Lil and Amara: Roomies! (Backdated: Dec 17)

[x-diamondlil.livejournal.com]

Backdated to Dec. 17th

Lil moves into her new room and is greeted by Amara with cookies and Christmas carols.


So Amara had heard someone was going to be moving into the other room in her suite, which meant tidying up was in order! Particularly in the bathroom, considering that she'd strewn her stuff all over the place - getting her hair in order was a massive job, and she had the implements to prove it. All the connecting doors were open, and Amara had a CD of Christmas music playing as she moved around the bathroom, humming along as she did.

"Honey, I'm home," Lil called as she hauled two large bags into her new room. Unpacking wouldn't be a major chore, seeing as most of her luggage was still on it's way from Canada. Unsure whether or not she'd be staying (or welcome to stay) at the mansion, the tall blonde had brought along enough for two weeks or so. Still, it would be enough to make the room begin to feel like home. Now, if only she could find her roomie. "Amara? You around here?" she called over the holiday music, following it to the bathroom before sticking her head in. "Heya."

When Amara first moved in here, she had a few items of clothing and some books from home, but that's about it. Everything she had now she'd accumulated in her years at the mansion - and honestly, it was a lot more than she realized. Which is why she was currently seated in front of the cupboard underneath the sink, pulling stuff out to make room for Lil. "Hey Lil!" She said with a bright smile, twisting around and looking up - and up and up - so she could see her new suitemate.

Brushing back the lock of hair that was forever in her face, Lil offered the other woman a bright smile. "What are you doing in here?" she asked, surveying the collection of products and other girlie accoutrement scattered on the floor. "You don't gotta make room for me; not yet at least. Most of my stuff's on a train or truck or something on it's way here. Don't worry about it, honest," she said with a little wave.

"No no, it's fine, I don't mind at all!" Amara grinned, moving the stuff she'd pulled out around so she could stand up properly. "I've been meaning to go through all this stuff anyway, most of it's nearly empty bottles and stuff. I've gotten far too used to having the space to myself!"

"Well, I promise to do my best not to step on any toes," the taller woman vowed then chucked her thumb back towards the bedroom she'd be occupying. "I'm gonna start unpacking but if you wanna come in and chat after you're done, that'd be great. Can learn a little more about each other - likes, dislikes, allergies, deep dark secrets, that kinda stuff to make the transition smoother." Her nose wrinkled as she smiled again then disappeared back through the doorway.

"Oh no, feel free to step." She paused, then laughed at herself. "Not literally, but if my stuff is in the way or anything, please let me know." She swept the pile of empty bottles into the bag she'd grabbed for them, she'd rinse them out and put them in the recycling later on. "And I don't know about deep dark secrets, I'm sort of an open book." Her voice faded a little as she moved into her bedroom, but it wasn't long before Amara showed back up at Lil's door, plate of cookies in hand. "And I hope you don't have any allergies, since I thought you might like some of these."

Lil propped the worn copy of Mae West's Diamond Lil onto her mattress as she turned; eyes sparking with delight when she spied the cookies in the other woman's hand. Praise to whatever deity there was that gave her a roommate who could bake! "Nope, no allergies here. And they look delicious, thanks." Certainly better than the hockey pucks Manuel had managed. "How about you? Anything you allergic to that I should keep outta here?"

Amara was a bit of a fiend in the kitchen. And she'd been baking a lot recently thanks to the season. Everyone was getting baked goods for Christmas. "No problem! And no, I'm fine with allergies. Or at least I haven't discovered any yet." Which was a good thing. She liked cooking too much to want to stay away from it. And since she'd been raised in the middle of a jungle, that could have sucked as well.

"Good to know," Lil replied and after snagging a cookie with a grin, she popped half of it in her mouth then picked up the worn book again, A ribbon served as a bookmark, complete with a wedding band dangling from it and she carefully placed it on the nightstand, out of the way of any damage that could come from chocolate or unpacked items. "So," she began after another bite of cookie, "what else should we know about each other? Pasts, powers? You expecting to have overnight guests over often?" She'd never really done the roommate thing, not since her mid-teens and even then it had only been for a few months.

Amara glanced at the wedding ring, but didn't say anything about it just yet. She stole one of the cookies as well, taking a seat while Lil moved around unpacking and everything. "Oh, well. Um. My powers are sort of... crazy. I'm a pryo-terra-kinetic or something like that, I can't remember the official name. But basically... I can make volcanoes and earthquakes and fire and stuff." Very dangerous! "And I guess it doesn't really matter in winter, but I tend to run really hot, temperature wise? So it might get a little stuffy here in summer." She blushed at the question about overnight guests, shaking her head. "No no, no overnight guests or anything. I'm not seeing anyone."

"Pyro-terra-kinetic?" Lil repeated slowly in a very child-like manner. The fires she could handle but volcanoes? And earthquakes? "Sounds intense" she said at length, pulling out a few t-shirts from the closest bag. "You don't gotta worry about the temperature, though. I can't feel it. Hot, cold, extreme or not, doesn't matter 'cause I can't feel it. My cells produce this bio-aura that basically keeps everything out and makes me invulnerable." From the outside only. Anything ingested or inhaled was another story. At least she didn't seem to have to be worried about food poisoning though. "Makes me strong, too," she added when she heaved the bag onto the bed with one hand and little effort. "Physics and I don't get along: the whole 'opposite but equal reaction' rule doesn't apply much to me. Any force I extend, instead of coming back to me hits the other object double time."

"I could just said pyrokinetic and terrakinetic, but that ends up being an even bigger mouthful," she said a little sheepishly. She nibbled on the cookie while Lil explained her powers, kind of getting confused along the way. "Oh huh, so you're invulnerable and strong and... you defy physics. Awesome." She didn't really get how that last part work, but Lil did, so that was the important part, right? "And you just moved here from..." Wait, she read this, she was sure. "Canada, yes?"

"I don't defy all of them," she chuckled, pulling out a couple of pairs of jeans and a skirt or two that didn't look like they would cover much on her long legs. "Yup. Canada. Alpha - well, Beta - Flight. I'm trying to make Alpha flight when I go back but I needed some extra training first." And some attitude adjustment but that was something her new roomie didn't need to know - it would kill the gal-pal gabfest pretty quick. "How about you? Where you from, how did you get here and what are you doing now that you're part of what everyone seems to be calling 'The Madhouse?'"

"I'm from Brazil," she said with a smile. "I was raised in a place called Nova Roma. It is a... complicated story." The smile faded a little bit, only if thinking of home tended to remind Amara of one of the few things that could get her down. And she didn't really want to get into the details. "We had some trouble there and the X-Men came and helped us out. My powers manifested at that time, and I was... quite dangerous. So I came here to learn how to keep them under control. Which is what I have been doing! And getting a proper education. I am a freshman at ESU now. I was staying on campus, but I decided to move back here recently because of what has been happening. I want..." She trailed off and shrugged. "Help, I guess. It's been a crazy time."

"Yeah," Lil agreed. Cities on the brink of destruction. Teammates missing, presumed dead. Crazy time indeed. "How you liking the school thing?" she asked, choosing to focus on something the other blonde at least seemed a little more enthused about. She wasn't one to dig into people's pasts and had no problem moving on and away from the topics that made her roommate frown. "I tried it for one semester but decided it wasn't for me."

"I love it!" She said enthusiastically. It wasn't hard to get Amara to right along with a slight subject change, or get her enthusiastic about something. She much preferred being happy and excited about things. "I am thinking of doing a history major. Or possibly classics. Or maybe a language, I am not sure. Everything is so fascinating. And so many people! It's a little crazy." Yeah, Amara wasn't going to be taking time out of college in a hurry.

The taller woman chuckled as she walked to the dresser with an armful of clothes which she began to sort into different drawers. She'd never been that excited about school; books weren't something high on her list of favorite things and having to sit, listening to a teacher yammer on and on about subjects few had actual interest in only cut into time that could have been spent with friends. "Don't most classics majors involve history and language? I think my cousin did that."

Amara may be a little bit of a closet geek. She'd fallen in love with reading back in Nova Roma, and now she was actually getting to study a lot of things she'd read about. It was terribly exciting! "Yes! Pretty much. I could take Latin or Ancient Greek as part of my classics major, but I was thinking of maybe taking Spanish? I don't know, there's just so much to do. I don't know how people decide." Of course, not many people were crazy about academics as Amara was.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," she assured Amara. "You've got sometime, right? Like, you don't gotta choose tomorrow or anything. Why worry about it now?" The fact that her suite-mate was passionate about learning didn't phase her a bit; diversity was a good thing. And it wasn't as if their books would get mixed up or anything considering the only novel the Canadian owned currently sat on her nightstand.

"Exactly! I have plenty of time, I'm still only a freshman." She grinned. "And oh my, I have just been babbling on. What about you? Have you just been with Beta Flight since you left college? Or have you been doing something else?" It didn't really occur to Amara that she might be walking into a minefield here, she was just curious!

The babbling was kind of endearing, really. Of course, it was also new. Lil wasn't sure how long the charm of it would last. To answer Amara's question, she shook her head. "No, I started Beta in highschool, actually. Canada does things a little differently; it's mandatory that you do training with Gamma first and then, some move up to Beta for extra attention. I stayed with them until I got married," she said with a soft smile of her own, then turned her head as she busied herself with putting her clothes away. "Both my husband and I decided we wanted a 'normal' life but... it didn't work out. So, now I'm here working on some stuff so that when I go back, I can rejoin, hopefully in the Alpha tier." It was the abridged version, of course; they were still getting to know each other and Lil didn't want to lay all her husband drama all over the poor girl.

Amara could be quiet! Honestly. Or at least a little less excitable about thing, but she was making a determined effort to be particularly friendly right now. Everyone around the mansion could do with a little extra cheer right about now. "Oh! I didn't know that about Canada. And I'm sorry to hear that things didn't work out so well, but I do hope being here does help. If you need any help with anything, please let me know. I am not so good with the powers training or anything like that, but I have lived at the mansion for about two years now. I think I know my way around a little. And I am certainly at my best in the kitchen." Deliciousness, it will be coming your way.

She raised a shoulder then let it drop, carelessly dismissing the topic of her failed marriage. "I'm definitely thinking about asking you to draw me a map," Lil chuckled and after stuffing her one sweater into a drawer, walked back to the mattress to unpack more of her bags. "And the kitchen can stay your domain. Trust me, you don't want me cooking up anything beyond maybe a burger or two. I can take care of any refreshments needed, however." Her brow drew over that for a moment as she turned at looked at the other woman. "You old enough to drink? It's twenty-one here, yeah?"

"I can do that!" Amara was good with maps. Lil would probably end up with a map of grounds that was remarkably accurate, but then a little fuzzy on where everything was inside the mansion. Amara's connection to earth tended to help with things like that. "That's alright! I love cooking, so I don't mind at all. If you ever want any help with anything like that, let me know." Amara signed at that last question, looking a little mournful. "I have six months to go. I'll be 21 in June." So close! But yet, so far.

Lil had been joking about the map, but certainly wasn't going to tell Amara that. Not when she was willing to be so helpful. "I'll try not to corrupt you too much in those six months then," the taller blonde promised with a little wink. A little corruption might be in order though; it was the holidays after all. Speaking of which... "You going back to Brazil at all over your break?"

Amara giggled at that, blushing a little slightly. "Well, I've managed to keep myself out of trouble so far. So we will see." Amara, really, was far too much a goody-two-shoes for her own good. No crazy shenanigans here! "No, I am not. I spent the summer back in Brazil, and that was enough." She shuddered slightly. "I do not travel very well, so the fewer flights I go on, the better."

"You didn't live with Diamond Lil before," the Canadian pointed out playfully. She wasn't going to push the girl but Lil vowed right then and there if she saw Amara getting too overworked with school, she was going to drag the girl out for a night or bring the party to her. Every needed to let go now and again. "I can see how flying could be a problem," she added, pulling a bottle of perfume from her bag and set it next to her book. "'Cause of being terrakinetic, yeah? Gotta be near the ground?"

Amara sighed playfully at that. "You're going to get me into trouble, aren't you?" Her tendancy towards well-behaviour was not necessarily her avoiding trouble, more just a lack of inclination or opportunity. She wasn't opposed to it, per say, she just didn't know where to start. "That's exactly it," she said with a smile. "I get sick when I'm not in contact with the ground. Buildings are okay - well, unless they're really tall ones - but flying is just awful." Which sucked, it meant she couldn't go and see her dad all that often.

The taller woman gave a dismissive wave in her direction. "Nah. You only get in trouble if you get caught and I wouldn't let anything like that happen." The impish twinkle flared to life again as she snagged another cookie and plopped down onto her mattress. "I don't like flying either. Completely different reason, though; not enough leg room." There was always first class but her wallet couldn't handle that just yet. "So, what else do we still need to cover? We did the allergies slash house guests slash party habits slash school slash powers portion of the convo. What I miss?"

"Is that how it works?" Amara asked with a laugh. She really was new at this. "I can see how the lack of leg room would be a problem." Lil was... ridiculously tall. Amara was fairly sure she hadn't met another woman that tall. ... though maybe that one girl from class. "I think they are the important things," she said with a little bit of a grin. "Unless you wanted to start swapping favorite movies slash books slash tv shows slash... colors? I have heard these things are important." Amara had read in a magazine once that knowing these things were important. She hadn't quite figured out why yet, Lil seemed to have covered the essential details so far.

"That's definitely how it works," Lil declared with a nod while nibbling on the cookie. "Don't get caught, you don't get in trouble." Brushing a few crumbs from her lap, she looked at the other woman and smiled a bit more. "Don't go to the movies a lot; people get cranky when I sit in front of them but I like renting them. Ones with lots of chases and things blowing up are best but um, Unbreakable always makes me feel a little guilty, I guess," she chuckled. "Don't read books. The one on my nightstand is the only one I own and that was a gift but I'll watch anything on TV. And my favorite color is green." Lil was pretty certain she'd hit all the topics Amara had suggested. "You're up."

"I will keep that in mind! For whenever I think I might want to get up to something." It was pretty unlikely, but... you never know. "Well," she said with a smile. "My favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz, and I tend to rent movies out rather than go to the movies. It's nicer watching them at home on the couch." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "My favorite book is the Odyssey, it was the first book my dad ever read to me. I don't actually watch much TV, but I do kind of like Supernatural." Hello, good looking boys. "And my favourite color is blue. Sort of specifically, that light blue that's almost silver." Yes, that was very specific of you there. "There, I think we've covered everything." Amara grinned.

Lil's smile spread as she listened to the other blonde then nodded her agreement. "Yup, I think so, too. And if we didn't," she shrugged, "I'm sure we've got plenty of time to figure it out." Nothing huge or seemed to be popping up conflict-wise which was definitely a good thing and Amara was nice enough; a little perky, true, but the older girl could get past that if it wasn't a constant thing. "We'll have to do a movie marathon night sometime," the giantess suggested.

"We do!" She said with a grin. Amara certainly wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, and Lil would be here for awhile yet. They had plenty of time to get to know each other! "And that is such a great idea. We'll definitely have to do that. I have my days to myself for the next couple of weeks, other than Christmas things and all of that, before classes start again. So we should definitely organize something!"

"That'd be great." Organizing was certainly not something Lil was particularly skilled at; as such she'd leave that up to Amara. She seemed like the type who could throw whole parties together in hours let alone a movie night. Another smile and she started to check her bags again, tossing a pair or two of shoes to the floor then tucking the bags themselves away in a closet. "And feel free to tell me if I do anything that's annoying you," Lil added when she returned to the side of the bed to grab up another cookie. "I really mean that. Just let me know, okay?" Because the taller woman would most definitely do the same.

"Great." Organizing things certainly was one of Amara's things, she tended to get a little crazy with it sometimes. She just liked spending time doing things, rather than just sitting back and... well, relaxing. It made her feel useful, which was always nice. "And oh, I couldn't do that! I can't imagine you'd do anything annoying anyway." It was possible that Amara had a high level of tolerance for these things, she worked very hard not to get worked up about things, since heightened emotions frequently set off her powers.

Lil smiled again at the other girl before picking up the novel with the wedding band bookmark and sliding it into the nightstand drawer. "Amara, we're roommates. We're bound to annoy each other at some point. It's a rule of life. I'm just telling you not to worry about upsetting me if you feel you need to tell me to knock something off."

Amara grinned a little bit. "I am not sure about that, I am very difficult to annoy." It was just the way she was. "But you will have to be sure to tell me if I am being annoying as well." Since it was entirely possible that she could be annoying as well. And she would hate to upset her new roommate!

Well, that was good to know. Anyone who was going to be rooming with Lil probably needed a high level of tolerance. She nodded toward Amara and took one more cookie. "I wil. I doubt we'll have any major problems or anything." Which was true; Lil was going to be on her best behavior while at the mansion. She needed to be.

"I think it'll be great!" Amara said with a big smile, before sliding off her seat so she could stand up. She didn't want to outstay her welcome, and Lil probably still had plenty she needed to do. "I should probably get back to tidying up the bathroom, I don't want to leave everything all over the place like that. Just yell out if you need anything, okay?" She'd be right over it!

Lil nodded again and offered her rommie a sincere smile. "Can do. No rush on the mess; like I said, I don't have very many things to store in there yet. Oh, and thanks again for the cookies. They're really good." She held up the one she'd half eaten with a grin. Having a roommate who baked was going to be a dangerous thing if she didn't continue to hit the gym.