| This scene is rated Everybody |
| Warning: | N/A |
| 2015-08-20 format |
| Players: | Evelyn, Drake |
| GMed by | N/A |
| Title: | And off to school we go. |
[* Bayville: RolePlay Suites *]
[* OOC: RolePlay Suite #1 *]
Non Spammy-Description for OOC meetings
Drake (IC) is here.
Obvious exits: (or check 'rose' for directions)
<O > - Out
The Jones family home is a quiet little suburban place. Or at least it used to be. A few pieces of wood have been used to board up holes in the front door and it looks like someone has snuck into the front garden in the dead of night to trample the flower beds. An expensive four door sedan is parked out front and classical music can be faintly heard from an open window.
The suburbia is disturbed by an unknown black van with tinted windows. Inside, a teen is peering out at the house with sporadically-boarded door. A quick glance is shot to what appears to be a state of the art smartphone, currently displaying a GPS readout. "Looks like the place," he confirms to the driver, an older male in sunglasses. "Back in a bit."
The door opens and the dark-haired youth hops out. A quick look is cast to either side, assessing the layout before approaching the front door. A trio of firm, speedy knocks sounds off.
After a few moments a tired looking man in his early forties opens the door. "Can I help you?" Gary Jones asks, glancing around. A young girls voice calls from upstairs "Who is it dad?" After which he turns and shouts back up "It's nothing honey."
The youth lifts his eyebrows at the sound of a girl's voice from an unknown recess of the home, then back to the wearied man himself. A friendly smile finds his face, brightening his features. "Hi! I'm with the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Name's Drake Vyril. I believe you received a letter?" He sticks a hand out at the elbow, offering a cordial shake.
"You're from the school?" Gary Jones asks with a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god. We are.. we love our daughter but she's become quite a handful. Are.. are you aware of her current 'situation'?" The voice from upstairs yells "But daaaaaaaaaaaaaad. I'm /bored/." He glances around again, then sighs again. "Would you like to come in for a moment Mister Vyril?" Now that the door has been open a while it's possible to see the walls and floor inside also have holes and chunks gouged out of them.
Drake has certainly taken them into account with as few, discreet glances as he can sneak. "Not completely. I'd love to talk about it, though - and meet your daughter."
Once invited in, Drake will move in after him and stand, patient without assuming the liberty to claim a seat for himself.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Gary offers. Even after ten years in America his accent is very obviously Welsh. "And please do take a seat. Evelyn can't ah sit on the furniture anymore." He moves to the bottom of the stairs and shouts "Honey, it's someone from /the school/. Can you come down?" And then he disappears into the kitchen to fetch tea. From upstairs there is a thump thumping of heavy footsteps. Moments later a rather large draconic form pokes it's head around the corner. "Hello?" Evelyn asks, her mouth opening slightly to reveal finger sized teeth.
Drake starts to protest, but the older male seems set in playing the role of host to the best of his ability. He couldn't deny him that, not when he seems so frazzled. And soon enough, his attention gets to adjust onto the subject at hand. Each thump focuses his attention a little more, until a distinctly inhuman head peeks around the corner.
Oh. Yeah, he was definitely not informed what exactly the deal would be. This is surprising.
But Drake's back to smiling pleasantly. He lifts a hand to greet her. "Evelyn?," he asks. "I'm Drake. I'm from the school - a peer counselor." Among other things. "I was asked to come out here and have a chat with ya. How're you doing today?"
"I'm okay. Being inside all the time is /boring/ though and whenever I go outside people get really scared," Evelyn replies, poking a bit further round the corner. "Which is a little bit rude if you ask me. But I guess they might have a point… I /do/ sometimes cough up acid." She takes another step forward, her razor sharp talons rasping against the wooden floor boards.
Drake cocks his head slightly to the side, a few wisps of obsidian bangs drifting further over his eye. "Acid can have that effect on people. But what if I told you there's a place you could stay, where you could go to class and feel normal? To not have to worry about people getting scared just because of how you look?" He's sure there were hints of this in the paperwork that was sent, but likely nothing blunt - that would be too risky. The direct information is reserved for in-person discussions.
Evelyn tilts her head to one side. "That sounds pretty neat," she admits. "I'm finding it a little tricky studying at home. It's a little tough for me to turn the pages on my text books." She sits on her haunches and holds her 'hands' up for inspection, each of her digits tipped with a talon. With a guilty sigh she adds "And when I tried using my tongue I dripped acid on my desk and it ate through the floor."
Drake leans forward, propping his elbows over his knees to eye the claws from this distance. "We can work around that stuff. Might take a little out-of-the-box thinking, but we can do it." His eyes lift to the still jarringly inhuman face, maintaining his standard level of confidence and calm with a dash of intrigue. "Everyone you'll be going to class with is like you. Not /exactly/ like you, but unique in their own ways. We're a private school, though, so…"
His amethyst gaze breaks from her to pointedly glance over the various pock-marks along the walls.
"…we'll want to get that under control."
Evelyn coughs and a little bit of acrid green smoke puffs out from her nostrils. "I'm trying /really/ hard not to break anything," she promises, tail swishing side to side. "But it's not like any of this came with instructions! And I'm sure my parents can afford it.. My mums a lawyer at a really important law firm." She displays her teeth in what is either a smile or a sign it's close to her lunch time.
Drake nods thoughtfully. "We get that. Everyone's gotta start somewhere. But the goal's to help you learn to work with what's going on naturally, so that these things don't happen at all." A perky smile follows shortly after. "We have expensive stuff. Can't have it getting broken, y'know?"
A glance is cast towards the kitchen, then back to Evelyn. "Do you have any questions for me while we wait?"
"Do you take milk or sugar Mister Vyril?" Evelyns dad shouts from the kitchen. "Questions.. I guess I have a few. Is it a very big school? Will I be able to go outside? Is it a boarding school and does it have shared dorm rooms?" she fires off a stream of questions.
"Uh! Either! I'm not picky!," Drake calls back. He's not even had tea in forever.
Drake's attention is quickly taken back by Evelyn. "It's a very big school," he confirms, "but not /that/ many students. You'll be able to go outside onto the school grounds, but past that, you'll need to stick with someone from the faculty. Safety's sake. It's kind of a boarding school - you'll be living there, if your folks allow. You'll have your own room."
He flashes a wry smile and wiggles his fingers, beckoning. "Keep'em comin'."
"I'll bring some sugar and milk out with me then you can add as much as you like," Gary Jones decides heading back from the kitchen with a laden tea tray. "Feel free to help yourself, I didn't know how strong you enjoy your tea so I have left the bag in." The tray has the typical spread of milk, sugar cubes and a selection of English tea biscuits (or cookies to Drake).
Evelyn eyes the tray but makes no moves on the cookies. "What sort of classes does the school teach? Is there anything I'd need to bring? When do classes start? And will it basically be like mutant Harry Potter?"
"Classes start the 10th of next month," Drake continues, "And the classes are mostly standard. But there are classes set aside to focus on students' specific gifts, to help them learn how to handle them. It…" He places an index finger to his chin and tilts his head. "It /is/ sort'a like mutant Harry Potter. Not gonna lie."
His gaze redirects to the tray, and he takes one of the mugs. He has no idea what to do with the bag, evidenced by his uncertain toying with it. Should he leave it in? Take it out? He waffles between the decision several times. "You should bring your clothes-…" Drake pauses, glancing again to the dragon-girl. "…or.. clothes-equivelent… and some personal affects. If there's anything you want that you leave here, your parents are welcome to bring'em by for you."
Evelyn sort of shrugs. "I have most of my things with me," she explains. "And I don't really have lots of 'clothing'. Just a spare set of belts for carrying my things around. I mean… not all of my things but all of the things I won't break. If that makes sense?"
Gary Jones stays silent, stirring his tea for a few moments before taking the tea bag out with a spoon. "Don't think you have to go just because things are a little tough here Sweetie. But if it sounds like something you would enjoy then it would be better for your education."
"Definitely no reason to not try it," Drake posits, fiddling with the bag. "If it's not a good fit for you, and you feel like coming back home, you're free to do so." He gives up on the bag and lifts his gaze to cast between the two of them. "But if you decide to give it a shot, we can take you to the institute right away. Got a van outside primed'n ready to go."
Evelyn hmmmmmmmms. "Are you sure I'll fit in a van?" she wonders. "If not my Dad found a place that rents…" she attempts a pout and with great indignity adds "Horse boxes." She moves over to the window with a remarkably dainty trotting motion. "I wouldn't want to ruin the seats or anything.."
Drake purses his lips. "That's a good question. I.. /think/ it'll work. If nothing else, we can let a couple of the benches back and let you relax on those like a weird, gappy bed. Tearing up the upholstery could be an issue, but…" He seems torn, his gaze drifting askance to weigh the options. When his eyes turn again, they're to her father. "Is she in any kind of danger here, where time would be an issue?"
Gary looks down at his tea. "There have been a few people throwing things at the house," he admits quietly. "But I don't know if they are a serious threat. We've told the police but that hasn't helped."
Evelyn makes a hissing noise. "I'm not afraid of those meaniefaces. Dragons are mighty and fearless don't you know. I would roar to prove it, but I'm still trying to work out how."
Drake glances between the two. "Well, here's what we'll do. If you're ready to go now, and we have your parents' permission, we'll load you up in the van and just go. If you want to wait a little bit to make sure everything's in order, or talk about it with your family, we can send something a little bigger and more accommodating when you're ready."
Drake offers a simple, pressure-free smile. "Whatever you guys decide."
"Oh I can go now if you think your van is big enough," Evelyn decides. "We could try wrapping my talons in duct tape to see if that helps keep the seats safe. I have all my important things pre-packed into a little bag, just in case any bad people did cause too much trouble."
Drake nods at Evelyn, but then looks to her father, the one with the ultimate decision. He doesn't ask the obvious question, but he waits for confirmation.
Gary Jones doesn't sigh with relief, but it's obvious he wants to. "If that's what you want honey," he replies. "I'll go look for some tape and perhaps a glass bowl of some sort in case you need to cough."
Drake nods again, this time to the older male. "I'll get the van ready. Just come outside whenever you're good to go, and things will be prepped for ya."
With that, Drake lifts to his feet and prepares to show himself out the door. If unimpeded, that's exactly what's going to happen.
He makes his way to the van and opens the passenger door. "She's coming. I'm gonna let the benches back, because she's kind've.. quadrapedal." This earns a strange look from the man waiting behind the wheel, but he shrugs. Drake slides open the passenger door and sets about lying back the two rows of benches, effectively creating a broad spread of cushioning for Evelyn to lounge on once she joins them.
A little while later, with some very un-fetching duct tape 'mittens' on and a big ball of duct tape on the end of her tail Evelyn comes out the front door. Her head is tucked through the straps of a backpack and her dad follows alongside with a large glass salad bowl. "Road trip woo!" she proclaims.
"Now Evelyn you be good and call once you get there, okay? If you need any more things bringing we're only a phone call away." Gary Jones says, glancing around in case any of the neighbors come out to cause trouble. "Your mom will want to know all about the teaching facilities. So make sure you have a class schedule handy when you call."
Drake steps away from the side door, allowing Evelyn all the room she needs to climb aboard. "She'll be getting a phone when she gets there, if she doesn't have one already," he assures. "We'll make sure she has everything she needs before classes kick off. And if you have any questions, yourself, you can call us any time."
Once Evelyn is successfully loaded and hopefully not shredding the car interior, Drake slides the door shut and climbs into the passenger seat.
"It's more that I don't have a phone which I can push the buttons," Evelyn explains as she settles in, the glass bowl beneath her fanged maw. "Don't worry about me Dad, I'll be fine. Nothing bad ever happens to dragons unless they keep a princess in a tower /or/ upset a passing knight." Her Dad manages to force a smile, then steps back and waves.
It's likely invisible, due to the tinted windows, but Drake offers an additional wave to reassure the man. Seatbelts are applied, ignition is turned, and the van is soon backing out of the driveway to whisk the Jones's baby girl away to mysterious Hogwarts. Err, Xavier's School.
As they begin down the street, Drake twists back to look at their draconic passenger. "You good?," he asks. "Need anything?"
"All good," Evelyn replies. "Unless you have a big pile of treasure handy…"