xp_logs | Laura and Vanessa

x-twenty-three.livejournal.com posting in

The day after waking up in the Mansion, Vanessa manages to find the person she is currently wearing. What follows is a typical Laura-like conversation. x2

Even though she had taken it off when she had woken up, Vanessa was now wearing the pointy, veiled princess hat Adrienne had apparently adorned her with for Halloween. Somehow she thought Laura would find it amusing. She had taken a few hours to calm down and try to orient herself. Vanessa was mostly convinced this wasn't an elaborate trick being played on her by a telepath, illusionist and/or shapeshifter but that didn't stop her from checking over her shoulder discreetly and constantly. She was hoping she would find the girl Vanessa had come to think of as something of her protege in her suite. The odds of that maybe weren't in her favor given Laura had an energy abundance issue sometimes just like Vanessa did.

Lucky enough, Laura was in her room, staring at an open suitcase, brow furrowed. It was still empty, and she was silently judging it, hands on her hips, as if she were expecting it to fill itself with stuff. A moment later though, she was turning her head towards the sound and smell of-- herself. Of course. "Oh, you are up." There was a good deal of contained excitement in that sentence, and Laura was making a big effort to keep herself form glomping Vanessa right then and there. Instead, she crossed her arms behind her back and bounced a little. "Hoooow are you feeling?"

Now there was the girl Vanessa remembered. And it was nice to have someone act normal around her, actually. On the one hand Vanessa felt changed inexplicably and irrevocably but on the other hand she despised kid gloves and right now too many people were treating her with them. She'd rather people just act normal and misstep than be so damn careful they didn't break her. Laura's enthusiasm brought the first real smile to Vanessa's borrowed face since she'd woken. She reached up and flicked at the veil that hung from the tip of her head. "Like a pretty, pretty princess, obviously," she replied with light hearted sarcasm. Oddly enough, Vanessa was almost certain she wasn't faking that. The hat, the scepter....all thanks to Adrienne. "And not like I'm dying or going to blow apart if I sneeze so that's good. Thanks for the loan." She gestured down to herself, or rather to Laura's self she was wearing.

"Yeah...now I know that I can rock the Arabian Princess get up, too. No big surprise, hehe." She honestly didn't want to get all careful on her, just like Vanessa had been honest with her when she had had her breakdown. It was better this way. "My my, I really look pretty. I might need to talk with Ms. Frost about this." She looked over to the empty suitcase, but decided to leave that for later. "And at least you don't look like Kyle. I have nothing against him, but you can't be a pretty princess with his facial hair getting in the way."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the fangs would be detrimental to the look as well," Vanessa replied in a very reasonable tone even as her eyes wandered the room checking out the doors and the windows and what lay beyond the windows. "Also, I have a small confession to make." The metamorph winced a little at the broaching of the topic. "Which you can't tell anyone. It'll come out eventually but I'm really not in the mood for the possible reactions. And the confession involves a favor."

Laura listened attentively, and then blinked a couple of times. "Okay? You know you can ask me whatever you want, right?" But truth to be told, she was a little worried already.

"I'm under house arrest for a week so Hank can make sure I'm fully healed. And possibly not crazy." The jury was out on that second point still anyway. "Which means I can't leave and do things like buy clothes, which I hate doing anyway. And I'm having a small problem." Vanessa trapped her lower lip between her teeth and started chewing on it. Wow, this was awkward. "I can't drop you and go back to my own body. If people ask I'm just going to pretend I'm keeping the copy on until the doc is sure I'm completely healed and not going to rip apart at the seams if I shift back. But, honestly? I can't. I don't know why and I'm really hoping you don't have to start telling people you have a twin sister. But if I can't do it now....I don't know when I'll figure it out. And trust me, it's a priority. So...can I borrow some more clothes until I can get out of here and buy my own in your size?"

The girl listened, and halfway through it seemed to relax. Not entirely, but at least a bit. "Phew, I was starting to fear you wanted me to help you break out from here or pretend to be you while you go out pretending to be me or..." She trailed off for a moment until she waved a hand, a smile on her face. "I know this isn't all that supportive, but I would love a twin. I'm moving my clothes around just now, so we can pick a good bunch of stuff for you, alright? You can figure out how to turn blue on your own terms."

Vanessa shook her head, the smile on her lips betraying her. "Sure, I can be Nora. You know, there's Laura the perky genetic experiment and then there's Nora, the less perky science project. It's basically a match made in heaven." Her tone was lighter than she would have thought. It was probably a good thing she could joke about it, at least with Laura. "But thanks. Seriously. And if you wind up with a twin you need to promise I get a better name than Nora. I don't think I could live with that one for the next...however long."

"Hey, it was your idea to come up with that name. You can change it if you don't like it. It's not official yet." But seriously, Nora? It was so not Laura, or Laura-twin for what it mattered. "Hey, it's not problem. Last time I dressed you up for fun, now at least I can do it seriously right? And once you get some clothes you know what sizes you will need and all, so it's not like you will only live on a couple of pairs of shirts and jeans. I mean, I sincerely hope you don't." That would be Hell, of course.

"I was going for a rhyming name and I'm pretty sure Dora has something to do with small children." She sounded less than enthused about that one. Vanessa liked kids, she just wasn't sure she liked very small kids. Once they could walk and speak intelligibly, sure. But until then...eh, maybe not so much. "It seems like it would be unfair of me to restrict you to serious business dressing alone." Vanessa finally plucked the pointy hat off of her head. "But maybe a rule about no more princess costumes."

"You could be Lara, so we are the annoyingly similarly named twins. I think those always have the most fun anyway." Or so television had told her, she couldn't be entirely sure. "Well I wouldn't dress you up just for fun, if you are going to stick with the looks for a while. I might not be a fashionista but I do like to think you will look amazing every single day." She shrugged at the mention of glitter as she turned around, going to grab a nondescript white shirt from the drawer. Maybe they could start checking what looked best on her already...

"Laura and Lara?" Vanessa grinned. "Does this mean I need to go hunt for archaeological relics a la Lara Croft?" She looked down at her chest. "Neither of us have the rack for that comparison, though. Not that I'm complaining. A huge rack is more detriment than advantage, to be honest." A huge rack got in the way more often than not. Having everyone talk to your cleavage instead of looking you in the eye also got old very quickly. "Wait, am I not allowed to do functional cargo pants and a tee shirt when I wear you then? Do I have to keep up your rep in case someone spots me and mistakes me for you?"

Laura scoffed as she shoved the shirt back in. "Only if you invite me, alright. Also I'm still growing, alright? Give me some years and I'll have a more than decent rack in my own right. Not that I'm not pretty impressive already." Ego, thy name is Laura. "Well I guess I could pull that off. I would need to see it to make sure it still has some taste, but I trust your judgement." Shrugging, she sat on her bed. "Oh, now I want to go shopping..."

"I will take you to look for archaeological relics if you promise not to try to make me go shopping," Vanessa returned immediately. "Ooooor you could go shopping for me. As long as you stick to low key and functional and away from the clubbing gear." Did she really want to tell Laura where the stash of cash in her apartment was? Sure, she had a bank account or three but you never knew when you might not be able to touch your accounts on account of your identity being compromised. Eh, she trusted Laura and if the girl was actually willing to go shopping on Vanessa's behalf then the metamorph was fully in favor. "And your rack is fine. And I'm pretty sure chicks stop growing around eighteen or twenty-one at the latest and didn't you just turn twenty-one a few months ago?"

"Yay relics! Lara Croft always seems to be having a good time, plus she probably does a great deal of cardio." Laura then made a cross over her heart, a big, toothy smile on her face. "I can do that! Only nice skin covering clothes, yep." She did have a ton of those after all. The comment about her chest managed to get rid of the smile though. "Yeah, I know. At least they don't get in the way."

Vanessa paused for a second, head tilted to the side as she considered Laura. "Does that make me, Lara, the adventurous, danger-loving twin while you, Laura, are the perky, enthusiastic twin? Because I could work with that." There was, in fact, already the basics of a personality coming together in her head. Old habits were hard to shake and this one was as natural as breathing to the metamorph who was all too accustomed to creating new lives to live. "So, on more functional topics, first of all, you never want a rack like Pam Anderson. Yours is awesome and it fits your frame and any guy who doesn't get that you're a total hottie because he likes bigger - or smaller - tits it a world-class idiot. Secondly, do you have a piece of paper and a pen? I already know you know how to keep your mouth shut which is the other requirement. You'll need to get into my flat..." Vanessa trailed off, realizing none of her stuff she had with her in the motel in Boston was likely recovered. Bleeding hell. "So you'll need to ask Warren for his keys because I don't have any. You know where my gun safe is in the back hallway by my washer and dryer? There's another safe in that safe with cash. I'm going to trust you with both combinations," and likely change them once she got home, but that wasn't personal it was paranoia, "so you can grab some money and buy me like a two week wardrobe with at least one outfit that's business casual in case I need to try to convince people Lara the adventurer is a grown up for some reason. And since you are awesome and amazing find something you want, buy it on my dime. Deal?" She gave Laura a dazzling smile, the sort Laura usually broke out when she had just made a point no one had expected her to make.

"Yay free clothes!" Said smile was countered with one on her own, of course. "So I need to check on Warren first, got it. What should I get for me then?" As she asked, Laura finished falling on her bed, hands over her head. "See, if it was my money I would have already decided, but if it's a gift I just can't go and blow it. It kinda feels like I'm taking advantage of the situation. Maybe I should just keep the money of something relatively cheap in case I need it later....hey, you want me to go right now, right?" Laura sat up, realizing she was probably wasting time already. "I can track him down and get his key and be back in no time, if you want?"

"Up to you on both counts. It's not like I'm going anywhere and I've got clothes for now so you can take off now, later, tomorrow..." Vanessa shrugged one shoulder. "All the same to me, you know? But you should get yourself...I don't know, something you really want but have been holding off on for some reason. Something you feel amazing and strong in." Vanessa grinned. She would have told Laura to get something that would make every guy who saw her drool but she wasn't sure if the girl was at a place yet where she'd be comfortable in that situation. A lot could happen in three months but a lot could also not happen in three months. And the reason she needs to make progress is entirely my fault. It was one of a number of strikes the metamorph had levied against herself while locked up.

Laura stayed still for a moment, staring at space in silence. "I think...I want a leather jacket, one of those with the fluffy neck and wrists." She had never had one of those, and suddenly she felt like the idea of something warm and protective would come in handy. "Eh, okay; I'll go and get your things later today alright? We should do something right now that we can."

"Fluffy? Really?" Vanessa wrinkled her borrowed nose. "Do not buy me anything fluffy. No fuzzy, no feathery, no sequins, no glitter, clear?" She arched an eyebrow and gave Laura her best serious look, which could probably use some work since it had been a while since she had last worn Laura's face. "Later today's fine. I am clearly not going anywhere." Which Vanessa sounded incredibly enthused about. She wondered if she could convince Laura to swap places with her later. Telepathically Vanessa was identical to the girl upon scanning, only the actual thoughts she had would give her away. It was a possibility if she needed to break out entirely or just needed time off.

"Fluff! Or Fuzzy, or whatever. Hey! You gotta try everything at least once. Well, everything but drugs." Drugs were for losers and all that jazz. "I'll buy you the most plain clothes I can manage, but they will be nice. I can't really help that." Laura tilted her head to a side at the odd eye twitch that was Vanessa's serious look. "Aw, you really want to get out of here right? I reckon it would be a terrible idea and Bishop might just kick me from the roof if he were to find out..."

Vanessa blinked. "Did you just say 'reckon'? I think you've been hanging out with Kevin too much, padawan." It was almost cute, though. Besides, the kid made Laura happy so Vanessa pretty much defaulted to approval. "And, uh, yeah. I cannot stand this whole house arrest thing." And why was Laura on the exact same mental wave length as Vanessa? Maybe Vanessa had been using a little too much of Laura's psi imprint when she'd considered a temporary swap. Either way, Laura was proving exactly why Vanessa was so damn fond of her. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, Lucas will likely glare and be more sullenly stoic toward you. But what he doesn't know..." she trailed off.

Laura wasn't the kind that wildly blushed and looked away in embarrassment, so she just blushed lightly and smiled a little. "And one of these days I'm going to see if he finds girls with an accent attractive." Probably not, but it would be worth some laughs. And if asked, Laura would probably say she wouldn't like being trapped neither; surely her habits had rubbed off a bit on Vanessa this time. "Nooo, you know how much effort I have used on making him not look at me like a little girl? Yet he keeps tugging me around from the neck but that's not the point! I think he's finally opening up to me. Or stuff."

... "Ugh, I really want to let you go but I'm worried, too? I just want you to heal before you jump to the big noisy world again." That certainly made her lose a bit of her brightness right there.

"Technically I'm healed but Doctor Grey thinks I'm crazy so she wants McCoy to evaluate me for my level of crazy, thus the house arrest. If I am crazy and they just let me go and I go on a killing spree it would be bad for business, you see. But physically I'm fine." Vanessa even moved her arms and legs all around, bending elbows and rotating feet at the ankle and everything. Soon after, though, she deflated. "I don't want to get you in trouble with Papa Bear, though. Especially if the stoic wonder is finding you growing on him. I'll stay here and behave, okay? And then maybe try to convince him to break me out instead." A dazzling smile broke out across Vanessa's borrowed face.

"Also you know the kind of PR I would get if suddenly someone that looks like me goes on a killing spree? Not to mention the pain that will be cleaning those claws. Ew. I think he would offer himself to walk with you and what not, so don't worry okay?" She was really worried, but at the same time knew that Vanessa was pretty tough. "Now I'm going to hug you, by the way. Okay? Here it goes." So Laura, being a physical person no matter how much she had been suppressing that as of late, stood and awkwardly hugged Vanessa. "God this is just too awkward..." she said as she chuckled.

Something about the warning about being hugged made Vanessa laugh. Maybe it was the "here it goes" part of the forewarning. Vanessa gave Laura credit for warning a potentially unhinged person, and for somehow being adorable about it. She was far less awkward than the young woman about the hug, though. "I don't know, I think it's all homey in a way, hugging your new twin sister Lara, the adventurer!" She laughed and gave Laura a little squeeze before releasing her from the hug.

"I'm calling mom. I'm making her adopt you. Fight me over it if you want, heh." Laura took a step back shortly after, and unsurprisingly enough -for her- she felt her eyes a little puffy. Then she made a little 'aaah' sound and turned around, waving a hand close to her face. "Hm, I'm going on a trip." She turned a bit as to look at her. "You know, to find Kevin. I kinda promised that and my silly boyfriend must be dead bored already anyway. I think I'll leave in a week or so. I don't really know when I'm coming back though. All I know is that I can't drag him back here."

"Wait, where did he go? And...when did he get upgraded to being your boyfriend?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and gave Laura that you've-got-some-explaining-to-do look that mothers the world over exploited to their benefit.

"He went to meet his family; you know, reconnect with his roots, win a thicker accent, make pretty art in the middle of nowhere. Be the romantic kinda guy he sometimes is." She shrugged, realizing how much she already missed Kevin. "And that...it kinda happened? I told him about...you know, the brothel. Freaked him out good, but he said he wanted to help me, like truly be there. And from that it sort of...happened. I don't know." She only knew it felt okay. It still felt okay, that had to mean something.

"Sounds like a good guy. There aren't enough of those in the world so I hope you appreciate that you've got one of the few." Or at least Vanessa assumed he really was, Of course, if he went and hurt Laura Vanessa was liable to hunt him down and make him fully appreciate what pain was. She wouldn't tell Laura that, naturally, but it would happen. It was possible her usual protective streak had become a touch more aggressive than it had been months before. "I hope you have a good trip, though. Do the whole wacky kids in love thing, you know? You might as well while you're young enough for people to not hold it against you when they think you're being irresponsible. Maybe you can get official muse status."

Laura was better off without knowing, yes. Mostly because she didn't want to add something else to her worries about if she was doing the right thing by leaving Vanessa after finding her and bringing her back. "I do, believe me. This is all kind of new to me anyway, so I trust he'll let me know how bad I'm screwing up. And hey, I've never been a muse. I just hope I don't need to study for that one. Are you sure you are going to be alright?" Yeah, she wasn't all that subtle.

Vanessa shrugged and grew visibly more serious than she had been thus far. There were a few ways to answer the inquiry, she supposed, and she figured the one that made her out to be a victim the least was really the way to go. "I've gotten through everything else in my life one way or another. I'll get through this, too. No one says it'll be easy, but the point is more to fight for it, you know?" She gave Laura a small, lopsided quirk of a smile and changed the topic. "But back to being a muse, I think you just need to hang around being fabulous so you're already qualified."

"I know you will. And you can call me whenever you want to. No, I'll call you every week anyway, I promise. And if I can drag him somewhere closer, I will." Even thought she knew that wasn't really possible. Laura stood up, and making a little circle on the spot she stroke a somewhat cute pose."So I already won that game? Cool! It's nice when I don't even need to try. Let's see what I get you to wear then, sister."