John and Mort, Tuesday afternoon
Apr. 15th, 2014 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainJohnny's out having a cigarette when a Toad hops by. Possibly the beginning of a very unhealthy "I dare you to" relationship? With minor apologies to Betsy >.>
John had his little fire-bat-friend fluttering around him as he puffed on his second cigarette in a row. It was a chilly day, damp but no longer raining, but he was in a well-worn slightly-too-tight Hard Rock Bangkok t-shirt and a pair of skinny plaid pants as if this were any protection against the weather. He giggled quietly at his bat, whipping his finger in a circle and making that into the flight path over his head. He followed the path through the grounds, going nowhere in particular, just enjoying his smokes and occasionally muttering something to the bat. "There we are, Rita, what would you say to something with a bat-shifter?"
Mort had been testing out his ability to jump from tree to tree (what? There were a lot of them about!) when a familiar smell caught his nose. Hardly a moment later, he was hopping towards it. "Willing to spare a fag, mate?"
John glanced away from Rita and blinked a few times to clear the fire-blur from his eyes--and mind. He had no idea where the oddly amphibious boy had come from, but found his appearance interesting enough that he mostly didn't resent being torn from his fiery reverie. The bat still fluttered above his head, as if a little familiar, waiting. John dug into his back pocket. "Right-o. More for the club; for a lot of underage kids we consume a lot of nicotine around here."
"Great! Thanks, bro, thanks!" Mort forced himself to stand up properly, even though it was a little uncomfortable, and accepted some of that nicotine. He ducked his head a tad, slightly wary of the...bat of fire?...but otherwise seemed pretty pleased. "Pleasure to meet you, and all that. You play with fire, then?"
"Often as I can--though it's a bit more serious than playing," John admitted with absolutely no rancor. A cloud of smoke curled around his lips as he flicked his fingers. The bat descended to hover before the other boy's cigarette patiently. "Go on, use old Rita there. She likes to be useful."
Mort took a deep inhale to get the cigarette lit. "She?"
"Yes, Rita identifies as female," John said matter-of-factly. "Pretty, isn't she?" The fire-bat fluttered back to circle John's head once more.
"I suppose so." Fire was fire, so far as Mort could tell, but the ginger bloke didn't seem all that inclined to agree with him on that score. Why rock the boat? Figuratively. "I'm Mort, or Toad, by the by. And you are?"
"Pyro. Or John. Or Johnny." He grinned. "Toad--I like that. You are fair toady aren't you? What all can you do, then?"
The Aussie was certainly a pyro, it seemed, Mort had to agree. "I can do toad-type things. Got the tongue," he flicked it out and grabbed a leaf, pulling it back and then tossing it on the ground. "I jump, I climb, all sorts of things, really."
"Ha-HA!" John's cackle was cut short by his need to find out more, though. He made a gesture and the bat disappeared so he could focus completely. "Tongue like that is very useful. Vic has one too--though he's more reptiley than amphibious. That's brilliant!"
"Bet Vic doesn't do this, though." It took less than half of his explosive strength to hop up on to the nearest tree branch. Rather than landing on top of it, he hooked his legs around it so he was hanging upside down, looking down at Pyro. "Toad speciality."
John cackled properly that time. "Oh, well done, you! Bet that comes in useful!"
"Sometimes," Mort agreed, breaking into a grin. He hopped back down, flipping in midair to land on his feet. "So what all do you do, then?"
After laughing some more and clapping his hands a few times for the gymnastic feats, John said, "Anything I like with fire. Well, except for creating it. I've tried and tried, but it's just the manipulation, not so much the creation. Dead depressing if I think about it too much, so I don't. Anyhow, hard to complain when it's so fantastic."
He took out his lighter and flicked it, glanced at the flame and turned it into a ball, about the size of a bowling ball, and floated it between them, flickering and roiling and perfect.
"Whoa. That's damn impressive."
"Isn't it though?" John went quiet for a moment, watching the flame and getting lost in it--then suddenly snapped out of it and raised his gaze to Mort again. "So another Brit, is it? Got a lot of those around--mostly boys, just the one girl--well, not counting teachers like Ms. Braddock."
Mort's eyes went wide. "Braddock like hot, rich, supermodel Elizabeth Braddock?"
John blew smoke and flicked his free hand upward, lifting the fireball to hover above them. "Is she a supermodel? Well, wouldn't surprise me, she's dead gorgeous, yeah. Teaching assistant, too--World Cultures."
"I think I've her swimsuit issue somewhere in me room," Mort agreed. He took a deep inhale - ah, yes. That felt good. "Give me a reason to pay attention in world cultures, then, I reckon."
"Swimsuit issue!" John was amazed and impressed. It was pretty rare he met anyone who'd traveled half as much as him, though he'd assumed Ms. Braddock had. He'd never realized she'd accomplished so much else--as in had an actual career so early. Here he'd thought he'd be one of the youngest mutants to make his own career name!
"Gives me more reason to pay attention too," he said, though he meant it for entirely different reasons. "What about her brother--he's the life sciences assistant. Big blond yobbo, looks like a brick, but apparently a genius."
Mort shrugged a little. "Heard of 'im, yeah. I don't know much about, though. Not as much in the papers as his sister, far as I can tell."
"Far less interesting, 'cept with his shirt off, far as I can tell," John said with a grin.
This time when Mort's eyes went wide, it was for an entirely different reason. "People here just wander around with no shirts on?" That could be bad, could be very bad. He...well, he thought he made it worst as best he could, but he'd always heard he was rather odd looking. Being half-dressed could not make the situation better.
John thought about this. "Well, not outside the locker room. But then, summer is coming. At last. I've had two winters this year and it seems unfair."
Mort just blinked a moment, mouth slightly ajar in confusion at how that would even happen. "Two winters?"
"Oz," John said. "Was the end of winter when I came here for the beginning of the American winter. Don't reckon that's fair. Though I've had some fun with the snow, enough's enough, mate."
"Oh, right!" The seasons didn't match in other countries? Mort decided that would be something to ponder on later. "Doesn't seem fair at all, I suppose. So you've been here the whole winter then?"
John nodded. "It's fan-fuckin'-tastic, mate. Don't you reckon?"
Mort grinned. "Absolutely! A whole school of mutants? Nothing much better, right?"
"Apart from fire, no." Ah, this was perfect, another kindred spirit. "Have you met everyone yet? Takes a while--not sure even I have."
So the bloke's love of fire was a bit disconcerting maybe, but Mort could overlook that for now. Johnny seemed pretty alright, otherwise. "Not yet, no. Lots of impressive people here around there, though, aren't there?"
John nodded again, blowing out smoke. "Who's yer roommate?"
"Stevie," Mort said, attempting to blow some smoke rings with only moderate success. "Can tell when people are lying, I think."
"Handy, that. 'Course, I never lie, unless you count the stories. Don't see the point." John didn't seem to mind the malformed smoke rings--just kept puffing away, fireball overhead like this was perfectly normal. "My roommate's a bit of a bastard, really, but he's all right. Can get you to do anything just with the sound of his voice. Short Kiwi guy."
"Stories?" Did everyone in this place read? Hell, he'd be screwed even worse than he had been back in London.
"I'm a writer," John said, matter-of-factly.
It really was everybody. Jesus fuck. Was the whole bloody school a bunch of geniuses? "What sorts of stories?"
John dropped his cigarette and pulled out a new one, lowering the ball of fire slowly as he tore at the package. "Romance. Paranormal and historical, mostly. You a fan?" He inhaled from the ball staring into the fire and giggling a little around the cigarette.
Everyone else here seemed to like the things, maybe he should become a fan! Even Wanda liked them, and Mort was partially convinced she was perfect. Of course, he was still shite at reading, so...
"I'm not one for reading much," he admitted to his new classmate.
John looked amazed. "Really? Well, that sounds dead boring."
Mort shrugged his sloped shoulders, and crouched down a little into a more comfortable position. "What I need to read for anyhow? I've got TV and shit, mate."
John flicked his free hand upward and sent the fireball back up where it'd come from. "Nah, man, you're missing it all. TV's just what someone else thinks of when they read something. The good shit gets lost in translation.
"Ah-audiobooks, that's what you need!"
Crazy ginger bloke actually was crazy. Audiobooks? What, was he eighty? Not that 'Mortimer' was a particularly young sounding name, but really. Books on tape? "I don't know about that."
John cackled. "Your loss, mate!
"Hey now, do you swim like a frog, too?"
Mort blinked. "Swim? Iunno. Maybe?"
"Once I finish this, let's go to the pool and find out," John said, then cackled some more. For some reason the mental image just struck him as hilarious. Toad-boy swimming like mad through the water! Hmm Toad Shifter? Some kind of princess and the toad story? Not bad, not bad....
Bro was mad. There was no other explanation, as far as Mort could tell. Besides, when the hell had he ever gone swimming? "You want to go to the pool," he clarified. "Now. In winter."
"Well it's not outside!" John said, head surrounded by a huge cloud of smoke again. "I mean, we could try the lake if you're feeling polar-bear-esque..."
Mort shuddered. "I ain't a polar bear, bro. But I ain't got swim shorts either."
"S'alright, wear some of mine." A pause, there. "You're not afraid of the water are you? That'd be a twist! Amphibian afraid of water!"
The green boy rolled his eyes. "Not afraid of water." Just not all that used to being in it. At least, not the sort of water that came up over your knee - usually the only water he was used to was rain. Maybe the occasional shower or bath.
"Well, you don't seem very keen," John pointed out, ever-so-reasonably. It was a brilliant idea!
"Doesn't mean I'm afraid." Mort puffed up a little. "I'm not."
John flicked his cigarette. "Come on then!"
One last inhale, and then, "Alright. Let's go."
John had his little fire-bat-friend fluttering around him as he puffed on his second cigarette in a row. It was a chilly day, damp but no longer raining, but he was in a well-worn slightly-too-tight Hard Rock Bangkok t-shirt and a pair of skinny plaid pants as if this were any protection against the weather. He giggled quietly at his bat, whipping his finger in a circle and making that into the flight path over his head. He followed the path through the grounds, going nowhere in particular, just enjoying his smokes and occasionally muttering something to the bat. "There we are, Rita, what would you say to something with a bat-shifter?"
Mort had been testing out his ability to jump from tree to tree (what? There were a lot of them about!) when a familiar smell caught his nose. Hardly a moment later, he was hopping towards it. "Willing to spare a fag, mate?"
John glanced away from Rita and blinked a few times to clear the fire-blur from his eyes--and mind. He had no idea where the oddly amphibious boy had come from, but found his appearance interesting enough that he mostly didn't resent being torn from his fiery reverie. The bat still fluttered above his head, as if a little familiar, waiting. John dug into his back pocket. "Right-o. More for the club; for a lot of underage kids we consume a lot of nicotine around here."
"Great! Thanks, bro, thanks!" Mort forced himself to stand up properly, even though it was a little uncomfortable, and accepted some of that nicotine. He ducked his head a tad, slightly wary of the...bat of fire?...but otherwise seemed pretty pleased. "Pleasure to meet you, and all that. You play with fire, then?"
"Often as I can--though it's a bit more serious than playing," John admitted with absolutely no rancor. A cloud of smoke curled around his lips as he flicked his fingers. The bat descended to hover before the other boy's cigarette patiently. "Go on, use old Rita there. She likes to be useful."
Mort took a deep inhale to get the cigarette lit. "She?"
"Yes, Rita identifies as female," John said matter-of-factly. "Pretty, isn't she?" The fire-bat fluttered back to circle John's head once more.
"I suppose so." Fire was fire, so far as Mort could tell, but the ginger bloke didn't seem all that inclined to agree with him on that score. Why rock the boat? Figuratively. "I'm Mort, or Toad, by the by. And you are?"
"Pyro. Or John. Or Johnny." He grinned. "Toad--I like that. You are fair toady aren't you? What all can you do, then?"
The Aussie was certainly a pyro, it seemed, Mort had to agree. "I can do toad-type things. Got the tongue," he flicked it out and grabbed a leaf, pulling it back and then tossing it on the ground. "I jump, I climb, all sorts of things, really."
"Ha-HA!" John's cackle was cut short by his need to find out more, though. He made a gesture and the bat disappeared so he could focus completely. "Tongue like that is very useful. Vic has one too--though he's more reptiley than amphibious. That's brilliant!"
"Bet Vic doesn't do this, though." It took less than half of his explosive strength to hop up on to the nearest tree branch. Rather than landing on top of it, he hooked his legs around it so he was hanging upside down, looking down at Pyro. "Toad speciality."
John cackled properly that time. "Oh, well done, you! Bet that comes in useful!"
"Sometimes," Mort agreed, breaking into a grin. He hopped back down, flipping in midair to land on his feet. "So what all do you do, then?"
After laughing some more and clapping his hands a few times for the gymnastic feats, John said, "Anything I like with fire. Well, except for creating it. I've tried and tried, but it's just the manipulation, not so much the creation. Dead depressing if I think about it too much, so I don't. Anyhow, hard to complain when it's so fantastic."
He took out his lighter and flicked it, glanced at the flame and turned it into a ball, about the size of a bowling ball, and floated it between them, flickering and roiling and perfect.
"Whoa. That's damn impressive."
"Isn't it though?" John went quiet for a moment, watching the flame and getting lost in it--then suddenly snapped out of it and raised his gaze to Mort again. "So another Brit, is it? Got a lot of those around--mostly boys, just the one girl--well, not counting teachers like Ms. Braddock."
Mort's eyes went wide. "Braddock like hot, rich, supermodel Elizabeth Braddock?"
John blew smoke and flicked his free hand upward, lifting the fireball to hover above them. "Is she a supermodel? Well, wouldn't surprise me, she's dead gorgeous, yeah. Teaching assistant, too--World Cultures."
"I think I've her swimsuit issue somewhere in me room," Mort agreed. He took a deep inhale - ah, yes. That felt good. "Give me a reason to pay attention in world cultures, then, I reckon."
"Swimsuit issue!" John was amazed and impressed. It was pretty rare he met anyone who'd traveled half as much as him, though he'd assumed Ms. Braddock had. He'd never realized she'd accomplished so much else--as in had an actual career so early. Here he'd thought he'd be one of the youngest mutants to make his own career name!
"Gives me more reason to pay attention too," he said, though he meant it for entirely different reasons. "What about her brother--he's the life sciences assistant. Big blond yobbo, looks like a brick, but apparently a genius."
Mort shrugged a little. "Heard of 'im, yeah. I don't know much about, though. Not as much in the papers as his sister, far as I can tell."
"Far less interesting, 'cept with his shirt off, far as I can tell," John said with a grin.
This time when Mort's eyes went wide, it was for an entirely different reason. "People here just wander around with no shirts on?" That could be bad, could be very bad. He...well, he thought he made it worst as best he could, but he'd always heard he was rather odd looking. Being half-dressed could not make the situation better.
John thought about this. "Well, not outside the locker room. But then, summer is coming. At last. I've had two winters this year and it seems unfair."
Mort just blinked a moment, mouth slightly ajar in confusion at how that would even happen. "Two winters?"
"Oz," John said. "Was the end of winter when I came here for the beginning of the American winter. Don't reckon that's fair. Though I've had some fun with the snow, enough's enough, mate."
"Oh, right!" The seasons didn't match in other countries? Mort decided that would be something to ponder on later. "Doesn't seem fair at all, I suppose. So you've been here the whole winter then?"
John nodded. "It's fan-fuckin'-tastic, mate. Don't you reckon?"
Mort grinned. "Absolutely! A whole school of mutants? Nothing much better, right?"
"Apart from fire, no." Ah, this was perfect, another kindred spirit. "Have you met everyone yet? Takes a while--not sure even I have."
So the bloke's love of fire was a bit disconcerting maybe, but Mort could overlook that for now. Johnny seemed pretty alright, otherwise. "Not yet, no. Lots of impressive people here around there, though, aren't there?"
John nodded again, blowing out smoke. "Who's yer roommate?"
"Stevie," Mort said, attempting to blow some smoke rings with only moderate success. "Can tell when people are lying, I think."
"Handy, that. 'Course, I never lie, unless you count the stories. Don't see the point." John didn't seem to mind the malformed smoke rings--just kept puffing away, fireball overhead like this was perfectly normal. "My roommate's a bit of a bastard, really, but he's all right. Can get you to do anything just with the sound of his voice. Short Kiwi guy."
"Stories?" Did everyone in this place read? Hell, he'd be screwed even worse than he had been back in London.
"I'm a writer," John said, matter-of-factly.
It really was everybody. Jesus fuck. Was the whole bloody school a bunch of geniuses? "What sorts of stories?"
John dropped his cigarette and pulled out a new one, lowering the ball of fire slowly as he tore at the package. "Romance. Paranormal and historical, mostly. You a fan?" He inhaled from the ball staring into the fire and giggling a little around the cigarette.
Everyone else here seemed to like the things, maybe he should become a fan! Even Wanda liked them, and Mort was partially convinced she was perfect. Of course, he was still shite at reading, so...
"I'm not one for reading much," he admitted to his new classmate.
John looked amazed. "Really? Well, that sounds dead boring."
Mort shrugged his sloped shoulders, and crouched down a little into a more comfortable position. "What I need to read for anyhow? I've got TV and shit, mate."
John flicked his free hand upward and sent the fireball back up where it'd come from. "Nah, man, you're missing it all. TV's just what someone else thinks of when they read something. The good shit gets lost in translation.
"Ah-audiobooks, that's what you need!"
Crazy ginger bloke actually was crazy. Audiobooks? What, was he eighty? Not that 'Mortimer' was a particularly young sounding name, but really. Books on tape? "I don't know about that."
John cackled. "Your loss, mate!
"Hey now, do you swim like a frog, too?"
Mort blinked. "Swim? Iunno. Maybe?"
"Once I finish this, let's go to the pool and find out," John said, then cackled some more. For some reason the mental image just struck him as hilarious. Toad-boy swimming like mad through the water! Hmm Toad Shifter? Some kind of princess and the toad story? Not bad, not bad....
Bro was mad. There was no other explanation, as far as Mort could tell. Besides, when the hell had he ever gone swimming? "You want to go to the pool," he clarified. "Now. In winter."
"Well it's not outside!" John said, head surrounded by a huge cloud of smoke again. "I mean, we could try the lake if you're feeling polar-bear-esque..."
Mort shuddered. "I ain't a polar bear, bro. But I ain't got swim shorts either."
"S'alright, wear some of mine." A pause, there. "You're not afraid of the water are you? That'd be a twist! Amphibian afraid of water!"
The green boy rolled his eyes. "Not afraid of water." Just not all that used to being in it. At least, not the sort of water that came up over your knee - usually the only water he was used to was rain. Maybe the occasional shower or bath.
"Well, you don't seem very keen," John pointed out, ever-so-reasonably. It was a brilliant idea!
"Doesn't mean I'm afraid." Mort puffed up a little. "I'm not."
John flicked his cigarette. "Come on then!"
One last inhale, and then, "Alright. Let's go."
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Date: 2014-04-16 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-27 04:29 pm (UTC)