Backposting!
OOC: Well, I can't blame it on the holidays, since mine was fairly dull, but I do have quite a few logs that I've neglected adding to the LJ. Here are three to start. I'll add others as I dig them up. Also, if you happen to have a paused scene with me, I'd appreciate it if you let me know whether or not you wanted to finish it up sometime. I do hold onto these scenes for a while, but if they don't get finished, I'll eventually delete the log and pretend they never happened.
Sydney the Regular-Nosed Reindeer (Livia, Garet, Jareth)
((XS)) Kitchen - Lv1
Meant to service a large number of people, this kitchen is vast, with more than one oven and several stainless steel work surfaces. Inset into the ceiling are fluorescent glow strips, throwing everything into bright, if somewhat harsh light. At meal times, kitchen workers scurry to and fro with pans and food and various other sundry items. But out of those times, everything is in its place, and there's even a tray of cold snacks for those who might come in search of a bite to eat.
Well isn't this an interesting sight? With jingle bells on its harness, and a santa hat on its head, a reindeer is standing in the kitchen. It seems to be very contentedly chewing on one of several cookies from a plate that already has a series of half-eaten cookies on it. No doubt a few kids have already come in and out of the kitchen, staring at the oddity, and running off to tell their friends. Word had to have spread fast that there's a jolly holiday visitor making short work of the Christmas cookies.
Garet heard all the fuss downstairs and after a short walk has come upon the kitchen...Poking his head around the corner Garet asks aloud, "what is this reindeer doin...In the...Uhh..." Garet comes around the corner and stands in the door way, he places his hands on his hips and says more to himself than anyone else, "reindeers arent real!" Tilting his head Garet peers at the deer, or imposter...Waiting for it's secret to be revealed.
Livia is still in a bit of shock from the *last* time she ran into said jolly reindeer. The one that talked and stampeded around last night. So being the workaholic she is, she hadn't heard any of the gossip flying around just yet, and is completely surprised by another reindeer. In the kitchen, this time.
Livia's very good at making little panicky squealing noise, but this time manages to choke it back to a short "Ee!", so as not to startle the dangerous animal. Frozen in place against the wall, she just makes wide wide eyes at it. Guaranteed to wake her up better than the caffeine she was coming for.
The Reindeer cranes its neck around to look at the squealing girl and the dumbfounded boy. "Got milk," it asks, then laughs, once again in a male voice. "But seriously. Got any? All these cookies have sure made me thirsty."
Garet rolls his eyes and moves slowly over to the fridge..."You know...Before a few days ago seeing a talking uh...Whatever you are would've suprised me..." Garet turns to open the fridge, and actually gets ahold of a jug of milk.. Moving to the nearby counter he pours himself a glass and then turns about with the jug in hand, "Did you want the jug, or????" Garet flips his long brown hair with a chuckle, "or should I just pour this on the floor for you to lap it up?
Livia presses herself up against the wall a little tighter. Uh-oh.. flight instinct! "D-don't offer him a drink!" she suddenly pipes, as if asking 'how can you possibly be so calm about this when it's the perfect time to panic?'. She points a finger in the direction of the reindeer, and suddenly seems at a loss for what she was going to say. "Go on! ... shoo!" ... that's about the best she can do.
"In a bowl, if you would," the reindeer replies. "And just set it on the counter. I can get it from there." Then it looks at Livia, and actually smirks. "Shoo? You mean... softshoe?" Which it proceeds to do. This very talented reindeer does a brief softshoe routine on all four hooves, then strikes a pose. "Ta-da..."
Garet blinks a few times and then looks at the overreaction from Livia..."Oh they're harmless...See?" Garet fills a plastic bowl up with some of the milk and then sets it on the counter, "they're magical animals...Like uhh...Those horses with the horns..." Garet thinks a moment and then adds quickly, "Unicorns!..That's it. These things are like them." Garet smiles at the deer and then moves back to his own drink.
Livia blinks. Several times. And slowly edges toward the door. Oh, there had better be some kind of procedure to deal with this sort of thing. There has to be, right? The poor bewildered girl slides toward the hallway, presumably to run off and find someone who knows how to deal with talking, dancing reindeer. Preferably a teacher.
Once again the reindeer laughs. "Well, not exactly a Unicorn. Or magical. But I don't wanna ruin the Christmas holiday for the younger students." It leans vaguely to make sure no young student is nearby to hear what it has to say. Then it turns its head close to Garet. "Want to be in on the Holiday game?"
Garet huhs? "Uhh, what do you mean?" Garet takes a drink from his glass of milk and then asks, "what kind of game?" Garet loves games...Garet tilts his head as he awaits an answer, he has a milk mustache.../loser/
Livia has a hard time explaining it to most professors. A reindeer? In the kitchen? A *dancing* reindeer? It's a strange story, yeah, but Xavier's is also a strange place. It takes some doing, but eventually she's over by the Rec Room, dragging a professor along by the hand. "I swear! A big reindeer!"
Right before Garet's eyes, the reindeer shifts its form into that of Sydney, wearing a festive holiday sweater. "Surprise," he states, then leans against a nearby counter with a smile. "My name is Sydney. I'm just here trying to make some of the kids feel better who aren't going to be heading home for the holidays, like they would like." He takes the bowl of milk and heads for the cabinets, searching for a glass to pour the milk in.
Garet nods and says, "I kinda figured cause...I've dealt with a few shapeshifters recently." Garet grins and then wipes his mouth. "That girl must have some kind of phobia of uhh...Harmless animals...." Garet looks to the door figuring her to return any moment, tranqulizer gun in tow....
"It's in here and it was eating all the cookies and asking for a glass of milk!" Livia spouts, dragging a poor defenseless professor along by the wrist. She pauses at the door, spying no reindeer in the immediate vicinity. "... Is it gone?" The professor, meanwhile, just rolls his eyes a little bit. Reindeer in the kitchen. Yeah right.
Sydney turns from the counter where he stands with a glass of milk in one hand. "Is what gone," he asks as he looks to Livia, then gulps down some of his milk. Mmm, it does an omnimorph good. Seems Garet has zoned out for the time being, but that's okay.
Livia gestures wildly at the room, then leans over to take a look out the patio windows. "The.. the reindeer! The one that tried to run me over last yesterday!" Poor Liv. The professor frees his wrist while she's distracted, and tries to carefully stalk off without being noticed. "Did you.. open the door for him?"
Sydney looks at Livia as though she was a raving lunatic. "Reindeer, eh? I heard there was one around here, but, haven't seen it." He gulps down more milk.
"That's impossible!" Livia says, leaning to one side as if to make sure Sydney wasn't conceiling a large antlered-mammal. "He was right *here*." Maybe she is a raving lunatic.. but Jubilee saw it too! And that doesn't make much in a credibility case, does it? "He was..."
Sydney shrugs and finishes his milk. "Well, the reindeer isn't anymore. Guess it flew back to the North Pole to get ready for the Christmas flight." He chuckles, then sets down his glass and heads for the doorway. "Or maybe it's somewhere else in the house? How's about we take a look?"
Livia isn't stupid! Usually. She can tell when someone's toying with her, though. Quick footsteps carrying her along the kitchen floor to follow Sydney closely. "He *was* in there, wasn't he?" she asks to try and get some kind of confirmation here!
Sydney's certainly not giving off any signs that he's trying to be deceptive. He even motions for Livia to come with him as he moves down the hall towards the elevator. "Wouldn't know. But I do think we should probably look for this creature. I mean, what kinda nut would let a reindeer loose in a place like this? Tell you what." He stops in front of the elevator. "You stay here. I'm going up the stairs see if it's there. If you see or hear anything strange, you yell up to me, okay? I'll be back as soon as I take a quick look down the second level halls." And without waiting for a response, he heads for the staircase to begin his search.
Livia nod a bit dumbly, putting the tip of her index finger in her mouth. "O-okay.. right," she assents. What kind of nut *would* let a reindeer loose in a house? There are a lot of strange(r) people here for the holidays.
Time passes. Well, not much time, mind you, but it does seem like Syd's up there forever. And while he's off searching, the elevator comes down. Probably just some students heading out to play in the snow. Yes, hear them giggling as the elevator doors open... to reveal a reindeer standing within. This time, the reindeer has a wire halo with a sprig of mistletoe dangling over its head. The giggling is coming from two little girls, who are probably too embarassed to pay their traditional dues to the creature taking up most of the elevator room. "Oh come on, just one kiss," the reindeer pleads with them, making them giggle even harder. Aww, how cute.
Livia squints. That's really all she does for about ten seconds after the elevator doors open. That's definitely a reindeer, and that's definitely other people seeing it! She turns in place to find the professor from before had fled! Oh no! There has to be some kind of authority figure in what to do when reindeer infiltrate your home or office.
"Eww, we don't wanna kiss a reindeer," one of the girls giggle, to which the reindeer responds by acting dejected. "Awww, but I've had all my shots...." Then it looks out the elevator and towards Livia, a smile growing in its features. "How about you? A kiss for the reindeer, hmmm?" And it starts out of the elevator on a slow walk towards Livia.
Down the hall goes precisely one of those authority figures. Maybe not one of the more authoritative authority figures by general behavior, but one of them nonetheless. Jareth heads for the kitchen and the yard on his way to an evening stroll. He really expected an ordinary night here? Call him optimistic. He looks ahead as he hears giggling and talking, apparently to do with mistletoe and things that go with it. He smirks and laughs to himself, deciding to take a minute or two to see what's going on and maybe give the instigator a bit of a good fun hard time. "All right, who's chasing the gi-" And right about then, the reindeer steps out of the elevator, and all Jareth can do for several moments is blink and stare. After that moment passes, he tries to come up with what really ends up being the first thing off the top of his head. "Geez, Rudolph, you can't even get a date among your own species anymore?"
Livia immediately recoils as the reindeer approaches. "Augh! No!" Her hands wave back at the wild animal in the house. But still, something's going on here.. "Mr. Tarrant!" Livia says, brightening. Oh yes, surely the computer science professor will know how to deal with wildlife. It makes sense, in a way! Dashing over to hide slightly behind him, Livia points. "There's a reindeer in the house!"
Sydney the regular-nosed reindeer chuckles as Livia dashes away from him, but his chuckling stops when he sees Jareth. Doh. "Uh... Just, spreading a little cheer before the Big Night," he states, stepping sideways so the two girls in the elevator can slip past him. They make sure and give him a good pat on the back as they go by, just so they can later say they touched a reindeer to all their friends. The mistletoe jangles on the wire about the reindeer's head as he shakes it to relieve an itch.
Jareth watches the flighty Livia dash behind him, then looks back to Sydney, the lesser known 13th reindeer. While he doesn't quite know who it is, there's surely someone around here who can pull four legs, antlers, and hairy. "Yes, there certainly is. Hopefully a house trained one." He reaches out to finger the mistletoe for a moment, and chuckles. "And ambitious, from the look of it. So, if you're going around good cheer, you did remember to brush your teeth, right?" The reindeer gets an exaggeratedly stern look.
Livia shakes Jareth's elbow by grabbing it with both hands. "Why is everyone so *calm* about this? Does it happen often?" The flustered girl leans out to one side to peek but not actually step out from relative cover. "And he can talk! That's not normal! It's not!" Is she the only SANE person around here?!
Quite possibly. Sydney plays along with Jareth's fake chiding by lowering his head and looking bashful. "Well, I did chew on some sprigs of mint," he replies. "I guess that's about as close to brushing teeth that a reindeer can come?"
Jareth abruptly finds himself shaken. Yi yi yi yi... It is weird, though, and the main reason he takes it as mellow as he does is because the reindeer, on initial impression, does indeed just seem to be spreading some fun. Still, it bears investigating. "No, I can't say we get talking reindeer around every day, but maybe that's because the shapeshifters haven't thought of it yet." Because, lest Livia forget, there are some around. He peers a bit more intently at the reindeer, now taking the more serious part of it. "So let me ask. Simply put... do we know you?"
Livia would smack a hand against her forehead if she would bother to let go of Jareth. Well duuuuh. Shapeshifters? Why didn't she think about that earlier? Because it certainly makes more sense than a teleporting, talking, dancing reindeer. But not much more, mind you.
The reindeer laughs again. "Found out, am I? Gee, it always takes the adults less time than the kids." It rears back to stand on its hind legs, and in the process it shifts into the natural form of Sydney. Whew! A normal person at last. "Sydney Jones," he introduces himself as he holds a friendly hand out to Jareth. "Alumnist."
Hopefully, Livia will remember to let go eventually. That would become like a three-legged sack race. Jareth peers at the reindeer and laughs in reply. "Probably because the adults are the jaded ones that go down to eat the milk and cookies after the kids are asleep." He watches the reindeer shift into a person, providing the shapeshifter explanation in the process, then regards him for a moment or two before reaching out to take the offered hand. "Jareth Tarrant."
"Alumnus," Livia corrects gently, letting her deathgrip slacken from around Jareth's elbow. So it was someone just playing a trick on her! Ohh, you can bet Jubilee's gonna hear about this one! But the adults are introducing themselves, so Livia goes briefly quiet.
Sydney shakes Jareth's hand firmly with a smile. "Well, they'll be a little disappointed this time. I kinda finished the plate off myself while waiting in the kitchen for curious kids to point and stare. Kids love animals, especially ones they've never seen before." And it's a rare day when anyone can say they've actually seen a reindeer before. Of course, thanks to Syd, most of the Institute Students will be able to say they've seen one at one point in their lifetime. His smile is directed to Livia, who, to him, still looks a bit perplexed at the situation. "Hope I didn't freak you out too badly! It's never my intention, really." He looks back to Jareth. "I was giving the younger kids rides yesterday, and today I thought I would continue. But a little holiday mischief beforehand never hurts anyone, now does it?"
Jareth at last has his arm returned to him, if perhaps slightly thinner at the midway point. Hearing about the cookies, he first raises an eyebrow, then snickers. "Well, if you were dressed in a Santa suit, you could probably get away with it. More particularly, that's probably 'love cute animals.' Most people have never seen a black mamba or various species of tarantula. A squid in the pool might be entertaining to watch, though, especially on April Fool's." He looks over to Livia as Sydney does and wonders the same thing, not counting the evidence of her vice grip on his elbow. He then imagines Sydney the reindeer giving rides to the younger kids, and has to nod agreement. "I think a lot of the kids really enjoy that."
Livia clears her throat gently, and smooths the front of her skirt out. "Oh, no.. not too bad," comes the cool reply to Sydney's concerns. And *soooo* obviously false. Her hands fold politely behind the small of her back, and she nods to Sydney. "Livia," she introduces herself with a little smile. A nervous one.
Sydney chuckles at Livia's attempt to be smooth. His form shifts to a suave Prince Charming and he bows before her. "Enchanted, m'lady," and he reaches out to cordially kiss one of her hands.
Jareth stands back slightly and watches as Sydney so casually plays havoc with the laws of molecular behavior, then smiles wryly as he goes to kiss Livia's hand. Rather the showman, Mr. Jones is. Jareth waits to find out how Livia will react, observing with no small amusement.
The girl stiffens as Sydney goes to Prince Charming so quickly. A gentle brush of pink across Liv's cheeks as he kisses her hand in that way that would make a hundred other *nearby* teenage girls squeal. "Umm.. thank you.. Mr. Jones." ^^; Reindeer who?
Prince Charming flashes his pearly whites; you can just see the trademark sparkle appear in the corner of his mouth. But, just as quickly as he came, the Prince turns back into a Pumpkin, the plain, the one, the only, Sydney. "See? No harm done," he declares, then looks around for any nearby signs of life. "Well, I should get back to playing with the kids. Actually, there's this one who says his Mutant ability is speed, and he wants to go head-to-head with a Cheetah. I don't know how well I'll do in the snow, but I'm willing to give it a shot."
Jareth continues to watch with amusement all the while. He really should talk to Jubilee or one of the others to give Livia some help with that easy embarassment. He chuckles to himself as Sydney His Royal Highness turns back into just plain Sydney, then goes to shake his hand again as the shapeshifter prepares to depart. "Well, nice to meet you, Sydney. I don't think anyone's devised snow tires for cheetahs yet, but I'll let you know if someone comes up with something."
Livia is just that way! There's nothing wrong with her easily mutable skin coloration. c_c Except when it goes off sometimes. "Mr. Jones.. what are you doing here? You mentioned you were an alumnus." And she believes it *now*! An old student of a school for mutants. "Have you come back to be a teacher?"
Sydney brings a hand to his chin at Jareth's suggestion. "Well, if I used bobcat feet I could probably cut through the snow like a boat through water... But nah, that would be cheating. And besides, even a race car can't do ninety miles if it doesn't get good traction." Implying that even if the kid can run fast, he probably won't get very far in knee-deep snow. So maybe the race will end in a very tired kid, and a very tired Cheetah? To Livia, Sydney replies, "Oh no, I'm not a teacher. I'm just a friendly visitor, really. Although Professor Xavier did mention the idea of me running a theatre club here, but I'm not sure yet. I have a couple of auditions to make before I settle on anything permanent."
Jareth can't help but churn ideas around in his own mind as Sydney begins to ponder. "There aren't many cats suited to snow, and it's not really a kid/moose race. Might as well just try the best you can do with a feline." He also hmms at the mention of a theater club. "I think that would do well. You'd probably get a surprising number of people wanting to get involved."
Shifting uncomfortably in place, Livia folds her hands behind her back and quietly excuses herself. And here she thought they'd finally be getting a new Phys-Ed instructor, instead of rotating staff members every few days. She steps backwards, nodding and smiling at Jareth and Sydney. "I have to just go.. finish putting some presents and stuff together, okay?" Walking backwards is somewhat of a skill, though, and Livia is distracted. *trip* *thump* "... Owww."
Sydney nods several times. "Yeah, probably. Anyway, I do need to go now. Gotta see to the kids, then do some last-minute Christmas shopping. It was nice meeting you both, though. And I hope to see you around again." His clothing shifts to outdoor winter wear, but before he leaves, he adds, "Oh, and please don't go around telling the younger kids that their reindeer is actually a Mutant in disguise. I'm sure some of them have figured it out by now, but, for the rest it's best to let them have a little of that Christmas magic, y'know?"
Jareth nods to Sydney and waves as the shapeshifter departs. "I imagine I'll see you around again." He makes a zipping motion across his lips and nods. "Before they become older and cranky." He then goes to help Livia back up and tries not to smirk a bit at her failed attempt at backward movement.
Helped to her feet, wounded in the backside as well as the pride, Livia brushes off her the edge of her skirt and blazer. Hmmph. That didn't quite work out as well as she'd thought it would. But at least the reindeer infestation problem has been solved! But still.. what a weird person, who can turn into *anything*.
Nodding a silent thanks to Jareth for his help, Livia makes sure to watch her feet a little more closely as she turns and trots off for the stairs up to her room. Christmas presents? Hopefully some people won't be too put out if she doesn't get them anything. ^^
Sydney the Regular-Nosed Reindeer (Livia, Garet, Jareth)
((XS)) Kitchen - Lv1
Meant to service a large number of people, this kitchen is vast, with more than one oven and several stainless steel work surfaces. Inset into the ceiling are fluorescent glow strips, throwing everything into bright, if somewhat harsh light. At meal times, kitchen workers scurry to and fro with pans and food and various other sundry items. But out of those times, everything is in its place, and there's even a tray of cold snacks for those who might come in search of a bite to eat.
Well isn't this an interesting sight? With jingle bells on its harness, and a santa hat on its head, a reindeer is standing in the kitchen. It seems to be very contentedly chewing on one of several cookies from a plate that already has a series of half-eaten cookies on it. No doubt a few kids have already come in and out of the kitchen, staring at the oddity, and running off to tell their friends. Word had to have spread fast that there's a jolly holiday visitor making short work of the Christmas cookies.
Garet heard all the fuss downstairs and after a short walk has come upon the kitchen...Poking his head around the corner Garet asks aloud, "what is this reindeer doin...In the...Uhh..." Garet comes around the corner and stands in the door way, he places his hands on his hips and says more to himself than anyone else, "reindeers arent real!" Tilting his head Garet peers at the deer, or imposter...Waiting for it's secret to be revealed.
Livia is still in a bit of shock from the *last* time she ran into said jolly reindeer. The one that talked and stampeded around last night. So being the workaholic she is, she hadn't heard any of the gossip flying around just yet, and is completely surprised by another reindeer. In the kitchen, this time.
Livia's very good at making little panicky squealing noise, but this time manages to choke it back to a short "Ee!", so as not to startle the dangerous animal. Frozen in place against the wall, she just makes wide wide eyes at it. Guaranteed to wake her up better than the caffeine she was coming for.
The Reindeer cranes its neck around to look at the squealing girl and the dumbfounded boy. "Got milk," it asks, then laughs, once again in a male voice. "But seriously. Got any? All these cookies have sure made me thirsty."
Garet rolls his eyes and moves slowly over to the fridge..."You know...Before a few days ago seeing a talking uh...Whatever you are would've suprised me..." Garet turns to open the fridge, and actually gets ahold of a jug of milk.. Moving to the nearby counter he pours himself a glass and then turns about with the jug in hand, "Did you want the jug, or????" Garet flips his long brown hair with a chuckle, "or should I just pour this on the floor for you to lap it up?
Livia presses herself up against the wall a little tighter. Uh-oh.. flight instinct! "D-don't offer him a drink!" she suddenly pipes, as if asking 'how can you possibly be so calm about this when it's the perfect time to panic?'. She points a finger in the direction of the reindeer, and suddenly seems at a loss for what she was going to say. "Go on! ... shoo!" ... that's about the best she can do.
"In a bowl, if you would," the reindeer replies. "And just set it on the counter. I can get it from there." Then it looks at Livia, and actually smirks. "Shoo? You mean... softshoe?" Which it proceeds to do. This very talented reindeer does a brief softshoe routine on all four hooves, then strikes a pose. "Ta-da..."
Garet blinks a few times and then looks at the overreaction from Livia..."Oh they're harmless...See?" Garet fills a plastic bowl up with some of the milk and then sets it on the counter, "they're magical animals...Like uhh...Those horses with the horns..." Garet thinks a moment and then adds quickly, "Unicorns!..That's it. These things are like them." Garet smiles at the deer and then moves back to his own drink.
Livia blinks. Several times. And slowly edges toward the door. Oh, there had better be some kind of procedure to deal with this sort of thing. There has to be, right? The poor bewildered girl slides toward the hallway, presumably to run off and find someone who knows how to deal with talking, dancing reindeer. Preferably a teacher.
Once again the reindeer laughs. "Well, not exactly a Unicorn. Or magical. But I don't wanna ruin the Christmas holiday for the younger students." It leans vaguely to make sure no young student is nearby to hear what it has to say. Then it turns its head close to Garet. "Want to be in on the Holiday game?"
Garet huhs? "Uhh, what do you mean?" Garet takes a drink from his glass of milk and then asks, "what kind of game?" Garet loves games...Garet tilts his head as he awaits an answer, he has a milk mustache.../loser/
Livia has a hard time explaining it to most professors. A reindeer? In the kitchen? A *dancing* reindeer? It's a strange story, yeah, but Xavier's is also a strange place. It takes some doing, but eventually she's over by the Rec Room, dragging a professor along by the hand. "I swear! A big reindeer!"
Right before Garet's eyes, the reindeer shifts its form into that of Sydney, wearing a festive holiday sweater. "Surprise," he states, then leans against a nearby counter with a smile. "My name is Sydney. I'm just here trying to make some of the kids feel better who aren't going to be heading home for the holidays, like they would like." He takes the bowl of milk and heads for the cabinets, searching for a glass to pour the milk in.
Garet nods and says, "I kinda figured cause...I've dealt with a few shapeshifters recently." Garet grins and then wipes his mouth. "That girl must have some kind of phobia of uhh...Harmless animals...." Garet looks to the door figuring her to return any moment, tranqulizer gun in tow....
"It's in here and it was eating all the cookies and asking for a glass of milk!" Livia spouts, dragging a poor defenseless professor along by the wrist. She pauses at the door, spying no reindeer in the immediate vicinity. "... Is it gone?" The professor, meanwhile, just rolls his eyes a little bit. Reindeer in the kitchen. Yeah right.
Sydney turns from the counter where he stands with a glass of milk in one hand. "Is what gone," he asks as he looks to Livia, then gulps down some of his milk. Mmm, it does an omnimorph good. Seems Garet has zoned out for the time being, but that's okay.
Livia gestures wildly at the room, then leans over to take a look out the patio windows. "The.. the reindeer! The one that tried to run me over last yesterday!" Poor Liv. The professor frees his wrist while she's distracted, and tries to carefully stalk off without being noticed. "Did you.. open the door for him?"
Sydney looks at Livia as though she was a raving lunatic. "Reindeer, eh? I heard there was one around here, but, haven't seen it." He gulps down more milk.
"That's impossible!" Livia says, leaning to one side as if to make sure Sydney wasn't conceiling a large antlered-mammal. "He was right *here*." Maybe she is a raving lunatic.. but Jubilee saw it too! And that doesn't make much in a credibility case, does it? "He was..."
Sydney shrugs and finishes his milk. "Well, the reindeer isn't anymore. Guess it flew back to the North Pole to get ready for the Christmas flight." He chuckles, then sets down his glass and heads for the doorway. "Or maybe it's somewhere else in the house? How's about we take a look?"
Livia isn't stupid! Usually. She can tell when someone's toying with her, though. Quick footsteps carrying her along the kitchen floor to follow Sydney closely. "He *was* in there, wasn't he?" she asks to try and get some kind of confirmation here!
Sydney's certainly not giving off any signs that he's trying to be deceptive. He even motions for Livia to come with him as he moves down the hall towards the elevator. "Wouldn't know. But I do think we should probably look for this creature. I mean, what kinda nut would let a reindeer loose in a place like this? Tell you what." He stops in front of the elevator. "You stay here. I'm going up the stairs see if it's there. If you see or hear anything strange, you yell up to me, okay? I'll be back as soon as I take a quick look down the second level halls." And without waiting for a response, he heads for the staircase to begin his search.
Livia nod a bit dumbly, putting the tip of her index finger in her mouth. "O-okay.. right," she assents. What kind of nut *would* let a reindeer loose in a house? There are a lot of strange(r) people here for the holidays.
Time passes. Well, not much time, mind you, but it does seem like Syd's up there forever. And while he's off searching, the elevator comes down. Probably just some students heading out to play in the snow. Yes, hear them giggling as the elevator doors open... to reveal a reindeer standing within. This time, the reindeer has a wire halo with a sprig of mistletoe dangling over its head. The giggling is coming from two little girls, who are probably too embarassed to pay their traditional dues to the creature taking up most of the elevator room. "Oh come on, just one kiss," the reindeer pleads with them, making them giggle even harder. Aww, how cute.
Livia squints. That's really all she does for about ten seconds after the elevator doors open. That's definitely a reindeer, and that's definitely other people seeing it! She turns in place to find the professor from before had fled! Oh no! There has to be some kind of authority figure in what to do when reindeer infiltrate your home or office.
"Eww, we don't wanna kiss a reindeer," one of the girls giggle, to which the reindeer responds by acting dejected. "Awww, but I've had all my shots...." Then it looks out the elevator and towards Livia, a smile growing in its features. "How about you? A kiss for the reindeer, hmmm?" And it starts out of the elevator on a slow walk towards Livia.
Down the hall goes precisely one of those authority figures. Maybe not one of the more authoritative authority figures by general behavior, but one of them nonetheless. Jareth heads for the kitchen and the yard on his way to an evening stroll. He really expected an ordinary night here? Call him optimistic. He looks ahead as he hears giggling and talking, apparently to do with mistletoe and things that go with it. He smirks and laughs to himself, deciding to take a minute or two to see what's going on and maybe give the instigator a bit of a good fun hard time. "All right, who's chasing the gi-" And right about then, the reindeer steps out of the elevator, and all Jareth can do for several moments is blink and stare. After that moment passes, he tries to come up with what really ends up being the first thing off the top of his head. "Geez, Rudolph, you can't even get a date among your own species anymore?"
Livia immediately recoils as the reindeer approaches. "Augh! No!" Her hands wave back at the wild animal in the house. But still, something's going on here.. "Mr. Tarrant!" Livia says, brightening. Oh yes, surely the computer science professor will know how to deal with wildlife. It makes sense, in a way! Dashing over to hide slightly behind him, Livia points. "There's a reindeer in the house!"
Sydney the regular-nosed reindeer chuckles as Livia dashes away from him, but his chuckling stops when he sees Jareth. Doh. "Uh... Just, spreading a little cheer before the Big Night," he states, stepping sideways so the two girls in the elevator can slip past him. They make sure and give him a good pat on the back as they go by, just so they can later say they touched a reindeer to all their friends. The mistletoe jangles on the wire about the reindeer's head as he shakes it to relieve an itch.
Jareth watches the flighty Livia dash behind him, then looks back to Sydney, the lesser known 13th reindeer. While he doesn't quite know who it is, there's surely someone around here who can pull four legs, antlers, and hairy. "Yes, there certainly is. Hopefully a house trained one." He reaches out to finger the mistletoe for a moment, and chuckles. "And ambitious, from the look of it. So, if you're going around good cheer, you did remember to brush your teeth, right?" The reindeer gets an exaggeratedly stern look.
Livia shakes Jareth's elbow by grabbing it with both hands. "Why is everyone so *calm* about this? Does it happen often?" The flustered girl leans out to one side to peek but not actually step out from relative cover. "And he can talk! That's not normal! It's not!" Is she the only SANE person around here?!
Quite possibly. Sydney plays along with Jareth's fake chiding by lowering his head and looking bashful. "Well, I did chew on some sprigs of mint," he replies. "I guess that's about as close to brushing teeth that a reindeer can come?"
Jareth abruptly finds himself shaken. Yi yi yi yi... It is weird, though, and the main reason he takes it as mellow as he does is because the reindeer, on initial impression, does indeed just seem to be spreading some fun. Still, it bears investigating. "No, I can't say we get talking reindeer around every day, but maybe that's because the shapeshifters haven't thought of it yet." Because, lest Livia forget, there are some around. He peers a bit more intently at the reindeer, now taking the more serious part of it. "So let me ask. Simply put... do we know you?"
Livia would smack a hand against her forehead if she would bother to let go of Jareth. Well duuuuh. Shapeshifters? Why didn't she think about that earlier? Because it certainly makes more sense than a teleporting, talking, dancing reindeer. But not much more, mind you.
The reindeer laughs again. "Found out, am I? Gee, it always takes the adults less time than the kids." It rears back to stand on its hind legs, and in the process it shifts into the natural form of Sydney. Whew! A normal person at last. "Sydney Jones," he introduces himself as he holds a friendly hand out to Jareth. "Alumnist."
Hopefully, Livia will remember to let go eventually. That would become like a three-legged sack race. Jareth peers at the reindeer and laughs in reply. "Probably because the adults are the jaded ones that go down to eat the milk and cookies after the kids are asleep." He watches the reindeer shift into a person, providing the shapeshifter explanation in the process, then regards him for a moment or two before reaching out to take the offered hand. "Jareth Tarrant."
"Alumnus," Livia corrects gently, letting her deathgrip slacken from around Jareth's elbow. So it was someone just playing a trick on her! Ohh, you can bet Jubilee's gonna hear about this one! But the adults are introducing themselves, so Livia goes briefly quiet.
Sydney shakes Jareth's hand firmly with a smile. "Well, they'll be a little disappointed this time. I kinda finished the plate off myself while waiting in the kitchen for curious kids to point and stare. Kids love animals, especially ones they've never seen before." And it's a rare day when anyone can say they've actually seen a reindeer before. Of course, thanks to Syd, most of the Institute Students will be able to say they've seen one at one point in their lifetime. His smile is directed to Livia, who, to him, still looks a bit perplexed at the situation. "Hope I didn't freak you out too badly! It's never my intention, really." He looks back to Jareth. "I was giving the younger kids rides yesterday, and today I thought I would continue. But a little holiday mischief beforehand never hurts anyone, now does it?"
Jareth at last has his arm returned to him, if perhaps slightly thinner at the midway point. Hearing about the cookies, he first raises an eyebrow, then snickers. "Well, if you were dressed in a Santa suit, you could probably get away with it. More particularly, that's probably 'love cute animals.' Most people have never seen a black mamba or various species of tarantula. A squid in the pool might be entertaining to watch, though, especially on April Fool's." He looks over to Livia as Sydney does and wonders the same thing, not counting the evidence of her vice grip on his elbow. He then imagines Sydney the reindeer giving rides to the younger kids, and has to nod agreement. "I think a lot of the kids really enjoy that."
Livia clears her throat gently, and smooths the front of her skirt out. "Oh, no.. not too bad," comes the cool reply to Sydney's concerns. And *soooo* obviously false. Her hands fold politely behind the small of her back, and she nods to Sydney. "Livia," she introduces herself with a little smile. A nervous one.
Sydney chuckles at Livia's attempt to be smooth. His form shifts to a suave Prince Charming and he bows before her. "Enchanted, m'lady," and he reaches out to cordially kiss one of her hands.
Jareth stands back slightly and watches as Sydney so casually plays havoc with the laws of molecular behavior, then smiles wryly as he goes to kiss Livia's hand. Rather the showman, Mr. Jones is. Jareth waits to find out how Livia will react, observing with no small amusement.
The girl stiffens as Sydney goes to Prince Charming so quickly. A gentle brush of pink across Liv's cheeks as he kisses her hand in that way that would make a hundred other *nearby* teenage girls squeal. "Umm.. thank you.. Mr. Jones." ^^; Reindeer who?
Prince Charming flashes his pearly whites; you can just see the trademark sparkle appear in the corner of his mouth. But, just as quickly as he came, the Prince turns back into a Pumpkin, the plain, the one, the only, Sydney. "See? No harm done," he declares, then looks around for any nearby signs of life. "Well, I should get back to playing with the kids. Actually, there's this one who says his Mutant ability is speed, and he wants to go head-to-head with a Cheetah. I don't know how well I'll do in the snow, but I'm willing to give it a shot."
Jareth continues to watch with amusement all the while. He really should talk to Jubilee or one of the others to give Livia some help with that easy embarassment. He chuckles to himself as Sydney His Royal Highness turns back into just plain Sydney, then goes to shake his hand again as the shapeshifter prepares to depart. "Well, nice to meet you, Sydney. I don't think anyone's devised snow tires for cheetahs yet, but I'll let you know if someone comes up with something."
Livia is just that way! There's nothing wrong with her easily mutable skin coloration. c_c Except when it goes off sometimes. "Mr. Jones.. what are you doing here? You mentioned you were an alumnus." And she believes it *now*! An old student of a school for mutants. "Have you come back to be a teacher?"
Sydney brings a hand to his chin at Jareth's suggestion. "Well, if I used bobcat feet I could probably cut through the snow like a boat through water... But nah, that would be cheating. And besides, even a race car can't do ninety miles if it doesn't get good traction." Implying that even if the kid can run fast, he probably won't get very far in knee-deep snow. So maybe the race will end in a very tired kid, and a very tired Cheetah? To Livia, Sydney replies, "Oh no, I'm not a teacher. I'm just a friendly visitor, really. Although Professor Xavier did mention the idea of me running a theatre club here, but I'm not sure yet. I have a couple of auditions to make before I settle on anything permanent."
Jareth can't help but churn ideas around in his own mind as Sydney begins to ponder. "There aren't many cats suited to snow, and it's not really a kid/moose race. Might as well just try the best you can do with a feline." He also hmms at the mention of a theater club. "I think that would do well. You'd probably get a surprising number of people wanting to get involved."
Shifting uncomfortably in place, Livia folds her hands behind her back and quietly excuses herself. And here she thought they'd finally be getting a new Phys-Ed instructor, instead of rotating staff members every few days. She steps backwards, nodding and smiling at Jareth and Sydney. "I have to just go.. finish putting some presents and stuff together, okay?" Walking backwards is somewhat of a skill, though, and Livia is distracted. *trip* *thump* "... Owww."
Sydney nods several times. "Yeah, probably. Anyway, I do need to go now. Gotta see to the kids, then do some last-minute Christmas shopping. It was nice meeting you both, though. And I hope to see you around again." His clothing shifts to outdoor winter wear, but before he leaves, he adds, "Oh, and please don't go around telling the younger kids that their reindeer is actually a Mutant in disguise. I'm sure some of them have figured it out by now, but, for the rest it's best to let them have a little of that Christmas magic, y'know?"
Jareth nods to Sydney and waves as the shapeshifter departs. "I imagine I'll see you around again." He makes a zipping motion across his lips and nods. "Before they become older and cranky." He then goes to help Livia back up and tries not to smirk a bit at her failed attempt at backward movement.
Helped to her feet, wounded in the backside as well as the pride, Livia brushes off her the edge of her skirt and blazer. Hmmph. That didn't quite work out as well as she'd thought it would. But at least the reindeer infestation problem has been solved! But still.. what a weird person, who can turn into *anything*.
Nodding a silent thanks to Jareth for his help, Livia makes sure to watch her feet a little more closely as she turns and trots off for the stairs up to her room. Christmas presents? Hopefully some people won't be too put out if she doesn't get them anything. ^^