OOC Log Dump, The aftermath
<> Pyro's Room - Lv1(#3362RC)
Sometime after the abortive talk with Padraig, Toxin decides that she might as well go the whole hog and get the talk with Pyro over with. Why only do one talking-to in a day when you can do two, right? Heading down to the recruit dormitories, she has to pause to remember which one is his. Having managed that, she raps sharply on his door. If he doesn't answer rather quickly, she'll just try the knob and let herself in.
From within, there are sounds of movement and something mumbled akin to "Just a minute." More rustling, then the door cracks open a moment later to reveal Pyro's taunt face. "Toxin. Hello." He takes a deep breath and steps aside, pulling the door open. Inside's a fair mess. As is Pyro. He's got some decent bags under his eyes, his hair is tangled, mostly shoved over to one side. The t-shirt and shorts are wrinkled to the Nth degree, and he smells two days worth unwashed. "Do you want to talk here or somewhere else?" he asks, not even bothering asking /what/ the visit be about.
Toxin arches an eyebrow, her eyes sweeping Pyro up and down, her nostrils flaring slightly. "I'd suggest the showers, but that might make you a tad uncomfortable." she states, stepping inside and reaching out to take the door from him and shut it if he doesn't. Leaning against the shut door, she crosses her arms over her chest. "Padraig decided to come and see me. Want to tell me your part in this escapade, or do I have to pry it from you?" There's no humor in her low voice.
Pyro swallows once, for a moment real fear playing in his eyes until he nods abruptly. "I ... had a moment of weakness last week," he begins slowly. "Padraig and I were discussing our recent missions. And the subject of the," his voice catches a moment, but he pushes forward, "X-men came up. With my ... history, he--I, wondered if I could face them. My old friends." He trails off at that, shifting his gaze toward random places around the room. Okay, maybe /some/ prying might be necessary.
"Don't bother trying to protect him, Pyro. He told me he wanted to test your loyalties." She reaches for his chin with one gloved hand, turning his face towards her. While her grip is firm, it doesn't hurt. Yet. "Tell me why he had reason to do that, and whatever possessed you to listen to him." It would be far more appropriate for Toxin to have blue eyes at this point, to match the iciness of her voice. She releases his chin and peers into his eyes, as if daring him to look away again.
Okay, Pyro meets her gaze then, not pulling away from the hand. "Because I didn't know if I could," he says cooly. "I do now. He said maybe I needed to face someone one-on-one now. Then I'd know if my resolve was stronger than those old ties." His voice begins to grow more heated with each phrase. "It was stupid. It shouldn't have been Jubilee. She shouldn't have brought anyone. There should have been any cops. And I damn shouldn't have felt like I did. But it worked. It worked...." he trails off, his voice fading out with the last.
"Should and shouldn't have little to do with life, John. That is a lesson you desperately need to learn, if you're going to survive here." While her voice is a little harsh, Toxin seems more inclined to be a little more gentle with Pyro than with Padraig. "Yes, it was stupid. It was stupid for the two of you to go out alone, and do what you did. But more so, did you even consider the possible dangers you were putting all of -us- in by doing what you did?"
"Not really," Pyro admits truthfully. "Was pretty much thinking of myself." He laughs at that, not the most pleasant sound, then shrugs. "Guess that's no surprise. I'm just--why should /I/ feel like a damned traitor when /they're/ the ones betraying our kind?" He pauses, glaring but not at her. "Sorry," he says after a moment. "I'm no coward. It's ... just hard to forget."
Toxin nods. "Of course you were." she replies, reaching out and turning him so he faces her more fully. "You are no traitor. What you are doing here you do for the good of -all- mutants, whether they realize it or not. But you -must- start to think, Pyro!" she scolds, her eyes narrowing. "Had even one X-Man gone with Jubilee, or had they decided to take matters into their own hands, we would all be in serious danger. Think of what might have happened if you had been captured." She pauses, then smiles icily. "And if I -ever- hear of you taking orders from a fellow recruit on something so stupid ever again, it will be the last thing you do for a very long time."
Pyro nods. "I did it, though, Toxin," he says, his voice a mixture of hesitation and perhaps awe. "Granted, it was just Jubilee, not one of the full trained. But she wouldn't join us. So I stood up against her. And I won."
"To what -purpose-, Pyro? There was no point to it. -Nothing- to be gained other than you hurt a random person from that blasted school." Toxin is angry, but for the most part is restraining herself. "We don't coerce people into joining us. They do so of their own free will. Her lack of vision is her own fault." She stops and takes a deep breath. "What you did was idiotic. And had you gotten caught, we would not have come for you."
"To let me know I could," Pyro says quietly. For all appearances, he doesn't /seem/ to be just trying to be rebellious. "So when we /do/ have to face them ... I won't freeze up. Leave someone's back open. And /really/ get someone killed. It was stupid. Yeah, you don't have to convince me of that /now/. But I needed to know I could. I needed to know."
"I know you wanted to prove yourself, Pyro. But there are better ways." Toxin reaches out and lightly brushes a knot of hair away from his forehead. "If you have a problem, you come to me. That's what I'm here for." Shaking her head, she continues, "And try to remember that Padraig generally has Padraig's best interests in mind."
"Spent most my life being treated as one of the kids," Pyro shrugs. "Sometimes it seems everything I do to show otherwise gets botched. And just proves their point all over again." Whoever /they/ are. "Maybe I am too impatient. Just want to help things get done."
Toxin looks into Pyro's eyes, her own rather unforgiving. "You're not a child anymore. And we are all impatient, but you must learn to cultivate some. Even those who have fire running through their veins have to learn to control their impulses."
"I will," Pyro states. "Even if it kills me. Unless you kill me first," he adds, with not quite enough humor to make it sound as if that's entirely out of the question.
Toxin smirks as her eyes float over Pyro. "Don't test me, my dear." She reaches out and pats him on the shoulder. "Now be a good boy and make use of the shower facilities. We -do- provide them for a reason."
Pyro nods, running his hands over his head to push the hair back, grimmacing at the sensation. He heads toward the dresser, pulling open a drawer for some clean clothes. "When do I find out the punishment?" he asks, pausing to look back toward her. No delusions here, at least.
Toxin turns to head out the door, reaching for the knob and pulling it open. "You don't." she replies. With that cryptic remark, she's out the door and gone, leaving the door open.