Kitty Call Home:
X-Men: Movieverse 2 - Tuesday, December 01, 2009, 10:05 PM
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=XS= Jean's Room - Staff Wing - Lv 3
Large and airy this end of the hall room; the door from the hallway bisects one wall. To the right, an office area complete with overstuffed bookshelves and a desk with computer, docking stations for peripherals, and piles of papers both research and student. To the left, privacy screens in black lacquered wood and white rice paper enclose a sleeping area containing a bedside table and lamp, and a double futon with many pillows and an addictively comfortable duvet. The outer wall features two bay windows with cushioned window seats on either side of a small fieldstone fireplace. An oriental rug stands in front of the hearth, with a small cream coloured sofa perfectly placed for a quiet evening in. There are two additional rugs in the sleeping and office areas, otherwise the parquet floor is bare. Walls hung with gray-blue wallpaper and with acccents in black and white, the simple empty space allows for both visual and mental tranquility, aided and abetted by candles scattered about on black worked-metal stands. A door on the left wall leads to a fairly nice bathroom, and a matching one on the right opens into a large walk-in closet.
(Exits : [O]ut )
The clock edges into an appropriate hour to call a busy Headmistress in a houseful of teenaged mutants (that aren't turtles). That's when Kitty, unbusy with her vacation, retreats to the study of her mother's house and shuts the door. There is a cell phone in tow as she settles into a computer chair, pulling her legs and trying to get comfortable as it squeeks and sways. As she does so, her contact list is scrolled through until she finds the right name (filed under Greyscale) and clicks on her little green phone button.
The hour is appropriate indeed -- late enough that teenagers are off doing other things, but early enough that Jean isn't. (Logan's off somewhere, likely being a dick in Scott's direction.) Curled up on her couch with a six year old son fallen asleep on her rug before her fireplace, she drops a book to pick up the phone, and smiles crookedly at the caller ID. "We missed you at Thanksgiving," is offered, tone warm enough to spare the greeting any overtones of guilt.
"The mom was giving me a hard time about how long it's been since I've visited," Kitty replies, though affection is clear enough in the words. There's a pause as her bare feet finds purchase on the lip of the desk, pushing her chair in small little swivels as she blurts out, "I know who else missed Thanksgiving this year. Because he's here. On base, that is, not at my mom's."
"Ah, the Mom Guilt," Jean murmurs, a laugh in her voice. "Finally accepting my lot as headmistress of the school got me off the hook with my own mother, just a year shy of forty." The laugh disappears as she speaks again, though, processing the blurt and venting with a wryly understanding little hum. "And you still with that Wisdom fellow, I'm guessing?"
Her delivery is a tad defensive as Kitty replies, "Yes, I still am." She rakes a hand through her hair and blows out a puff of air as eyes transfer to the ceiling. "I don't know how you ever get through working with Logan and Scott. It's so..." The word that it is does not get offered as she brings her shoulder up in a quick shrug.
"I liked him," Jean offers, even-handed in her praise. "He handled the fact that our first meeting required me to get elbow deep in his brain quite professionally. And then there's Aurelie..." But she trails off, the name dropped as a passing thought and thus passed by in favour of a soft snort. "Frustrating?" she offers. "Maddening? Heart-wrenching? Makes you want to find a way to drop them in a blender and get a single man with all their good points?"
"You're the mad scientist. Would that actually work?" Kitty responds mock-seriously, hmming slightly at the idea. There's another sigh as she smiles slightly, the gesture following through to her words. "Not many people've liked him. I just expect it now." A pause before she's questioning curiously, "Aurelie? The girl from--. I've heard the name."
"Not many people are fond of Logan on first meeting," Jean offers up, with an unseen quirk of her mouth. "And besides, I have even less excuse than most to judge books by their covers. But yes," she confirms. "Aurelie, the orphaned girl from Terre-de-Bas. You can pass the word on that she's making good progress in recovering, if you think he'd like to know."
"Oh." For some reason, the single syllable sounds surprised as Kitty sits up slightly straighter in the chair, foot dropping to the ground. "I'm not sure, honestly. Do you think he'd like to know?" Yes, she's asking Jean advice about her boyfriend, though the older woman has only met him once.
"You'd be the better judge of that than I would," Jean assures, a rustle and a creak heralding a shift to lounge more comfortably on the couch as she smiles down at the snoozing pile of six year old on her rug. (A Hot Wheels car pressed into his cheek will leave an interesting mark when he wakes up.) "So, I leave it to you to pass on, or not, as you like."
"I just... I don't think he really likes kids. I'll pass it on, though," is said hesitantly as Kitty frowns down at the keyboard in front of her. Her finger reaches out to tap at the space bar, waking the computer up with a whirr of protest from the machine that is years out of date. "I can do it now, infact. I'll email him."
"You can not like kids and still do the right thing when you see one in need of help," Jean points out, with a cant of her head to try and focus more intently on the background noise from the other end of the line. "But, Aurelie will keep. How are -you- doing?"
It's the phrasing, about doing the right thing, that has Kitty pausing in her clicking and leaning back to think it over. Maybe this would be better information to pass on where she can hear a voice. There is a tiny laugh as she admits, "I'm fine. I'm in hiding for a bit, so ok. How are you? And Logan. And Nate. And S--well, everyone."
"You can say his name -- he's the father of my son, for all neither of us were consulted about it," Jean says, with a smile back in her voice again. "Everyone's doing well. Your people kept Boston from becoming New York's problem, so we were able to handle a few flare-ups from people panicking. Most of the kids didn't even notice the evening news beyond making some really unfortunate jokes about 28 Days Later."
There is a grin as Kitty responds, "Maybe I have a stutter where I can't say it. Really, I just didn't feel like going through the list, love." She nods happily at the news, the gesture unfortunately not transfering over the connection. "Good, good. I'm glad you guys didn't have anything major where you are." The sound of the computer abruptly shuts off as it's powered down again.
Jean's eyebrows lift at the term of endearment chosen but, well-bred WASP that she is, says nothing. "For once, New York wasn't the centre of the end of the world. How are you coping with that? Terry came here for Thaksgiving, brought one of your people with her."
"Yeah, I heard they were going," Kitty says easily, staring down at the keyboard again as flicks a fingernail between keys to remove dirt. "She offered me leftovers from it, but I have a feeling she's going to eat them all before I get back to grab some."
"Next time your people need me out there for some reason, I'll pack a hamper," Jean promises, staring down the length of herself at her toes. She wriggles them. "So, you've got your own version of the classic love triangle going, hm?"
"Maybe. Maybe not anymore. I think we have it sorted out." There is a pause before Kitty lectures teasingly, "But it would have been easier if you blocked Peter from coming with your body or something. Or you could have had Logan tie him up." Her eyes crinkle slight as she hmms to herself about this idea.
"Body? When I have telekinesis?" Jean quips, a teasing snort echoing down the line. "But... I'm glad you have it sorted. My advice in such matters might be questionable, but if you ever want it, or just want to vent over the stupidity of alpha males... let me know."
Kitty grins at the words, throwing back playfully, "I'm going to hold you to that, but not now. My phone is beeping at me." There is a pause before she remembers something. "Oh! Tell your boyfriend to call me, by the way. I'm thinking of taking a ski trip and Colorado is out of the question, so we're looking into Canada."
"Mount Tremblant, in Quebec" Jean offers up promptly. "Logan will probably wax lyrical about the West Coast, but -I- used to go skiing there when I was in med school." And the lower drinking age in Canada had -nothing- to do with it.
There is a soft laugh, before Kitty says in teasing placation, "I will ask you both and then compare the information to reviews online. That way I have more choices." She starts getting up from her chair in preparation to find a charge, the old furniture squeeking in protest. "Thank you for the talk. Love you and call you later."
"Don't be a stranger," Jean bids, and lets the phone call end with a smile off at a corner of the room. Phone back on its charger, she leaves her book lying in order to rouse the son sprawled on her rug and see about an exhortation towards bedtime.
Thanksgiving, Triangles, and Terre-de-Bas refugees.