04 . action

[calmbeforethe]

[ Storm returns from her week-and-a-half long mission midday on the 12th. Well, she hadn't known it was the 12th when she came back, just that she'd been gone a while. The first thing she'd done when she got back was return to the X-House, but since Rogue had claimed dibs on the only bath in House 16, Ororo decided to indulge herself in an outdoor shower. She needed to find a relatively secluded place for that, so quickly she decides to detour to somewhere high above the flatlands beyond the forests where (hopefully...!) she wouldn't be disturbing anyone.

It'd been a while since she had done such a thing, bathing in rainclouds of her own making, and the mission had been long and tedious despite having Rogue by her side for much of the fighting... So she uses up most of the afternoon for herself and takes the scenic route home.

It's only after she returned to the X-House refreshed and energized that she thought to check the journals and realize belatedly that it was the 12th of January, today. That... gives her pause.

So, thirty years old. Strange; most women gave that number quite a bit of significance. It was supposed to be a milestone (or at least, that's what her sister told her) where by now she should be thinking about whether or not she was ever going to get married, have children or what kind of career she was supposed to focus on. Food for thought, she figured.

In the end, she decides to celebrate it with little fanfare. Evening finds her stopping by Good Spirits for a drink or two, dressed with a little more care than she would have taken on a regular day. She's warm and friendly for the most part, even if towards the end of the night she seems more introspective than normal. Feel free to approach...! ]

Comments

[herotypical]

Home. He's...home. I'm pretty sure he's perfectly alright, there. As far as I know. But you never can be sure about this place and the people here. They have no reason to be honest about where they come from.

[calmbeforethe]

Hmm. Most people would say that most places would be more preferable than remaining here. [Ororo takes a contemplative sip of her drink.]

[herotypical]

[ without hesitation or -- really -- manners: ] Except for the dead ones.

[calmbeforethe]

[ And that succeeds in making that contemplative sip of rum Ororo was taking go down in a weird way. Luckily Ororo's poised enough that it results in making her cough slightly instead of an all-out spittake.]

... Yes. I suppose that's true.

[herotypical]

...Sorry. Here I am, letting my personal life bleed into my professional. How unmannerly is that? Yeesh.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo clears her throat a little bit -- ahem -- shaking her head before she manages to answer;]

... No, it's quite all right. It's fine. [She looks back at Buffy.] What you said, it was a fair point; one that even I often forget.

[herotypical]

[ she takes that as an invitation to continue: ] A friend in that sitch just left. I guess it's been on my mind way more often than not.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo frowns sympathetically.] I'm sorry to hear that. It must be a difficult time for you.

[herotypical]

[ she waves away the concern. ]

This is Luceti. Every new month is a difficult time.

[calmbeforethe]

Yes, I suppose that's true. [But...

Well, Ororo shakes her head and instead raises her drink a bit.]

To absent friends, then.

[herotypical]

[ lacking a drink of her own, buffy offers a nod. ]

To the absent, the old, the new, and the will-be. I think that almost covers all our bases, right?

[calmbeforethe]

It does. [Ororo smiles, appreciating that amendment. It was a nice way to turn what had become a somber topic a little less sad.

She raises her glass halfway to her lips before addressing Buffy again.]

How about to the first of new friends, then? My name is Ororo.

[herotypical]

...Buffy. [ introducing herself was one of those weird moments where she was never certain who would already know her -- either from an apparently fictional tv show, the guide, or simply knowing someone else she already knows. ]

Ororo, though. That's a mouthful. Not that I'm one to talk when it comes to off-beat names.

[calmbeforethe]

[But Ororo just nods. It's a familiar name, but since she can't quite place how it's familiar right now, she decides not to pursue that line of thought. Maybe she'll remember it later!]

I get that quite a bit, don't worry. It is Swahili, for great mother.

[herotypical]

Are you? [ an awkward pause. ] A great mother?

[ buffy: the woman whose social graces know no bounds. ]

[calmbeforethe]

Oh - [A startled blink!] Well, no. That is, I do not have any children of my own, no. [Though she does look at most of the teenage mutant kids back home as her own, sort of. In a manner of speaking.]

[herotypical]

Mmhm. Me neither. [ though, she too has quite a few teenage charges. slayers, all of them. except for... ]

Unless you count my sister.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo smiles at the memory of her own sister. Except -]

A younger sister? I have an older one myself; she has a son of her own, who I might as well have raised.

[herotypical]

Younger. [ or older, depending on how you look at it. ] But I've been her legal guardian for the last...God -- if you count this place? Well over five years.

[ not that dawn's here right now. ] What's his name? Your nephew?

[calmbeforethe]

Evan. He's fifteen, now. All set to face the world on his own, you know. [She means for that to come out amused, but can't help the resigned touch to her voice.

But, anyway.] And your sister? It must be difficult, being separated from her like this. Especially if you are her guardian now. [Ororo decides not to inquire further on how that happened, figuring Buffy would tell her if she wanted her to know.]

[herotypical]

[ very difficult. ]

She's been here. Once -- twice if you count the week where she seemed to be gone before I could blink. I probably shouldn't confess to all the things I'd give to have her with me again. Even for a little while.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo just nods.]

I can understand that. This place, it is not the easiest to live in, and I would not really wish it on anyone... But it helps, to be with people you love.

[herotypical]

[ now is not the time to explain that this place is actually marginally easier to live in than home. not that buffy prefers it, really. but she's never had this kind of freedom before luceti. ]

Has...Evan ever been here?

[calmbeforethe]

[A shake of the head.]

Fortunately, or unfortunately, no. A few of his friends have been, and are still here, however. [And though it most definitely isn't the same, it's close.]

[herotypical]

...Do you have many friends from home? Here, I mean?