6676/Worth Cracking a Book.

Worth Cracking a Book.
Date of Scene:	26 February 2019
Location:	Library - Xavier's Mansion
Synopsis:	Mason tries to study and find out why he sweats mud. Andrea talks him into talking with the staff about it.
Cast of Characters:	Mason Steele, Rage

---

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason didn't show to class. After the performance, he disappeared the rest of the afternoon. No answering texts, no phone call. No instagram, no twitter posts. Nothing. All of his usual places are empty. Why? Well, he's in a place that no one would expect him to be. The back corner of the library in the mansion. And he's doing something no one would expect him to be doing. He's reading.
    His mop of blonde hair droops down as he studies a page of a double column book. It doesn't even have pictures. Some of the others do, though. one has a picture of a plant in soil, another has some sort of close-up on human skin. His phone sits next to him, so he can't use the defense that he lost it or didn't have it with him.

Rage has posed:
After not receiving any type of message all day, Andrea finally faked a period and went looking for Mason. She stopped by his room first, asked about, then finally wolfed out and started tracking him down by scent. Once she made her way into the library, she shifts back up as her uniform blends back into view, wrapping her in gold and black.

"Mason? Hey.. "

There is obvious concern in her voice, and any hard feelings she may have had the other day is either gone or tucked away. She knows he of all people wouldn't be here unless it was important, or someone put a gun to his head.

".. You okay?"

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason's head snaps up at her call to him in a way that only someone who was snapped out of a trance can. Upon closer view, the book in front of him is...a Bible. "Hey," he says, making no decisive answer. "I'm just studying," he says. "I had to figure some stuff out." A bunch of science books and a Bible. Odd combination. All of these are books that he would not normally bother to do anything with at all. "You're a Christian, right? What does this mean?" No 'how are you doing' no kiss. He's consumed with whatever is on his mind. He turns the Bible toward her. Leviticus 17:11-12 is circled. "I circled it. I hope God doesn't mind," he says, "I didn't mean it like disrespectful or anything. It reads:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blod, nor shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

    He looks back up after giving her a second to read it. "What does that mean? You know this stuff, right?" Of course, Leviticus isn't one of those books that most people, even Christians, read all that frequently if they are not scholars or pastors.

Rage has posed:
"I was a Christian when I was twelve, then I met Thor." Andrea says as she peers down at the passage. "But it means that God blessed man with the ability to eat meat, but not to eat or drink blood, for through blood is the association of your soul. So it would be like eating someone's soul." Sliding down next to him, she reaches for the Bible, then closes it. "Mason, so... you're freaking out, I get that. Secondary mutations happen and you need to speak with Jean about it, or Hank. He probably would be the best one to ask. This may not be a big deal, something easy to control. You are a geokinetic, so maybe you can do something like Bobby can and turn yourself into a dirt man or something, or a rock guy.."

Her hands reach out for his, to give them a squeeze. "I know you're getting a lot heavier lately. I can tell .. not sure if you've noticed, but I sure have. I just didn't want you to freak out thinking you were fat or something, or big boned. I figured you knew and didn't wanna share it with me."

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason shakes his head. "So, our blood is our soul? What happens if there's stuff in it? Does that stuff become our soul, too?" He pulls over the diagram of the skin as she closes the Bible.

    "Look at this," he says, "So...Jesus sweat blood right? I remember hearing that, and I thought, "Okay, but I'm sweating like muddy water." He points at the picture. "So sweat glands can have blood come through them in extreme stress, which is essentially where little blood thingies burst in your skin, and so the blood comes out with your sweat. Gross I know, but I wasn't stressed, I was just hot. There's NO way for dirt to get into your sweat. So I was like...okay, so the dirt's just on my skin. I took a shower for FOUR HOURS yesterday, and the water just kept...kept running dirty looking. Like...I was the dirt." His arms are raw, indicators of his attempt to clean it off, and his right arm has a slightly jagged scratch on it.

    He doesn't squeeze back, "I know I'm heavier. I hadn't really weighed myself until yesterday. Andrea, I weight 230lbs. I should be like as big as a house. Something's happening."

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, you're eating rocks like it's all you can eat tacos. Your body isn't designed to .. you know.. digest rocks... you're taking in a ton of minerals and other sediments and your body is now kinda .. I dunno, naturalizing itself to it all. It has nothing to do with Jesus or the Bible or any of that made up stuff." Andrea sighs. "Mason, I'm worried for you, okay? Can you /please/ talk to Jean? Please stop eating rocks. Let's see if this stuff can get out of your system or something."

She squeezes his hands back, then nudges the Bible off to the side, closing the other books around him. "You're a mutant, and this is what happens. Like the more time I spend as a wolf, the more feral I get, which is why I limit my powers. You eating rocks was a red flag and it's my fault. I should... I shoulda said something. /Did/ something to help you. I just didn't want to argue and it didn't seem to be hurting you."

Mason Steele has posed:
    "I can't /help/ it," Mason says. "It's like... if I don't eat them, I get really hungry, and I just...it's weird, okay? I can't explain it. Think of it like wanting another shot of cocaine, you know when...no you don't. Think of it like chocolate." Maybe that's better. "But...more intense times like a thousand." He shakes his head. "What if I start looking like the Thing!" His mind conclusively has taken this to an extreme. "Then...then what?"

Rage has posed:
"I don't know, but you need to talk to Jean about this." Andrea says with a sigh. "And if you look like The Thing.. I'm still going to love you. Sides, The Thing has pretty blue eyes. He's pretty charming." She attempts to cheer him up, though she doesn't put much effort into it. "Maybe Jean can.. I dunno.. stop you from eating rocks. Like turn it off or something. What about when you go to the bathroom? Is.. everything okay there?"

Mason Steele has posed:
    "Yeah, I bet he can't play the piano," Mason says with a grumble. It's not his looks he is afraid of losing in that scenario. When Andrea asks about the bathroom, he rolls his eyes up to look at her from beneath his eyebrow. "Don't ya think that's a little personal?" he asks. "As far as I can tell, it all seems the same. I don't really like the idea of people messing in my head. It's very...violating. You of all people should understand that," he comments, referring back to her experience with his mother.

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, but your mom is a bitch who deserves to have her head knocked off. Jean is your teacher, and she cares about us and she would never do something to hurt you. Just until we figure things out. That's fair isn't it?" Andrea says as she nudges him. "So, just pay attention to the bathroom the next few days. If you're sweating out mud, you don't know what else may come out. Just be careful. Don't get .. uh ... plugged up you know." She trails off a bit helplessly. ".. But no matter, I'll love you, Mason. Okay? I'm here to help you out no matter what."

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason shakes his head, laughing. "Maybe you should be a nurse," he answers. "Okay, I'll talk to...somebody." He stands up, "I'm starving. You hungry?" he rubs his brow. "Studying sucks. I'm glad I don't do that very often."

Rage has posed:
"Depends on what we're gonna eat. I'm not gonna eat rocks." Andrea rises upwards and leans up, giving a long stretch. She takes his hand, tugging him to his feet with a pull. Oof. He's heavy. She leans in and curls her arms about his neck, giving him a kiss. "But, sure, let's find something to eat, and then you're gonna talk to Jean or Scott." She says with finality.