xp_logs | Afternoon snack: Nate, Dom, and Rahne

Sometime Sunday afternoon before Dom talks to Xavier in the second half of this post. Nathan is showing Domino around the place and makes a stop in the kitchen. Nathan is teased. Both are fed oatmeal stuff, which seems to be an inevitable result of visiting a kitchen with Rahne in it.

There was a rather nice smell coming from the direction of the kitchen, Nathan noted as he led Domino in that direction. He half-expected to see Lorna at work, but was just as pleased to see Rahne cutting what looked like more of her oatmeal bars.

"Hey, Rahne," he said with a smile, honestly glad to see her. They hadn't had a chance to talk since their conversation in the gazebo, so he tried to put some of the gratitude he felt into his eyes as she looked up at him. "Rahne, this is Domino. Dom, Rahne."

Rahne smiled back and set her spatula down to offer her hand to Domino, if perhaps with a hint of nerves. She'd heard a little about this woman -- including rumors of airborne coffeepots -- but she rather doubted she'd done anything especially provoking, and apparently Domino and the Lady Moira were getting on better now. "Pleased to meet ye," she said. "If ye want any of these, have some...." She took in the half-filled plate and another cooling one with a wave of her hand, then grinned at Nathan. "I ken I talked of havin' made some for Amanda, but I doona think any made before she gets back will last long enough."

"Hi, Rahne," Domino said, shaking the girl's hand and giving her one of her more sincere smiles. Nathan had mentioned this one, and quite fondly. "They smell great," she said, swiping one of the bars - oatmeal, from the look of them - off the plate. She gave Nathan a sideways look. "Weren't you getting me a drink?" she said sweetly.

Nathan chuckled and went over to the refrigerator. There were several bottles of water in there, and he took one of them out, turning and handing it to Domino. "Having a good weekend, Rahne?" he asked.

"Aye. Kurt took me to church with him again, and I'll be checking on the next training date at the animal shelter.... Well, the next one when they can take children."

Domino blinked. Well, my goodness, she thought at Nate, and then nibbled at the oatmeal bar. "This is delicious, Rahne," she complimented the girl.

"Thanks." Rahne smiled. "Me and oatmeal are a bit of a running joke by now. And these're fun."

Nathan reached out and took one of the bars himself. "They're even better warm than they were cool," he said, after trying it. Domino was giving him that 'I'd be snickering at you if we didn't have an audience' look, and he made a face at her, then grinned at Rahne. "I've been having a good weekend," he confided, as if Dom wasn't standing there.

"I'm glad." She gave Domino and her expression an uncertain look.

"Sorry, Rahne," Domino said, turning her attention to the girl. "I'm just not used to seeing him mind his manners like this. The phrase 'pod person' keeps coming to mind."

"I'm fairly sure 'tis him," Rahne replied, straight-faced. "I havenae noticed any odd cocoons about."

"Constantly," Nathan said with a bit of a martyred look. "Constantly, women ganging up on me. I must just have one of those faces."

"Which faces would those be?" Domino asked, arching an eyebrow.

He blinked down at her. "The 'please gang up on me' faces?"

"Och!" Rahne protested, folding her arms and hmphing at him. "I said ye werenae a pod person."

"True," Nathan said cheerfully and stole another oatmeal bar. "I just have a persecution complex."

Domino laughed openly at him, and leaned back against the counter, popping the lid off the water bottle and taking a long sip before she did anything else. "So do you like it here, Rahne?" she asked curiously. "At the school, I mean?"

Rahne hesitated very slightly before saying, "Aye, pretty well. I've made some good friends here."

"Much different from where you came from?" Domino asked. She could tell just from the kid's accent that was Scottish, of course. There was a joke to be made about how the place rated two Scottish redheads, but she restrained herself nobly.

"Aye, a bit." Another small smile. "More hectic, usually."

"I've gotten that impression." Domino glanced at Nathan. "So I've seen the kitchen and sampled the local cuisine," she said briskly. "What next?"

Nathan shrugged. "Rest of the tour," he said easily, and then smiled down at Rahne again. "We'll get out of your way, let you finish up," he said. "Thanks for the snack."

"Any time." She tilted her head and grinned suddenly. "Let me know if ye want to come along to the animal shelter." Unlikely, perhaps, but who knew?

"I'll... think about it," Nathan said a bit uncertainly, surprised by the suggestion.

Domino snickered and poked him in the arm. "It would probably do you good," she pointed out, and then grinned at Rahne. "Nice to meet you," she said, and swiped one last oatmeal bar.