xp_logs | Kurt and Wanda, early Monday morning

They meet in the forest, he watches her dance for a while, then they talk about teenage mutant soap opera, the Askani, and various methods of teleportation.

Running was a good way to relax. One of them anyway. Wanda explored the forest and the paths as she trotted along, CD player and headphones as secure as they were going to get. After a while, she found herself in a small clearing and she slowed down, coming to a stop in the middle of it. Nudging off the headphones, she took it all in. It reminded her of some of the places were they would set up camp. There'd be a fire place and singing and...

Dancing, there would be dancing. She settled the headphones back on, the traditional music playing softly in her ears and smiled. Shucking her jacket, she tossed it to the side. No one was outside to watch and she felt the need to lose herself. Within minutes, her mind and body were engrossed in the music and the traditional dance.

No one was outside that she'd seen, at least. Kurt liked to keep up his agility by making his way through the forest without ever touching the ground, and teleporting only when necessary. He was currently sitting quietly in a tree near her, watching her do the familiar dance.

For someone her size, she knew she moved rather well. Dancing before you could walk would help that, she mused, spinning slowly. A skirt would look much better than a tank top and running shorts, but one worked with what they had.

Kurt waited until she had finished before making his presence known, not wanting to interrupt. When he saw her stop dancing, after some time, he coughed politely from his tree.

Luckily the music had died down by then but she still jumped. "Kurt?" she called, startled as she peered up into the trees, pulling off the headphones.

He nodded, unsure if she could see him yet, and teleported to the ground not far away. "I did not want to disturb you..."

"Please, you should have. A dance partner would have been perfect." She gestured to her CD player. "A bit hard, but still. How long were you there for?"

"I am not sure. Time enough to see your dance. You are very talented."

Wanda looked pleased at the compliment. "Why thank you. Dancing tends to be in our blood, no? It is something I don't get to do often enough, unfortunately. Too much time and responsibility. What were you doing out here so early?"

He shrugged lightly. "I like to spend time out here, especially at this time of year. It is very pleasant to watch the sun rise."

"Yes, it is. The grounds are especially nice when it's quiet and peaceful." With a small sigh, she settled herself on the ground, not minding the morning dew. "The mansion is very chaotic, is it not? Is it normally like this?"

He walked over to join her, also ignoring the dew. "It does tend to be. Either there is some outside factor causing it, or just the presence of so many young people. They do not always get along, which is understandable, of course."

She snorted at that last bit. "I'm amazed this place isn't more of a teenage mutant soap opera. Everyone living in such close quarters, it's bound to get ugly after a while. Especially with powers playing a role in things. Even the adults sometimes..."

Kurt nodded. "I am actually surprised that powers do not come into the students' fights more often. It has only happened once that I know of, with destructive powers at least."

"Oh?" Wanda looked curious. On the practical side, she justified it simply by arming herself with enough information to last in this place. On the other side...well, a bit of gossip was never something she would turn down. Spreading it she would not do but she enjoyed hearing about it,.

Kurt looked vaguely amused, and shared the information. "Amanda Sefton and Jubilation Lee. They had never been friends, and I understand things came to a head in some way related to Manuel de la Rocha. There was some damage to the house, and both girls were hurt, but I believe they have resolved matters to some extent now."

"I've met Amanda...angering one with magic is not exactly the smartest thing one can do in their life time. But girls will be girls, even if they do have mutant powers. I take it things are calming down now?"

"On that front, yes. There have been more recent arguments regarding Remy LeBeau and Illyana Rasputin, and there is almost always something, but the disputes generally seem to blow over fairly quickly, at least openly."

"As an outsider, coming in, I'm grateful I do not have the history with any of these people." Wanda shrugged and smiled. "Makes it easier to take them on face value now, I suppose. I don't know enough about either of them to be really worried about them now."

Kurt nodded. "I do not know either of them as well as I could. But it is good to be able to remain neutral - the students seem to be fairly sharply divided on the matter of Illyana, at least."

"I've noticed," was the slightly dry response. "But I cannot fault them for that, either. Having loyalties is a good thing, they just have to learn how to temper them a bit."

Kurt shrugged wryly. "They will learn, I have no doubt. They are all young still."

"Ah, to be that young again. They make me feel so old."

"To be honest, I am glad they are able to be - and behave - so young. Too many of them would not have been able to, before they came here."

"Hmmm, very true. The world is still not exactly the most friendly to those different than the norm, even among some of the reforms going on. We as Gypsies know that."

Kurt nodded sadly. "And several of our children did not have it easy even before they knew they were mutants. This place is a refuge in more ways than one."

Wanda's gaze traveled for a second, taking in everything around her. "It is peaceful here. I haven't felt a draw to stay like this in a very long time. I think I've been too much on the move in the last...well, all my life. Maybe a few months in one place would be good for me."

"You would be very welcome to stay", Kurt told her with a smile. "For as long as you like."

She answered his smile with one. "Thank you. I've already tied myself here, at least slightly, with helping Nathan out. I'm not sure how long my stay is going to be."

"I'm an anthropologist and my main love is studying moving groups. These...Askani used to be a moving group until they had to settle due to the war. I'm helping him record their history."

Kurt nodded, the interest still in his eyes. "I see. I would love to learn more about the Askani myself. I will speak with him about it... and might I also read your history, when it is done?"

If possible, Wanda looked even more pleased. "I would be honored. This is...not something I may be able to publish but I will still put it into book form. For Nathan, if nothing else. Feel free to ask me to see the notes whenever you're curious."

Kurt smiled. "I certainly will. Thank you. Perhaps we should have a copy of the book bound, for the school library?"

"Hmm, I never thought about that. I do have a few friends who are independent publishers so that would not be hard to do, actually." She tilted her head, thinking. "There will certainly be enough information to fill an entire book, if not more. They have three different languages, for a start."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I do not think I knew that. Alison and Amanda speak one of those languages, I understand, and Nathan has been running a class to teach those who wish to learn, but I do not know which of the three that refers to."

"I...think he said it was the battle language, which is what prompted my asking if they had any others. Nathan spoke a little bit of it to me, it's gorgeous."

"Would that be their everyday language, then? What were the other two used for?"

Wanda frowned. "I cannot remember if he said. But it would stand to reason that one would be a religious language. That is not exactly uncommon among cultures that had language variation among their people. Different castes spoke differently, to differentiate between status. But if the entire culture was inflammed by war..." She paused and looked sheepish. "I apologize, I normally do not wander off in talks like that. I suddenly switched into teaching mode."

Kurt smiled. "No need to apologise. As I said, I find the Askani fascinating."

"So do I and I only just scratched the surface. And not all that deep, either. I just need to get my equipment and I'll be able to do things properly."

"Where do you need to bring your equipment from?"

"I have an apartment in London. Small but it fits my needs. When I travel for the university, I simply lock it up and I was on vacation when I was grapped, so I didn't exactly have my proper equipment with me."

He nodded. "If you would rather not fly back, one of the students is a long-range teleporter. With supervision, she could probably arrange something for you."

Wanda looked faintly disturbed by that suggestion. "I think I would have to...do a dry test run before we bop all the way over to London," she muttered. "It is bad enough that I am not looking forward to the plane ride."

"That is perfectly understandable, and could also be arranged. Clarice's method of teleportation is smoother than some, though. She opens... portals, I suppose is the best word, in space. She has very good control."

"I will certainly take it under consideration. I think the drugs in my system did not help when you got me out of that warehouse."

"And my teleportation can be rough on passengers at the best of times", he added apologetically. "You should find Clarice's easier."

"Thank you for the tips and the conversation." Smiling brightly at him, Wanda shifted and stood up, wiping off the slight dampness on her legs. "I think I'm going to continue running. I'll talk to you later?"

He nodded. "I would be happy to. Would you still like to sit in on my dance class, by the way?"

So he did know how to dance. Her smile grew and she nodded. "Consider it my pleasure." Turning, she fitted the headphones back on but waved over her shoulder as she headed out onto the path.