1894/Sunrise at Breakstone

Sunrise at Breakstone
Date of Scene:	08 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Nightcrawler, Akula

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Nightcrawler has posed:
If there was one thing that could be said about Kurt Wagner, it was that he was a man of opposites. An angel in a demonic guise, and an imp who enjoyed pranks - who was also very seriously devout. One of the things he rarely missed was the sunrise. The sunrise in particular over Breakstone Lake, just a stone's throw away from the mansion. It was the perfect time to have a little coffee - enjoy some quiet - very few in the mansion were up so early, and those that were tended to not be around here...

And read his Bible.

A tattered old German bible, its pages yellowed and bent from years of use. Kurt was dressed casually now - almost still for bed. Loose pants - the type he prefered, both due to the strange build of his legs, and the ease of motion he had in them, and an equally loose, non-collared top, a single foldover bit of cloth at the collar with a bit of a button there, which hung open, giving a minor v line from throat to the top of his breastbone.

Turning a page in the Good Book, he lifts his chin up, a somewhat chill morning breeze a contrast to the heat of the summer day that was likely to follow in a few hours. Lifting his other hand up, he brings a mug of coffee to his lips as well, taking a sip of the beverage therein.

It was early o'clock, and all was well.

Akula has posed:
All is quiet on the lake, at least, on the surface. Kurt was not the only one who sought some quiet for the peace of mind it brought, though for the creature below the slow lap of the morning waves, it was not to study higher things for spiritual sustenance.

Muskies and pikes scatter in the depths, sides flashing as they attempt to escape the new apex predator that has unseated them from their safe throne. Two, five, ten, twenty - large fish are threshed with the elongated tip of a tail, and quickly consumed. The water churns heavily, suddenly, in a dark blue area a little ways from Kurt's position at the shore. He may not immediately notice it if his nose is buried somewhere between Genesis and Revelation.

*THRASH!* Moments later a high, large fin that does not belong in a fresh water lake breeches the surface of the water, followed by a loud slap of a tail. The water roils from the sound, and shortly after, heavier waves lap at the shoreline.

Nightcrawler has posed:
The jumping fish was a usual companion to mornings on the lakeside. Fish spying flying bugs above the lake, and leaping up for their breakfast, so the splashing - at least at first, isn't quite enough to stir the mutant from his study. Mouthing the words as he tracks down the page with a finger, Kurt lets his eyes - luminscent in this morning dusk - narrow down on his current study of Second Kings.

And as those in the know knew, that was a very riveting chapter indeed.

But the splashing - so rapid, certainly different from the normal lake sounds of the morning, stirs his mind from the allure of the Bible. He looks up right at that THRASH! And the slap of water.

Now, Kurt was very agile. So one moment, he was sitting down, relaxed - the next moment, he was on top of a stone, his arms to the sides, Bible clasped in his right hand as his eyes survey the waterfront. "Ack!" he says in verbose surprise. Although his features twist to more thoughtful ones. <"What sort of fish was that?"> he murmurs in German. But then again - perhaps Xavier's had a new student that he didn't recognize, since he was gone. On vacation. "Hello? Is that one of the students here?" he calls out, his dusky voice lifting to carry over the water.

Akula has posed:
Ah, so someone was here! It's a pity she wasn't a manta-ray mutation, because she feels like quite the devil fish. Grinning to herself deviously, she circles to aim herself towards the sound of the voice. She picks up speed with the use of her tail, gaining steam and momentum. The fin tip starts to rise out of the water.

If only she'd heard about the movie 'Jaws'. She would love to be able to broadcast the classic theme somehow.

It quickly becomes apparent that the fin is headed towards Kurt, and it's gaining speed. The woman beneath the water is losing room to keep below the water just as quickly, the gap between surface and bottom slimming down to a few feet. The tip of the tail rises above the water, a split second before Akula does.

She thrusts her feet against the lake shore and leaps out of the water arms up in front of Nightcrawler, mouth open in a fang-filled grin as she roars and bellows in Russian, < I CONQUER YOUR LAKE FOR THE GLORY OF MOTHER RUSSIA! >

Nightcrawler has posed:
If only she had heard about the movie Jaws.

Please don't give poor Kurt any more reason for a heart attack. He could see that fin, and the idea of a 'shark' in the lake was both outlandish - as in, that could /never/ happen - and... well... what /was/ happening? Was it a student? It /had/ to be.

Or, he supposed, it could be a villain out to get /just him/, at five thirty in the morning. On Xavier grounds. Stepping back from the waterside a little more - hopping backwards over the bench as he goes, he clutches the Bible to his chest a little more, his face growing a little more serious when...

Okay. That creature /bursts/ out of the water, and Kurt stiffens up, bringing up his hand as if that would ward it off. "Mein /Gott/," he says, meaning every syllable of those words. Taking a few stuttering steps back - Kurt almost trips once, but he was basically untrippable - he just kinda bobs around the momentary unbalance, he takes a step back. "What?! I don't understand what you are saying!" he calls. Yes, there was stress in his voice now.

Akula has posed:
She's still looming over him as he backs up, $#@&-eating grin wide across her face, arms out like a bear ready to grapple. Once Kurt stutters and nearly falls, Akula loses it. She bursts out into laughter.

Falling back to a sit in the water with a splash, she holds her sides and keeps laughing, the kind of rolling belly-laughs that only come when something strikes one as truly and completely funny.

Feel free to call her something terrible. She is.

"Ahahahah! Oh little blue Americanski, the look on your face! You are almost peeink pants! Ahahahah!" she guffaws, this time in English, heavily accented with Russian. She has to stop to catch her breath, gills along the sides of her ribcage flexing with hints of brilliant red before clasping themselves shut.

Nightcrawler has posed:
The 'wtf' that was on Kurt's face was priceless. Maybe. When the laughter starts, Kurt blinks his glowing eyes once, then twice - before a wide grin of his own spreads across his lips. He was a joker - and he could appreciate when someone played a joke on him. Laughter of his own - likewise low and a little dusky - leaves him.

"You are /terrible/! I have to warn you, though - do not play this joke on Logan," he says, his flashing smile a bright contrast against his dark colored fur. A handful of moments more, and he shakes his head, his demeanor and posture relaxing to something more casual. Tucking his Bible in front of himself, he gestures with one hand.

"And I have to tell you, this is a terrible way - or an amazing way, to introduce yourself to a teacher, ja? I am Kurt Wagner, and I will remember this when it comes time to cast for my plays," he says, his tone of voice jovial as he narrows his eyes.

Akula has posed:
Wow, he wasn't mad? Oh that was new. That was a first. She had expected a different reaction entirely, and laughing was not it.

Akula composes herself, steading her breaths, sitting upright, still six inches in the lake water. Unfortunately, she has almost next to nothing on. The tattered remains of a torn white t-shirt wrap like tangled netting around her upper torso. A waterlogged, ripped pair of jean shorts, legs torn off and back torn in half to accomodate a tail, are all that covers her below. She doesn't appear to have anything else.

"A teacher, are you? Is a noble think, teachink. What are you teachink - Germanski?" She has picked up on Kurt's accent and choice of words immediately, correcting herself. She looks down, noticing the book in his hands, making out the title, but barely. The incongruity of a demon reading the bible is not lost on her, and she stares.

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt pauses a moment more, his curiousity abounding as he looks at the waterlogged woman.

"Nein, nein," he says, letting his eyes drift over her condition. Although - his eyes do avert instead of settling upon certain physical aspects, if they are bared at all. Kurt's brow furrows in concern. "Not of German - but of drama. Plays - Shakespeare, operas, musicals, ja?" he adds, bringing up a hand to push his odd fingered hand through his tousled hair.

"You're not with the school, are you?" he asks, canting his head just a bit to one side.

Akula has posed:
Fortunately for Kurt and the censors, Akula's body is about as offensive as the underside of a dolphin or an actual shark. Probably similar physiology. "Ah, an intellectual. And priest? Ha! Last time I am checkink, priest is extinct in my country." She sighs a little, losing her smile, before adding, "Of course that is beink thirty years ago."

A pause. "What school?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt lets a little smile touch the edges of his lips. "Hardly a priest, mein freund," he says, bowing his head somewhat with the wryness.

His eyes lift. "A safe place, for people who look like you and me. A place where we can rest, free of external influence or hatred - a place that is the beacon of hope for the future." Kurt pauses a moment, stepping forward then - offering an open hand to the side in a gesture. "If you are in need of food, clothing, and otherwise - I am certain they would be happy to provide. So long as you meant no harm to anyone on the grounds."

Another beat.

"Did you come from... Russia?" he says, canting his head to the side.

Akula has posed:
"Da," she nods to Kurt. She thumbs to the lake behind her. "I am haffink breakfast already. Good fish. Water is clean. Clothink is not necessary. After beink under arctic ocean for three decades, clothink rots, falls off. I am sufficient, as a good Soviet should be." Soviet. Well. That dates her a bit, doesn't it?

She stands up, water streaming off her lower body and legs, and walks to the shore. She towers over Kurt, a giantess with a fin on her back, solid tail, fins on her arms; she's only a slightly more slate-gray shade of blue than he is. She turns to have a seat on the grass now, near the smaller, interesting German. A real devil! Now she's seen everything.

There is a short, sharp sigh. Frustration vents with air. "I am Akula, Starshina of the United Soviet Socialist Republic, of the People's Navy, Northern Fleet." She gives her public rank, not her real one. "I haff been away from the rest of the world since the country I fought and bled for is dead."

Nightcrawler has posed:
It dates her as far, far before Kurt's time, that was for certain.

His brow furrows with concern, his mind racing back to history around that time. Was this...? This contemplation shows on the devil-like mutant's face as Akula takes her seat, the man observing her quietly. A nod of his head - she seemed to be able to take care of herself, after all.

Although the students should probably be alerted. It was summer and all. And all it took was a prank going wrong and there was... ah, look at him. Too worried about maybes and should bes. Perhaps his morning readings put him in a contemplative mood.

Either way, he shakes out his hair a bit with a sigh, eyes going earthward, before they lift again. "So you are far away from home, fraulein. Have you considered returning?" he asks, his tone of voice gentle. "Or - do you know where you are now?"

Akula has posed:
"Is no way of goink back. I am deserter. They are wantink me for ..." She shakes her head. It should be obvious. She's a mutant, for one think.

"I know where I am now. I am on East Coast of United States. Is place I once trained to invade. Is now place I haff come to shore."

"I am discarded soldier, from dead country. Is nothink left to do but ... shore leave." She gestures with a sweep of her hand towards to lake.

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt pauses a moment more.

Bringing up his hand, he shifts, setting his jaw at a different angle as he considers the situation. Another moment, and he grins - that impish grin of his, lifting his chin up towards the larger mutant.

"What do you /want/ to do?" he asks.

Akula has posed:
"Fight. Drink. [Censored]." Yeah, welcome to the Soviet army, where profanity is used to dot every I and cross every T. She shrugs. "Not sure what I can be doink. I am in enemy country. I haff no documents. I haff no possessions, no home. Is all right, I haff been this way for lonk time, but ... Is borink." Is lonely, she thinks, but does not say.

Nightcrawler has posed:
A curl of his brow. "I think you and my friend Logan may get along, ja? But I think even he is beginning to see that there is more to life beyond... those three things," Kurt says, finding an easy squat atop a log on the riverside. All the more readily to keep eye level with the hulking Akula.

"And I think... you should speak to others in my school. I know we have done things for people in your situation before..." he says, his words twisting with his German accent. But now there was a return of that sly grin. "Myself included, ja?" he says.

He leaves out mention of the Danger Room, for now - that was in the secret part of the school, after all.

"If nothing else - perhaps we can help you find your next step, ah..." A beat.

Kurt hops up, and offers his hand. "I am sorry, but with that introduction you gave, I forgot an actual introduction. I am Kurt. Kurt Wagner."

Akula has posed:
Akula almost seems surprised that there's no code name, sure he he has one! The Germans wouldn't have allowed such a prime specimen of a soldier just go without training and indoctrination, right?

Ohhh right. Berlin wall fell. Right. Nearly forgot.

She extends her hand very carefully towards Kurt, as if she is concerned she might hurt him. "Akula is codename. Given name is Ulianna Saratov," she clarifies. It seems proper that he is addressing her as a civilian, and fair that she should return the favor.

"Who is beink this 'Logan'? I am already haffink good fight with big man in Mutant Town - is called 'Juggernaut', da?" Yeah, she actually tried to fight him for the hell of it.

Nightcrawler has posed:
There was a little faltering in Kurt's expression at the mention of the Juggernaut. Clasping the much larger hand, Kurt did not feel afraid that she would hurt him - but perhaps she would. His smile and eyes remain solidly on the woman's though.

And as for a soldier - Kurt wasn't precisely the good soldiering type, but he was reliable, in a great many ways. "Miss Saratov, then. It is good to meet you," he says, his smile warm. In spite of the devilish nature of it - fangs and all.

Who is Logan? Kurt lifts his chin, gesturing back towards the mansion. "That is the school, on the horizon. He is one of the uh... teachers, there. But I'm sure if you hang out here long enough, he will come out. A rough character, very much into fighting and drinking as well." The less he knew about Logan and the third thing mentioned, the better, in his opinion.

"Smaller than Juggernaut, but do not let that fool you, ja?" A beat further. "...do you know, just for instance, what Juggernaut was doing in Mutant Town?" he asks.

Akula has posed:
"Da. Was fighting in club for money. Fixed matches, because he is a --" She says something incredibly foul, but in Russian. Perhaps Kurt's hair will not catch on fire that way. "Was fun, though." She doesn't talk about the other fights, because they were unique, or not really worth mentioning. But the carousing had been good for her soul.

Having gently, carefully shaken Kurt's hand, she returns it to her side. "Is easier to call me Akula. It means 'shark'. Pretty fittink."

Nightcrawler has posed:
"It does?" Kurt seems delighted by that. "... Shark, huh."

A beat.

"He was fighting in fixed matches. I would think that, for a man of his... ability, he wouldn't need to fix matches, ja?" Another moment goes by, Kurt likewise returning his hand to the side. He wasn't innocent, but he was working on it.

"I am glad you got your fighting itch out, ah..." Another beat, and Kurt moves to fetch his nearly forgotten coffee - or what was left of it, at any rate. Bringing it to his lips, he takes a sip, before lifting his Bible-toting hand up to gesture towards Akula. "Are you going to be swimming in the lake for a while?" he asks.

Akula has posed:
"I do not know if I will stay. Is no reason to." She suddenly seems tired. Worn down. A veteran who has seen far too much death and hell for her own good.

"I was raised as a soldier. From the time I could stand, I was taught to kill. I was inspired by the brave patriots of my country." Her memories drift to Winter Soldier. "I saw war. I saw victory. I saw defeat." She looks down at the ground, orange eyes almost glowing amid the dark slate-blue of her skin. "But my country betrayed me. Betrayed the others in special forces. They destroyed the dignity of the Soviet man and gave in to the capitalist swine we had so long prepared to destroyed." Her hand clenches into a fist. Her tail THUMPS the ground behind her, hard. Rocks skip and jump nearby, rattled from their place.

And then her shoulders sag, and she hunches forward a little, staring a thousand yards at nothing across the water. "I can only fight for my country and people, but my country no longer exists. The parasites that took it would only destroy me. There is no place for me there. There is no place for me -anywhere-."

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt pauses for a long moment as she says what she does. A beat, and his lips purse.

At least, until the thump causes the log he was perching on to shift, his feet scuttering easily to find new purchase. Kurt lets his features grow thoughtful, the devilish looking man nodding his head with what Akula says.

"Perhaps... it is time to make a new place? For you?" he says, his voice quiet. "You cannot be the only one feeling this way."

Akula has posed:
"... If there was somethink I could fight for again," she murmurs breathlessly.

Her head rises back up, the very thought of it causing hope to swell in her breast. To fight again. To war again. To have a purpose to her existence, a nation --

-- A *cause*.

A smile spreads across her face once more, a fierce joy sparkling in her eyes. "Ohhhh, to have somethink to fight for again," she states lowly. "I would tear the skin off this planet in attack. I would make my body hard as vibranium in defense. My battle cry would make all the devils in hell [censored] out their own hearts."

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt nods his head, finally bringing up his hand to draw one of his fingers across his lips, considering the other.

"It was pride in your nation - the reason you fought before. And now, well... your nation isn't quite up to your standards," he says. "That sort of journey - to find a new cause - is one deeply personal." A beat.

"I would be suspicious of anyone trying to make a cause for you."

Akula has posed:
"Perhaps I should see your school and find your Logan," Akula helpfully suggests. "It is not as if I have anythink on my schedule." She laughs at her own misfortune briefly.

Nightcrawler has posed:
A little smile dances across Kurt's features, and he straightens up, stretching out his back. "Come - I'll walk you there. Introduce you to the Professor briefly - and we'll see if Logan is up yet."

He wasn't sure if Logan ever slept.