log: angelo and amara

[x-volcanic.livejournal.com]

Amara finally catches up with Angelo to get her tour of Elpis. She is very impressed.

After the tumultous events of the past couple of months, Amara was looking forward to something a little bit more simpler. She'd finally had a chance to catch up with Angelo about the offered tour of Elpis, and they'd organised a time to meet. This time, to be precise, and she'd arrived at Elpis at precisely the time they'd agreed on. She was thankful that nothing had conspired to make her late, as it frequently did the busier her schedule got.

Angelo was waiting for her in the lobby with a ready smile as he saw her come through the door. "Hey, Amara. Had a good day?"

"I have, thank you. Class ended early today." She grinned, taking a moment to shift the weight of her bag. "How has yours been so far?"

"Busy morning", he told her easily, holding out a hand in a silent offer to take her bag. "But it's quieted down now, so we can take our time on your tour."

She smiled and let him take the bag, taking a moment to glance around the lobby properly. "I appreciate you taking the time to show me around. This certainly is far more impressive than the Boathouse." Amara was pretty sure Angelo probably did have more important things to do than show her around, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

"We thought it was about time we got ourselves a real office", he agreed. "We were growin' out of the boathouse, for one thing, an' it wasn't the most professional image if people came to visit."

"Well, it certainly is that." She returned her gaze back to Angelo. "And first impression can be so important." Something Amara had learned in spades working for Adrienne.

"That it can", he agreed, then offered a crooked grin and continued in a distinctly different accent, "which is why I've learned to talk like this when I'm attending the big important meetings. Nobody wants to hear their NGO contact talking like a Mexican gang kid."

Amara laughed a little at that. "I think I like the original accent better," she replied. "But I sometimes run into a similiar problem working for Adrienne. If I am not well dressed enough, they look down on me, but if I am too well dressed, I get mistaken for one of the models." She shrugged with a roll of her eyes. "People pay too much attention to these surface things."

"They do", he agreed as they stepped into the lift, "but unfortunately we all just have to live with it. What is it you do for Adrienne, again?"

"I'm her personal assistant," she replied, following him into the lift. "So really, whatever she needs me to do. I work there part time while I'm not at class or at X-Men training." There was a pause. "Or HeliX meetings. Or swimming lessons." Amara certainly managed to pack plenty into her week.

Angelo laughed at that. "You sound like me. If you substitute gym time for the swimmin' lessons, an' take out the X-Men trainin', anyway. But Nate keeps me busy enough to account for that."

"There are never quite enough hours in the day, are there?" She laughed a little as well. "But I fear I would just find more things to do if I had more time. So it is a vicious circle."

"I think it comes from livin' in the mansion", Angelo said half-seriously. "Seems like it's a problem most of us've got."

"It's possible." Amara attempted not to grin. "But I do not think overachievement is too terrible a habit to have learned."

"Oh, it could definitely be worse." The lift doors slid open, and he made an ushering gesture towards the rooms beyond. "An' here we are."

Amara stepped out of the lift, eyes widened ever so slightly as she took a look around. "Well, this certainly isn't the boathouse."

"We're goin' up in the world", was the cheerful agreement. "Not that Nate couldn't've afforded this from the start, but the boathouse was a nice way to get us off the ground."

"And it was a much smaller organization when you started, was it not? You wouldn't have needed all this room." She continued to wander through, looking around at the place. "So I know that Elpis helps mutants around the world. What exactly sort of work do you do here?"

"Here in this office?" He nodded to himself. "Mostly research into what the problems in our remit actually are. It's different from culture to culture, so we have to know what we're dealin' with before we go in."

Amara nodded. "That must be interesting... learning about so many different cultures."

"I enjoy it. Always wanted to travel, so this is pretty much my perfect job." He grinned. "An' I like learnin' the languages, too."

"That would be my favorite part, the languages" Amara replied, returning the grin. "If I ever decide on one, I am very strongly leaning towards a language major."

"Shame you have to decide on one, really. There isn't some option like modern languages, so you can work with a few different ones?"

"Yes. There is an option to undertake one in Spanish and Portuguese, if I like. But I sometimes think that is cheating a little, since I am already fluent in Portuguese." She shrugged. "But there are other options under the major, so perhaps I will start learning another one."

"I'd say I could teach you Spanish", he said lightly, "but Manuel always used to say my version wasn't real Spanish anyway. Amazin' what difference a couple of hundred years apart makes."

"I will keep that in mind when I am having trouble with my Spanish homework," she said with a little laugh. "It is not like he is here to complain, is he? And Brazilian Portuguese is different to the original language, so I think we are in the same place."

"Happy to help whenever you want." He smiled. "An' that's very true. But look at us, hangin' around in reception when there's so much more to see."

"Thank you." She smiled over to him. "Lead the way, senhor. I would very much like to see the rest of the space."