xp_logs | Nathan and Rahne, Friday morning

Nathan, out watching the sunrise, spots a wolf.

It was a beautiful morning. Definitely starting to feel like spring, Nathan thought, slouching in the chair on the porch staring out at the grounds. He'd awakened ridiculously early this morning and decided against trying to get back to sleep. The fresh air and coffee was doing marvels for the lingering grogginess, too.

Rahne was up early as well, prowling the grounds in wolf form, though not in this particular case for breakfast. It was starting to feel like time for breakfast, though. She might go indoors... in a bit. She wandered around toward the porch, slipping out of the woods before noticing Nathan. And his coffee. Probably would have smelled the coffee first, even if the wind had been that direction.

Nathan saw the wolf and smiled. "Morning, Rahne," he called out, then paused for a moment before making a gesture of invitation. It would be good to touch base with her for a few minutes, he thought, before tomorrow.

Rahne blinked, then trotted up, wagging her tail lightly before shifting just far enough to be able to speak intelligibly and curling up in her fur on the porch steps. "A lovely morning, aye. I didna want to bother ye...."

Nathan's smile lingering. "Not doing anything that can't be interrupted, trust me," he said warmly. "Just... admiring the sunrise." He sipped at his coffee, his eyes flickering back out to the ground for a moment before focusing again on her. "Have you been out all night?"

"No, I slept a while, then went to roam about some." She had, admittedly, discovered while rooming with Monet that she could sleep outdoors in reasonable comfort, but she liked Catseye. And Catseye's tendency to sleep elsewhere regularly was quite clearly a Cat Thing, not an avoidance strategy. "How have ye been? I've not seen ye as much outside lessons lately." A smile. "Of course, with Dani bringing ye food, I suppose ye doona have to come foraging as often."

"I miss your oatmeal bars," Nathan said wistfully, then shook his head a little. "Miss foraging in general, basically. It's not that I don't appreciate Dani marching in with lunch, because to be honest, I do forget to eat more often than not, still, but I hate feeling like I'm a chore."

"I doubt she minds it -- seems she likes it a bit, really. 'Tis always nice feeling useful." Rahne looked up at him. "But I could always make ye oatmeal bars too. I'd hardly think lunch is enough for yuir whole day anyhow."

"I'd like that," Nathan said, gazing down at her a bit wistfully. "You know what I'd like more? To be hanging around in the kitchen while you make them."

She glanced down for a moment in confusion. "Well," she said softly after a moment, "I would like that too. If ye want to let me know when ye want some, or have me come say when I'm about to make them...."

"Why don't we go with the latter?" His throat was feeling oddly tight, all of a sudden. "There isn't much I wouldn't put aside for a bit for such a good reason. They're best when they're warm, after all."

"They are," Rahne agreed. "...I was thinking it might be time for breakfast soon. I could make some today... after the sun finishes coming up."

"I'd like that. I..." Nathan trailed off, gazing down at her. "There's something coming up tomorrow," he said very quietly, wondering just what the hell he was doing. "Business trip, if you know what I mean."

Which meant X-Men business, probably, and any other possibilities were actually more alarming. Rahne nodded slowly. "I think I do."

"Probably the biggest such business trip I've been on since I've been here," Nathan said, then shook his head. "No, actually, no probably about it. And scratch the 'since I've been here' bit, too." He bit his lip, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'm going to wake up tomorrow," he said, more softly, "and head off to do something I never dreamed I'd be doing. And nothing is going to be the same afterwards, even if it turns out as well as it possibly can."

She swallowed. "I'll pray it does that," she said, "and... we'll be waiting for ye."

Nathan kept his eyes on hers. "Did I ever tell you," he said after a long moment, "what it meant to me, that you felt you could talk to me about Hrimhari?"

"I... doona think...." Rahne trailed off in confusion.

"I don't know what I ever did," Nathan said softly, his voice a bit unsteady, "to make you trust me enough to do that. But it meant a lot. Made me feel like I was maybe really doing some good here, that when it came to me and students it wasn't all just being blown into walls or fumbling around trying to help them with their powers and usually making a mess of it."

"I... I always thought ye were doing very well with most of them."

Nathan shrugged a little, sipping at his coffee. "Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, maybe I'm not," he conceded quietly. "All I know for sure is that I feel like I must have done something right by you. And that gives me the hope that I might get the hang of this all, eventually."

"Ye've always been very nice to me." She couldn't explain why he'd been easier to talk to. Except, well. "And ye asked about it, and said ye'd missed me."

"That simple, huh?" Nathan hesitated for a moment, then reached out a hand. "Still," he said, his voice a bit thick again as she took it, and he squeezed her hand gently. "It meant a lot. You mean a lot to me. I hope you know that."

"Ye mean a lot to me too." Come back safe. Please. All of you. "I think ye can guess where I'll be when ye get back," she added, then got up and hugged him, not rushing, but before she could decide not to. "I think the assistants wind up lurking in the medlab if we're worried, even if we arena strictly needed at the time."

Nathan hugged her back tightly. "I'll try not to have to come visit you right off the plane," he said with a weak chuckle, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "I mean, that'd break my streak, but I think we could all live with that, don't you?"

"I'm thinking you're right. I'll be glad to see everybody, but gladder if 'tis not so urgent."

"Urgency really takes the fun out of life at times, doesn't it?" Nathan asked as she straightened. "Want to be self-indulgent and sit around to watch the sun finish rising with me, then?"

"Sure." She curled up on the steps again. "And after that, oatmeal bars."

Nathan nodded, his eyes stinging again a little as he looked out at the sunrise. "This is turning into a very good morning," he said firmly, his voice staying steady.