Participants:
| Scene Title | Be A Good Boy |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Aftermath of the washout pipe incident. Yana takes off the kiddie gloves with Keagan's insubordination. An understanding is reached. Pecking order established. |
| Date | January 2, 2011 |
Yana's Vehicle
Once Yana gets back in the car, Keagan could be found, having already discarded his ice covered shirt and received Christopher's coat to cover him. His eyes stared at Yana half the way home. "That was wrong," he says, vinegar in his voice. "I never want to hear you talk to Anna that way again," he says, as if Yana is the one in trouble rather than him. "You didn't know what was going on. You just made assumptions. They were wrong and it wasn't fair." He zips the coat up for extra warmth, fighting the effects of the cold. One would never know he doesn't have a shirt on with how far he zips up the coat.
By the time she has gotten back to the car herself, Yana is quite simply a rock. It is pretty clear how strongly she felt about the incident, yet now it would be impossible to tell, given her very calm and very cold demeanor as she settles into the seat directly across from him. She didn't speak a word initially until she was spoken to. She channels her father quite well in these kinds of situation, as the man is so calm and steady that one would be foolish not to fear just what he is going to do next. "We're going to talk about what we never want to hear again. Firstly, we will start with that tone of disrespect you just used. I realize, Keagan, that I am not your mother, though legally, I am your guardian, which.. need I remind you, was a responsibility that would have gone to your grandfather, who would have saw to it that you would be tucked safely away at private school, where you aren't allotted the types of freedoms you have now." Wearing a pair of silken gloves to go with her dress, Yana starts to slip them from her hands one by one. "That means no Anna, no wandering around on your own, no really attention other than what you get from complete strangers, and maybe.. if you're lucky.. he may send you a package or two of something small on occasion if he is feeling gracious that day. That means no dog."
Her eyes lift to meet him harshly, "I've taken you in, and have provided everything from shelter to just about everything you have asked for. And now, all of a sudden, you meet this girl and outright loose your mind? You are 14 years old, Keagan, a minor, a child still in the eyes of society, who does not yet have the same exact rights as as an adult. As such, the consequences of your behavior befalls upon the shoulders of your legal guardian. You should think about this, before you next decided to pull a stunt like you just did. I would hate to employ methods that would be utilized by your grandfather. On top of that, I would hate to inform him of your actions, because I assure you, somehow, some way, he would ensure that you never see that girl again for a very long long time." If at all. Mikhail Sr. may in fact kill a child, if it meant saving face in the family.
"So the very next time you decide it is a good idea to speak out to me like that again, I suggest you take into account all of the reasons why you would be considered ungrateful and disrespectful before you do. As worried as I was, I had a right to assume whatever would keep me from losing my mind. You don't get to tell me what I can and cannot assume. Just get that straight right off the bat."
"No." Keagan's response is quick. If he was listening, it doesn't show. He was waiting for his turn to talk again. "You treat me like some type of pet. You feed me, give me toys, and then leave me alone until I do something that annoys you. What's G-pa gonna do? He'd just as soon let me wander the streets. He hates me, just like he hated Daddy. You don't know anything about Anna. She could have the cure for cancer and you wouldn't care. You know, I tried to get her to know what it is supposed to be like to act fancy. For you! So you wouldn't judge her. That was just stupid. You judged her before you even knew she existed. She's my girlfriend."
The dark-haired teen only leaves a moment for the word to sink in before he continues. "G-pa can rot in his stuffy old house with his medical awards for all I care. He doesn't care what I do. I'm the half breed. I'm not even worth his time. You know that. Everyone gives me the eye whenever we get together. And you know why?" He holds up his arm, and rolls back the sleeve of the dark coat, revealing his darker skin. "That's why, right there! If I'm such a bother to everyone, then why don't you just let me go live with my other family? They don't care that I'm half white."
The boy lets the sleeve drop down onto his arm again, and sinks back into the seat of the car, having spent the fire in his soul for the moment. "You don't even know what she's inspired in me," he says in a quieter tone. "And you don't care. All you care about is the dollar value." It isn't common for him to vocalize his frustrations about the Puika family, usually he keeps it to himself. Part of getting older, though, is that some things just are too much for teenage emotions to handle. All the same, after his rant, he seems more placid, and lets his gaze wash out the window, though mostly so that Yana can't see that he wants to cry. That much isn't uncommon. He does tend to be emotional, to whichever extreme fits his mood.
She lets him go through the motions without a single shift in her facial expression. If his words sting, or just bounce off of her armor, Yana does not allow him to see it. She comes off as impenetrable, and she does it so very well. One might ask, how she can be so very cold. Quite easily, in fact, because the woman has had to keep her secrets stored away, and in order to do that, she only allows others to get so close to her. Arms length doesn't even cover the distance she puts between she and the rest of the world.
So she allows him to say such things like her not caring, and that no one wants him because of the color of his skin, and how she only cares about the dollar value. All the while, she gathers together a manilla folder she had tucked away off to the side. She had been waiting for the moment when she could pull this card. The folder is tossed in Keagan's lap, while Yana calmly reaches over to fix herself a drink. "Anna James, Tier-0 Registered Evolved, Unmanifested, wanted for subversion of the Linderman Act. Wanted for questioning in regards to alleged parental abuse. Your girlfrind, as you so call her, is a wanted fugitive." Yana says this without any smug triumph in her voice, though it seems it was delivered with the intention to be a slap to the boy's face.
"You should have known that I would have done some research into this girl, Keagan. When it comes down to rationality, I never take anything for face value. She may have seemed like a proper girl, but the ugly truth is sitting right there, in your lap. I suppose you're asking yourself now, just how long I have been sitting on that information, seeing as how it has been quite a few days since she was brought to my attention." Her drink is prepared, and she needs it right about now. The clear martini is pull to her lips, and a sip is taken. "The only reason I even allowed you to pursue this fit of puppy love, is because that is all it is. The human brain doesn't fully develop into complete maturity until the age of 19. This is why you are actually considered an adult at the age of 18, able to make sound and rational self decisions, which even then, without experience behind human growth isn't enough to consider your choices final."
Yana's eyes lift, and stare hard at Keagan, the ice and jade of many years and many heartaches drills into him. "It's so improbable that this girl is not going to be the love of your life, or even the girl that you'll first marry, that it's almost a definite, rather than a sliver of a possible. I don't expect you to understand, rather I expect you'll go one believing that it is your own little personal fairytale, where no one understands you, and every person you meet is worried about what you are doing. Where I am some wicked aunt who cares absolutely nothing for you, and is wrong for being angry about what you just did, rather than taking notice, and turning her head the other way, leaving you to whatever consequences befell. Quite honestly, it is something we all go through, it is apart of growing up, so I am not going to fault you for that. Like I don't fault you for your sticky fingers?" She raises a brow, peering at him.
"Anyway," Yana crosses one leg over the other, and shifts them both to one side, sitting proper, "I do in fact know your precious little Anna, who does not in fact know the cure for cancer, but is wanted for questioning by the authorities, and doesn't even have a clear enough conscious to go in and clear her name. Which constitutes guilt for her crimes, which you could inherit by association. Do you think that this is the kind of person I feel safe with you hanging around?" And to make things worse, Yana reaches over to her cellphone, "Quite honestly, it would be my parental duty to contact the authorities and reveal her location, wouldn't you think? I would almost be derelict in my responsibility as your guardian not to."
Keagan's eyes snap back to Yana at the production of the envelope. narrow. "You are a freaking stalker!" he accuses. The manilla folder in his lap isn't opened. He doesn't care what's in it. "I'm not looking at that. I'm burning that. I'm not some peeping Tom into her past!" Keagan grabs the envelope, and tucks it under the coat so that Yana can't take it back. "And I know it all already." Well, he knows part of it already, and probably a few things that the report doesn't go into detail about. "You think you know somebody because you read a report about them you got? Maybe I'll help people get all the dirt on you! How would you like that? If people went rooting around to find everything you've ever done wrong?" The boy's hand moves to the handle of the door, and grips the handrest hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
"Maybe she's not perfect, but she's got a shorter record than I do," Keagan counters. "And you know what? She hates the things she did wrong. She's trying to change, just like I've been trying to change. Not all of us have some picture perfect world they live in. But if she's so rotten, then tell me this? Why have I not stolen anything since I've known her?" Going a week is rare. He doesn't usually take things of great value, but he takes something. Like a cat fixes on its prey, Keagan's eyes are locked on the phone. He looks poised for physical action if she tries to call.
"Burn it all you wish." Yana replies to his outburst cooly. "We live in a technological age, Keagan. People don't simply write things on paper and bank on just that one copy. Things are stored on computers, people have printers that can make dozens or even hundreds of the same document for future use." The phone stays secure in her hand, just hanging with the threat that she could call at any second. "My concern is for my family, and the people they surround in their lives could very well bring shame and embarrassment to the Puika name if they happen to be criminals." The key is not to get caught, really. Anna's transgressions have gone public, which means she has pretty much already been caught. She is a pariah to the Puika family. "I look after my own. I always have. But one thing I will not have is your continued disrespect, Keagan."
"All I know is that she is wanted for questioning. Which doesn't mean that she is immediately guilty, no no. What makes her seem guilty, is the fact that she isn't going in to face the consequences of the accusations made against her. It doesn't sound like she is too concerned with trying to change things, then why does she not do the right thing? In the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of God, she is continuing to choose to live in sin by not owning up to the things she is done. Can you argue that?" Yana's brows raise at her nephew.
"Whether she is good for your habits or not isn't the point here. I'm a little displeased with the lack of respect I have been shown for everything I have done for you, and I believe I have been far to lenient on delivering the proper punishment for it. Perhaps you don't understand my relation and position over you, so.. perhaps I will try depravity, and see if that changes your attitude." she hovers her finger over the phone, "I could start with depriving you of Anna by depriving her of her freedom. I wouldn't really be doing anything wrong by bringing her to justice. But I imagine it would be pretty painful for you to see her put away. Martial Law is still in effect, just so you realize. However…" Yana pulls her fingers away from the phone, "If you start behaving like you have some sense, and abolish yourself of that filthy disrespect, I may be gracious enough to look the other way." In other words, obey, or things will happen.
Keagan isn't a pro manipulator like Yana. Right now he wishes he was. You could fry an egg on his forehead, he's so remarkably furious. Regarding morality, he has a dozen directions he could shoot down Yana's claim that she wouldn't be doing anything wrong morally. He could even point them out in the Bible to prove his point. Still, that wouldn't serve much purpose, it'd only make things worse.
The teen still remains quiet, every bump in the road heard as they pull up to the apartment complex. His gaze doesn't break, though, judging her with every passing moment in his mind. Finally, Keagan answers. "I've lived with you for four years," he says, each word carefully controlled to keep his tone from running away. "You know that I try to be respectful." Though it's true that he frequently fails, as well. "All I'm asking is that you respect her. You wanna be pissed at me because I went down that washout. Fine. I can deal with that. It was a bad idea. I ended up nosing down a blue dragon! I think I know it was a bad idea." Not one he's likely to repeat anytime soon. Not with Anna around, at least.
"I'll respect you as long as you respect her. I really care about her. Jesus calls us to care for orphans and widows, and he ate at the table with sinners." His tone is forcibly calm, keeping a reasonable level despite his feelings. "Just treat her like someone who is made in God's image." Bucking a little in his words, clearly, but he's being respectful at least, and he would make the priest happy at church with his words, that's for sure.
Truth be told, Yana is the last person to be speaking about morality and justice. The woman that sits across from him right now is truly wicked indeed. Dr. Blite has acted out so many things that would make Keagan want to have her exorcised. But Yana plays innocent so very well. There probably are things that Keagan could argue to her point, but right now, Yana is practically daring him to. Her eyes slightly squinting to narrow as she looks at him, just waiting for him to argue. When he doesn't, a sense of satisfaction settles in over her that allows her to set her phone back on the small bar to the side.
"I'll go ahead and take your word for it for now. But we'll just see how things go. I'll hold off on placing any calls to the authorities, or to your grandfather so long as you mind your manners. I really don't like seeing you in pain, Keagan. But I'll do what I have to do to maintain order." And control. "We really don't have to be at ends like this. All you have to do is show respect." And do what she says, "And we'll get along just fine."
The car comes to a stop, indicating that they have arrived at the apartment. "Now. I want you to get upstairs, get in the bath, and out of those wet things before you catch something terrible." Dr. Blite could in fact keep Anna away by striking Keagan down with the flu. He'll be too sick to see her, and she could keep him under with it for as long as she needed. But she doesn't use her 'touch' on blood in that way unless she really has to. "A blue dragon.." she chuckles, still finding it preposterous, "The very idea.."
"I never get sick," Keagan answers. Of course, he doesn't realize why he never gets sick. He thinks he just has a good immune system. And in a way, he does, because his powers can kill a virus just as efficiently as Yana's, even if neither of them realize it. He opens the door to the car, and doesn't give her another word. Of course, the upside for Yana, he's carrying around dozens of good viruses for her at the moment, most of which have been left with his shirts in the floor of the car.
"Of course you don't…" Yana adds, with a knowing smile of her own. Letting Keagan go on about his way of getting out of the car. Their discussion is done, she got her way, so all is right with the world again. She is left with his dirty clothes on the floor of the vehicle, which, as she looks at them with her special sight, she sees the usual common viruses remain over it, but nothing that she finds worthy of discarding one of the three rather dangerous ones she is stocking at the moment. Maybe next time.. Deadly viruses are difficult to come by.
"Christopher." she calls to the front of the vehicle, "See that these clothes are taken care of." she commands. She isn't going to so much as touch them. But she will triumphantly sip on her martini.