log: john and amara.

[x-volcanic.livejournal.com]

Amara and John catch up for coffee, and they chat a little about her study habits, Elpis and Amara's dislike of travel. Which is not for the reason John assumes.

Amara had, in fact, agreed to meet up with John at some point for coffee, and she'd finally got everything back on track after Selene and India and the end of the college year. Classes were done with, she was feeling generally as prepared as she was going to get for finals, and she'd caught up with everything for Adrienne that she needed to (at least for this week). So she'd agreed to meet John at a coffee shop not far from the Elpis offices, and was already there when he arrived, a book open in front of her that she was, in theory, revising from, but her brain was just refusing to focus on yet another facet of Spanish grammar.

It wasn't difficult to spot Amara in the coffee shop. There weren't many people there to begin with. John removed his jacket and hung it on a hook on the wall before he made his way toward her. He glanced at his watch as he did so, wondering if he was late. It was ten past three. He was indeed a little late. John slipped his sunglasses off and quietly slipped into the chair.

"Are you always this studious?"

Amara glanced up and smiled with relief, flicking the book closed with a quick movement. "Actually, I am usually more studious. Usually when I have a text book open, I am actually absorbing the information I am reading." She slipped the book back into her bag with a slight lean, turning back to smile at John again. "But I shall leave my attempts at revision for another day."

"I should have been here earlier. I got caught up with work. Conference calls, you know. It's hard to get away from them." He turned around and caught the attention of a waitress. "Have you ordered?"

"You're not too late," she laughed a little. "I am somewhat compulsive about being early. And no, I haven't ordered yet." She glanced up at the waitress, ordering a black coffee once she arrived.

John ordered the same, preferring his coffee black these days. Gone were the days when he needed a sugar high to get through the day. He raised his brows at Amara. "No cake?"

Amara took a moment to look a little guilty. "I have a stash at home I made when I was memorizing verb conjugations. I think if I ate anymore, they'd have to fit me for a new uniform."

Good thing John always liked his girls curvaceous. "While memorizing verb conjugations?" John's upper lip curled into a smirk. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to have a difficult time pulling you away from your studies?"

"Is that what you're trying to do?" She asked a little playfully, a broad smile on her face. "I suppose you will just have to work out my weaknesses." Of which coffee was one, especially when she was particularly busy.

"Will do. Wouldn't want to see you bury yourself in your books. It'd be a shame." John returned the smile with a grin and looked up when the waitress served them their coffee. He thanked her with a nod then rested his forearms on the edge of the table, leaning forward slightly. "Heard you were quite impressed by your recent visit to the Elpis office. There's talk of us gaining new blood and it's got everyone excited. More manpower equals less paperwork to be spread around. Lesser hours at work..." He winked.

"I don't know if I should be encouraging such a lack of industriousness," she said, picking up her coffee to take a sip. "But it is a very nice office. I can't help but be impressed by the work you do."

"It's got its perks. The travel for one. I didn't think I'd stick around for as long as I did but I've gained a lot of experience working in Elpis, and it's just gotten better year after year. We do a lot of research, come up with proposals. More often than not, it gets rejected," he chuckled but continued on, "it's hard work getting things done but at the end of a long haul, it's worth it. You make a big difference in small ways. It's... well, it's good. It's rewarding." He shrugged a little and drank some of his coffee then cleared his throat, lifting a finger up.

"Before you think I'm here to sell you on the idea of Elpis though, I swear. I'm just here to repay your kindness from that evening when I ate more than half your dinner."

"See, now, you lost me at travel," she said with a smile. "But you may have won me back with research and making a difference." Amara and flying did not mix well at all, even though she'd had to get used to it working with the X-Men.

"And I don't mind listening to you talk about it. It's obvious it's something you're passionate about."

"Honestly, I just enjoy the travel and--" He leaned forward a little more and whispered, "the annual bonus isn't too bad either." It was obvious he was trying to downplay the fact that he was passionate about work. God forbid.

"So, you don't like to travel. Why is that?" John was already assuming it had something to do with the fact that she was possibly high maintenance, judging by the way she looked. It wasn't a fair assumption since he barely knew her but he couldn't imagine her roughing it out anywhere. She seemed like such a city girl.

"Oh, of course." Amara laughed, shaking her head. She didn't entirely believe John, but she'd let him have his illusions.

"Flying makes me sick," she said with a shrug. "Part of my powers involve a connection to the earth, so when I'm not touching the ground, I start to feel unwell." Having a problem with roughing it was definitely not amongst the issues that made Amara high maintenance.

"So traveling to outer space would be a big no no then?"

Amara shuddered. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Well, how badly does airplane travel affect you?" He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have such a strong connection to something that he couldn't be separated from it. Then again, he had a crazy tendency to play with fire on a daily basis. Still, it wasn't the same. He wouldn't be physically sick without it. Probably just a little... disturbed. Mentally. Maybe. He took a large sip from his cup. Like Amara, he didn't want to think about it.

There was a long pause before Amara replied, a slight frown settling on her face as she thought about how to describe it. "It is a little like vertigo, I think. I get dizzy at first, and then feel nauseous. And the higher I am, the worse it gets. If the flight is particularly long, I start to get headaches as well." There was another long pause. "It feels a little bit like I've lost a part of me. I'm so used to the earth always being there, that when it is not, I feel the lack."

John nodded then managed a bit of a smile. "Would it help if I gave you a potted plant to carry with you before your next flight?"

".. I'd never thought of that. I've been considering indulging in a bottle of tequila, but my most recent flights have been for missions, so that hasn't really been an option."

John chuckled. "We'll have to give it a test now, won't we? You shouldn't miss out on traveling to some of the places I've been to. Asia's beautiful."

"Is it?" Amara smiled. She'd never put a lot of thought into doing much traveling, not since she'd manifested her powers. "All I've really seen of the world is New York and Nova Roma. And Puerto Rico."

John smiled a little and nodded as he reached for the ashtray. He drew a flame from his lighter and lit himself a cigarette. He inhaled deeply before he blew the smoke off to the side.

"Did you grow up in Nova Roma?"

"Yes." As far as she mostly remembered. Things had gotten complicated in regards to that recently, but she didn't know John well enough to try and explain that mess quite yet. "It is beautiful, Nova Roma. It was built at the foot of a dormant volcano, and is surrounded by lush rainforest." She smiled at the thought of her home. "I miss it."

"What about Puerto Rico? You lived there too?"

"Oh no." She laughed a little. "Tabitha organised a trip there over Christmas. We took some of the students with us."

"Ah. Well, listen." He tapped the edge of his cigarette against the ashtray before glancing back up at her. "I've got a few things to clear up at the office but it shouldn't take too long. If you're not doing anything tonight, a bunch of us are heading out for dinner. Would you like to join us?," he asked. "You can come hangout at the office while I finish up. There's good coffee there."

Amara paused for a moment, thinking about the plans she'd made for the evening. .. which, granted, involved the commute back to the mansion and more revision. But there was only so much studying she could do, and meeting more of the people that worked for Elpis definitely sounded like a much better offer.

"I would like that, thank you."

"Well, the more the merrier."

John placed a few bills on the table and waited for Amara to get her things. He needed to send out a few emails and print out a report for tomorrow's meeting before they could head out but there was plenty of people Amara knew at the office and knowing Nathan, he would probably jump at the opportunity to recruit someone new into the organization.