10132/Nathan's Day one.

Nathan's Day one.
Date of Scene:	20 November 2019
Location:	Frontyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	One of us.
Cast of Characters:	Hindsight, Cannonball, Blink, Samuel Morgan, Shadowcat

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Hindsight has posed:
    It had been months since Frank Carver, a corporate lawyer living in Westchester county, put out feelers for a home more suited to handling a gifted child. The details of the situation do not necessarily indicate a anti-mutant bias or even a particularly negative home life, but he seems eager to find some sort of help for his son. He has been outed at school (twice), is falling behind in his classes, and no one is even fully sure what his mutation is.

    The Carver home is a two-story brick home with a spacious and well-trimmed front lawn that resides in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. Plenty of room.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has taken one of the school's SUVs to bring those are coming out to meet the family with him. He will park the car in the driveway, looking over and says "Ok, inducers on, and we are going to meet the people, and see how they are, and if they and the kid are interested in the school.

Blink has posed:
Blink has been squatting at the Xavier's school for gifted these last few days, even if she doesn't exactly belong to it, being part of the Brotherhood yet when she got invited to go meet a new student prospect she gladly accepts, curious on how they handle their new students.

And it doesn't even seem she was brought for her blinking ability so she gladly sits on the back and once they are there she turns the inducer on so she passes as a 'normal' person. Asian eyes, even if now they are normal and colored blue, hair in a boring black and ears just nice and small. The miracles of technology! Not that she seems to use to it, eyeing Guthrie, "These don't fail, do they?"

She steps out of the car, adjusting her long coat over her form and looking around the neighborhood before getting ready to follow Guthrie in.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's not terribly usual for Bean to leave the school. After his adventures in New York were curtailed, he hasn't even stepped beyond the front gate for anything except his appointments with his therapist and the vetting from the organisation that trained Bear. So on the whole he is at the same time delighted, honored and a bit nervous that he's been asked to go visit a potential new student. A nervousness that was picked up on and alleviated by Bear, mostly by the simple expedient of laying across his lap for the entire trip. Bean, the other Samuel, smiles over to Blink. "Not while I'm around." Now the German Shepherd jumps out of the back door of the SUV after letting Bean out, and sits obediently to have his lead clipped on. This is, after all, a residential neighborhood, and laws about this kind of thing are strict.

    The canine in the high visibility vest leads his human along the driveway, with every indication that the lead would have been utterly unnecessary, and sits by the front door. Is the boy nervous? Oh yes. But not so much for himself, more for what might go wrong and land someone else in trouble.

Hindsight has posed:
    A young woman, mid-to-late twenties at most, answers the door. She's wearing jeans and a sweater, and her pale eyes flick between the people in front of her. She is clearly surprised, then, "Oh! You must be here for Nathanial. I wasn't expecting other students," She looks at the younger Samuel and Blink respectively, before turning into the house. "Nathaniel! We have guests!" She ushers the trio inside. "My name is Jillian, Frank's wife. Please, come in. He should be down in a second."

    As they step into the house, the inside is as well-maintained as the outside. A man in business casual attire, presumably Frank, is there to greet them, stretches a hand for shaking towards Samuel. "You're from that school, yes? Frank Carver. A pleasure."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will offer his hand to the woman "My name is Samuel Guthrie, and Ah m an adviser and ex student for the school. Ah have brought a couple of my students along with me, so ya'll can asked them questions about the school as well if you wish. Ah am hoping today we will solve any problems you might have and that we are able to help Nathaniel."

Blink has posed:
Nervousness is contagious! Blink doesn't seem to be that better either, not one of those social butterflies. Specially with people she hasn't really met. But she walks along, hands inside her pockets and curiosity making her watch the dog a bit. She doesn't ask about it, perhaps not the place but questions instead, "You are responsible for these nifty pieces of tech?" she canting her head to the side. "I remember your face, but not sure we talked much.."

She is still pondering on that when they arrive to the front door and she puts on a smile of greeting to Jillian. "Hello, I am Clarice." eyes go from Jillian to Frank. Clearly communicating with humans isn't her forte, but then again she is the weird asian exchange student. It's expected!

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "No, I just-"... and then there is no time left to correct Blink. There is no discussing the technology, or gadget or any other covert subject they might care to name it while visiting the worried parents of a potential student. Bear gives the woman an inquisitive look and seems to decide that there is no need to stop his human from interacting, although he does move to sit in front of Bean now, to mark out personal space. Bean is not great with strangers in a social setting either, although the progress there has been little short of remarkable. Enough, it seems, to trust him with this.

    He is perfectly pleasant, if a bit nervous, when he introduces himself. "Hi. I'm Sam Morgan. This..." and he pats the Shepherd "... is Bear. Say hello Bear." On cue, the Shepherd 'whurfs' and presents a paw in an imitation of a handshake... which incidentally saves Bean from having to offer the same. No such levity when introduced to Frank, however, the boy in the grey 'Xavier' hoodie, the black cargo slacks and the well shined black combat boots simply nodding to the man. "Sir."

Hindsight has posed:
    "A pleasure to meet all of you," Frank extends the politeness to the rest of them, while Jillian is absolutely charmed by the dog and shakes his paw lightly. "Would any of you like something to drink?"

    "I do have a number of concerns," the father continues solemnly, all business. "Nathaniel...he is very special, and his mutat-" His wife gives him a hard look, and he coughs, "his gift is highly intrusive. I did some research, and it appears to be some type of psychic ability? But the things he knows...the people in this house have long forgotten. It's not in our heads." He frowns, like he can't put the experience into words.

    "Puppy!" A toddler comes along and tries to pet Bear, but Jillian scoops him up and apologizes, gesturing for them to follow her into the kitchen.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde arrives with everyone else, climbing out of the SUV. She's wearing a pair of black slacks and a white blouse, without a black jacket overtop due to the weather. She pulls her gloves off and stows them in a pocket of her jacket as they get to the door and the Carvers answer it.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carver. Mrs. Carver," Kitty offers them. "I'm Kitty Pryde, a guidance counselor with the school. And also I'm an alumni myself," she says, glancing over to Samuel Guthrie as she includes herself in that status along with him.

Kitty smiles as the students introduce themselves, and Blink is given a grateful smile for her coming along. Kitty looks back to Frank Carver, listening to his concerns about his son. "It can definitely be a lot to overcome as someone comes to terms with a special ability. And that can be for the person, and their family both," she offers. "We do have experience with teens who have had similar sorts of circumstances," she says before glancing to the others to let them explain more as they choose.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles a bit at the kid and her mom scooping her up. He does look over to Bear and Sam, checking their reactions to this briefly. He will nod, and says "It sounds a bit like a version of psychometry. This is the ability to read the past of an object, but seems Nathaniel does it via a connection to a person." He offers a reassuring smile, and says "We have dealt with people with similar abilities but not quite the same in the past. With time and work, will hope to teach him to only have his power kick in when he wants them to.

Blink has posed:
Bear gets a 'right back at ya' look from Blink, a brow arched, again service dogs not something she is used to either. Perhaps she thinks it has powers. She will certainly keep an eye on the dog but she can't help but smile at the 'handshake' between Jillian and Bear, then says to the mother. "Oh, some water would be great.." she begins to follow towards the kitchen even if her attention is now on the father, expression somewhat solemn.

"This school is a great place to have students focus on their studies." It's not like she is exactly lyyyinng, right? Right? But other than this she doesn't speak about Nathaniel's powers, clearly not wanting to be outed as a mutant, or knowing much about them. Brotherhood paranoia most likely.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Tea would be much appreciated, if you have any, ma'am." Because there are some mental blocks that are hard to overcome. Drinking something that hasn't been boiled first might be easier now in the school, but this is still terra incognita, and there is no trust between him and these people. He's not going to ask for or drink any clear liquid without a distinct taste or smell.

    Bear isn't startled by the smol human suddenly appearing. Trained for this kind of situation, this exact situation in fact, the Shepherd stands and positions himself across Bean's path so that there is no chance of the enthusiastic child accidentally intruding in his personal space. For his part, Bean's head whips around to the shout with the speed of a particularly nervous serpent, eyes narrowing until it's clear there is no threat. Bear bumps a cold nose against his hand for reassurance, gets a friendly pat as a reward, and then both follow Jillian into the kitchen.

    "I can confirm that Xavier's has a way of getting the best out of students going through challenges." Exactly what kind? Well, he can spin a tale about that if pressed.

Hindsight has posed:
    "You do?" Frank glances between Samuel and Kitty when they describe other teens with similar conditions. It is a bit surprising to hear that there are others. His son is the only mutant he knows. Guthrie gets it, "That's right. It only activates when he touches people," His brows furrow slightly. "It's never happened with objects yet. Not that I know of, anyway. He can explain it much better than I," He looks up the stairs and calls, "Nate!" then smiles awkwardly at the guests.

    Meanwhile, Jillian, de-toddlered, hands Blink a bottle of water and prepares a drink for Samuel. It doesn't take long, and she sets a tray of tea for the boy. "So, can you two tell us about your experiences at the school?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty takes a seat and smiles to Jillian, telling her, "Thank you, the tea would be lovely as well." She looks back to Frank, giving a slow nod. "Control is a key thing for most anyone in a situation like your son," she agrees. "We've had a lot of success with helping gain that. But it isn't the only thing that Nathan would be learning. We are one of the top accredited preparatory schools in the Northeast, as well. We have students who go on to MIT, Cal Tech, Columbia, Harvard and other Ivy League schools. I went on to Oxford after graduating," she tells them.

"Nathan would get the support to figure out how to function in a world of people who may not have his gifts, or understand them. But also to excel and pursue careers in the same way that any other kid his age might like to," Kitty offers. She pulls out some information to pass over on the school's curriculum.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods in agreement to Kitty's statement. "The goal of the school is to help the students learn how to be able to interact in the world as they mature and need to find their place in it. And that can be with or without using their powers. As Miss Pryde said we do try to keep up with the top of the line scholastics but we also try to have extracurricular activities as well. This year our glee club, and drama clubs are both very popular with the students.

Blink has posed:
There is a thankful smile on Clarice's expression at the water, she taking it up to her lips and having a long swig off it, head tipping back. For the most part she seems to stay apart now even if she gives Bean a glance at that sharp look towards the toddler but for some reason she nods, perhaps understanding of that kind of reaction.

But then there is the question on her direction, lips pressing together while she considers it and then finally answers. "For me.., the experience has been mostly of a family. There is a way that this school, students and staff can make someone feel welcome and belonging. Even those that .., come from afar like me. Or those like your son that with his gifts may feel apart from others." her tone is direct now, and rather sincere-sounding.

But then her eyes go up to the stairways inquisitively at the boy not coming down. "Would you like one of us to go check?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Thank you ma'am." Bean thanks Jillian with a polite smile for the tea. Bear is sitting next to him, in an attentive posture that's slowly relaxing as the tension appears to drain from his human. The tea most likely helps with that, but also hearing the conversation flowing in a seemingly positive direction.

    He nods when Kitty makes her point. "As Miss Pryde says, the school is excellent. Not sure where I'd be today without Mister Logan, Mister Wagner or Miss Pryde herself. Personally I'm following online courses from ESU in physics and chemistry, but far more than that, it's given me a sense of family." Clarice gets a grateful look for introducing that first. "I can say, honestly, that the people at Xavier's have changed lives, including mine."

Hindsight has posed:
    Frank seats himself at the kitchen table. There are enough chairs for everyone. "That's certainly encouraging to hear," He says, after Kitty's list of prestigious colleges. He's less concerned about drama and singing clubs. Jillian is more attentive, listening to the students and Sam the Older. "That all sounds wonderful. Nathaniel has some troubled history with family, and I don't think he's felt like he belongs in a while." More than that, she doesn't say. Or rather, doesn't get the chance.

    Just as Clarice suggests finding Nathaniel, the boy himself bounds down the stairs, tugging a pair of earbuds out of his ears. "It's Nathaniel," he corrects his father from his earlier call, and then frowns. He's a standard Asian-American teenager, if you ignore the shock of white hair, and is dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He's also wearing leather gloves, which look somewhat out of place but are understandable considering the circumstances. "Um, hi." He looks to his parents for an explanation.

    Standing by her husband, Jillian smiles, but it's tight, "These are the people from the lovely school we talked about."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty sits at the table with a placid, friendly expression. "It's sometimes ironic to me that in a world where we so often made efforts to make sure everyone knows that they are unique and special, that having that sense of family, of community, of knowing that there are others like you, is such an important thing."

Kitty takes a sip of her tea. "And that's definitely one benefit of our school. Many of us are close to our families, and have grown closer for our time at the school. But at the same time, there's the sense that even as we're special, there's others like us," Kitty says.

She looks up as Nathaniel comes down the stairs. "Hello Nathaniel. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kitty Pryde," she offers to him. "A guidance counselor at the school, and a recent graduate myself."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will stand and offer his hand to the young man. "And ah am Samuel Guthrie but you can call me Sam. Ah am also one of the counselors at the school as well, and this is Clarice and Samuel they are students. We were hoping you might be up to talking to us, and if you had any questions we would be able to answer them, to see if your interested in joining us at Xaviers."

Blink has posed:
Blink is that kind of rebel that remains standing when everyone sits, arms crossing loosely by her waist and she leaning one hip against the counter. Eyes follow the young asian-american when he comes downstairs and she offers a greeting smile at the boy, then a chinjerk. "Hey, yep as Sam said, I am Clarice." for some reason she seems a lot more at ease with the gifted boy than with the normal humans. "Good to meet you."

She can't help but nod her agreement to Kitty's words, smiling deeply at that. "And an exchange student." she finally clarifies to Nathaniel.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The tea is half gone when Nathaniel comes down, and Bean has spent that time quietly observing everyone. So that when the teenager comes into the kitchen, he nods pleasantly, giving his best reassuring smile. "Hi, I'm Sam Morgan. But it gets confusing with two Sams around, so people tend to call me Bean. I don't mind either, the name's not as impressive as Nathaniel." 'Whurf' goes the German Shepherd by his side. Did you forget me human? "And this guy here is Bear."

    "Those the new Podmax Pros?" he asks of the ear buds, clearly trying to look and sound less like a walking advertisement for the school.

Hindsight has posed:
    Nathaniel is instinctively hesitant to shake any hands, but he remembers he has gloves on and wants to make a good impression. So Sam gets a handshake. "Hey. Seems you already know a lot about me. My dad and Jillian say there's a school that can help people like me?"

    He gives the rest of those gathered a small wave, and Bean gets a smirk. "Yeah. Perfect for tuning out unwanted noise," Frank sighs lightly, but Nathan continues, to everyone, "I should be upfront. I don't have a lot of control over whatever's happening to me at all."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde rises to move over and shake Nathaniel's hand hello as well. There's no sign of hesitation from her in giving the handshake, either. "We can help, yes," Kitty tells him at Nathaniel's question. "Each of us here have our own special gifts. Part of the reason the school was formed was to help people learn control. But also to become the best version of yourself you wish to be. Education, a career, a family of your own someday?"

Kitty glances over at the others from the school and smiles. "And we were telling your parents, most of us feel like the school is a second family. Having others around who understand what you're going through... it's a bit of a blessing really," she says. "I started going to the school when I was thirteen, actually."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods and says "If you had control of your abilities you would not need us as much. We are here to help you learn more about them as your learning more of classical education things as well. We hope you allow us to help you and hope you find it enjoyable with us.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "When it comes to active noise cancelling, they're the only game in town." Bean agrees on the earbuds. Does he have a pair? Does he also suffer from unwanted parental noise generation? He doesn't say... very specifically doesn't touch on the subject, while implying some kind of shared experience. Duplicity still comes easy.

    "For some it's our only family." he adds to Kitty's statement. "But it's a good one." The implication has of course been made that the visitors from the school are all 'gifted', but Bean and Bear certainly seem to be normality itself. "Don't take my word for it. Come see the campus, but bring some snacks man, 'cause it's huge."

Hindsight has posed:
    Everything sounds so promising, but Nathaniel seems subdued and takes their words for what they are. Words. It does help that Sam and Blink are here. They're students and appear fairly normal (thanks Image Inducer). "And you're okay with this? You trust these...them?" 'people you just met', he doesn't say and takes a final look towards his parents. His father nods slowly, while Jillian keeps that tense smile.

    "Right," He nods, mostly to himself. "Let's not linger then. I'll finish packing."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    That nod. That smile. That defeated sound of Nathaniel's voice... Bean stands up, finishing his tea. There's no way he's going to just let that kid leave like this. "Hang on man, I'll give you a hand. Lot easier with four hands than just two."