Perfect Day

[Caresse]

Getting out the window had been SO much easier than trying to climb back in. With all her skills, climbing out of the second story of Cullens' had been a snap.


Esme Fenmore, the mutant thief known outside the school as Caresse, had snuck out for the night. With all her skills, climbing out of the second story of Cullens' had been a snap. Carrying a bag of clothes on her back, it had been fairly easy for her to get out the window, across the roof and down a drain-pipe. Climbing back up, in the wee early hours after a night of dancing and drinking, was considerably more hard. The second time she fell, she'd decided to just sit and wait. Someone would be coming or going sometime soon. Maybe.

She sat in the dark, pulling a packet of Benson and Hedges from her pocket. Taking a deep drag, she kicked off her heels, stretching out on the grass with a yawn.

[Slab]

It was a nice night, and after a Bud or two, Senior Detective Brian MacLanahan found himself enjoying the nightly stroll around the grounds that he once called home for a small but incredibly important part of his young adult life. It hadn't changed much. He still knew all the good sneaking spots, and just how easy it was to sneak off campus if you were good, or had a great mutant power designed for that. Brian didn't, but knew those who did in his day. So, he found a spot near that tree, which also happened to be his Drinkin' Tree in the old days, the large live oak still sporting a carving somewhere below a knothole that he used to hide his booze. It said just that: The Drinkin' Tree. Smiling and reminiscing at the old days, Brian sat there for about an hour or so, until he saw the cat burglar climb down. He said nothing, merely sat there, rocking out just before she exited the building. That way, he didn't breathe, and she didn't see or hear anything noting life. He could stand as still as a statue, which he did, sitting against the outer wall of the school, right near the wrought-iron and brick fence.

A few hours later, Brian heard the noises noting her return. He returned to his rock form, just as she fell over the wrought-iron fence. And Brian watched with glistening emerald eyes, almost laughing as the semi-drunk, attractive student tried to climb the tree up to her room twice. Both times she fell unceremoniously on her rather curvaceous rump. It took Brian MacLanahan, the Slab, a bit of willpower not to laugh at her.

As she laid down, lighting a cigarette, she didn't even realize she was at the feet of a six-foot-six-inches tall, four hundred pound man made of pure stone. He smiled, and spoke, probably startling the girl to no end, as he sat in the shadows against the wall, just out of view.

"Little too much drink? Always makes the climb back hard."

[Caresse]

She jumped. More than a little embaressed that she'd been caught (especially since she so rarely did get caught...and when it happened, her pheromones usually took care of an consequences), she looked up at him from her spot in the grass.

"No, it's just difficult to climb into windows wearing stilletto heals. You a teacher, or a student?"

[Slab]

Slab laughed. It came out as a gravelly chuckle, rocks rolling together softly in his chest. He took another sip of the Bud that was next to him.

"I wonder what you think."

He knew he was rhyming. He got that way sometimes after a drink or two. Maybe that was his Irish coming out in him, besides his looks.

"Well, you want me to play the card."

He sighed, and took another sip.

"Honestly, I am both. I was a student a long time ago, and then kinda became a teacher of sorts. You could say that I am a substitute. And stilettos are for prostitutes. Bad climbing gear, especially coupled with drink. It's a wonder, after two falls, how you could even begin to think."

He laughed again, the same roll on gravel.

"I'm just givin' ya a hard time."

[Caresse]

"So what? Your powers are to talk like a leprechaun?" Her voice slurred a little as she sat up on her elbows. She was dressed to party - tight black dress and little else.

"So, Leprechaun, do you always sit in the dark and wait to rhyme at pretty girls, or do you do useful things?"

[Slab]

Brian leaned forward, enough for her to see that he was, indeed, a man of stone, and not just some semi-Irish guy messing around with her.

"Well, depends on what you mean by useful. And I'm a bit too big to be a leprechaun. And I don't think they're made of stone, or can even turn into it."

Brian caught a full view of her in her party dress. He was impressed, but wasn't much worried over it. Pretty girls came and they went. And often too soon, too quickly, too many times to count, and they usually take half your stuff with them. Brian smiled, a flash of even lighter shades of marble.

"What exactly do you mean by useful?"

[Caresse]

"Fine. You're a Golem. Is that better?"

She wiggled her toes, first fast, then slowly. She watched them, a drunken grin coming to her face.

"You know, do you just sit on your derriere, or do you do things? Vous avez des puissances, mais ce qui vous faites avec elles?"

She fell back, laughing loudly. "Oopsy - you have powers, what do you do with them?"

[Slab]

Brian laughed.

"Well, I certainly don't sneak out and go drinkin' an' charmin' up guys an' gals alike. An' I certainly don't kiss an' tell. Now, other than drinkin', you been up ta anythin' else? Now would be confession time, an' as good a time as any."

He took another sip of his beer.

[Caresse]

"I am as innocent and pure as the driven snow..." She managed to hold a serious tone of voice, her face completely impassive, untill she burst into a fit of drunken giggles. She got to her feet, swaying a bit and plopping down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Being sweet and a goodie good is highly highly over-rated, Golem. Life isn't fun without a little...fun, now and then."

[Slab]

His stone shoulder probably wouldn't be comfortable for long. Brian looked over at the young student. She was legal, Brian knew, but not legal enough to be out drinkin' it up. Not that he didn't do it himself. The difference was that he wasn't out there, in the real world, using and abusing his powers while under the influence.

"Look, here's the deal. Drinkin' underage is illegal. An' I could most certainly detain ya. But I won't, for the mere fact that I did it myself. But here's the deal: you're at Cullen's to learn to deal with your powers. That's what most are here for. Others are here for a safe place to stay. You seem to be doin' just fine...as a matter of fact, too fine. Remember this: when you drink, your judgement's impaired. An' maybe your power, whatever it may be, may not be enough to damage others or yourself, but it could still bring about unwanted attention, which could lead to trouble. The one time I drank too much outside school grounds, I trashed a bar. Literally. So, just be careful, an' do the right thing, 'kay?"

[Caresse]

"You don't even know what my powers are...you wanna see?"

Her smile turned mischievous, as she let loose a wave of pheromones. They would make him feel very very nice. Esme poked his stoney nose with a finger, straddling his lap.

"See? My powers are make people feel nice, and so does alcohol. It's a great combination, mm?"

[Slab]

Brian, the man of stone, enjoyed a full-figured woman straddling his lap. But then again, she was....drunk. He didn't take advantage of a woman like that. And with his lack of need to take in oxygen, the pheromones wouldn't work in this form. Even if he were to breathe it in, it's kinda hard to affect living stone. Strange rules regarding it.

"Hmmm. So your power is to be beautiful an' thoroughly drunk? Ya know, I'd love ta see whatcha got, but then again, I'm a gentleman. I don't take advantage of a woman intoxicated by tha drink. Now, if she were ta be doin' things like that normally, then I'd make arrangement. But I barely know ya, an' don' even know your name. Ya got one?"

[Caresse]

"Esme, and you're no fun, Mr Golem."

She leaned against him, mumbling to herself. "And I'm not that drunk. I just can't climb back into my room."

[Slab]

Brian looked down at the young woman.

"Stop callin' me that. My name's Brian. And what exactly is yer power? I mean, ya pull a move on me, an' say that yer power'll work real good? Strange."

Brian lit a cigar, and let the smoke hang in the air as he blew a smoke ring.

"So, why'd ya sneak out? Yer old enough to go out fer a night on tha town. Just no drinkin'."

[Caresse]

"Cos, I didn't go to this little hick town, I went into the city to party. My power is pheromones, Golem. PHE-RO-MONES."

She plucked the cigar from his lips, stubbing it out on the grass beside him. "Cigars are nasty."

[Slab]

Slab's stone visage narrowed, twisting into a mirthless scowl.

"An' so are half-drunk teases. But ya don' see me stubbin' ya out on tha grass....though tha though has crossed mah mind."

His craggy frown became that of a stony smile.

"An' ya pronounced it wrong. It's pher-oh-moans. An' 'cause you went to tha city, ya had ta sneak out? Still don' make much sense..."

[Caresse]

"Because, I don't think Mr and Mrs Goodie Two Shoes teachers would approve of the company I chose to keep. Even if they're way more fun than half the students at this school."

[Slab]

Brian chuckled again.

"Well, that is often true. Tha teachers here can be a bit stuffy. But bein' more fun ain't always whatcha need ta look fer. Sometimes, it's the reasonable, level-headed, responsible, an' yeah, stuffy ones that ya might need ta keep in yer company. They are tha dependable ones, tha ones that'll stick around when tha chips're down. An' they act as a foil for ya, make ya look even more fun...."

The solid rocky visage cracked into a smile.

"Ya know what I mean, Esme?"