xp_logs | Marius & Gaia | Done a Runner

xp_gaia posting in

Marius retrieves Gaia after she has an impromptu beach day.

Marius squinted the location data on his phone. His quarry appeared to have simply wandered down the shoreline without any particular attention to established paths or inhospitable terrain. What appeared to be a relatively short distance on the GPS was, in fact, a veritable obstacle course of tide pools and unspeakable ocean debris. Had he known this was how he would spend an afternoon he would have worn more appropriate shoes.

However, his target was finally in sight. With relief Marius pocketed his phone and raised a hand.

"Oi, Gaia!"

The girl in question looked up from the fish carcass she was examining, Mary Janes in one hand and stick in the other. Her hair was messily tied back and jeans rolled up to her mid calf. Evidence of a trip into the water could be seen in the way they were soaked almost to her knees.

“Marius. Hello.”

"If you fancied a trip to the beach you had only to ask." It would have prevented Kyle from having a minor aneurysm, for one, but Marius doubted that would have been a factor in her calculations. Nor would Marius' inconvenience at being directed to retrieve her, although he supposed vague responsibility for one mildly off-putting dimensional traveller was preferable to Kyle's ever-expanding brood of ferals.

Gaia shrugged.

“Look.” From her pocket she pulled out a handful of rocks and shells and animal bones, carefully rinsed of sand. “I found them. There is much to find here.”

"Indeed, though not all of it especially sanitary. I would not advise collecting those of the man-made sort, particularly those with sharp edges." Marius cast around; they were not near a road, and he could perceive no vehicle. "Out of curiousity, how did you come to be here?"

“I walked. And then a human drove me.” She deposited her treasures back into her pocket and wandered over to the next tide pool, crouching down to try and spot tiny life.

Marius blinked. "I see. Would this be any human in particular . . ?"

A small crab slowly crawled along the side as Gaia watched with fascination. She reached to skim the surface of the water with her fingers. “He pulled over in a car while I was walking. His name was Earl.”

Ah, right. Gaia was not yet familiar with the social conditions most likely to result in a terrible Netflix docuseries. Marius wondered if there should be some sort of pamphlet.

"This, too, I would advise against," he said carefully. "Leaving the mansion is, of course, permitted, but for matters of safety it is recommended such excursions are undertaken in the company of one familiar to you. An adult for preference, but Laura might do." From what Kyle said the feral sounded only marginally less sheltered, but she had six more adamantium-tipped insurance policies than her roommate.

“Hmpf.”

An attempt to straighten up failed, and Gaia tipped over into the sand. She sat there for a few moments before fixing Marius with a half glare.

"All right there?" Marius asked, keeping his distance despite all instincts to the contrary; the livid mark on her neck when she'd first arrived still haunted his memory like an uninvited guest that refused to take a hint. It was an effort. Staring awkwardly at a pale-faced girl crumpled in the sand was not, he felt, his most chivalrous moment.

She gathered her shoes and tried again, this time actually making it up. “I’m fine.” It was a flat statement, but her face betrayed her discomfort. Now a lot more sandy than before, Gaia attempted to shake it off her shirt, with little success.

Marius watched her movements with a shrewdness that occurred just infrequently enough to be unexpected. "You look a bit shaky," he observed, a suspicion forming. "When's the last time you had a meal?"

“Breakfast.” It had been a bowl of ‘Fruity Pebbles’, one of Laura’s cereals of choice. She pulled out her phone and used it to take a picture of a starfish in the neighboring pool. Unsteadily, Gaia leaned over and stroked it gently.

Marius thought back to what he'd heard of the girl's periodic fainting spells, then set it against her initial approach to food upon waking. "Ah. I believe I begin to detect a pattern. Would I be right to assume your nutritional intake is not the most consistent?"

Gaia shrugged again. She ate when she remembered, or when her stomach started yelling at her.

"That would be a yes, then. Well . . ." Marius fished around in an exquisitely tailored jacket pocket until he found a protein bar. What it lacked in flavour it made up for with convenience. Sometimes one did get busy.

"Try this," he offered, extending the bar to the girl. "It is a bugger, but energy out perforce requires energy in. A lesson I myself have learned multiple times over the years."

The pink-haired mutant accepted it gingerly. Unwrapping it revealed a uniform slab of alleged protein. She took a small bite, and not finding the taste to be egregious, a larger one.

Gaia looked at Marius. “Can we leave now?” Discomfort was beginning to set in. Cold, wet, and sand. All terrible things when combined.

"That is likely for the best," he replied, trying not to glance at the fish carcass on the off chance she decided it would make a good souvenir. He cocked his head at her like an inquisitive bird. "It's a bit of a trek back to the car, alas. Might I ask what brought about this sudden bout of wanderlust? If you were in the mind for an excursion you had only to ask."

"I wished to see the ocean," came the answer. Gaia set off back towards whence she came, retracing steps in the sand. "I had not before." What went unsaid was that it was a test of sorts. To see if she was actually as unbound as they claimed her to be.

Marius turned this over in his mind. As reasons went, this one struck him as unimpeachable.

"Fair enough. However, in future we would take it as a kindness if you informed someone of your plans. Whilst under no obligation to stay with us, you are . . ." Marius paused just before the word 'young' could leave his mouth. Gaia looked young, but although he could detect something akin to an x-gene he wasn't positive that alone assured human status, let alone human aging. He settled for, ". . . youthful-seeming to those of us in this world, and such status brings with it commensurate risk should you travel alone. At the very least allow us to help you arrange more a standardised means of transportation."

This seemed fair, she thought, and Marius was genuine enough. “Okay.” She maneuvered around a large clump of sea grass. The vibe of Earl had been off anyways.

"Excellent. This way, then." The older man politely directed Gaia through the unpleasantly damp sand as he pondered the moral and emotional burdens associated with safeguarding (probably) the next generation, now inflicted upon him against his will. True, he had done far more reckless things at Gaia's apparent age, but Marius could only imagine the impact of dozens of smaller incidents conducted with more frequency, day after day. Worrying about the wellbeing of another . . . what a terrible responsibility.

Marius would be complaining to Kyle about this at length.