Not Every Hero has 2 LegsTakes place: Friday 16th March, 11am
Oaken hued eyes turned again to the rear-view mirror. The road was still clear behind her, no signs of flashing lights in the distance. And she focused again on the road a head of her. Only once or twice did the blonde haired woman glance to her passenger. The bright eyed attractive male kept his eyes focused purely on the woman who he was devoted to. She looked like any ordinary driver, maybe more attentive than most, but that had a very good reason. Being deaf meant that Sue had to keep a closer eye on the traffic just in case. Her mirrors were altered slightly so they offered a clearer, wider vision. She hadn’t however invested in the sound detection devices some of her friends had. But her passenger didn’t care. He wasn’t one of those which disapproved of her for driving. He felt perfectly safe with her, his life in her hands, just as her life was in his paws. The golden retriever rested his head on the passenger seat as he looked up at her from his seat in the foot well, his tail tip wagging slightly. It had been a relatively long drive, but she had stopped a few times to let him run so the young dog was pretty settled.
”Looks like we’re nearly there boy” She smiled slightly at the canine as she drove. It was more for her own comfort than for Levi’s. It added a feeling of companionship. As the teacher drove up to the gates, her brown eyes widened slightly. Of course, the acting head mistress had explained to her about the school grounds, about the school, but she never expected this. Leaning to the inter-com, she pressed the button. Waiting for about 4 seconds, allowing time to the person on duty to speak, her voice came slowly, steadily. ”Hello, I’m Susan Thomas, the new history teacher. Mrs Grey-Summer’s should have left my details with you. I know where to park and I’ll wait in the front hall”
She let the buzzer go, knowing that she was, for a moment, relying on the fact that everything had been organised as they had agreed. And it seemed it had, as the gates opened slowly before her. Slowly, she drove forward again, now on a higher alert in case any way-ward students decided to step in front of the car. She’d been given instructions on where she could park, and it was easy enough to find.
Working with mutants was something the history teacher had never considered. Not that she really had an opinion on mutants. It seemed like a strange thing to say, that in a world of political debate she could not be said to be pro or anti mutant as such. She was, however, pro human. And mutants where human. In the history of the human race, ‘normal’ humans always found something to fear or hate. And often it was in their own species. Those with physical disabilities were evil sinners, those with mental or less visible disabilities were taken over by evil spirits. And so on. Now their hatred had turned to mutants. But they were still human and deserved human rights. Still, being in a school filled with them would be a challenge. Before meeting Jean, Sue had never knowingly encountered a mutant. She’d just been thrown into the lion’s den. And she had to teach those lions history.
”Come on Levi..” Sue spoke absent mindedly as she opened her door, looking around the school grounds as the golden retriever scrambled after her, tail wagging. The canine had already made up his opinion of the school. He liked. Even with his training, he barked and raced off a little, enjoying the feel of stretching his legs. Watching him, Sue chuckled, smiling slightly. Taking a dog to a school was always a risky business, but she had been assured it was okay. Fortunately, Levi never really chased anything past the occasional bird and other dogs. And it was always in game.
“Levi!” She called, straightening out her skirt-suit, gripping her hand bag lightly as she headed towards the school. She had a lead in hand if needs be, but she figured he should be alright off lead. Besides, he functioned better off lead as her hearing dog, giving him flexibility, such as running to the source of the noise. The retriever barked again before running obediently to Sue’s side, trotting happily beside her, tail high and wagging.
Sue had been told there would be someone to meet her in the front hall, and also, glancing at her watch, she figured it would be a good time. Most of the students should be in classes by now, which would mean a less excitable Levi and also less confusion for Sue. She was amazingly apt at picking up numerous people speaking together, but with the urge to try and catch everything, a hallway of gossiping kids was never good until her nerves had settled. Feeling Levi nuzzle her hand, she smiled down at him. As usual he’d picked up on her nerves, and was trying to offer some comfort. Well, that was the common view anyway, and the nicest sounding one.
Taking a deep breath, Sue slowly entered the building, stopping in the doorway looking around for anyone who was meant to meet her. Levi, unlike Sue, was unphased, and tail was still wagging, his eyes bright as they looked around the room, ears flicking. Crouching down slightly, the teacher softly hugged the dog, petting him lovingly for a moment, taking her comfort in his presence. In many ways he was her lifeline, her hero. And he always would be.
TBC: Riley
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
A quiet day, that’s what they asked for him, but when Riley mentioned his classes he planned on taking, Jean spoke up and said he had to cut down further, three classes was not going to be allowed, even if it easily halved his workload, he needed rest, as much as possible… that’s all anyone seemed to say to him these last few days. She tried comforting him with some other responsibilities, such as what he was doing now, meeting and greeting a new arrival, which happened to be a teacher. Jean made it sounds as if Riley would be perfect to guide her around, the fact she was deaf didn’t come to Riley’s attention till almost the end of their conversation. But admittedly it did peek his curiosity towards meeting the new teacher, and he did, unwittingly, get distracted from the idea of missing his classes.
How deaf was she? Did she prefer lip reading or sign language? Which sign language did she speak, all the kind of questions a language teacher would ask instinctively and yet Jean hadn’t the answers for most of them, it was something that would have to be learned in time. Riley still wondered over such things as he sat on the stairs in the front hall, a distracted expression telling any passer bys he wasn’t really in the mood for conversation, though a few students had said hello and fewer attempted to see how he was after his collapse on Tuesday, getting an awkward smile and an ‘I’m fine’ from Riley on both occasions.
The doors were open, being the middle of the day the school gave the illusion of people being able to walk in and out with a freewill, however Riley knew that wasn’t true, he knew the security in place as well as any of the others on the faculty. Riley had it memorized, he had to know the rules, to know the limits of the system which protected him and all he knew, the security system was all that kept him here, all that stopped the Initiative from strolling in once again and taking him.
So when the blonde woman appeared at the doorway, a golden Labrador at her side, Riley stared in surprise, he hadn’t seen other teachers with pets, sure some did possess one or two, but he hadn’t *seen* them. And a dog? Riley almost smiled as he drew himself to his feet, he liked that she had a dog… he looked friendly too. He didn’t doubt she was the teacher he was supposed to meet, the way she seemed to hover, waiting for someone, obviously the dog was a guide dog as well, it seemed so perfect, usually Riley didn’t jump to conclusions so quickly but it made too much sense to push aside. Strong legs carried him across the hall effortlessly, some people found his broad shoulders and tall stance some what intimidating, and Riley did often use it to his advantage, but he couldn’t he described as hostile in appearance, his awkward standoffish approach to people made him seem shy and withdrawn. Granted when he was angry and upset he looked more able to unnerve people, but at times he went to lengths in order not to make others uncomfortable, as he discovered he could impose on others when Catherine got intimidated by his height. Not that he was overly tall, he was relatively the same as many guys these days… being just off 6”2 he could hardly be called a freak of nature. Sometimes he wondered if Catherine just took his height poorly sometimes because she was not the tallest, and only reached just beneath his shoulders. A hand waved casually to the other woman, Riley’s expression friendly and respectful.
"Sue Thomas?" Riley asked once he was closer. "My name is Riley Finn, I’m a student teacher, I teach special English reading and writing and help tutor people with language difficulties." Riley introduced himself his hand held out towards her politely. "I can sign as well if you prefer, I haven’t had much practice though." The once double agent offered happily enough to make the effort if it would help her.
Re: Not Every Hero has 2 Legs
Although she had been keeping a good awareness about her, Levi still softly nudged his mistress’ hand as she straightened up, watching as tall young man walked towards her, clearly towards her, not in the random style of the other students who occasional walked through. He even waved in her direction, and one eyebrow rose slightly as she waited for him to come nearer. He wasn’t that old, nor that young. But she would have naturally classified him as a student. Automatically, her brain wondered what his powers were. But she would force herself to get over that extra nervousness. That wouldn’t be fair on her pupils.
"Sue Thomas?" Her eyes were fixed calmly, gently, on his features, taking in the movements of his lips. She nodded slowly in response, allowing him to continue. "My name is Riley Finn, I’m a student teacher, I teach special English reading and writing and help tutor people with language difficulties." A student teacher? That was unusual but she supposed it made sense. And it made more sense that they had sent a special needs teacher to greet her perhaps. Maybe they thought he might have a better understanding that his face actually needed to be visible when he spoke. That was a barrier a lot of hearing people seemed to struggle with. She took his hand as he spoke, her grip firm but gentle as she shook it lightly before releasing it.
"I can sign as well if you prefer, I haven’t had much practice though." Part of her chuckled inwardly at that. Not that it wasn’t a kind offer, but a lack of practise meant his co-ordination was probably off somewhat. And sometimes the smallest mistake with a finger position could mean a complete change in the meaning of the sign. Everyone has a mischievous side to them, and hers silently suggested that she took him up on the offer. But that side of her was somewhat unheard.
She lifted her right hand in a calm, flowing gesture, finger tips nearly touching her lips before the hand moved forward and down so her palm faced skywards, an arch like movement. It was a sign her friends had always picked up with ease, the sign for ‘thank you’ – and also ‘your welcome’ depending on the circumstances. The history teacher smiled though before speaking. Her voice was strange to those who had never heard her before, a little flat but never lacking emotion. It could seem hesitant, not as flowing, as if she couldn’t hear her own speech. Which was, of course, true.
”Thank you Riley.. But don’t worry. If you feel you can sign as well, that’s fine.” The thanks in her voice was genuine, glad of the respect he had offered her. However, that now left them with a rather closed field of speech. She had ended with no opening for the young man. However, as it often was with the teacher, the words came naturally to her as she continued.
”Mrs Grey-Summers mentioned she would send someone down to meet me.. Considering you know my name, I assume that’s you” She chuckled softly as she spoke, nodding a little. She had only signed the one word, naturally falling to speech alone, used to being around the hearing almost more than she was used to being around the deaf. Her family was all hearing, and a lot of her friends were as well.
The golden retriever had, until now, stood by Sue, his tail wagging slowly behind him as he watched the pair talk, curious, bright brown eyes watching them with such an intensity, they might assume he actually understood. But finally, it was too much for the young dog. He had even been greeted or introduced. With no qualms or boundaries, he stepped forward, nuzzling the young man’s hand lightly before giving a soft wuffle, as if almost impatiently waiting for the attention he believed he deserved.
The movement had caught Sue’s eye and she glanced briefly down at her companion, before chuckling softly, one hand motioning towards the impatient canine. ”Oh.. and this is Levi. He’s my hearing dog” The words came simply enough, but there was much more than that to their relationship. He was her freedom, her hero. The gold ears flicked as he heard her say his name, and his tail gave an extra hard wag in response. Typically golden retriever.
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
Re: Not Every Hero has 2 Legs
Working with deaf students had been a new experience for Riley, despite his qualifications to do so, it was so different in some ways to learning another language, the kids weren’t just there trying to fit into the school, they were trying to learn, and understand, and they had questions to ask and problems to solve. Watching Riley’s hands was easier then trying to catch the lip movements off in the distance as the teacher spoke, some had hearing aids but some were completely deaf and it made classes hard and awkward for them. Admittedly it made Riley feel not just productive, but important, he was doing something the other teachers weren’t able to, multiple languages enabled him to handle a few students that were still learning English and might not catch all the words, allowing him to go and translate what they didn’t understand. It was a little difficult sometimes as he had to teach English and Reading and writing to the students and some were at different levels, though most were willing to put in that extra effort and stayed back for half hour or so going over whatever they didn’t understand.
”Thank you Riley.. But don’t worry. If you feel you can sign as well, that’s fine.” As far as Riley was concerned it was a bit of a surprise the clarity in which Sue spoke, he had heard other students and their words were often blurred or unusual, as they tried to move their lips in a similar fashion yet the sound didn’t always come out the way it was supposed to. Depending on of course if they were born deaf or lost it later in life, though he smiled despite the pleasant surprise and felt oddly motivated to sign as he spoke, as he did in class. It was when the students started talking about various personal things that the odd sign popped up which he didn’t recognize, though he never let it slip by and always paused the person in order to explain it.
”Mrs Grey-Summers mentioned she would send someone down to meet me.. Considering you know my name, I assume that’s you” A quick brief nod assured her that was true, wondering if he was in need of more carefully choosing his way of greeting tactics, perhaps he should mention that he was sent to meet and greet, though… he could have sworn he’s done it in the past, so perhaps he was just overly excited at having new teacher that could help with the deaf students. It wasn’t fair on them in his class… while Riley loved working on his sign language he knew they deserved something more focused on them, where as the other students needed to learn English and the deaf students just needed to have work assigned to them. It was like he taught two separate classes at once, though he was sure it wasn’t intended that way when originally arranged.
Though before any comments or replies could be made, a nuzzling of a wet nose against Riley’s hand caught his attention, not that he hadn’t noticed Levi before, however he had to admit he wasn’t used to animals, despite growing up on a farm the last half of his life seemed severely lacking of them. Katie and Guina, his three month old pup and the mare he had brought as Catherine’s Christmas present. Always having been an animal lover at heart, Riley found himself happily distracted with the Labrador’s attention, Katie was part Lab and part Blue Heeler so there was also that connection as Riley remembered Heather, the now fresh image of the black Labrador laying by his great-grandmother’s rocking chair while she read struck his mind. For the instant Riley found himself missing her, and his grandparents, he missed the content feel of home he had gotten when he was surrounded by them all, even if it had been awkward due to his memories being so fogged and distorted by the Initiative.
”Oh.. and this is Levi. He’s my hearing dog” Another friendly canine it seemed! Scott would be pleased, the thought made him wonder if Sue would see his fairy friend and prayed she would. As Riley always did, it was heart aching seeing the way Scott looked when someone looked right through him, their belief unable to form the link needed to see Scott standing there before them. Though Riley has learned from his last two encounters with students not to just declare Scott’s fairy lineage, as people seem off put and confused…
"Levi huh?" Riley repeated happily enough as he focused down on the dog, his hand inching close and stroking against the fur of the male dog. A pleased smile crept on his face, a final pet offered to the guide dog before the younger man focused on Sue, his hands moving to suggest he was about to commence signing. "I have a three month old, she’s a cross between a Labrador and a Blue Heeler." Riley used the signal for ‘guide dog’ and ‘farm dog’ to get his meaning across since he admittedly wasn’t sure if there were specific breed names or not and just hoped he was on the right track. Usually he was corrected and he had no doubt that would be the case. But it showed he had knowledge on the language, just missing a few of the lesser used words he may not have encountered before.
"Mrs. Summers did send me, I’m supposed to take you to your room… do you have anything to carry up there?" this sentence was more fluidly signed, his question more so he knew if he had to grab anything to carry for her. Surely Hank wouldn’t kick up a fuss is he carried some bags to a room…
Re: Not Every Hero has 2 Legs
It was always good, to see the interaction between Levi and other people. Some might not wonder if she would go jealous with his over-friendly nature, as he was, after all ‘her’ dog, and he would regularly comfort others and not her if there were two of them. But that wasn’t it. She knew the golden retriever was loyal to her. He suffered separation anxiety when they were apart, even when he was with a friend, and he would go to the verge of illness in his depressive state. Of course, that’s not what made Sue happy, she would be happier if he didn’t, but it did show his loyalty was with her. He just happened to like other people.
A look of pleasant surprise passed over the teacher’s face as Riley made a small move with his hands to draw her attention to them. Her eyes flicked easily, absorbing both he spoken and signed words as well. She had missed the small mention of Levi’s name, she had gotten used to lip reading in the most awkward positions, but clearly he was now directing his words to her. "I have a three month old, she’s a cross between a Labrador and a Blue Heeler." The signing wasn’t bad at all. Typically slower than most, using the more common words, and he hadn’t developed any real individuality. But other than that it was good, accurate though he wasn’t sure of the breeds obviously. It was like someone who had learnt a language and could get by almost flawlessly, but could never manage to be 100% fluent in it, just because they had no reason to need to learn it. He had other ways to communicate. Even she hadn’t had that at first.
"Mrs. Summers did send me, I’m supposed to take you to your room… do you have anything to carry up there?" The signing was more fluid, more natural this time. Words and a structure she guessed he knew well, he was more confident about it. Sue found it oddly easy to read people, and not just their lips and hands. She could often link in to how people were feeling, how comfortable they felt around people. It seemed Riley had leapt at the chance to introduce someone new to the school, more so perhaps because they were deaf and he could at minimum try his skills out. Impressive skills as well. Part of her wondered now if ‘language difficulties’ included those who were deaf. It made sense if it was, and Mrs Summers had mentioned that there were deaf children in the school. It seemed even mutancy had an equality most of the world failed to manage!
Although her thoughts ran across these lines, her mind didn’t miss the question and she smiled brightly at the offer for help. Of course, she had bags in her car, but she hadn’t intended on bringing them in just yet. She was more interested in seeing the school. The security methods used to screen the newest teacher had meant she’d avoided seeing the school thus far, and any of it’s inhabitants. Not that the history teacher didn’t take the offer seriously. After all, she had her two normal luggage bags, her files, and her extra equipment such as her specialised laptop and phone combination, and then Levi’s belongings. So in truth, she did have a lot with her and a hand would be welcome. But maybe not now.
”I do… and if I could have a hand to carry some things up that would be great, thank you. But I’d like to have a look around the school first if that’s possible. As soon as those bags enter my room, I’m going to be unpacking” She joked gently, her hands moving as she signed, still smiling. The emotions barely showed in her voice, though there was a slight lightness to it. Her hands though were smooth in their movements, swift. Not a test but a show that she would treat him as if he understood. Some people learnt better like that. She’d only just stepped in the door and here she was teaching. Oh well.
”Oh…” Her signing slowed a bit now, more of a show, an example t him. ”The breeds of dogs don’t have separate signs, so spelling them is best a lot of the time, though what you did was fine for lip readers. For example, Levi is a Golden Retriever…” She said, signing it out slowly, ”Whilst your’s is a Labrador crossed Blue Heeler” She said with a smile. ”And only three months? A baby then… not like you Levi.. you’re an old brute in comparison” She joked, pausing the signing to rub the fur on the top of the retriever’s head. The retriever’s tail wagged happily at the attention, nuzzling his muzzle against his mistress’ leg. Sue smiled up at Riley, her hands falling still as she petted Levi. ”So.. if you don’t mind.. a tour would be nice instead”
"I was wrong, to think that I might belong. But I will never forget what I was... Who I am.. What I did, just to learn that"
"You know. I have this power. And yet.... I've yet to sneak in to a girl's changing room!"
Re: Not Every Hero has 2 Legs
”I do… and if I could have a hand to carry some things up that would be great, thank you. But I’d like to have a look around the school first if that’s possible. As soon as those bags enter my room, I’m going to be unpacking” Riley understood that… he was the same in the Initiative, not really in the school, probably because he felt like drift wood all this time, not feeling like he entirely belonged and yet not wanting to give up on his stay here. Things all had their places and yet, as even Catherine could agree, Riley tended to stick to bare minimum, he didn’t decorate and he wasn’t very good at warming things up when it came to his room or apartment. Since Washington Riley’s gotten a little more paranoid with what was expected in a home and he made a habit of studying other places more carefully, and while a lot of homes were very nice he didn’t really realize so many things were brought for no real value other then to sit there and look pretty.
This meeting was fantastic as far as Riley cared though, the lady seemed nice enough and she signed with him!! Usually people didn’t really bother, if they could talk they’d try and lip read and just vocally reply back, wanting to pretend they were as normal as possible… at least the ones Riley often met. Only a few students knew sign language here and they weren’t kids who would talk to Riley outside of his class so it wasn’t really the perfect training grounds for the skill level he was at.
”Oh…” Hazel eyes lifted from Levi to Sue, always a dog lover Riley found it hard to focus with an animal around, he wanted to pet or play with them and get to know them and their personalities, the farmer’s blood in him screamed for the contact with an animal. ”The breeds of dogs don’t have separate signs, so spelling them is best a lot of the time, though what you did was fine for lip readers. For example, Levi is a Golden Retriever…” That he didn’t know! And the information was greedily devoured into the student teachers mind. ”Whilst your’s is a Labrador crossed Blue Heeler” A slight nod from Riley showed he understood and his eyes watched her hands intently, he loved this! She was perfect! Full of advice and oh so happy to help explain things, at least it seemed like that for now and riley was content in hoping it stayed that way. ”And only three months? A baby then… not like you Levi.. you’re an old brute in comparison” Yes! Katie was his little baby girl… perhaps his fondness for the puppy was bordering an unhealthy obsession but the young man lost a child and for now Katie was all he had to fill that gap, and the puppy dotted him with a strong affection that he thrived off.
”So.. if you don’t mind.. a tour would be nice instead” Another nod from Riley and he smiled at her as if it was no problem at all to do as she requested!
"Of course, anything you like." He’d be happy showing her around if that’s what she wanted, though he wondered what she was hoping to see the most, hopefully if there was something in particular she’d say it though and Riley took that into account as his hand motioned down the hall off to the side of the stairs. "Classrooms, offices, group activity rooms, and most importantly, the kitchen and dinning hall, just down this hall here. Upstairs are the living areas, the medical bay is also up there, some more classrooms and head offices, plus a spare kitchen, called the teachers lounge, name says it all." His hands moved to try and sign all he said, though a sign or two slightly off though their meaning clear, ‘importantly’ and ‘lounge’ were off, being ‘urgent’ and the sofa lounge instead of the term he was intending. "Any preference first? There’s the lake, stables, outdoor pool and other things outdoors as well. We even have our own graveyard and a wonderful garden, the Garden of Remembrance." People had to pass through a section of the garden to get to the funeral grounds, Riley didn’t spend endless time in the garden but he had done some art projects in there when he wanted to relax and it had helped, the flowers and upkeep of the place was amazing! And the fragrance in the air was fantastic.
Re: Not Every Hero has 2 Legs "Of course, anything you like." The young man seemed almost overly eager to tend to her needs, and that brought a bright smile to the face of the woman. Levi looked up at the intently, before giving Sue’s hand a soft link, drawing her gaze for a brief instant, ruffling the fur on the top of the canines head slightly as her eyes lifted once more to Riley as he continued.
"Classrooms, offices, group activity rooms, and most importantly, the kitchen and dinning hall, just down this hall here. Upstairs are the living areas, the medical bay is also up there, some more classrooms and head offices, plus a spare kitchen, called the teachers lounge, name says it all." A smile graced her lips at his stumbling, not laughing at him, but noting the common errors that could be made if the sign wasn’t known. Especially words like lounge, with duo meanings. But he didn’t stumble. He kept going despite it all. And just as with learning a new language, it was important to make yourself clear, even if the words used were somewhat inaccurate.
"Any preference first? There’s the lake, stables, outdoor pool and other things outdoors as well. We even have our own graveyard and a wonderful garden, the Garden of Remembrance." That threw her a little. Sure, the school was unusual. But a graveyard? A remembrance garden sure, but a grave yard seemed a little strange. Then again, it was an old mansion and she knew some estates had their own family crypts on the land. So perhaps that was an extension. It still seemed strange though, and it would probably take the history teacher awhile to get her head around it.
Still, she smiled softly, nodding slowly. ”That sounds great… though I assume you mean the teacher’s lounge… though I hope it is actually possible to lounge there on a sofa” She corrected in a bright, round about way. ”And it’s merely important and not urgent.. but I think the offices and classrooms would probably be the best place to start, followed by the more social areas… and the Gardens.” Her hand movements were steady and clear, letting him see them as a reader, not just as a learner. A bell rand, causing Levi to jump up and nudge her in a way she knew too well, and her hands moved for an instant to scratch behind the retriever’s ears in a soothing motion, speaking without signing for a moment as she paid her companion some attention. ”And perhaps you can tell me a bit about the school as we go”
~fade out~
Hannah: In this world we're forced to make choices everyday. We don't always know the consequences. But it's how we react to them which makes us who we are
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