11584/Swimming... but not in data

Swimming... but not in data
Date of Scene:	02 June 2020
Location:	Swimming Pool - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	The time has come, the angel said, to talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, cabbages and kings! Jeremy and Shannon chat by the pool, a simple, normal day, with no tech involved!
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, SpyderByte

---

Nightingale has posed:
     With the warm weather, it was wonderful to finally get outside and into the pool again. It was a generally pleasant, peaceful place, with surprisingly few about at this hour, where one could come to gather their thoughts, or simply to relax. So far, the only one out there was a familiar winged healer in training, who had a lot on her mind. She's in her red-and-white hibiscus print bandeau bikini, which seemed to have gone over well enough in front of miss Grey, so none could call her 'indecent' in it.

     For the moment, she's simply floating on her back, swimming free. Her mind wandered to one of the newest residents of the mansion--Jeremy. Had she done badly by him, convincing him to come here? Would he be able to find the same sense of being normal that she had, on her first day here? Had it, indeed, been a mistake? As the water surrounded her, she tried to picture what the world must look like to him. Was it like this, swimming in data? She felt so free in the water--was it that way for him, floating in a sea of one's and zero's? She /knew/ how to be a friend to someone, and didn't need anybody telling her how. But how could she reach out, without pushing him away?

     Her little brown bag lay on a small table nearby, just far enough away so that it wouldn't fall into the water, with her phone inside it. At least if someone needed her, they could reach her.

SpyderByte has posed:
The Spyder has become a Gh0st in the mansion over the last week. Being that it's summer break and no need for classes, he is rarely out of his room, though he's been known to sneak in an appearance at the computer labs late at night and into the early mornings. But, even computer nerds need to get out and find some fresh air once in awhile.

The backdoors to the school opens up to reveal the lanky young man. He's wearing a baggy oversized black hoodie and a pair of torn at the knee jeans. He is practically swallowed up within the jacket, though his dark black hair can be seen peeking out of it. He has that skittish movement about him as he steps out on to the lawn, bare footed, feeling the crisp crunch of summer grass beneath his feet.

As he glances over towards the rippling surface of the pool, he spies Shannon floating along the surface, bikini clad and blonde haired. He grows immediately rigid, his posture taking on a bit of a guilty slump, as if he just walked in on someone in the shower by accident.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon doesn't immediately spot Jeremy nearing the pool area. The chirping of birds, the sounds of the water rippling about her as she lazed about on the surface were soft and gentle, but enough distraction short of something much louder close by. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she inhales the sweet scent of newly planted flowers and freshly spread wood-chip mulch from the nearby flower beds. A faint smile tugged the corners of her lips uwpards, a rare moment of peace erasing some of the lines of concern that creased her face at times.

     Peace came at a bit of a price, though, as she floated closer to the edge of the pool. Distracted, it takes a very light contact of the top of her head with the edge of the pool to snap her out of it. There's a bit of splashing about, the surface of the water coming to life with wild ripples as she shifts to treading water, obscuring most of her body from the shoulders down beneath the surface.

     But would she spot Jeremy in time? Or would he make good his escape? Stay tuned, dear reader....

SpyderByte has posed:
At the sound of splashing, Jeremy's eyes dares to glance once more over towards the pool to at least ensure that she is not drowning. He has no clue if wings may drag someone down or not. Being this close to the edge of the pool, she would be able to see him as he is not exactly running for the door.

His eyes glance over towards her brown bag as he can hear her phone calling out to him: Over her! I'm right here! Come talk to me!

Pinching his brows slightly beneath the hood of his jacket, he lets out a soft breath. ~I can't talk to you. You're in a bag and she is not holding it.~

Talk to me! I'm bored. Talk to me! She took fifty pictures and I want to show you!

~I don't want to see them. It's fine.~

You do! You should see them! Let me show you!

There is a withering sigh from Jeremy as the microwave soon butts into the conversation.

Hey buddy! My charcoal filter really needs to be replaced.

Don't forget me, the toaster! Everyone forgets I'm here! Will you use me next?!

There is a visible twitch from Jeremy as he ponders why one would hook a toaster up to a network.

"Sh.. shhh.. u..t.. up.. " He hisses under his breath.

PICTURES!
FILTER!
TOAST!

"SHUT UP!" He shouts out loudly, tugging his hood over tighter.

Nightingale has posed:
     These were conversations that Shannon was not privy to. The outburst caught her a little bit by surprise--she hadn't spoken a word to him. But if she hadn't, who--or what--had? She paddles over to the edge of the pool, simply holding on and letting the water serve as a cover-up for her at the moment. She had a funny feeling the young man hadn't seen too many girls in swimwear and wasn't keen on making him uncomfortable.

     "Jeremy?" she called out, keeping her voice soft. "What is it? What's going on?" She simply remains where she is, listening... waiting... there if he needed someone.

SpyderByte has posed:
With his eyes closed, it takes Jeremy a few seconds to shift and filter all the signals out of his way. He evn flails one hand in the air a few times as if shooing them away. With red cheeks, he clears his throat and glances back over towards Shannon, shuffling his bare feet a bit.

"N.. no.. t-t-th.. innnng.. Ju.. Juhhh..ssst.. leeeh.. l.. loud.. muh-muh-mi..mi..croo..wave. Ch-Ch-aaaattttty."

He speaks with his usual stutter and stammer as he tries to force the words up through his throat. He stubs his foot about in the grass a few more times, toes wiggling and squishing about.

"Y.. oooo.. uu...You." He starts again. "Luh.. luh.. look.. n-n-n-ice."

Nightingale has posed:
     Nodding slowly, Shannon smiles, tucking a bit of pale gold darkened by the water away behind her ear. "I can't imagine what that's like, hearing tech talk to you as if it were a person. I've seen it once before, but it still escapes me." There had been times she spoke very little of, where that had actually been a very helpful ability--and once, it had saved many lives.

     As she let Jeremy speak, she simply listens, her fingertips tracing little patterns on the tiles at the edge of the pool. Her smile widens, her cheeks going a little bit rosy. "Thank you," she replies, canting her head slightly to the side. "The water's nice if you felt like joining in."

SpyderByte has posed:
Giving a shake of his head, Jeremy fumbles with the drawstrings of his hoodie a bit. It's hot as hell outside. He shouldn't even be wearing that thing. "N.. No.. t-th-thaaanks.. "

He reaches into his hood to rub the back of his neck a few times, raking his fingers through his hair.

"M.. My .. b.. bo.. body... it.. it... it.." He stumbles out. "It's.. b.. ba..bad..don't want t-t-to ssss-ssssca-re.. yuh..you."

Nightingale has posed:
     "You wouldn't scare me," she attempts to reassure Jeremy. However, Shannon does respect his wish and nods, smiling. "Well, maybe just sit on the edge and dip your feet in the water, then? It really does feel nice."

     There was just no way anybody could be comfortable wearing a hoodie like that in this heat! But there was also no way she was going to be able to be like the wind and try to bluster and blow till he took off his coat. No, the sun had won that battle. "Think I left my water bottle near my bag if you're thirsty? I could go get it for you." Just a normal, simple, basic conversation. Normal, tech-free, powers-free enjoyment of the day.

     Who could ask for anything more?

SpyderByte has posed:
"I.. w.. wuh-w.. would.. g-g-give..you nnnn-niiii-nightmares." Jeremy says as he hugs himself a bit tighter for a moment, giving another poke at the grass with his toes. "T.. th.. they d-d-d-did.. th...things.. to me." He says a bit softer as he ducks his head again downwards.

Looking over to the bag, he glances back to her. He makes his way over to the bag to take the bottle of water, then heads over to the edge of the water, leaning over so that he can hand it to her. That way she won't have to get out. Slowly, he eases himself down to his rump and then dips his feet into the water after nudging the pantlegs up a few inches. He's pale of skin without much in the way of hair on his legs. He gives a few wiggles of his toes under the water, testing the temp.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, understanding. "If you have a t-shirt on under that hoodie, at least maybe consider taking the hoodie off? It's pretty hot out here." If Jeremy refused, she would honor his wishes, of course, but she'd been on the receiving end of heat exhaustion once a few years past and it had not been any too pleasant. At least he got his feet in the water, she mused. It would do a little bit to help keep him cool.

     If Jeremy were to peek into the bag as he retrieved the nearby water bottle, he'd see the phone, of course, but also what looked like an assortment of basic first-aid supplies; this was no normal teenager's purse. She offers a smile, pulling up the little straw on her water bottle and indulging in a sip; within the transluscent, pale blue body of the bottle, one could see a couple lemon wedges floating about in the water to lend a twist of flavor. "Care for a sip?" she asked, offering the bottle to Jeremy.

SpyderByte has posed:
"I do." Jeremy is able to get those simple words out easily enough as he stares down at the hoodie. He lets out a soft sigh, then pushes his hood back to reveal his shaggy mop of his black hair. The brown roots are starting to show now. He unzips the hoodie and slowly eases out of it, then nudges it to the side. He's wearing a simple black t-shirt with a power button log on the front. On his left arm there is several heavy scars that travel up into his sleeve. Someone definitely took a blade to him, or worse.

His feet swish about in the water a few times as he watches the ripples and currents move about. "M...M..aa...be...innabit." He says in regards to the water. Splish. Splash.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, only giving a brief glance to the scars that turn Jeremy's arm into a battlefield memorial. She manages to keep a smile on her face, but inside, raw anger welled up within her. She knew she'd be spending some time in the gym later on to work it off. "That's a great shirt," she offers. "Looks good on you."

     What the hell had he gone through? Had Supergirl any inkling of any of this? She had a feeling that, if the young Kryptonian woman had, she would be up in arms in an instant.

     She tilts her head to the side, indulging in a little bit more of her lemon water. "Chatty microwave? What was it saying?" She'd learned to listen to a technopath when it said something was talking to them; it usually meant it was something that needed to be heard and likely taken care of.

SpyderByte has posed:
Nodding his head, Jeremy gives a tug of his sleeve, as if to try and nudge it a bit farther down along his arm to cover the scars, but it won't work. They're too long and jagged to be covered. He presses his lips into a thin line, then lets out a soft breath.

"G.. Go.. t.. it at.. H.. Hhhhoooot.. Topic. W.. was.. ch..cheap." He swishes his feet about in the water again, watching as it ripples and flows about him, soaking the ends of his pantlegs.

"It wuhh..ants.. it's.. fff.. filter.. ch.. changed.. " He says in regards to the microwave. "Y.. your.. fff....oone.. w..was.. t-t-trrrying to sssshow me p-p-pictures. A.. and.. th'.. T.. toa..ssssster.. is b..bored."

Nightingale has posed:
     Nodding slowly, Shannon manages to keep her smile widening for the first part of that. "New filter for the nuker... got it. I'll pass that one along." The next gets a bit of a glare to her bag and the phone within, and she manages to stifle a giggle. "Long as it just wanted to show you the picture of the quilt I made for Captain Rogers this Christmas," she replies, her voice now starting to take on hints of a barely suppressed giggle.

     But when it came to the toaster, she couldn't help giggling. "Bored, seriously? Come on, who doesn't like toast and eggs in the morning?"

SpyderByte has posed:
With his stammer, Jeremy rubs the back of his neck. "Toasters are sensitive." He says, stammering out each word. "They feel unappreciated.. compared to an oven.. or a fridge.. " He says the words slowly, working them out, though his rattle is still thick and rough coming out of his throat. At times, he appears to be frustrated with his lack of communication abilities.

He gives another yank of his sleeve, then shrugs again as he gives a wet of his lips. "She said you took a lot of pictures, but I wasn't going to look at them." He admits.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon chuckles lightly, and shrugs, ruffling her wings; they are oddly dry, despite being partially submerged. "It's alright, it's not as if they're anything private. I did take a lot of close-up photos of the flowers over there earlier this morning." She glances back over her shoulder, gesturing towards the nearby flowerbeds, with their well-tended floral residents all in a row. "I kind of like the gallardia," she continues, pointing towards a daisy-like blossom with crimson red petals tipped by sunny yellow. "What about you? Got a favorite?"

SpyderByte has posed:
"Venus fly trap." Jeremy stammers out. He reaches down with his hand and brushes his fingers along the surface of the water a few times. He creates a number of swirls and circles. "They're sneaky plants who lure their prey into a false sense of security. Very clever."

As he straightens up, he gives a long stretch of his body, cracking loud and angry joints in his spine from years of bad posture and hunching over a computer. He flashes a bit of stomacy as well, rail thin and heavily scarred before the fabric is yanked back down.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, and smiles a bit. She glances briefly at the scars, her smile beginning to fade. A light sigh escapes her, her eyes misting over. "Those look like you've had them a while," she says softly. "I wish I could heal them." But otherwise, she makes no move to do just that, neither pressing the issue nor approaching any closer. She'd already had a taste of how skittish he could be, and was not going to push his comfort zone any more than it already had been for today.

SpyderByte has posed:
Shrinking into himself, Jeremy fidgets once more with his sleeve. "The world isn't nice to people like me. Weak people. When I was in juvenile hall, I was an easy target." His voice continuse to stammer out, forced and jerky. "I couldn't do anything but take it and hope they wouldn't kill me."

He lifts a wet hand and rubs it along his nose to work out an itch. "I don't like being so weak." He mutters under his breath, then reaches up to rub at his right shoulder a few times. "School wasn't easier either. When I got back. I got bullied even more."

Nightingale has posed:
     The winged teen just listens, keeping quiet, her expression little more than lightly furrowed brows. However, inside, she was shaking with rage. "I'm sorry," she murmurs. "If I had known you then, I'd have tried to stop them."

     A faint sigh escapes her, ruffling a wisp of hair dried out by the warm, life-giving sun. "For what it's worth," she offers. "I don't think you're weak. But if you're talking about physically, swimming's a fun way to work on that, and it's relatively easy on the body." She crosses her arms on the edge of the pool, resting her chin atop them, in thought for a few moments. "Weather's getting to be pretty good for it, too."

SpyderByte has posed:
"I'm pretty weak. It's fine. I don't plan on being an athlete any time soon. I like my computers. Computers are great to talk to. Very nice." Jeremy says as he gives a bit of a snuff. "I'm not good at the physical stuff anyways. It hurts to breathe just walking too far."

As his foot gives another light splash into the water, he plays with the ends of his shirt a few times, twisting the fabric about in his fingers before smoothing it out again. He is always trying to stare off to the side, not directly at her, though she is in her field of vision. His cheeks are red, his mop of hair glistening with a bit of sweat.

Nightingale has posed:
     Hmmm. Well, she thought to herself, you win some, you lose some. At least she'd managed to get him talking some. Shannon smiles and nods, pulling herself out of the water. "Wouldn't ask you to be an athelete. Not if that's not who you are. Maybe just a little swimming sometime, though, so it wouldn't hurt to breathe just by walking?" Once again, it was his choice, as it always was and should be.

     Reaching for her light blue towel, she rubs it over her hair, and wraps it around her waist. "I should probably be hitting the shower... maybe get some lemonade later. You going inside?"

SpyderByte has posed:
"Maybe. Just don't like taking my shirt off in public. Swimming with it on would be constraining." Jeremy says as he runs a hand through his hair. He pushes himself up to his feet, wiping them off a bit on the hot ground. "I don't want to scare people with my body."

His eyes lift upwards to her, sullen, dark and sunken in. "Yeah, I'll go inside. Guess I can go do some work." He says as he picks up his hoodie, tying it around his waist. It is hot outside after all.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Swimming at night's a possibility, too." However, Shannon does not press the matter further, only chuckling as she picks up her little brown bag. "Nothing too private among my photos," she offers. "Just not all of them are very good." Waiting for Jeremy, she keeps pace with him on the way back inside, where it's cooler, and perhaps some cool treats await.