10470/Elf On A Shelf

Elf On A Shelf
Date of Scene:	17 December 2019
Location:	Rec Room - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Kurt brings Vi a Christmas present, and the two talk about SHIELD, mutant powers, and Kurt's past.
Cast of Characters:	Vi, Nightcrawler

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Vi has posed:
Vi has been studying, even though many of the students are already on break. Sitting alone at table, there's a third grade math book sitting on top of a social studies book intended for similar ages. Those are either slated for later study, or are already done for the day though as Vi is focusing on another book. She reads something from it and then writes in cursive on a piece of paper, forming the letters slowly and sometimes referring back to the book, even comparing what she wrote to what is in it.

She pauses, mechanical pencil tapping her lip as she looks over towards some shelves that have various books, magazines, and other items suitable for a recreation room. There are a trio of elves there, one in red, one in blue and one in green. At the moment two of them are reclining, while the third is sitting upright in the middle, lap serving as a pillow for the other two. Vi's lips purse in a slightly perplexed look, glancing from the elves to a Christmas tree that has been set up, with some presents under it.

Nightcrawler has posed:
A small series of BAMF!s occur, preceding the arrival of Kurt and the Bamfs with him right now as they move into the room, letting the vents carry away the sulphur smell as they lug several boxes towards the tree while the Bavarian sings to himself in German - though he pauses and tilts his head at the sight of the young woman doing... work on break??

"Guten tag mein dame! Hard at work on break?" padding towards her with the box left for the mini-Kurts, he drops to all fours, slipping along until next to Vi's chair, brow raised, "What could require you to study so while on break, my dear?"

Vi has posed:
Vi's face lights up a little bit at the sight of Kurt and the BAMFs. She's not had much time around them close up, and seems a little intrigued by them. Though Kurt seems more responsible for the expression. It might also stand out, the smile. The nineteen year old's expression during the first month or two at the school has largely been neutral. Avoiding notice whenever possible. Few displays of emotion unless something impactful was happening.

But this is a bit of a warm smile as the man who brought her back with him from SHIELD arrives. "Oh," she says, looking down at her books. "I don't know. I just... I'd like to learn these things I guess. Be like everyone else,' she tells Kurt, biting her lips briefly and looking a little sheepish. She closes the book, using her pencil to mark the location and slides it away from her. From the looks of her paper, it's a cursive penmanship exercise.

"Are you bringing some present down?" she asks, eyeing the BAMFs as they muscle the boxes around beneath the tree. "How does one know whether they should get someone a present or not? Out of everyone at the school?" she asks Kurt.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"I think everyone deserves at least something, Vi. Season of giving, ja? And some people don't realize they needed a little pick me up until someone says 'this is for you!' and they get to unwrap their own little surprise." Kurt beams and from his shirt pocket he pulls a small laminated strip with imagery of a cartoon worm being flattened, offering it over.

"Much better for the book than the pencil, the pencil damages the spine." one glowing eye winking, "Don't forget to be yourself as well, when trying to know things everyone else knows as well, no? It's important not to lose yourself." because with his image inducer her knows how appealing that can sometimes feel.

Vi has posed:
Vi gives a look of gratitude, using the little bookmark in place of the pencil. "There are so many people here. I don't even know how many. A hundred? I should get something for everyone? I have been saving some money for clothes. I don't know how far it would go for so many," she says.

Vi pulls out another sheet of paper and the writes $89 and then begins to divide it by 100, having to consciously think about it as she does. Perhaps more telling is that the girl who hoarded food from the trash can on first arrival, is now figuring out how much the entirety of her money would yield for buying each person in the school a gift.

Vi glances up as one of the BAMFS pops up onto the shelf next to the three Elf-On-A-Shelf. "People move those each day. Yesterday they were in the tree. The day before one was on the TV and two were lying across the top of the lamp. People keep coming in and seeing where they are and laughing about it. I don't think I understand what they are about. Are they something to do with Santa Claus?" she asks.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Vi, you don't need to worry about getting anyone anything, but if you do, presents don't need to be purchased. There are some who make things, figurines, wood carvings, drawings on cards." his tail loops to rest on her shoulder, if she lets it.

Looking to the elves on the shelf he nods, "It s part of a storybook, about a toy elf that was actually a real elf and would get caught away from where they were supposed to be. Some do it to play with the younger students, because they enjoy the game as well. It makes a little magic for them, you see."

Vi has posed:
The young woman doesn't seem to mind the gentle touch at all. The explanations yield a slow nod as understanding dawns on her. "Ohhhh... that makes much more sense. It seemed like no one wanted to let on that people were moving them. I saw Mark, the blond-haired one not the one with scales, moving them one night. But I wasn't sure what was going on so I didn't tell anyone," she tells Kurt.

"I will have to see if I can read this book," she tells him. The young woman glances at the boxes. "What kind of things do you give people?" she asks him, her head tilting to the side. Vi turns in her chair a bit more to face Kurt as well. There's more comfort in her talking to him, to anyone, than there's been in the past.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Well, it depends really on who the person is." he turns and makes a number of growling sounds which causes a Bamf to look up and dig through their box of packages, rushing over a parcel wrapped in purple and bright blue paper. The package handed to Kurt and then in turn to Vi, the fuzzy blue elf bows his head,

"There's a couple others for you, to make up for lost time - so I think you may like this one, ja?" sitting back in his normal crouch, smiling and watching.

Vi has posed:
Vi seems as interested in the unusual language that Kurt uses as at what the BAMF is doing. "Do they understand English if I talk to them?" she asks Kurt with a curious look. But then the package is being brought over and Kurt is offering it to the young woman.

Vi hesitates a moment, just looking at the present. It's so beautifully wrapped. Even though she might have thought she'd gotten used to the immense differences between the life she knew, and here, something about someone going to that much trouble for something they are giving to her, really seems to get to Vi.

She takes it finally, looking down at the beautiful wrapping. Brushing her fingers over it. "It's beautiful, Kurt," she tells him, having learned his name before she found out students call others Mister or Miss, the first name having stuck for her. She seems remiss to disturb the beautiful paper. But finally she opens it, trying to be very careful, peeling back tape rather than tearing it open as if to preserve the beautiful paper even as she looks to see what it contains.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Ja, they just don't speak it... other than to say 'bamf' and that's all." Kurt explains, he doesn't comment on her actions, and part of him understands the care when receiving a present, especially the first.

The box within holds a bandolier made of black leather with pouches near where it would hang at the waist, in number equal to the elements she can consume... but also 'shells' in loups along from hip to shoulder, where one might put quick accesses for those elements as well.

"I thought you might like something a little more flashy for your powers, mein dame." Kurt bows his head low.

Vi has posed:
Vi takes the bandolier out, holding it in the way someone holds a treasured thing. Her lip quivers a little bit and there's a wet glistening in her eyes as she runs her hands over the seemingly custom-made leather. The original pouch she had used, made from a discarded heavy rag found on board the freighter she stowed away on, has been replaced by something nicer, manufactured leather with a tapered slot crafted in the top to make getting washers in and out easier.

Vi reaches down, pulling a vial out from the back of the pouch and sliding into place in the bandolier. "Perfect fit," she says, looking up with a smile to Kurt. She'd given Professor Xavier, and Peter Parker, samples, so it would have been easy enough to craft the item to fit.

"Thank you, Kurt," she says. "This really means a lot to me." Her powers have come to mean a lot to her. She rises from the chair quickly, and if Kurt doesn't stop her, Vi throws her arms around him to give him a tight hug.

Nightcrawler has posed:
He's a hugger too and he squeezes back when she latches on, smiling and giving a little chuckle as he lets her linger as long as she wants to. "You're very welcome Vi, I'm glad you like it." a gentle pat to her back, as his tail lifts a hanky to dab her eyes while he hugs her,

"This is why I give gifts to all whom I can, ja? It makes people's lives a little nicer."

Vi has posed:
Vi gives a quick nod of agreement, accepting the little hanky dab that keeps any tears from falling that might have, before she lets go of Kurt finally. "I'd have never believed what my life is like today. Not if you'd asked me... I'm not even sure how long it's been. Two months. And a half?"

Vi clears her throat, smiling as she runs a hand fondly over the bandolier. "I'll have to see if I can do the same," she says after he comments about why he gives gifts to people. Vi looks back up and over to him. "What was it like, where you grew up? Is it a lot like the school? Or, where Jean is from? Annan... Annandale... on Hudson? Lots of little houses all side by side? Or, in the city where Jamie lives?" she asks.

Nightcrawler has posed:
He blinks and Kurt's head tips at that, lips a line for a moment. "I was a circus freak and lived in a cage for much of my childhood, Vi." keeping that part brief. "I know better than most in this school what your may have been like before." resting his hand on her shoulder.

"The difference most being I didn't know I was a kept creature and a slave pet until I was only a few years younger than you are now."

Vi has posed:
Vi's expression softens as Kurt reveals that bit of himself. She gives a small nod. Understanding is writ across the younger brunette's face as she can empathize, at least more than most, what it might have been like for him. "And how did you get away from them? You can teleport, so... did you learn you had your power and just...?" she asks, snapping her fingers as if to indicate him poofing away in a cloud of sulphur, away from the cage that confined him.

Vi glances back over to the BAMFs, seeing how many of Kurt's presents they brought. The gaily wrapped boxes around the bottom of the tree have grown greatly in number now.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"I didn't know how for much of my life. But I am flexible, fast, I have good reflexes. I stick to things. I was an acrobat and I was happy until I knew the truth." one hand lifting to gently pat her cheek now, one golden eye winking,

"I'm free of it. I'm away from such a life. I must live with some of the sorrows that ever follow, but I would not trade where my life has led to. That's the important part, Vi."

Vi has posed:
The touch to her cheek brings a gentle smile from the teen that is focused up on Kurt. "The way you cling to the ceiling. Is that something that you can teach a mutant to do?" Vi asks him curiously. "I could kind of do the same if there is some metal off somewhere on the other side, though it wouldn't be quite the same as just being able to stick there," she tells him.

The young woman looks a little thoughtful. "I was in a robbery recently. We stopped in to get money out. It was a thing called a bank. And these men came in wearing masks and with guns. And I wasn't sure what to do. I panicked. And... Jamie could have been shot because I froze, though I finally distracted them and got them to aim at me instead so I could pull their guns to me." Vi's hand unconsciously goes to her stomach for a moment, rubbing a spot lightly.

"SHIELD teaches people who what to do in moments like that? Could I learn from them? Or... in the Danger Room here? The Professor was training Rogue on robots they called Sentinels. And I helped her with one. Can someone here teach me how to protect people, if that bank robbery happened again and I was there?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
"We can teach you that if you like... SHIELD makes weapons, we let people choose what they want to be, and if you want to learn how to help people in positions like that, we'll be happy to help." Kurt smiles and nods to her before he looks down at his hands,

"As for sticking to people, no I cannot teach that. It's part of me and what makes me. It comes with the fur and fangs" opening his mouth to show pointed teeth as he smiles. "As it is with the tail and my general good looks." a wink offered next.

Vi has posed:
Vi lets out a warm little laugh. "You are good looking," she agrees with him, her expression soft but light-hearted, just a gentle compliment, but not seeming to be hitting on him. "I guess I've heard how everyone's mutations are different. I guess that's part of it," she says, nodding slowly.

"Well, I would like to learn how to use my power. I can use them to fly, if I have metal around me. I've actually gotten pretty good at it. Except I have problems going over water if I'm not ready for it," says, and there's a bit of a blush as if at a memory. "How long did it take for you to find the school? Did you already know most of what you did before you came here? Or were you a student once?" she asks.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"School found me, actually. I was... ehhh... I was being sold to a man in Texas... Escaped, got back to Germany, and Charles rescued me. Brought me here, helped me become my own person." Kurt chuckles and his eyes go elsewhere, "Most of my mutation is hereditary. It's complicated and I may explain more later, but that's the best manner to explain."

One of the Bamfs step up, holding up a package, and offering Wagner a... blue raspberry candy cane. "Funny..." he looks and motions to the box, "Mein dame?"

Vi has posed:
"Germany," Vi repeats, and she takes the mechanical pencil and writes "Germiny" on her scratch paper before setting it aside for later and laying the pencil down on the table again. "Hereditary... so your parents were like this too? You know who they are? Did you lose them when you were young, when they put you in the cage?" Vi asks, blurting the question out and then seeming to think twice of it.

"Sorry, if that isn't something you want to talk about, I'd understand," she tells him quietly, resting her hands back in her lap as she sits in the chair. Vi looks to the box, perhaps not sure what "mein dame" meant, looking back to Kurt. "Me?" she asks uncertainly with a look towards the box.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Mein dame means my lad, it's like saying Miss." he chuckles, "And yes they were bringing over extras, have one if you want. Little sour, but good, ja?" he allows himself a moment to consider, "I was left in a ditch and was found by gypsies who took me to the circus." he wets his lips and takes one of the canes himself, opening it to tuck in the corner of his mouth.

"If you've started reading any of the news, or history of mutant activism... and the Brotherhood... My mother is Mystique. My father is Azazel." letting that hit the floor with a thud.

Vi has posed:
Vi takes the candy cane and gives it a try. "Oh. This is good," she says, smile growing as she continues to suck lightly on the end as she listens to Kurt. The revelation of his parentage doesn't seem to cause any reaction from Vi at all. She just gets out that piece of paper on which she wrote Germiny and she adds, after a bit of hesitation on spelling, and unless corrected, Misteek, and Azazil.

"I'm learning about people in Europe finding American," she tells him. "I haven't gotten to anything about mutants. Just what people have told me," she adds with a little shake of her head. She looks like she might ask another question, about how Kurt ended up in the ditch probably. But then, that doesn't seem like a soup question. Not that she would get the 'soup question' reference either. Either way, Vi seems to decide to avoid that particular one.

"I heard one of the students saying something about you live out in a cabin in the woods somewhere. Is it the cabin over by the like?" she inquires curiously.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"No, not next to the lake, a short jaunt from there... I can move between there and here quickly enough. It's peaceful, it's quiet. I like it really. I lived in crowds and in the mansion for years. No just... out in the woods. It's nice." Kurt admits, nibbling on his cane while the Bamf wanders off with the package.

"In recent months that sometimes it's good to have some distance, if you can afford to have it. I teach, I counsel, but sometimes I like the ability to not have to worry about midnight visits from students. Calls still come... but I get more sleep."

Vi has posed:
Vi continues to enjoy her candy cane. She still likely hoards some food in her room, but probably far less than she used to. She also seems to be eating a little slower. The girl Kurt first brought to the school would have just crunched it all up and swallowed it instead of gently savoring it.

"I understand what you mean. I've been helping Jamie Madrox with his X-factor in the city. And I love it here at the school. But I still feel sometimes like people look at me different," she says softly. "Which, I am. I get that. But they all know it. Everyone. When I go into the city, no one looks at me different unless I actually do something that makes me stand out," Vi says.

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Relish that, Vi. A lot of us can't go out in public without being noticed, and much of that notice isn't always the best." offering a small shrug, Kurt holds the cane in the corner of his mouth like a cigar, absent minded to its existence now.

"As for your powers, you've been to the danger room, ja?" head canting to the side as he goes into though, considering scenarios already."

Vi has posed:
The young woman gives a little nod of her head. "A couple of times. Samuel was doing a dinner with a family there. And the Professor showed me a mountain. And then I saw Rogue fighting the robots, and I went to help a boy. Though he wasn't real," she tells Kurt.

"And a few other times. I'd like to use it more, but mostly I've been going outside to practice flying," she tells him, glancing outside the windows. "Over across the grounds usually, the other side from the lake. The first time I came across the lake... ah... I fell in. And Chris was there and pulled me out," she says, blushing.

Nightcrawler has posed:
A grin at the embarrassment, whether falling in the lake or being saved by Chris he doesn't press or tease about. But Kurt nods and continues to think a moment before offering, "We could try and put in scenarios for your flight - help you gain practice, more control... Polaris could help too, her whole mutation deals with magnetism as far I know. If you're using push and pull to fly, she could see perhaps how to help you work with more expanded magnetic fields?"

Vi has posed:
Vi's face lights up a bit more. "I'd love to work with her on it. She said I could come by and talk to her about it, though I haven't caught her yet," Vi says. Which is her own fault, she's spent time in the city whenever possible, so hasn't been at the school as much except when her classes needed it.

Vi continues to work on the candy cane, which is slowly being consumed. "It's much easier in the city, since there is metal just about everywhere. Every building I can push off of, or pull myself up. Out here I have to bring my own," she tells him, patting her pouch. "So do you need anything to fuel your... teleporting?" Vi asks. "Do you have to eat anything special? Is that why it has the odor it does?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
"Oh... No but it gets tiring to do to fast and too often. If I do too much I grow tired. If I try to move too much it's worse and if I take people with it drains them, can kill them if I take them too far." Kurt admits, tail flicking,

"When I go I displace air, the smoke is from father's dimension, it's where I travel to and from, it's a realm of portals, so I appear there and elsewhere almost instantly."

Vi has posed:
Vi digests the information about the teleporting tiring Kurt, and how it affects other that he takes with him. Though after that, her little nods of understanding and thoughtful expressions kind of dry up to be replaced with a slightly furrowed brow over mentions of dimensions and portals.

Vi shakes her head slowly. "There's so much about the world that I don't understand," she says, the tone of her words making it seem like a mantra that she's probably repeated a few times before. "It seems like it would be a great thing to be able to do." She could have gotten away from Echo. Gotten other people away. She maybe could have done that if she'd known her own powers, but didn't. "I don't know if I ever took the time to say it, but if I didn't... thank you for coming to SHIELD and getting me. I don't think I would have liked what the men there wanted to do," she says. She doesn't seem to be holding it against SHIELD, at least.

Nightcrawler has posed:
A curt nod (HA!) from Kurt at that, frowning, "They mean well, but some of the worst things came from well meaning. They wanted to study and make use of your abilities... We wanted what you wanted." brow knitting, "If you wanted only to use your powers so that you would know how not to use them, that's as important as helping you harness and make the best use as benefit to you, or to others if you wanted. Not what some spy agency could use it for."

Vi has posed:
Vi hears the call for dinner, glancing over that direction down the hallway. She looks back to Kurt and smiles. "Well, if I can help people, I'd like to. And, well. I did sort of panic and freeze when the men came in with guns. Into the bank. But, in the end I did disarm them. And a couple of men in costumes showed up. Jamie called them 'bats'. I don't know if they'd have done better, but I kept it so no one but me got shot," she says.

Vi gathers her books and rises from her chair. "Thank you, again, Kurt. For everything," she says. The student, old enough to be graduated, but with her 3rd grade level books in one hand, moves to offer Kurt a quick hug with the other. "I should probably go clean up for dinner." Cleaning up. To eat. That one was new to her, but she's gradually adjusting.