Making Mudsand

Posted on Sat Aug 17th, 2024 @ 4:06pm by Hayden Davis & Maeve MacKenna

Mission: Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Garden outside the mansion
Timeline: September 5th 1990

Maeve was still sore from the so called 'training' in the Danger Room. She had no idea things that were not real could hit so hard and tire her so much. The Professor and Beast had certainly wanted to put her through her paces and the bruises and a few scrapes proved as much.

Licking her wounds so to speak Maeve sat outside the mansion in one of the vast gardens watching a fountain cascade down into the pool that continuously kept its thirst quenched. The day itself was beautiful, not too cold and the sky clear aside from a few intrusive clouds trying to rain on Gaia's parade. Maeve closed her eyes, sometimes listening to the earth relaxed her.

Hayden was at the end of a run for the day. She liked to stop at the fountain and mist the water on her face to help cool down. Though with the few clouds, it was not as hot as it usually was. She saw who she guessed was a new student near the fountain and went on over.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked between catching her breaths.

She had heard the footsteps, felt the vibrations through the ground but even still the sound of someone speaking to her gave Maeve a small start. Opening her eyes she was met with the sight of bright, slightly reddened face of a girl that appeared to be around her age. Still she was just only getting to know the school and its students, teachers etc.

"Hey, going alright thanks." Maeve replied with a little Irish lilt. "How about you? You look like you've ran the length of the grounds."

Hayden laughed. "There are days that it feels like it. But this was not one of those days. So it's going well," she said. "I'm Hayden."

"I'm Maeve." she replied. "And I don't envy you running around... not quite my thing." she chuckled as her Irish brogue filtered into how she spoke. "Do you do that a lot? I've been told it helps people clear their heads..."

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile. Nodding at her comment about running, "I suppose it's not for everyone, but it does have its moments." Hayden grinned, catching the hint of an Irish accent in Maeve's voice.

"But yeah, I try to get out and run every couple of days," she admitted. "Running helps me clear my head, sort through things. Like you said." She paused, glancing around as if searching for the right words. "Sometimes, it's the only time I feel like I can really think straight, you know? What about you? How do you clear your head?"

"Usually get lost in a book, or do some gardening." Maeve realised this made her sound like a much older woman, someone retired maybe but she'd always felt a connection to the earth and it made her feel at ease when her hands were in soil and whatnot. Also, a book was a good way to transport you to another world.

"Those aren't so bad," said Hayden. She performed a couple of post-run stretches and brought some more water up to mist her face. "It's the quiet part that matters most. No one else around. No noises other than your environment." She sat on the edge of the fountain and put her hands on her knees for a moment. "I haven't seen you around before today, Maeve. So you're relatively new here. At least to me," she added with a grin. "Where were you before came to the school?"

"I do love the sounds of nature." Maeve smiled as she subconsciously began to move her fingers about. Beneath her hand some gravel began to move, float a little, but nothing too outrageous. "I am new." she answered Hayden's statement. "Professor Xavier, Dr McCoy and Ms Ricci welcomed me in when I found this place. Before..." she remembered her tough nights in the city, the whole boat journey across the Atlantic, all painful and harsh but at least things were looking up here. She shook that and smiled at Hayden, her smile could often persuade people from seeing the fractured person she felt like she was. "I'm originally from Ireland, an island next to the UK?" she half asked to see if Hayden knew of it.

"That is so cool!" exclaimed Hayden as she watched the gravel move and float. "But, welcome to the school. "Yeah, Ireland, I know where that's at. What is that people say...forty shades of green? Or something like that. Is it really that lush?"

"Yeah, greener than I can even explain." Maeve replied with a slight remorseful pang in her heart. She missed home but knew she wasn't ready to go back. "I lived on an island and it was beautiful. The beaches there were to die for." she smiled at Hayden. "Where are you from?"

"Buffalo. Er, rather a suburb of Buffalo," she said. "Pretty cold most of the time. I'd love to have lived near some beaches instead of taking vacations to them." She stretched a little more and then sat down. "So earth powers, huh. Between the both of us, we could really get people stuck in the mud."

"Buffalo like the animal?" Maeve asked. "I'm still not up on places in America." she shook her head with a little laugh to herself. "But the beaches were still freezin'! An Irish beach has nothing on a Spanish one... or so I've heard." she added as she then listened to Hayden talk about powers. "That would be funny! Anyone that annoys us... instant quicksand, or mudsand." she grinned.

"Buffalo like New York," said Hayden. She then giggled. "Yes! Mudsand! Oh my gosh, that'd be so funny. If there were ever some kind of a prank challenge her, we should team up."

"Oh, sorry. I'm still not used to America." Maeve shrugged with a little smile. "Have you been here long? At the school?" she asked. It was nice to not go to sleep scared, or worried about keeping warm.

Hayden shrugged. "It's okay. But I've been here for a while," she said. "It's a nice place. Lots of room, that's for sure. Do you have a roommate?"

Maeve nodded in agreement, it certainly was very spacious. "No, I think they just put me in the first room that they could find when I got here so I've got a room to myself just now." she replied. "It's nice to get to sleep in a proper bed." she added without thinking.

"A room all to yourself is nice," said Hayden. "The mansion is big enough you'd think that everyone could have that." She caught the bed comment, but said nothing. If there was one thing she had learned at the school it was that everyone had different backgrounds and upbringings. "It's all nice; beds, chairs, couches. Sleeping and sitting and training...life at the Xavier Institute." She laughed a little. "And missions."

It was nice, sometimes, but it felt weird. She was in a place full of people but alone in a room. The last time she properly shared a room, one she felt safe in, was with her sisters. Amelia and Saoirse still brought a tear to her eye when she thought of them, being so far away and not knowing what was happening. Maybe she'd reach out to Xavier and see if he could help make contact with them.

Maeve giggled. "Yes, there are lots of things to sit and lie on here." she blushed slightly. "I've not been on a mission yet, or whatever, but I have been in the Danger Room. The Professor and Hank were testing me in there I think. It's a weird room, have you been in it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I've been in it several times," she said. "Weird is definitely a word to describe it. Apparently there's quite a bit that they can do in the Danger Room based on people's powers. So how did you do? On your test in the Room?"

"I think it went okay. The Professor seemed impressed but all I did was throw a sphere of earth at a tank and push it back a little." she shrugged. Maeve was never good at bigging herself up. "No-one died, which is always a bonus... if anyone can die in the Danger Room. What kind of things did they get you doing?"

"I had a lot of combat training," she said. "They told me that not every place I would go would have a body of water or a fountain or a fire hydrant. And while I can use the water in the air, it would be minuscule. That's not to say that we didn't have water training. We did some offense and defense type stuff. It was in the Danger Room that I learned how to take the water and make a fog-like mist to hide people."

"I think it would be fun to learn some fancy kicks and punches." Maeve thought out loud. "But there will always be earth, or some form of it, where ever we are. Unless we are in space..." she shook her head at thought. "You can make fog? That's cool, we'll need to come up with something for Halloween to scare people!" she grinned. "I can maybe make a golem... hide it in the fog and scare people."

Hayden's eyes widened. "Oh, I never thought about that! That would be so massive! If we have a Halloween party this year, anything scary outside is going to be so much more fun now." Her mind started reeling. So many ideas... "I wonder if we could talk the Professor into a haunted forest setup out here. I mean, he already has the forest. And you could put golems all over the place in there."

"I know right?!" Maeve said as she got quite excited at the notion, but not only doing something fun, doing it with Hayden. "Well I'm still learning how to make golems, I mean I read about them in a book or two, but have never actually tried yet." she chuckled a little. "My first few tries might be a little deformed..."

Hayden shrugged, "I guess they wouldn't have to be perfect," she said. "They'd be part of a haunted forest, after all. Might be kind of nice to have them look deformed."

"You're right." Maeve nodded and rose to her feet. "But I'm going to practice some anyway. I'll catch you later Hayden. It was nice to meet youuuuuuu!" she said as she had already began to speed off. A large smile lit her face, she made a new friend. Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea...