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

[calmbeforethe]

Ah, I see. [ And just how does one respond to something like that? ]

Well, friend or not, I'm not sure I would wish this place on anyone.

[herotypical]

Not anyone? You don't think it's possible to -- say -- put down roots? Maybe enjoy it a little bit?

[calmbeforethe]

There's nothing wrong with being happy with what we have here, I suppose. [a pause, while Ororo peers into her drink thoughtfully.] But there is also the danger in becoming comfortable or attached to Luceti. So much so that we may forget that we were brought here against our wills, for less than noble reasons.

[herotypical]

...I'm not sure I enjoy the notion that one could ever be too comfortable. Or too attached. Attachments make the world go 'round, don't they?

[calmbeforethe]

[Well, she has to give her that. Ororo nods.]

That's true. [beat.] It's just - there are days, that I hope I do not forget of the family I have back home, the duties I've left unattended and unresolved.

[herotypical]

Now, there's a premise I can buy into. Even still -- after so many years? I'm not sure it's possible to forget. Without some kind of a Shift involved, of course.

[calmbeforethe]

[Or an after-effect of dying. But Ororo prefers not to bring that topic up.]

There was a week or so, a few months ago, when several people lost their memories. Do you remember that?

It's distressing, I think, that they have that much power over us, over our very minds, and our wills.

[herotypical]

It can be resisted. Rarely, I mean. But sometimes -- you can leave clues for yourself. Maybe you won't know what they mean but they can stop you from doing anything too stupid. Ideally.

[calmbeforethe]

[Ororo looks at Buffy thoughtfully before smiling a little.] Spoken like one with the voice of experience.

[herotypical]

[ she draws her shirt collar aside, revealing a delicately lined tattoo: a stylized bird. ]

I got this. To remind me. Even if I don't always know what it means, it usually gives me a moment's pause. Y'know. Mid-Shift.

[calmbeforethe]

[She peers at it curiously. Ororo didn't know there were places here that did tattoos.]

And what is it supposed to mean, if you do not mind my asking?

[herotypical]

It's a sparrow. Ideally, I'll be able to see it and identify one Captain Jack Sparrow as being rather...important to me. It doesn't always work. But it sometimes does.

[calmbeforethe]

Even if it may not always work, that's a clever way to get around those sorts of experiments. Perhaps I will look into getting one for myself as well.

[herotypical]

Mmhm. If it makes you doubt their substituted "reality" for even a minute? It's worth it.

[calmbeforethe]

I suppose I can't see the fault in that.

Does your Captain Jack have something similar for him, as well? I imagine it might be easier, if you both had certain marks to remind yourselves of each other?

[herotypical]

He does. Nothing quite so elegant. Summers doesn't really break down into pictograms worthy to grace a man's most manly abs. But he's got a B. Y'know. For Buffy.

[calmbeforethe]

[Chuckling quietly.]

That is lovely, though. I must admit, I don't think I've seen more use for couples tattoos than that.

[herotypical]

I'm the first to admit that I'm not really an inked up kinda gal. When it comes to body-mods, I drew the line at piercings. [ she has five split across two ears, in fact. ] But tattoos are really Jack's...thing, I guess.

The permanence doesn't scare him.

[calmbeforethe]

I was rather fond of piercings myself, when I was younger. [Ororo subconsciously brushes some hair behind an ear - single piercings in each ear, now.] Most of them have long since closed up, however.

But he must mean quite a lot to you, for you to have changed your mind about such permanent marks.

[herotypical]

Quite a lot, yeah. [ an amazing amount of a lot, really. a surprising amount of a lot. ]

I guess that reveals my bias, though. About not resenting this place half as much as I probably should.

[calmbeforethe]

It does. But I can't blame you for it, either. Relationships like that should be cherished for as long as we have them.

[herotypical]

I suppose it still doesn't change the fact that one of us is gonna go home, someday. [ again. ] It makes the whole thing feel a little last-ditch.