4658/New Horizons

New Horizons
Date of Scene:	15 June 2018
Location:	Xavier's School, Westchester, New York
Synopsis:	X-23 has her first lunch and first friend at the Xavier School.
Cast of Characters:	Elixir, X-23

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Elixir has posed:
Josh walks in silence with Laura back through the grounds to the main building. He walks with her to the Dining Hall.

"This is the place. Almost always open, too, I'm told. Food is pretty good," he says and hands Laura a tray and gets in line. "We just line up with a tray, and take whatever you want. For one meal," he adds, uncertain about how much he needs to explain. "Hey, if we see someone I know, do I introduce you as X-23 or Laura?"

X-23 has posed:
Laura walks on, looking about. People. Too many pople. But she'll take the tray, moving to follow. She thinks a moment. "You said X-23 was strange. Use Laura." she says, sounding a little reluctant. She's tense, and it shows in her body language.

Elixir has posed:
"You sure you're okay with that?" he asks, noticing how tense she is. It makes him a little tense, too. He grabs a sandwhich, a bottle of water and a chocolate chip cookie and waits for Laura to choose what she wants.

"There's a place over there that doesn't look too crowded," he says nodding toward a table by where the windows meet the back wall. "And nobody's gonna come sit at my table." If she follows, he sits down at the table and starts into his sandwhich. "Is that the kind of stuff you ate back home?"

X-23 has posed:
Laura looks at the food, a little lost. Finally, she picks exactly what Josh picked, and moves to sit. "No." she says. "They had my diet very controlled. Everything was very controlled." The bottled water, at least, she seems familiar with, and opens. The sandwich gets a look around, then picked up and bitten into.

Elixir has posed:
"Whoa. Sounds like the army or something," he says. Josh is glad Laura chose to sit with her back to the wall. He could not see the looks from the other students, which he had no doubt were less than friendly. "I guess you didn't like it, or you wouldn't have escaped. How'd you end up here? Did one of the staff find you and bring you? That's sort of how I got here."

X-23 has posed:
"It was government. Well, government and military. And I escaped." She says. The sandwich seems to surprise her, and she takes another bite. "My mother knew some of the people here."

Elixir has posed:
"Government? What kind of government uses kids as assassins? That's messed up," he says. "Glad your mother knew someone here. Anywhere has to be better than where you were. Did she help you get out?"

X-23 has posed:
Laura answers, completely straight-faced, "Canada." And takes another bite of her sandwich. Chew. Swallow. "She...tried. She made it possible." Laura says. That gets very complicated. And very dark.

Elixir has posed:
"Canada? Seriously? Wow," he says and nods to her comment about her mother. "Wish my parents had helped me. When they found out I was a mutant, they kicked me out and threatened to turn me over to the Reavers if I came back. Just like that."

X-23 has posed:
That gets a confused look. "Why would they do that?" From a girl who's mother did what hers did, the two don't go together. Then she pauses, and adds "And why would you let them?"

Elixir has posed:
"Let them? I can't make them want to keep me around, and I sure as hell can't stop the Reavers," he says, shoulders caving inward slightly. He chews on his sandwhich a little morosely. "My parents kicked me out because they hate mutants. Like, really hate them. And when they found out I was one... That was it."

X-23 has posed:
"You could not leave." She points out, simply. "You could make them leave. Besides, hating mutants makes no sense. They're better." Plain and simple.

Elixir has posed:
"Better," he snorts. "A lot of people don't think so," Josh says with a frown, then smiles ruefully. "And it doesn't work like that, I can't just go around making people do stuff, that's not how it works. At least, that's not how it's supposed to work."

X-23 has posed:
"Then they're wrong. We have powers. They do not." Laura says, matter of fact. "And, you should never let people make you do something you do not want to." If there's anything she learned, it's this.

Elixir has posed:
"Yeah, so people keep telling me," Josh says. He cracks open his water and takes a swig, looking out the window. "It's like the theme of the day." He turns his attention to Laura and tries to put himself in the shoes of the teenager across from him. He finds he really cannot. "So, do you have any questions? This must all seem really weird to you."

X-23 has posed:
Laura nods. "It is very strange. I do not really know school. I was trained. But I was trained alone. I have never had to learn with others before. I have no idea how they can be effective when they have people with different abilities."

Elixir has posed:
Josh laughs. "Yeah, it's probably not the most effective. But there's only so many teachers to go around. They try to group everyone by age, but you get some students who are really good at a subject and some who really suck, all in the same class. It doesn't always work out that well. But sometimes it's fun to do stuff with others, like if you have friends in the class."

X-23 has posed:
Laura frowns a little. "I have no friends." she says, matter-of-factly. "But "fun" has never had to be a priority." Efficiency. Fatality. But not fun. The brunette finishes her sandwich.

Elixir has posed:
"None at all?" Josh says. "That's rough, but hey, I guess you have one now, right?" he says with a broad, easy going smile. "That's something." Josh finishes his sandwhich as well. "I guess you don't really have classes yet. Are you supposed to be anywhere?"

X-23 has posed:
She tilts her head, like she's trying to understand. "I do?" She watches him carefully. "Are you my friend?" She's never had one before. "And no. I am not supposed to be anywhere. I was just supposed to wait until I heard from Jean."

Elixir has posed:
"Sure," he answers her question with a broad smile and a shrug of the shoulders.

Josh downs the rest of his water and finishes his cookie in a couple bites. "I'm supposed to meet her, too. Gee, I hope you weren't supposed to just stay out by the lake," he says. "She'd probably be worried about where to find you. Wanna head back there in case she's looking for you?" he asks.

X-23 has posed:
Laura nods. "I can go there." She moves to stand. Most people would say thank you, or goodbye. Neither are things she was ever taught to do. She turns, and heads out.