prove herself.
Irma reset the board as Celeste stood and made room for Jubilee to play black, having pulled the thought from a quick surface scan. "Not at all. I warn you, though, Irma is very good."
"With or without her powers?" Jubilee asked, curious. She'd noted the automatic choice even before she'd made a preference known out loud. It wasn't that she was bothered by it, she'd been trained to make herself harder to read when it was needed, she had no problem with telepaths in general when she wasn't on a job.
If she'd had an issue, being around Emma would have been an exercise in discomfort.
Irma quirked a brow. "Without, of course. It'd hardly be a game any other way." Really, she should have been offended.
"Good to know," Jubilee replied before taking a seat. "I believe you are first move."
Excited at the chance of something new, Fourteen made her first move. The game was on.
14 had pulled Celeste out of the meeting just as soon as she could. She didn't want to hear empty sympathy from people who didn't care. She'd gotten a few passing "You okay?"s as she walked through the halls. She knew they were mostly out of politeness. A nod and a small "I'm fine" would generally send most people off to check on someone else
Everyone had somebody more important to worry about, it seemed.
There were at least two groups that she knew of that had gone off on their own direction, doing whatever they needed to deal with what had happened that night. She hadn't been invited to either. She hadn't expected to be, but still. It hurt, just a little.
She maneuvered Celeste towards the mansion's ballroom, where her other selves were already waiting. She needed to do something, anything really, to pull herself back together. She kept telling herself she was okay. Eventually, she'd believe it.
She threw the doors open and walked over to a small table in the corner. She'd already had Irma set up a chessboard and made the first move (pawn to e4). Off to the side, Esme was checking over the piano, while Phoebe had claimed a large open area and was working through her Tai Chi.
Black pawn to e5, and 14 let herself get lost in ebony and ivory.
Jubilee realized that someone was already using the front parlor before she even entered the room, piano music plus the sounds of movement obvious signs.
She wandered in anyway, violin case gripped under one arm as she opened the door.
"Oh," she exclaimed - seeing several of the new students who she had not yet met formally. "Hey there, you mind if I come in?"
Esme hit the wrong note at the sound of someone else entering the room. At least it was a better question than the standard 'Are you okay?'
She was just tired of dealing with people, but even more tired of not dealing with them. (White pawn to f4). Even Phoebe and Irma couldn't muster up anything more than a detached sort of apathy. It was just... whatever.
(Black pawn takes pawn ef4.)
"No. Help yourself."
It'd be nice to pretend someone cared, even if just for a minute.
"Thanks, you're the one called Esme, right?"
Jubilee set her violin case down on one of the small tables that littered the room and opened the clasps.
After a moment she pulled out the violin and the bow, settling it against her chin.
"Mmm," Esme grunted in agreement. (bishop to c4, black queen to h4) The piano slowly tapered off.
"You'll have to forgive Esme," Sophie said, not looking up from her book. "None of us slept very well last night."
"I heard about that," Jubilee noted, allowing the violin to rest on her shoulder for a moment. "Must have been a bit of a surprise, ending up somewhere you didn't expect without warning."
Sophie closed her book with a snap. (king to f1) "It's something we're getting more and more used to, it seems."
There was a quiet pause, then... "Do you know Brain Crain's 'Rain', by any chance?"
"Does a bear poop in the woods?" Jubilee said with a grin, and gestured for Esme to start. "It's been awhile since I played a duet, and my teacher was always going off at me about my lack of focus but I'm game if you are."
(black pawn b5) Esme made a noise vaguely sounding in the affirmative. "Just don't miss your cue."
Then the music started. It was sweet and high and reminded 14 of light rainfall and clouds and the earth at night. She had run through this song a hundred times before. There was no thought as she moved. B, A, B, G, D, bishop b5, black knight f6. It was all automatic, letting her mind fall away to the routine she'd done so many times before.
And then the violin started.
Jubilee was certainly no Lindsay Stirling, and it had been a long year - filled with things that made it impossible to practice, but despite all this her playing was adequate and she found it no significant problem to keep up with the music.
And after awhile, it was like nothing else mattered quite as much as listening for her next cue. It was something she'd been needing for awhile - a way to just let go, even if only for a moment.
Rook to g1, black pawn takes bishop cb5. Breathe in and out. Pawn to h4, queen to g6. Pawn to h5.... queen to... g5... and in...
Her force on the piano lessened. What had started with a total domination of piano was slowly tapering off, dialing back to let the violin shine through. Queen to f3. Both instruments took center stage in harmony, as equals. Black knight to g8.
Phoebe stopped mid-move, letting her arms fall to her side. Bishop takes pawn, f4.
Sophie closed her book, setting it on the table besides her. Black queen to f6.
Irma's next move (knight to c3) never came. Rain swept 14 away.
It was beautiful, and soothing and just what she'd needed for awhile. A moment of pure peace that needed no more from her then steady hands and a willingness to lose herself in the music.
Jubilee wondered briefly between notes if Kurt might like to hear her play; she'd not shown him this side of herself.
It was sweet and strong and absolutely breathtaking, but all good things must end eventually. As the last note faded out to silence, 14 felt... better. Better than she had in a long time. Esme especially felt just incredibly relaxed, smiling a smile that 14 had absolutely no say over. All five pairs of eyes were closed.
There was a long pause, as 14 just took in the moment. All good things must end.
"That is a very beautiful instrument," Esme said. "I'm glad its owner is so skilled."
"High praise," Jubilee noted but there was a smile in her eyes as well as the upturn of her mouth. "The instrument was a gift from an old friend, I lost her during M-day, but music helps me remember the parts of her she felt most defined her. So, if I were to ask, and like - no pressure, but what would define you?"
That was a hard, personal, and very private question. Esme cocked her head to the side.
"Tell me a secret," she said instead of answering. "Something only you know."
"I've got a lot of secrets, and I'll give you a safe one if you really want," Jubilee noted, curious despite the cynicism her regular job had almost trained into her. "But is there a reason you want to know?"
She was smart and cautious. 14 realized she might actually grow to like her.
"You asked a personal question with a private answer." Esme shrugged. "We're not against telling you, but it's a personal policy of ours not to exchange information for free. That's all."
"Not a bad policy to have," Jubilee mused, sorting through memories and trying to find something both appropriate for a teenager to know, and something she was willing to share. "Just don't let a desire for quid pro quo lead you away from true friends. So, something only I know. How about...I once was so nervous before a competition that my mother had to promise to buy me ice cream just to get me to attend. And not only did I completely suck, but I almost quit gymnastics entirely. If it hadn't been for Dad asking me to stick with it, I never would have."
It was interesting, 14 reflected, the things people gave away without realizing they'd done so. Still, an agreement was an agreement.
Knight to c3.
Esme closed the cover that protected the piano keys and leaned against it. "We were fourteen when we realized we were adopted," she said eventually. "It was obvious, in hind-sight. We looked nothing like our parents. But until our first day of high school... well." Black bishop, c5.
She trailed off. She might have already said too much, honestly. Why was she saying so much? This wasn't like her.
Not the worst story she'd ever heard but life had always been a case of relativity, just because you hadn't been made a magical battery at an early age didn't mean the shit you did go through wasn't tragic.
"Sucks, dude," Jubilee noted after a moment, "So did you confront your folks about it?"
Esme shrugged. Knight to d5. "Of course, for all the good it did us. There were empty platitudes and confessions and everyone went to bed upset. By the next day we'd all just pretended it hadn't happened."
It wasn't like anything had changed in that moment, after all. They were still her parents and she was still their daughter. It was possibly the only truly 'serious' fight they'd ever had.
Black queen to b2, takes white pawn.
"Did you want it to have changed things?" Jubilee asked, plucking out a tune on her violin, something silly and lighthearted, just like her or what she would have been had she not taken the paths she had. "Like, would you wanted anything in your early life to be different?"
"Why would we have wanted anything changed?" Celeste asked. 14 didn't understand. "If something had changed, we wouldn't be who we were now."
And she liked who she was now. It wasn't like she'd ever known anything different, after all. Sure, her immediate situation wasn't perfect, but that was changing quickly enough. She was getting her feet back under her and consolidating what little power she still had to grasp. She could use that, at the very least.
"Good to know," Jubilee said, changing her plucking to a sort of violin plucking version of scales after a moment. "Not everyone has that sort of realization."
Esme shook her head. Bishop to d6. "Never let it be said that people are intelligent creatures by nature. Always clinging to what ifs and could have beens. Always wondering what could have changed."
Black bishop to g1.
"People aren't all bad, although individuals can be decidedly stupid, as you say," Jubilee replied, before she opened the violin case she'd brought with her and placed the violin carefully within. "Remember to always look beyond the surface, though. Most everyone hides who they are to some degree. You're a telepath, right? So that's gonna be easier for you to read but it'll still be easy to not pay attention."
The irony nearly killed her. Speaking of which, pawn to e5. "I think we understand better than you could ever imagine." Secrets were her currency, to be bought and sold. And nobody ever just left money lying around when they could help it. Black queen to a1.
Check.
"I don't doubt it, although, like, spy and artist, so the imagination ain't entirely lacking," Jubilee replied with a grin that could only be described as sunny. "Still, how many moves you got left till Checkmate?"
14 made a show of studying the board. Despite the seemingly-overwhelming advantage for black (having just taken both rooks and surrounded the king on the far line), Celeste shook her head. "Bishop to g1 was a mistake. Mate for white in 3 moves?" She asked. Irma nodded.
"Why do you play?"
Jubilee nodded to the board, although she didn't think they'd need the visual queue. The girl's appeared quite observant on their own.
Irma shrugged. "Why does anyone play? We enjoy it. There hardly needs to be another reason, does there?"
"Good, then you won't mind if I ask to join you for a game?"
Jubilee preferred Go, to be honest, but Scott had taught her how to play chess back when he was vetting her for the X-men, before shed chosen a different path.
She had enjoyed the game, if not the need to prove herself.
Irma reset the board as Celeste stood and made room for Jubilee to play black, having pulled the thought from a quick surface scan. "Not at all. I warn you, though, Irma is very good."
"With or without her powers?" Jubilee asked, curious. She'd noted the automatic choice even before she'd made a preference known out loud. It wasn't that she was bothered by it, she'd been trained to make herself harder to read when it was needed, she had no problem with telepaths in general when she wasn't on a job.
If she'd had an issue, being around Emma would have been an exercise in discomfort.
Irma quirked a brow. "Without, of course. It'd hardly be a game any other way." Really, she should have been offended.
"Good to know," Jubilee replied before taking a seat. "I believe you are first move."
Excited at the chance of something new, Fourteen made her first move. The game was on.
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