xp_logs | Monet and Nathan (backdated to April 23)

Nathan runs across a sun-worshipping Monet. Nathan expresses his feelings on the subject of her using ZombieManuel as her personal beautician. The subject of ethics is touched upon. Monet possibly learns something.

The sky was clear, the sun was high and the breeze was brisk. Monet sat comfortably on a bench enjoying the sunlight. Sat perhaps understates it. She sprawled. She lounged. She enjoyed herself with such determination, it made anyone looking at her feel both jealous and strangely convinced they could never lounge quite as well.

In a futile attempt to clear his head a little, Nathan had opted for some fresh air. It was a lovely day, but he was having a great deal of trouble relaxing enough to enjoy it. Between the lack of sleep, the worry about that damned package and the fact that his jaw and ribs hurt like a sonuvabitch this morning, he was really not in the best possible mood.

Monet sighed loudly. "Could you not stand in my sun?" She turned her sun-glass shielded eyes towards him. "Show ~some~ consideration."

Nathan jumped, then blinked at the girl sprawled on the bench several feet away. He hadn't even noticed her there. The lapse in attention didn't do much to improve his temper. "Heaven forbid I should interfere with your tan," he snapped.

"I'm not tanning," she informed him, moving her face back towards the light. "I'm sun worshipping. It's too cold still to tan properly." She paused. "You aren't moving."

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I like it here," he said, deliberately mimicking her arrogant, 'I am the center of the world and it must shift to suit me' attitude. "This very spot. It's quite nice, really."

This time she turned her head towards him very slowly and with deliberation. "It's my sun, and you're in the way. Haven't you got important falling over to go do somewhere else?"

"No," he said, aware that he was taking out his frustration on her and that it really wasn't all that fair. Very satisfying, though. "I think I'll stay right here and see what it takes to piss you off."

Monet frowned. "Why the fuck do you want to do that?"

"Spite?" Nathan suggested, his eyes narrowing further. "You're here, annoying me, and I feel lousy. Might as well share the pain."

"That seems really immature," Monet snapped. "Aren't you supposed to be a grown up."

"Oh, is that a confession that you're a child?" Nathan countered. "Since you interact with people with absolutely no consideration for anyone but yourself." His expression hardened as he looked down at her. "What did you think you were doing with Manuel?" he asked.

Distracted by this apparent non sequitor Monet pulled down her sunglasses to look at him. "What? When did I do what with Manuel?"

Nathan folded his arms across his chest. "I gather you had something to do with him winding up naked in the kitchen."

"He was supposed to be bringing me food," Money complained. "But he didn't. The idiot."

"You didn't notice that there was something wrong with him?" Nathan growled, disgusted.

"Well, he did lose his way going to the kitchen, which is pretty whack, yeah?"

Nathan told himself that rolling his eyes was not going to be helpful. "You've had at least a little experience with Manuel," he said tightly. "You know how he usually acts. Did the blank stare and lack of talking and totally uncharacteristic obedience not strike you as at all odd?"

Monet sighed. "Well, yeah. But seriously, it's not like I made him do anything bad or, y'know weird or anything. I figured I should take advantage while I could."

"What, exactly, did you make him do?" Nathan asked as levelly as he could.

Monet looked thoughtful as if it was something so trivial and such a long time ago that she had to strain to remember. "He painted my nails," she offered. "And brushed my hair."

"And why was it necessary that he be naked while he did that?"

"Oh. 'cause his clothes were wet and he was dripping. Any other questions before you go away and let me sun-worship?"

Nathan relaxed a little. At least there hadn't been anything really inappropriate going on. Wet clothes? he wondered then. He had told Manuel to get out of the pool and put some clothes on... huh. Obviously he hadn't bothered to dry himself off first. "Yes, actually," Nathan said as Monet continued to gaze expectantly at him. "Are you actually not aware of how wrong it is to take advantage of someone when they're not in their right mind, or do you just not care?"

"I don't really care that much," Monet shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't leave someone who was bleeding, or, say, unconcious in the halls, yeah? But why not get my toenails painted by someone if they don't object? Why, what would you have done?"

"Not treated him as if he was there for my convenience," Nathan said coldly.

"Oh." Monet looked doubtful. "To each their own, then." She pushed her sunglasses back up.

"Wrong answer," Nathan said, and quite pettily yanked the bench out from under her, telekinetically.

Monet yelped, and caught herself before she fell too far. She drifted to her feet and glared at Nathan. "What is your problem?" she snapped.

"The selfish, immature little girl currently giving me a pissy look, as if she's the offended party," Nathan said bluntly. "Shall I use small words, so that you understand what I'm trying to tell you? You do not exploit someone who's that vulnerable, Monet. It might be entertaining and you might not see anything wrong with it, but unfortunately, you're living in what passes for civilized society and you do not get the privilege of acting like a sociopath."

Monet gaped at him, surprised and shocked by his rant, not responding.

Nathan told himself to keep a leash on his temper. She honestly didn't seem to understand why what she had done was wrong, which was somewhat of a mitigating factor. Didn't change the fact that she needed to be taught, though. "How would you have felt in Manuel's place?" he challenged her. "If you'd woken up from your fugue state and remembered someone using you like that?"

"What, made me give them a pedicure and brush their hair?" Monet looked confused. "They could just ask." She frowned thoughtfully. "I guess you have a point. Huh." This seemed extremely unlikely to her.

All right. Progress, if infinitesimal. Nathan took a deep breath, telling himself that he didn't really need to hammer the point home. She hadn't done anything truly awful, after all. If she was thinking about it, that would be enough for now. "It might not be a bad rule of thumb," he said, more calmly. "If you find yourself in a similar situation, with someone who's vulnerable somehow, to think about how you would react to what you're about to do to or with them."

Monet looked at him seriously for a few second, then shook her head quickly as though coming back to herself. "Whatever," she said. "I just wanted to get some sun."