2013-03-05 "Then We Have Failed You"

It seems that of all the duties that Herr Wagner may have around the grounds of Xavier's Institute for Learning, the one in particular that he has completely taken over is the decorating of the cafeteria for the holidays. After the bright reds and whites (and balloons) of Valentine's Day, this particular holiday needs to be just as festive.
How could it not be? It has.. drinking.
To that end, Kurt has enlisted the aid of students to begin the basic decorating, with plans requested for those 'special touches'. One such 'special touch' that he simply can't be without for this fine holiday?
A keg.
A large, oaken cask.
Set in the corner, there is a rather large oaken cask, complete with tap at the bottom. Kurt, the blue leprechaun.. okay.. elf.. crouches atop it, resting after the bamfing in of such an item. Hard work, that! Around him, on the ground, laid out on tables, are green and white streamers, green and white construction paper, and lots.. and lots of shamrocks, pots of gold..
Jocelyn has had...okay. Normally she'd say she had a weird day yesterday. But between Limbo, Sentinels in the Arctic, and meeting Thor, Jocelyn can honestly say that fighting ninjas and the Kool-Aid Man, which apparently were made of some sort of dust, wasn't actually all that weird in comparison. She's still annoyed she couldn't catch the culprit, however.
The teenager walks into the cafeteria and looks around. This was a very green holiday, so she was expecting a lot of green options for decorating. "Hello Mr. Wagner," Jocelyn says upon entering, taking note of the keg. Okay, there was no way they were actually going to be serving actual alcohol to the students. Right?
"Where should I start? And do you need a hand with that?" The girl is direct and to the point when it came to getting things done. She wasn't necessarily one with a great decorator's eye, but she could follow instructions!
Yellow eyes follow the sound of the voice, and Kurt smiles, showing pointed teeth. "Ja.. If you have the ability of controlled flight, the streamers should be up. If not, then the shamrocks need to go on the tables for the center pieces, und perhaps the pots of gold on the wall.."
*bamf*
Kurt appears by a table, very near where Jocelyn is and points to the bags of gold-tinfoiled chocolates. "Und I need these in those little plastic pots." Those little black pots look suspiciously like leftover Halloween cauldrons, but he's pressing them into service. He looks up to the ceiling, counting softly in German before, "I will need 40 of them."
"No flight here," Jocelyn says with a shrug. Geez, everybody seems to expect flight. "I could jump it, probably, but I couldn't promise precise control". She coudl fly with a certain friend giving her a nice little boost, but that friend resided in Nebraska. She heads over to the chocolates and starts putting them into the pots as instructed. She didn't take the drama class, so she didn't have that much interaction with Kurt, though she certainly knew of him. If nothing else, they'd work together on that mission.
There's a blink as Kurt *bamf*s next to her, and the girl rubs her eyes. She hadn't seen all that much bamfing, at least not when there were a million other things going on. It was a little disorienting at first for her to see. "You seem to be in better spirits since the last time I saw you, Mr. Wagner," she comments casually as she works on putting the chocolates into the pots.
There are always theatre teacher groupies, just like there are gym teacher groupies and band teacher groupies. They, too, are hard at work, and when they catch his instruction? One upperclassman (who is not on the X-radar) elastics uuuuup to begin tacking one end to the side corner of the ceiling, extending her arm aaaaall the way across to the other side, to tack it up. "Got it, Herr W!"
"Danke, Betany.." is offered in return before Kurt turns back to Jocelyn.
"Then ja.. I will need those," and he lowers his voice, "..the younger children will get a visit from the leprechaun." Who is sort of like the Easter Bunny, but.. green. And no floppy ears. Easy enough to do, what with his bamf!
The comment regarding his mood, however, gains something of a lopsided smile and a half-shrug. "I am rarely out of sorts for long. But ja.. I have my bamf back. It's not where I would like it.. but I am sure it will eventually get better." Picking up some of the paper pots of gold that will go on the wall, he turns glowing yellow eyes to good-looking spots before,
"How are you, I might ask? It has been rather eventful for you, ja?" And he doesn't even know about the Thor bit!
"I am doing alright, and that's certainly one way of putting it. The first few weeks here have been busy. Still, I'd rather be busy than bored. Carol has been helping me with some extra work on my powers, too, so my schedule has kept full," Jocelyn replies as she continues to slip the chocolates into the pots.
"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?" Jocelyn asks. She doesn't even try to snag a chocolate for herself. After alll, these chocolates were for the younger kids!
The lopsided smile just gets a return smile from Jocelyn when he tells her that he got his bamf back. "That's wonderful to hear. I don't think I was as badly affected, but I'm new enough that I might not realize what I'm missing," Jocelyn says, lowering her voice a tad, knowing that not everybody knows about what happened. "And I'm sure it will get better with time," she adds. Really, not having the bamfing around was odd for everyone.
"Carol?" Kurt chuffs a quiet breath. "She is one I need to work with more. All of you, really.. because my mode of transportation is a bit tiring for most.. unless you are used to it."
There's that moment when the blue fuzzy drama teacher is there, and then gone, only to reappear at the side wall, pot of gold construction paper cut-out in one hand, scotch tape in the other. It's a quick taping before he's back in that poof of brimstone. His voice remains canted lower; not everyone in the school knows why or how a handful of people went missing - for a WEEK.
"You should see the doctor then," downstairs. "They could do a workup, a comparison of what you 'were' when you came in und now. I know now why I was affected such.. und probably Kwa."
"I don't think I've been subject to your mode of transportation yet," Jocelyn admits. "How is it tiring for people to be transported by you?" It seemed to her like Kurt did all the work, so why should she get tired by it? That didn't make a lot of sense to the teen as she filled the pots with chocolate. She watches the bamfing with some fascination, looking at the brief flashes of energy when he appears and disappears.
"The doctor did not find anything when he did a workup of me," Jocelyn replies quietly. "Didn't find anything". She shrugs. "Perhaps it was a side effect of my absorption ability, or perhaps I just got lucky". She wasn't going to complain. "Kwabena is doing better now. He still needs to sometimes use a translator though," Jocelyn says. She'd been worried about Shift, and had made it a point to bring him Dr. Pepper while he was stuck downstairs in the med bay.
"Nein, you have not. Und, it is very tiring." Kurt takes a few of the pots of gold construction papers and teleports rapidly around the room, setting them down where he believes they should go before returning in that *bamf*, leaving behind that acrid smell.
"It is something that I use to my benefit. You see, I could grab someone und then bamf them around so rapidly that when I cease, they are unconscious." Kurt sits at the end of the table, his tail pushed out of the way, and begins to draw a reasonable facsimile of a glass of beer. Undoubtedly to decorate the cask. "It could be because I move through a different dimension." Hell.. or at least one of them.
His expression softens with concern as she recounts whas has been found, or not, as the case may be, and he nods. "Ja.. it could be that." But to hear about Shift? "I was quite worried about him, but I knew that the doctor has been working with him a lot, even before.. so he would have the proper care." If anyone could help him, it'd be the doc in the basement!
"I see. Well, I'd love to take some time to practice it, if you don't mind, sometime," Jocelyn says to Kurt as she finishes a second row of pots and moves towards a third. It would be a good thing to become proficient at, being bamfed without getting too tired.
"That seems like a good use of it. Does it tire you as well?" Jocelyn questions Kurt as she fills a pot with chocolate. "And I thought that energy looked familiar. I...had an impromptu lesson in Limbo," Jocelyn explains to Kurt. Which is why it looked familiar to her. Not the same, but familiar.
"I was worried about him too. I'm just glad he's back on his feet. He's recovered physically reasonably well. Though he doesn't care for some of the restrictions he's been placed under," Jocelyn says with some amusement as she gestures to the cask.
"Ja, it does. It takes some stamina, but when I am up to form?" Kurt shrugs easily as he picks up the scissors and begins to cut. "Easy-peasy, I think they say." In a thick German accent, it probably sounds a little strange.
Looking to the little chocolate cauldrons, the blue leprechaun smiles. "They are spoiled. First, Christmas presents, now this.. und of course, Easter baskets with an egg hunt on the back lawn." Kurt's trying to make this as much of a home for the children as it is for him. Of course parents are missed!
Shaking his head, a small chuckle sounds. "It isn't quite like Limbo, though.." and his brows crease, "You were there? Or.. just learned?" Limbo, while not a great place, is far preferable than where he teleports through. In his opinion, anyway. "What did you think of it?"
"Works for me," Jocelyn says to Kurt with a nod. Whenever they have time and Kurt is back up to snuff, Jocelyn would be up for it. Though the statement does sound just a little bit strange to the Midwestern girl. Some more chocolates are placed in the pots.
"Ah, well, there isn't anything wrong with a little bit of spoiling once in awhile. Kids really do love this sort of stuff," Jocelyn comments as she keeps working. "The hunt out back will be fun, I bet," she adds. Jocelyn did like looking for things.
"I was there. A somewhat impromptu survival lesson". Jocelyn is pretty sure Kurt can guess exactly who facilitated this trip, as there aren't a lot of people who can do that. "I can't say I would like to live there full-time. The part I was in was rather of the barren wasteland terrain. It happened a day or so after we got back. Like I said, a bit of a survival lesson in a place where nobody speaks your language". From the freezer to the fire, one could say.
"How old are you, Jocelyn?" Kurt looks up from his work on the beer mug, pupil-less yellow eyes studying the girl. "I am curious.. because I wonder if you all are just a little too young to join the fight." He pauses a moment, his expression thoughtful. "When you came here, did you have an expectations? Dreams? Or.. was it a hope that you could learn to control what gift you have in order to live a normal life?"
"Sixteen. Seventeen fairly soon," Jocelyn tells Kurt. She takes a seat as Kurt asks his question. "I came to initially learn to control my powers. I don't ever want to explode like I did when they first manifested back in Detroit again". She'd rather not kill anyone because of her lack of control. "As for dreams? Well, my previous life plans got thrown pretty much out the window with this," Jocelyn responds with a small laugh. "Wouldn't be fair, not with my abilities. But I figure that I have these abilities for a reason, and I'd rather use them to do something good".
The girl puts some more chocolates in pots as she speaks. "I know I'm young. I get that. But I also grew up fighting my whole life. Typical orphan story, you know? Lost my parents before I could form memories of them, bounced around some orphanages, did the street kid thing". A few more chocolates are deposited in the pots. "I'd rather have something to fight for than just survival, you know? A purpose of some type. And maybe this will give me that. I need work, I know. I'm rough around the edges and I know that".
The girl pauses before looking over at Kurt again. "Though I may change my mind and just want to live a normal life. But right now, I don't expect that to be the case".
Kurt breathes a soft breath out and shakes his head. "Sixteen.. you know that when Kitty was younger, we wouldn't let her come along?" He chuckles softly, and offers something of a sad smile. "I would still rather her left here when we go out.. but you are young." Beat. "If you have been fighting for what you need all your life, don't you think it is time to stop? When you have opportunities offered now? I know you are young, but why throw your previous life plans out the window?"
Kurt shifts his position, and looks thoughtful. "It is not fair of us to ask such things of you, kleine fraulein. Gifted or not."
"My abilities give me an unfair advantage. I could not compete in any sporting event without cheating worse than any steroid user. I don't have funds for secondary education, and to be honest, there isn't a lot else I really know well enough to want to do," Jocelyn explains to Kurt. Yeah, those sports plans are pretty much shot, given any sense of fair play. "And maybe I could stop and let others fight, but I'm not one to let others fight my fights for me, Mr. Wagner. Knowing what goes on, it would be difficult for me to sit here knowing others were putting themselves in danger for my rights and future".
Jocelyn finishes off another row of pots. "It isn't fair, no. But we're not handed a fair shake in life. Sometimes we get a bunch of advantages because of what we're born into. Sometimes, we inherit a lot problems". Jocelyn shrugs. She knows there isn't really a way to make Kurt feel better about this. But there isn't necessarily a feeling better about the situation involved anywhere in this discussion.
"You sound like Scott."
Kurt rises from his spot and takes those steps closer. "The fight isn't all our fight. What is your first reaction when you see children with semi-automatic guns in Africa? Children.. do you cheer und say 'they are fighting for their future'?" He shakes his head slowly, "If you listen to yourself, that is what you are saying. It is our responsibility to keep our children safe und away from the fight. To give them the chance to grow up knowing they are protected." A deep breath is taken and he looks around at the school. "I do not cheer. I pity them and am angry at the adults that are forcing them to fight."
Jocelyn smiles sadly at that. "I lost that chance a long time ago, Mr. Wagner. Well before I ever knew what a mutant was. Maybe we can make it so people like me can have a chance at having that protection. I don't know every student's story here, and most, I imagine, aren't going to be in the position I'm in," Jocelyn replies. She knew not everyone had the interest, skill, or whatever to think about the X-Men as an option. "But I don't know that I can ever feel safe and protected, Mr. Wagner, unless I'm involved in my own protection". There is some jadedness coming from her street days seeping through. "I'm a lost cause in that regard, but I don't think all kids should have to make the same decision. I don't think all the kids who might coming with be necessarily should be either".
The girl finishes off with the pots. "I know neither of us likes it. But I hope you do not think less of me for the decision, either, Mr. Wagner".
Kurt exhales as he turns around to get back to work on the construction paper glass. "Then we have failed you."
Betany has been watching her favourite teacher, and while working, does the little things, trying to get some attention. One slip, however, and the rubber girl looks as if she's extended herself just a little too far, and *snap* comes back together, sounding .. painful.
In the next heartbeat, Kurt is there, and then gone, to appear in mid-air to catch the girl.. and back once again on the ground. Setting her down, he shakes his head slowly. "Pay attention to what you are doing. Don't worry what everyone else is up to, ja?"
And it's back to work, the search for easier, lighter topics begun as the cafeteria slowly gets its greens.
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