xp_logs | Angelo and Nathan, Monday late afternoon (Reply)

They have a talk in the grounds, puppy and parrot in tow, and Nathan dispenses some good advice.

Angelo was sitting on a bench, somewhere in the grounds not too far from the house, with a cigarette in one hand and absently petting the drowsy Joyita in his lap with the other. He was still more or less avoiding most people, not wanting to deal with another explosion of temper on either part. So he was contenting himself with canine company for now.

"Walk! Walk!"

"Yes, we're going for a walk," Nathan told the bird on his shoulder placidly as he headed down towards the boathouse. Let's see if I can actually manage to get to Cain's door this time...

Angelo heard them - well, Bella - coming and glanced up with a slight grin, waiting until they drew closer before he called out.

"Look," Nathan said, hearing, then seeing Angelo and Joyita. "Cane. Want to play?" But Bella was already gliding down off his shoulder, shrieking happily.

Joyita raised her head at the sound of the shrieks, and promptly abandoned Angelo's lap to gallop towards Bella. Amused, Angelo called, "Hey, Nathan."

"Hey, kid. Feeling better?" Nathan inquired, wandering over in the way of Bella, who scuttled right at Joyita and then bounced over the puppy's head.

Angelo shrugged, watching the animals. "Eh. Some. Nothin's settled yet, though, y'know?"

Nathan sat down on the bench beside him. "Stuff like this doesn't get settled," he pointed out lightly. "Not really. Although I wish you'd all stop screaming at each other about it."

Angelo grinned wryly. "Oh, me too, believe me. Why'd you think I left?"

"That journal system is definitely a mixed blessing at times," Nathan said. "I'm wondering why they didn't just pull the plug on it yesterday."

Angelo shrugged. "Guess everybody was too busy tryin' to deal with the more important stuff. Illyana, Scott, whatever else."

Nathan snorted a little. "It's all important stuff," he said, "but yeah, something probably should have been done."

"Doesn't matter now anyway", Angelo answered quietly, watching Bella and Joyita rampage back towards them. "Argument's over an' done with, till it breaks out again."

"You see that as inevitable?" Nathan asked, his eyes narrowing a bit. He didn't like the despondent edge to Angelo's comment.

"Isn't it?" Angelo countered. "We got Angie yellin' at Jubilee about... a whole lot of things that have nothin' to do with Illyana or Remy, Amanda tryin' to raise some questions, which, okay, she could've done it better, but they're good questions, an' gettin' jumped on for it by Paul's sister of all people, Kitty losin' it when she was tryin' to defend Illyana, Clarice puttin' in her two cents... someone's gonna start it up again."

Nathan leaned back against the bench, deep in thought. "You guys really don't trust us," he said finally, quietly.

Angelo blinked. "We... huh? How do you get that from fights breakin' out, half of them nothin' to do with what's goin' on?"

Nathan looked sideways at him, steadily. "Because you don't really trust us to handle it."

Angelo opened his mouth to answer, then stopped, thinking, reaching down to absently stroke Bella's head when she started nibbling his sock. The puppy was bouncing around Nathan's feet. "I... don't know. It's just, Amanda's been sayin' for ages somethin's off about Illyana an' her magic..." He sighed. "I don't know how you can handle it. Whatever's goin' on with Illyana, there's probably worse than her here without gettin' kicked out, an' she's only sixteen..."

"It's been one thing after another," Nathan said slowly. "This summer, this fall so far... I'm not surprised that there are questions as to whether or not we can protect you one way or the other."

Angelo nodded, smiling a little ruefully. "It's been one thing after another for... quite a while, Nathan. Just usually we get more'n a few hours recovery time before the next thing hits."

Nathan mentally filed it away, watching Bella chase Joyita. "You're all at a very awkward age, you know," he murmured.

Angelo chuckled wryly. "Yeah, that doesn't help, either."

"The question of information-sharing is an interesting one," Nathan said. "It is a double-standard, you know. To expect the staff to give you more than what you need to know - which was, in this case, to run the hell away from LeBeau if you saw him - and not to have any problem with Illyana keeping secrets. Unfortunately," Nathan went on, "sometimes there have to be double-standards. Nothing's black and white in a situation like this."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I know. Can't judge everythin' by exactly the same rules... although Illyana herself doesn't seem to get that."

"That's another double-standard. She doesn't have to. She's sixteen years old and has been through trauma that most of us can't comprehend in the slightest." Nathan sighed. "And maybe she's demonic in some way, but I can't bring myself to care, all of Amanda's warnings aside. There's still a sixteen year-old girl there who never had the chance to grow up properly, and I'm not in the habit of deciding when anyone is too far gone to be helped."

Angelo listened, nodding slowly. "An' I'm glad you're not. Would say I wish she wouldn't try an' decide the same thing, 'specially when it's me she's tryin' to decide on, like a few days ago, but then she doesn't like me anyway."

"And there's the other angle," Nathan said thoughtfully, gazing down at him. "Because she's who she is, and has been through what she's been through... her opinion's unreliable, one way or the other. What sort of experience do you think she had of human society, in Limbo?"

Another nod. "See, you're right. But nothin' she has to say would get to me so much if I didn't ever think she might be right." He was looking away as he made that confession, petting the animals.

"That's something that's in you, Angelo," Nathan said steadily. "And you'll have to fix it. One way or the other." He swatted the young man's shoulder lightly, smiling. "You know my opinion. Take that for what it's worth."

Angelo looked up at him with a faint smile, scooping the puppy into his lap. Bella squawked in protest and jumped up onto the bench to join her. "Yeah, I know. I'm workin' on it."