Sunday afternoon: Ororo's office--Lorna, Ororo

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Lorna interrupts Ororo's diligence for some food and gossip. Unfortunately, what was meant to be light-hearted gets a bit heavy. At least Girl's Night is still on.



Lorna had arranged a plate of food and then judiciously included a few oatmeal cookies as a bribe for the rest. Ororo had been working too hard recently. And not just recently. For months now the older woman had been shouldering too much of the responsibility as Scott fell further and further out of a leadership role. Given that she was already making the rounds on her self-appointed mission to feed everyone under stress right now--who said that your failures to be sane didn't help people?--it was easy enough to track 'Ro down to her office with the intention of making her relax for an hour and get something nutritious to eat.

Ororo gave herself ten more minutes of work before she got up and went to find food. She had meant to bring something in with her when she started working early that morning, but a cup of coffee had sufficed to get her that long . But her stomach was clearly not content with just that anymore, growling loudly to demand food. She would stop working in ten minutes and find it, she vowed, as long as she finished grading the quizzes that had been stacked up on her desk for days.

It was even better, of course, when lunch came directly to you.

"Lorna," the headmistress said with a smile, glancing up as the green-haired woman entered her office. "Good morning. How are you?"

"Afternoon, actually, you need to replace the batteries in your clock. I'm great, it's totally quiet and peaceful around here with all the brats getting ready to go playing wilderness camp out in the backyard." Without any apparent respect for the work Ororo was doing, Lorna set her tray down on the desk then flopped into one of the chairs on the opposite side, "I made you pasta primavera."

"Oh." Ororo looked pleasantly surprised, glancing between the plate in front of her and Lorna. "Thank you, Lorna. I will be sure to eat soon, as soon as I am done here. It should not be much longer."

"Except that it's on top of what you were doing," Lorna pointed out and showed no signs of moving, still sprawled bonelessly in a chair not meant for a boneless sprawl. "So you should eat first. And compliment the chef for her feat of culinary genius. She promises to be gracious about it."

With a chuckle, 'Ro sat back, accepting that she wasn't going to be allowed to work anymore. "Well then. Thank you, it smells delicious. Am I to be flattered thinking that I am on the special list of people to be fed today?" she asked, picking up her fork.

"Jennie got food too." Lorna frowned at that. Feeding someone that thin was a tricky situation. Too much and their bodies would reject it, making them sicker. Though they starved, they could not be fed. She knew, after all, from experience. "There are a couple others too. I had plenty of time. The kids will stuff themselves camping so I really didn't have to worry about feeding them beforehand."

"Ah, yes. The s'mores overdose," 'Ro said wisely. "As long as they do not get sick in my flowerbeds. But I am sure Cain will see to that."

"They took out bags and bags of junk food. I tried not to watch." Lorna shuddered, only partially joking. "I just don't get that tendency. I'd rather have real food with proper ingredients than things you have to be Doug to pronounce." Real food also carried more nutrition for the calories, of course. That made it easier to justify...everything.

"As would I." Ororo took a bite then, realizing just how hungry she had been. She felt silly, forgetting to eat like that, but she had been anything but focused in the past few days. "Thank you again for this, Lorna. I am afraid I have not been paying attention to important things like mealtimes lately. Although I did have ice cream with Scott last night."

"Oh, well, ice cream." Her hand wave was dismissive, "That's dairy for you, I guess. Not much else but hey, strong bones are good, right? When was the last time you ate before that?"

"I had dinner, before going to the greenhouse. And lunch, before that. I even had a salad on Friday. So I assure you, I am in no danger of breaking any bones or succumbing to scurvy, despite my current absentmindedness."

Lorna gave her a critical look, assessing with frightening scrutiny Ororo's frame and flesh. She decided after a moment that Ororo looked tired and thin but not unduly so and not dangerously so. At least not if she listened to Lorna and did as she was told. "Well, that's good. Because breaking bones is just a pain and really doesn't even merit any down time, contrary to popular belief."

"Funny, because Amelia seems to have a differing opinion," 'Ro responded with a chuckle. She gave Lorna an amused look, shaking her head a bit in disbelief. "And since she is in charge of medical releases, I believe I will have to trust what she says on the matter."

"What Amelia knows doesn’t land me in hot water," sing-songed Lorna. She tilted her head back and took out her hair clip, combing her fingers through her long emerald hair. "Man, I need to figure out something to do with myself. I'm going to turn into you. All work, no life." It wasn't unkindly said in spite of the somewhat over bluntness of the statement."

Ororo raised an eyebrow, then went back to eating, the pasta rapidly disappearing as she concentrated on it. Halfway through she paused, setting her fork down and leaning back in her chair. "Let it not be said that I did not support the goal of not ending up like me," she said dryly. "I know that you are trying to 'find yourself'," she added, seconds before clamping her mouth shut. Remy had told her that. Lorna probably wouldn't appreciate that. "I mean... you are trying to find focus."

Lorna sat up, giving her an unreadable look. "Not exactly. Where did you hear that?" Her tone was cautious and just as guarded as her expression.

With a sigh, Ororo cursed her lack of forethought. Way to go, Munroe. "Remy told me that you and he... were no longer together," she replied.

For a moment, the mask slipped and Lorna's eyes widened, hurt and scared and angry all at once. "Oh." Then the protections returned and she shrugged, "I didn't realize that you two were all that close."

"We have been meeting in the city, when our schedules allow. I prefer face-to-face interactions to email," Ororo said by way of explanation. "I am sorry, Lorna, it was not my intention to go behind your back in any way. They are business meetings, nothing more."

Lorna shrugged again, even more deliberately casual now, "It's none of my business, 'Ro. Geez, stop looking at me like I'm going to scream at you or something. Remy's free to do whatever he wants." She paused and seemed to realize that there was only so much she could dismiss this without it being too casual to be believed, "That is...I know I hurt him. I wish I could have done something else. But I think this was a better choice for him."

Ororo was in no position to judge which choice was better for whom; all she knew was that it seemed neither Remy nor Lorna was happy with the situation. It wasn't her place to say anything, though, even if she counted them both as friends. They are adults. Let them handle the situation as they see fit. "I am sure that, with time... these things are never easy." The attempt at comfort felt inadequate even to her, and she shook her head.

"I am sorry, Lorna, I truly do not know what to say. But this news is safe with me, I will not go spreading it around the mansion. It is yours to deal with however you think is best."

The green-haired woman sighed, "I never thought that you would. If anyone can be counted on for discretion, it's you." Her hand tangled into her hair, twisting locks around her fingers. "How is he? I mean, I don't expect you to tell me anything but...does he look okay?"

"He looks... much as he always does." Tired. Stretched thin. Overworked. Much like I feel. "I am sure Wanda could tell you more." Looking down at her plate, Ororo speared the last piece of broccoli and pondered it deeply.

"No, I...don't... It's not..." Lorna stopped, sighed and tugged on her hair, "I still care about him, worry about what happens to him. But I don't want to drag this out. It should be clean, over with. The sooner that happens, the sooner we can go back to being friends." She smiled wryly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drag you away from work just to whine at you."

Glancing up, 'Ro shook her head, giving Lorna a tired smile. "It is fine. I do not mind at all. Sometimes things get so busy here that it is easy to forget the human side to life. But you should not feel guilty about reminding me... I should thank you. Despite its intricacies, it is far more interesting than what paperwork has to offer."

"I really was trying to make you relax, not add human stress instead of work stress. Guess I'm a failure." Yet again. Brilliant, Lorna. "Promise that you'll, you know, take a break sometime before Christmas?"

"Christmas... that is in three months, yes? I think I can do that," Ororo said, chuckling.

"I was trying to set a realistic expectation." Lorna half-smiled then pushed herself out of her chair and back to her feet. "I should get going. Just because most of the brats are busy doesn't mean that the little ones won't want something for dinner. Honestly, it's like they want to eat every day or something."

"Imagine that," said the white-haired woman wryly. "When I was their age, I was already finding my own meals... but I suppose they are sheltered Americans, for the most part. Thank you for the food, Lorna. Is Girl's Night still in session this week?"

"Yeah, well, we spoil them around here." Lorna grinned, "Of course, it is. Isn't it always? We totally deserve one night a week to get plastered. It's for the good of humanity, really."

"Truer words were never spoken, I think."