Saturday Morning Town Run

Posted on Thu May 2nd, 2024 @ 10:15 by Alistair Quill & Gabriella Baxter & Shauna Murphy
Edited on on Thu May 2nd, 2024 @ 10:33

Chapter: Winter's Crest Festival
Location: New Cresthill
Timeline: 10:00am - Saturday, 12th December
3249 words - 6.5 OF Standard Post Measure

"Actual pee? Inside the car?"

There were a lot of things about being a senior at Avalon that Shauna had never really stopped to consider. Certainly, being thrust into student leadership had not been something she'd anticipated, but even without the juggle of additional responsibility and privilege that afforded her, the older students in the final stages of their schooling were approaching an age where independence was not an unreasonable expectation and the school board had some wisdom when it came to balancing student safety and teenage rebellion. There was still a process to follow and, given recent events, a host of limitations, but the notion of having to steal a bus just to get away from the school grounds for a few hours was quickly become a thing of the past. This was probably for the best. As a plan, the whole thing had fizzled anyway and nobody had been in a great hurry to own up to why the school bus was parked awkwardly on the side of the driveway with one of its front wheels lodged firmly in a muddy pothole.

At the very least, Shauna and Alastair had quietly agreed to scratch that option from any future exploits.

And then they'd realised that, with enough forward planning, they could take trips into town completely legitimately. Shauna had been dubious at first, a distrust that had only deepened since the direct attack on school grounds, but Cavendish hadn't revoked the privilege entirely, there was simply a very strict curfew and stipulation about group sizes. Nobody was allowed to go alone, but no visit could be more than four people because apparently gangs of mutant students wandering the streets was not a strong recruitment strategy. Use of powers except in extreme cases of self-defense were not permitted unless impossible to avoid and they had to be out of uniform unless with a member of faculty. There were other rules and Shauna had honestly done her best not to tune out but, after a while, it all became a blur of poorly-attempted risk management. All that mattered, the only thing she'd really taken away from the meeting that had first outlined the stipulations, was that there was finally a way to interact with the real world that didn't involve eavesdropping on teachers just to figure out what was going on.

The walk was a pretty one too, even if it took about half an hour. It was cold out, of course, because it always was this time of year, and the first snow hadn't really settled with any permanence yet, but the ground was still frosty and her breath still curled as vapors from each nostril as she shot the boy walking next to her an incredulous look and immediately distrusted his intel, admittedly because he'd heard this particular piece of news before she had.

"Aye." Alastair had a bit of an easier time to connect to the locals since New Cresthill was very similar to his home town, which in fairness was only one county over anyway. He had played football against some of the kids. "Basically turned it into scrap too. Defiled it. It's at Graeme's, under a tarp. Some vile words carved on the hood." He had never quite realised how close he had become to some of the other students, especially Shauna, who had always kept people at a distance emotionally for her own reasons. "Heard some other places got their front window was thrown in. They're goin' after pro-mutant places."

A scoff was followed by a brooding silence, the exact combination of expressions that usually meant Shauna was stewing on her own indignation. She might have been squeamish about admitting it but the rigor and routine of school had taught her better ways of expressing her rather strongly confident opinions, at least to the point where she was more likely to stop and think before speaking, or acting. It didn't mean her opinions had necessarily changed all that much in certain areas, though arguably they had improved in others, but a more tempered approach gave better credit to her intelligence.

She threw the rock she'd been fidgeting with towards a tree, shaking her head as it ricocheted and skidded off into the underbrush.

"See, that's just ridiculous. They'll be the first to blame us for their town getting trashed but they're the ones doing it."

"Sometimes it seems like they're just looking for an excuse." Alistair remarked, it was the same with footie matches. Win or lose, things were bound to be broken. It seemed like the locals, or basically everyone in the Union, was more than happy to band together and focus on the outsiders that they were. "Anyway, all of this to say it might not be smart to go there?"

"Because why?" The speed with which the retort was shot back was easily predictable. The stubborn clench of Shauna's jaw did not bode well to her conceding to any greater wisdom, which was par for the course really and only made it more impressive that Alastair kept trying. "We've been doing this once a week for how long and nothing world-ending has happened, so the only problem will be one they start themselves." In a moment of rare affection, which tended to only emerge in these more private moments, she jostled sideways to push him with her shoulder. "It'd be kind of funny to see them try to take you on."

Alistair blushed at that, he wasn't quite so confident in his abilities himself. Sure he had been able to pump up his muscles, especially after seeing what Robin Hood had been able to do with them once he leeched them. Something they discovered afterwards. That must've been why he had broken into the institute. It was a bit of a puzzle then why the Rangers had disappeared without a trace after. "I just hope it won't have to come to that, to be honest. I know we shouldn't cower, but it just seems unnecessarily provocative."

"Renting a movie and grabbing some snacks is hardly aggressive. We don't have to start anything, I just don't see why we need to live behind closed doors." Stuffing her hands back into her pockets, Shauna sidestepped a pothole half-full of mud and squinted ahead at the upcoming fork that would give them the option of turning left into town or right up towards the lookout. "At some point, they'll just use it as an admission of guilt and we'll end up with zero rights since that seems mostly what they're pushing for anyway." A glance sideways regarded her companion. "Besides, it's taken them this long to get the second movie in and it shouldn't be too hard to hunt down a copy of the third over Christmas." One hand emerged from a pocket to waggle mockingly at his face. "Not worried about a few wittle xenomorphs, are we?"

"More worried about the Head Mistress." They had started watching the Alien movies when Shauna had spotted Claire running around in the overalls during Halloween. It was such a weird look for her that it had piqued the interest of the students. It didn't take long to confirm that it was actually a costume from one of her favourite movies. They didn't ask her directly, of course, why would they if they could be sneaky about it. It had brought them the joy of Alien and now it was about to give them the joy of Aliens. "And you're right. We shouldn't. We should be able to just live our lives." He straightened his back a bit and squared his shoulders. With some confidence they strode into town. "I think our lives also call for some baked goods."

"Name a time when you ever thought differently." To look at him, it wouldn't be easy to guess that Alastair could pack away the amount of food he did but Shauna had personally witnessed it, as well as come to rely on him to make sure her own food didn't go to waste. It occurred to her briefly to suggest that they split up, since covering ground quickly would get them back before the weather broke, not to mention limit the time they spent in town since he was so worried about it, but she realised that would probably also count as a reason to stick together. "Cake first, I take it?"

"Always." Alastair automatically took the street that would lead to the Corner Bakery. Sure they could go to Greggs, but Shauna was loaded and the baked goods from the local baker were much better than either of the Greggs could manage. "Did you know that the Head Mistress is a regular here? At a bakery of all places. Not any of the pubs." He shrugged a bit, it seemed odd to him as the place came into view.

Where normally a large window with hand-painted letters scrawled across would show you rows upon rows of baked goods now was a large wooden board, it was set on the inside behind the broken pieces of glass still in the windowsill. A blue and white band of plastic tape demanded caution. As the two of them approached a bit more apprehensively now there were some choice terms scrawled on the still intact window around the corner. The words attacking the sexual proclivities of the baker herself, as well as the fact that she catered to Mutants. All of which, in this particular essay, concluded with a thickly spraypainted and underlined use of the C-word.

It was all Shauna could do, in the initial seconds of realisation, to consent to stay present. As much as she had curbed many of her tendencies to misuse her powers, there was nothing reprehensible about the instinctual urge to remove herself from perceived threat. In a very psychologically-convoluted way that she had no desire at all to discuss with someone qualified to notice, a lot of her time spent invisible over the years had been some sort of defensive mechanism, even if she'd been causing mischief. Now that she had some capacity to extend her powers to include others, there was a glimmer of valour to her intent, though it didn't eventuate beyond a hand suddenly gripping Alastair's forearm. It didn't take long to get the gist of what the graffiti sought to express, though it was enough of a hesitation to buy Shauna's indignation time to swim for the surface.

"How are they getting away with this?" She glanced down the road as if expecting to find an answer there. "Where are the police?"

Alastair pulled Shauna a bit closer as she clutched his arm. He felt his adrenaline spike and the focus on his forearm meant his arm muscles bulked up slightly. Even since the happenings on Halloween it was a lot easier to adjust his body to the situation. Right now it was clear he was getting ready for a fight or flight situation. "Came and went." He pointed out the blue and white tape, as they were still closing in on the bakery's front door. The small sign indicating that they were open. There was some hesitance. The baker probably wasn't waiting for people from Avalon to come barging in and casually ordering pies and breads. "I'm sure the fuzz is doing what they can." His Scottish accent got a bit thicker, something he consciously suppressed around Shauna. "Should we go to Greggs?"

The only response that question got was the sound of the shop bell as Shauna moved ahead and pushed open the door.

The slight crunch of glass beneath her feet slowed her entrance and left the young mutant poised in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob. As early as it was for a Saturday, it still was approaching the pre-breakfast rush hour for the popular eatery and yet, even as she leaned right in to peer left, Shauna could tell there wasn't anyone queued up as usual. As her hesitation gave Alastair ample time to catch up, she moved inside, carefully tried to find a patch of tile that wasn't still gritty with debris, and approached the counter straining to see around into the kitchen. "Hello? Gabby?"

Alastair followed Shauna inside, he should've known that she wouldn't choose to avoid the situation. He followed her in and saw the blue and white tape inside to keep people away from where most of the glass had fallen. There was a sidewalk tile still in the middle of it.

"Please be careful, I'm waiting for the police to come back and collect evidence. Apparently I'm not the only one that needs their attention today." Gabriella called from the back of the bakery. The normally warm and sweet interior was cold and damp. There were loafs of bread stacked in the racks, not in the displays. It was clear that the baker was trying her best to continue her work under the circumstances. She made her way into the larger area of the shop and gave a tired smiled at the two teens coming in. "Good morning, you're up and about early. What can I do ye for?"

In typical earnest fashion, Shauna just stared at the woman for a moment before declining the offer to pretend as if it was business as usual. "This is easily one of the most popular places in town." The opportunity for tact dwindled quickly, though as with most of the young mutant's intensity, there was no shortage of sincerity. None of this was warranted and Shauna resented, with very palpable ferocity, being labelled as part of the justification. "Are they really such a bunch of cowards that they'd stoop to this instead of spitting in our face?" She craned her head to look at the damage. "This isn't fair."

Gabriella gave a weary smile. Shauna was right of course, it wasn't fair. Then again very little in life actually was. And that was coming from a rather privileged Scottish woman who took over the successful family business. "Equal parts fear and boredom, I think." She took two cupcakes from the display and walked around the counter to place them on one of the only two tables in the small shop. "Something to help you think about what you'd like to order." She walked back past Shauna and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze to let her know that her concern and indignation was very much appreciated by the baker.

"She's a lot less angry than I'd be," Shauna pointed out as she perched on one of the chairs, if only to buy herself a better vantage of the damage. Her keen gaze had watched the baker retreat but, once Gabby was out of sight, it very quickly switched to analysing the crime scene. "Has there been any word about who they think is doing it? This has got to be the same people who trashed Bright's car."

Alistair shrugged a bit at that as the question came at the most inopportune moment, with his mouth full of cupcake he mumbled something to the effect of not knowing. When he finished his first bite he decided it would probably be better to just take another rather than join in on the speculation.

"Before I forget, when you're heading back to Avalon, would you mind swinging by again? I got an order in for Mister Beaumont." Gabriella called from the back of the bakery. "If not, that's fine, I'll call him to come pick it up himself."

It took a moment for Shauna to respond, preoccupied as she was with fixing her friend with a deadpan stare that might have stood a chance at shaming him out of eating everything in sight had the offerings not been so tempting. With a flurry of motion, she picked up the remaining cupcake before Alastair could claim it too and scruffed him by the arm, dragging him towards the door. "Sure, we won't be long!"

As the cold blast of air hit them both in the face, Shauna didn't hesitate, nor relinquish her hold. More unusual was her choice of direction, which didn't take them towards the town centre in search of the video they'd planned to track down, but around the back of the bakery to where the dumpsters were. A quick scan around didn't seem to appease her, nor did her effort to stand in tiptoe to peer over the back fence. She was scheming, however, because there wasn't often a time when Shauna wasn't overthinking something, and it was just as typical that she hadn't thought to clue in her usual partner-in-crime as to what she was actually looking for.

Alistair looked over the bins Shauna was inspecting, "I'm sure Miss Baxter will be more than happy to give you yesterday's bread." He frowned a bit, there were plenty of times it was difficult to follow Shauna, but when she got in a state like this one there was usually no knowing where it would lead. Last time it lead to a school bus stranded by the side of the road halfway to New Cresthill.

"They more than likely jumped the fence back here, it's the fastest way to get into the back streets without having to parade along the main road. There's a bunch of footsteps in the mud but they go all over the place."

Landing back on flat-feet, Shauna looked about as disappointed as she sounded. For all she had curbed a lot of the idle mischief in the tendency, she had an investigator's zeal for snooping into things that was a natural off-shoot of being able to track down information without being noticed. Cavendish had been routinely insistent on limiting the student body's involvement in the Institute's response to recent threats but Shauna had stubbornly held onto the same determination that had seen her lead their small group down into the catacombs, not to mention sneak a bunch of children out right under the nose of their uninvited intruder. She fixed Alastair with a frown, a deeply knitted furrow of contemplation, and then declared, "We should wander around town for a bit, see what we can overhear."

She extended a hand for him to take, which accompanied the gleam in her eyes to announce an intent not to be visible whilst they went on this fact finding mission. It required physical contact, however, and at least a small measure of her obstinance drew its strength from trying not to make a fuss of walking around town hand-in-hand.

Alistair looked at the hand for a moment before realising exactly why it was being extended to him. "Oh, right." He put his hand in hers and gave a bit of a goofy smile. Even if nobody else would see them, they'd know that they walked around town hand-in-hand. "Where to first?"

A flash of embarrassment parading as annoyance brought a tinge of colour to Shauna's cheeks. There was such a thing as being too pleased with oneself, a trap that Alastair tended to fall into more times than was good for either of them. Retaliation came in the form of a tightened grip, and the slow emergence of a devious smile.

"We," the redhead declared, leaving no room as usual for any argument, "are going to visit the pub."