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xp_logs2006-12-13 09:36 pm
x-dust.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2006-12-13 09:36 pm
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Sooraya, Nate, and Juliette | Wednesday late afternoon
Sooraya's in the boathouse going over papers and articles when Nate arrives with a present for her. Talk of mutant trafficking then ensues, and Sooraya proves that once again, Nate is a very good role model.
Sooraya had a stack of papers in front of her thicker than one of Cain's sandwiches - or so it seemed, at least. She didn't feel daunted, though, and was actually enjoying the slow but steady progress she was making through each of the articles Nathan had given her. He had been very clear that he didn't expect her to read them all, but despite the relative level of difficulty she was learning quite a bit from them, and wanted to learn more. She had made sure to finish her homework before coming down to the boathouse, of course, and there was still nearly an hour before she needed to be up to help with dinner preparations. Plenty of time.
Nathan stepped through the door, nodding at Juliette and then smiling at the sight of Sooraya sitting at Rahne's desk, reading through yet another article. "You're really making progress," he said approvingly, seeing the size of the remaining stack. "Are you finding them interesting?"
"Oh, yes," she said, glancing up at Nathan and giving him a bright smile. She looked down again at the paper and marked her place with a finger before sitting back in her chair. "They are very full of much information."
"That they are." Nathan tilted his head, smiling down at her - and then froze. "Oh! I almost forgot, I had something for you... stay right there." He vanished up the stairs, and Juliette looked in Sooraya's direction, a gently amused smile on her face.
"It's all the flying," she confided in a near-whisper. "Makes him act a little oddly."
Sooraya kept from smirking too much, merely giving Juliette a conspiratorial nod and picking up a pencil to underline a phrase that seemed familiar from a previous article.
Nathan came down the stairs, pausing and giving Juliette a suspicious look. He got a bland smile in return, and grumbled something under his breath about 'Christmas bonuses, feh' as he came back over to the desk where Sooraya was sitting.
"Here you go," he said, handing her the soft package. He had gotten her a couple of other things, of course, but those could keep until Christmas.
Sooraya looked a little bemused as she neatly unwrapped the package, and she couldn't help but give a soft gasp as the blue silk spilled out over her hands. It was a rich, deep color and specked with small golden flowers. And it was beautiful.
"For me?" she asked disbelievingly, looking at Nathan with wide round eyes.
"It's big enough for a headscarf," Nathan said with a smile. "And you seem to be liking color a little more lately, so when I saw it..." She was clearly so astonished that it tore at his heart, just a little. He sometimes forgot, with how determinedly she had set about adjusting to the school, that she'd had so little for so much of her life. The castle is liable to send her into shock.
"Thank you," Sooraya murmured. She couldn't help but clutch the fabric a little closer, already envisioning an email to Clarice so that the girl could perhaps help her with any necessary alterations. "It is very... beautiful. I am like it very much." In her flustered state it was a little harder to remember the right words to say.
"I'm glad you like it." Nathan just smiled at her and went over to sit down at his desk, to give her a moment to gather her composure.
Sooraya looked at the fabric a little longer, biting her lip as she traced a finger over the fine embroidery of one of the flowers. Then she resolutely folded it up again and tucked it in her pocket; there would be time for wonderment later.
"I have almost done the reading," she said, picking up the page she had been perusing before Nathan arrived. "For this part."
Nathan looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you think?" he asked. "About what they say." He'd given her a range of articles about mutant trafficking, most of which quoted anonymous sources and made a lot of suppositions.
"There is not very much... office information?" She frowned, then shook her head. "~I mean to say, I don't think the information in the papers is always to be trusted. It's as if people are afraid to say what's true.~"
"~Exactly. That's exactly the problem,~" Nathan said, not at all surprised she'd picked up on that. "People are afraid," he went on, switching back to English. "To get more information, we either have to convince them that they don't have to be, or we have to be very discreet about asking questions."
"Or yell on the phone," she reminded him.
Juliette coughed. Nathan gave her an evil look.
Sooraya pretended not to see it. "It is possible that with more time, it will be more easy to learn these things," she said pensively. "But these people do not have the time."
The urge to glare at Juliette failed. "No," Nathan said more quietly, "they don't. So we keep asking, and keep talking about it. Because we can't do anything without the facts, however hard it may be to get them."
She nodded. "~I would like to read more about this. I have a feeling that there is some truth among all the other things. And I would like to read the reports that you and Angelo and the others have written about your travels. I think that will help most of all to understand what is happening there.~"
Nathan smiled, then looked at Juliette. "Think we could set Sooraya up with her own ID and password for the database?"
"Very easily," Juliette said, not looking up from her computer screen.
"That means you can read whatever you'd like," Nathan said, looking back at Sooraya. "We're always looking for a new perspective. Fresh eyes see connections that others don't."
Surely Sooraya's mutant power didn't involve glowing in any way, but at that moment it would've been hard to tell. "Thank you," she murmured for the second time that afternoon, ducking her head to stare at the desk in front of her. "I will try very hard."
Sooraya had a stack of papers in front of her thicker than one of Cain's sandwiches - or so it seemed, at least. She didn't feel daunted, though, and was actually enjoying the slow but steady progress she was making through each of the articles Nathan had given her. He had been very clear that he didn't expect her to read them all, but despite the relative level of difficulty she was learning quite a bit from them, and wanted to learn more. She had made sure to finish her homework before coming down to the boathouse, of course, and there was still nearly an hour before she needed to be up to help with dinner preparations. Plenty of time.
Nathan stepped through the door, nodding at Juliette and then smiling at the sight of Sooraya sitting at Rahne's desk, reading through yet another article. "You're really making progress," he said approvingly, seeing the size of the remaining stack. "Are you finding them interesting?"
"Oh, yes," she said, glancing up at Nathan and giving him a bright smile. She looked down again at the paper and marked her place with a finger before sitting back in her chair. "They are very full of much information."
"That they are." Nathan tilted his head, smiling down at her - and then froze. "Oh! I almost forgot, I had something for you... stay right there." He vanished up the stairs, and Juliette looked in Sooraya's direction, a gently amused smile on her face.
"It's all the flying," she confided in a near-whisper. "Makes him act a little oddly."
Sooraya kept from smirking too much, merely giving Juliette a conspiratorial nod and picking up a pencil to underline a phrase that seemed familiar from a previous article.
Nathan came down the stairs, pausing and giving Juliette a suspicious look. He got a bland smile in return, and grumbled something under his breath about 'Christmas bonuses, feh' as he came back over to the desk where Sooraya was sitting.
"Here you go," he said, handing her the soft package. He had gotten her a couple of other things, of course, but those could keep until Christmas.
Sooraya looked a little bemused as she neatly unwrapped the package, and she couldn't help but give a soft gasp as the blue silk spilled out over her hands. It was a rich, deep color and specked with small golden flowers. And it was beautiful.
"For me?" she asked disbelievingly, looking at Nathan with wide round eyes.
"It's big enough for a headscarf," Nathan said with a smile. "And you seem to be liking color a little more lately, so when I saw it..." She was clearly so astonished that it tore at his heart, just a little. He sometimes forgot, with how determinedly she had set about adjusting to the school, that she'd had so little for so much of her life. The castle is liable to send her into shock.
"Thank you," Sooraya murmured. She couldn't help but clutch the fabric a little closer, already envisioning an email to Clarice so that the girl could perhaps help her with any necessary alterations. "It is very... beautiful. I am like it very much." In her flustered state it was a little harder to remember the right words to say.
"I'm glad you like it." Nathan just smiled at her and went over to sit down at his desk, to give her a moment to gather her composure.
Sooraya looked at the fabric a little longer, biting her lip as she traced a finger over the fine embroidery of one of the flowers. Then she resolutely folded it up again and tucked it in her pocket; there would be time for wonderment later.
"I have almost done the reading," she said, picking up the page she had been perusing before Nathan arrived. "For this part."
Nathan looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you think?" he asked. "About what they say." He'd given her a range of articles about mutant trafficking, most of which quoted anonymous sources and made a lot of suppositions.
"There is not very much... office information?" She frowned, then shook her head. "~I mean to say, I don't think the information in the papers is always to be trusted. It's as if people are afraid to say what's true.~"
"~Exactly. That's exactly the problem,~" Nathan said, not at all surprised she'd picked up on that. "People are afraid," he went on, switching back to English. "To get more information, we either have to convince them that they don't have to be, or we have to be very discreet about asking questions."
"Or yell on the phone," she reminded him.
Juliette coughed. Nathan gave her an evil look.
Sooraya pretended not to see it. "It is possible that with more time, it will be more easy to learn these things," she said pensively. "But these people do not have the time."
The urge to glare at Juliette failed. "No," Nathan said more quietly, "they don't. So we keep asking, and keep talking about it. Because we can't do anything without the facts, however hard it may be to get them."
She nodded. "~I would like to read more about this. I have a feeling that there is some truth among all the other things. And I would like to read the reports that you and Angelo and the others have written about your travels. I think that will help most of all to understand what is happening there.~"
Nathan smiled, then looked at Juliette. "Think we could set Sooraya up with her own ID and password for the database?"
"Very easily," Juliette said, not looking up from her computer screen.
"That means you can read whatever you'd like," Nathan said, looking back at Sooraya. "We're always looking for a new perspective. Fresh eyes see connections that others don't."
Surely Sooraya's mutant power didn't involve glowing in any way, but at that moment it would've been hard to tell. "Thank you," she murmured for the second time that afternoon, ducking her head to stare at the desk in front of her. "I will try very hard."