LOG: Rahne and Haroun

[x-rahne.livejournal.com]

In which Rahne and Haroun have a chat, and Rahne realizes she needs to be thinking about her future. Yikes.



Haroun wheeled himself away from the exam table and used the towel he
barely had enough strength to hold to mop some of the sweat away.
Physio was brutal, but he was harder on himself than Madelyn was on
him. He wasn't doing anyone any favors being stuck in the bloody
chair, and the sooner he got into shape and got the new hardware's
issues settled out, the better off everyone would be. But right now he
had a more urgent problem.

He was hungry.

Fortunately for Haroun, there was a kitchen-helper close at hand.
Rahne was currently restocking the medlab refrigerator with an
assortment of water, other drinks, light snacks, and full-fledged
meals, and was contemplating whether she ought to try her hand at
making doughnuts sometime.

Haroun spotted the slender Scottish werewolf, and smiled. He'd not had
a chance to catch up with her what with her duties and his own.
"Rahne." he said cheerfully, wheeling himself over to where she was
... restocking the refridgerator. Perfect. "May I have a moment?"

"Aye, sure." Rahne straightened, looking up at him with a smile. Having
taken in the sight and smell of him (which did not, after that
workout, require enhanced senses), she scooped a bottle of water and
one of Gatorade back out of the fridge. "And a drink, too, ye look
like ye could use it."

Haroun nodded. "So long as whatever you've got there doesn't say
Gerber's on the side, I'm happy." he said, accepting the Gatorade and
the water gratefully. "I'm sorry, I must smell pretty ripe even for
those without enhanced noses." he said apologetically, then took a
long pull from his Gatorade.

"Sweat doesna smell as bad if I shift, but the chemicals --
disinfectants and whatnot -- smell worse," Rahne said, chuckling a
little. "And Gerbers just smells odd either way."

"Major abdominal surgery." Haroun said ruefully. "Restricted diet
means I've been eating slime since I woke up." he said. "Stuff tastes
awful, but it's about all the solid food my system can tolerate right
now." He paused for a moment to look at her. "You look well." he
commented. "How are your Medical studies doing?"

"Pretty well. Busy lately," she said with a wry grin. "I wonder if I
could come up with something adequately digestible that would taste
better.... I'll have to talk to the doctors."

"If you could, I would be eternally grateful." he said with fervor.
"The stuff they feed me tastes like year-old Moroccan army rats." he
confessed. "And it's good to see you do well. It makes me proud."

Rahne blushed a little at that. "Thank you. I'm trying my best."

"I think I'll tell you a little secret. Out of all the students here,
I believe you're the one with the best chances of making a good life
for yourself. No desire to put your body on the front lines of the
war, no grand passions, just a solid sensible head on your shoulders
and a firm notion of right and wrong. You'll go far, I think. And if
it is not presumptuous of me, I will be proud of you for it."

This left Rahne briefly speechless. After a moment's quiet
fridge-arrangement, she said softly, " I... I want to help with
things, but I think... I'm probably more use doing other things than
fighting."

Haroun nodded. "Leave it for those of us more suited to it by
temperment." he agreed. "You're a peaceful soul. Be a pity to stain it
with violence beyond what is already in your nature. Wolves are noble
animals. Social, too, unless I miss my guess."

"Aye." Her mouth quirked. "Though I learned to be a lot more violent
with them. I've grown verra jumpy about people not looking after
themselves since I saw what forcing it not to eat or drink or
sleep did to a deer. And some people here just about do keep running
the whole time, too."

"Well, I like to think that those of us who drive ourselves into the
ground do it for reasons other than object lessons or sadism." he
said. "Usually, there's a pressing task at hand, and sparing any time
away from it could be disasterous."

"With some of ye, aye." Such as all four doctors and the genius
inventors, recently. "Some people just forget they're hungry until ye
wave food under their nose, though, crisis or no."

Haroun nodded in agreement. "I get like that." he said with a grin. "I
get focused in on what I'm doing, and the next thing I know I'm trying
to gnaw on my desk. Bad habit, I suppose, but I learned early on in my
injury to block out things I didn't want to be bothered with."

"Well, ye'll not mind if I come around with something tastier than the
desk, right?"

"Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. My drafting table tastes just
about as bad as the babyfood they've been feeding me lately." he said
with a laugh. "And since I've got you here - you're graduating soon,
aren't you? Any thoughts to what you'd like to do after you leave
here?"

Rahne's eyes widened, and her expression took on a slight tinge of
guilty panic. She also dropped an entire, though well-wrapped, plate
of oatmeal bars. "I -- I'm not sure. Och, with the different system I
didna even think, this year would have been A-levels. I'd have to
apply for things right about now, too, wouldn' I...." She rescued the
oatmeal bars a little shakily. "Er. Thanks. I'll -- I'll work on
that."

Haroun laughed at that. "Relax. You'll have plenty of people here
ready to help you get ready to do whatever you want to do. Med school,
a nursing degree, heading back to Scotland, whatever it is you choose.
I've been through it, I can help if you want me to."

"Thanks," she repeated, sounding a little dazed. "That'd be nice. I've
not left it *too* late, have I?" When had Kitty and Jamie and everyone
started applying to things?

"Your grades are, I'm sure exemplary." he said reassuringly. "Let me
know what you want to do - or perhaps what you feel your options are -
then we can go to Xavier and Shan and start the process. You'll need
to hit the ground running, but that won't be a problem for you." he
said kindly.

"I think... I may have to get back to ye on that," Rahne said slowly.
"I like the things I'm doing here, but they're not exactly compatible
for pursuing all at the same time...." She blinked and laughed. "Well,
maybe some of them. Nutrition-focused medicine or something..."

"Nutritionalist, or something along those lines? Maybe. Whatever you
want. It's a big world out there, and you can do anything you want."
he said. "And on that note, I've got some things I should be doing.
Like taking a shower. I can smell me, and that's never a good sign."
he confessed. "If you want my help, or advice, or even just to say
hello - stop up. Don't be such a stranger."

"I will." Rahne smiled and, eyeing the liquid levels, passed him
another pair of drink bottles. "See you later."

Haroun nodded. "You too, kid." he said, saluting her with a full
bottle of Gatorade. A good kid, Rahne was. She'd go far.

Comments

[x-tarot.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who has eaten it? Baby food doesn't taste bad at -all- when its the mashed fruit variety. (Though, Haroun's probably on the BART diet. (Bananas, Applesauce, Rice, Toast in any combination he can stomach. Same effect, less babyfood.)

[x-rahne.livejournal.com]

Well... I seem to remember trying or maybe just smelling some and finding it rather disturbing. Maybe I'm too picky. Applesauce I like, though.

[x-tarot.livejournal.com]

Oh, believe me, some of it? FOUL. The fruit wasn't bad though.

[x-rahne.livejournal.com]

I think the one that smelled really odd to me may have been banana, actually. I am not, I admit, crazy about bananas, but the smell of a normal one is fairly appealing.