LOG: Vance meets Sooraya

[x-justice.livejournal.com]

It was a gorgeous Easter Sunday, the day clear and cloudless and the temperature in the sixties. They perfect day for getting out your Sunday best and going to church and then a nice lunch afterwards. Or in Vance's case, a great day to go for a run outside. Vance was returning from a late morning run, perspiration drenching his t-shirt. The earbuds to his mp3 player were hanging from his shoulders as Vance uncapped a bottle of water and took a drink as he continued to walk towards the mansion.


Sooraya quickly made her way to the stables. She had been unable to ride for much of the winter, so now that the weather was nice and the ground dry enough, she wanted to take advantage. She never really payed any attention to Easter, though she was familiar with what the holiday meant, so today was perfect to go riding. Her mind was already on Ginger, the horse she favored to ride. She always seemed to go more smoothly without a saddle. She was lost in thought so she almost bumped into the man of the path. "I am sorry. I almost didn't see you."


"Careful there," Vance said as Sooraya almost ran into him, and stepped back to mirror her own dodge of unexpected contact. The older gentleman offered a slight smile and lifted his free hand in greeting. "No worries, though. Just would hate to knock you down by accident and get your riding clothes dirty."

"I'm Vance," he said as he turned his hand to offer it to Sooraya. "Headed out to enjoy a beautiful day?"


"I am Sooraya Qadir." She accepted his hand and shook it briefly. "I was planning on going riding. The weather is pretty nice and the ground is dry enough. You are fairly new, right?"


"Yes," Vance nodded as he answered. "I've only been here a couple of weeks. The Professor was kind enough to invite me here, even though I am well above the average age for mansion residents, it seems."

"How long have you lived here?" Vance queried, still unfamiliar with the wealth of students, current and past, who had lived at the mansion.


"I have lived here of and on for several years. I came here for the first time in 2006 from Afghanistan. Most recently I returned here last November." Sooraya explained briefly. "And I have seen people of many ages and backgrounds here for some help with their powers or some other kind of help..."


"Mmm," Vance confirmed with a nod. "I guess the Professor has a knack for finding those in need. Nice to see that a school like this exists. I wish I'd heard about it a few years ago," he said, his tone slightly wistful and thoughtful. "How do you find it here?"


"I like it here a great deal. It has become my home throughout the years." Sooraya spoke honestly. "The people here have given me chances I never thought I could have. May I ask how you did hear from school?" She asked, a little curious about the background of the new inhabitant.


"The Professor found me, actually," Vance explained as he seemed to withdraw just slightly. "I-- needed some help. The Professor came and talked to me for a while. He spoke for me, too. Helped some other people understand what I was going through."

Vance stopped quietly and looked in the direction of the mansion before looking back to Sooraya. "He and I have been speaking for a few years now. I just haven't been able to come here until recently."


A small frown crossed Sooraya's face for just a second. There was clearly more to the story here, but she also knew very well it was not uncommon for newcomers to mansion to have a difficult past. "Then I am glad for you that you can be here now." She said gently, leaving it completely up to him if he wanted to share anything more. "I hope you will get used to things quickly. It can be a little crazy here sometimes..."


"Thank you," Vance said, and offered another slight smile despite the reticence he had shown. "I think I will be able to. It seems like a good place where you can kind of... find out who you are. What you want to do with yourself."


"Yes, it can be." Sooraya nodded. "I would not have become the person I am today without the school..." She would have still have been in Afghanistan, married and a mother already probably. And that would have been in the best of circumstances. Worse things could have happened if she had remained a slave. "You mentioned you studied criminology?"


"Studying," Vance corrected gently with a smile. "I am in my last semester, so to speak. I'll be taking my final exams online before May is over. Once that's done," Vance said, his hands spreading slightly, "I'll be officially graduated from college. Finally."


"I hope you pass all your exams." Sooraya said sincerely. "Any plans for afterwards already?" She paused a second, remembering his earlier hesitation. "If you want to share, or course..."


"I'm not sure, really," Vance admitted, though he gave Sooraya another smile at her words of encouragement. "Though I thought of talking to the folks over at X-Factor Investigations. See how I can lend a hand there, or even what they might have to teach me."

He took a drink from the bottle of water and paused for a few seconds before adding, "Other than that? Maybe I can help make a difference with the X-Men. Or at least train with them for now. Learn better control over what I can do." Vance flashed another smile, this one a little bittersweet, touched with a thread of pain, "Something I wish I'd had years ago."


The puzzle pieces were not really that hard to put together. Something bad had probably happened with Vance his powers, since he mentioned the professor finding him and speaking and explaining things, and it probably had something to do with a lack of control, considering he mentioned finally being able to train... And it was a familiar story, that she has heard both at the mansion and in Attilan several times. "You'll have that chance now... I hope things go well." Sooraya spoke hesitantly, not sure how far she should go with someone who was more or less a stranger she had just met outside the mansion.


"I hope so too," Vance agreed quietly, unaware of any assumptions that Sooraya had made. "Either way, my coming here really allows me a fresh start, to be able to do something with my life. To make a difference." The young man gave Sooraya another smile, this one considerably brighter than the ones previous. "From what I understand, that is what the Professor is all about. What this school is all about. I'm just glad to get the chance."


Sooraya nodded. "That is what the school managed to do for me. But I have to get going now. There are some dark clouds and I hope to ride before the weather turns... It was nice meeting you." She gave him a smile and a nod.


"It was nice meeting you too, Sooraya. Enjoy your ride," Vance said as he turned away from the young woman and headed back towards the mansion. Before he got too far, he turned his head halfway and threw back over his shoulder, "I hope the rain holds off for you!" And then he continued walking.


"Thanks!" Sooraya looked after him for a moment before continuing her way towards the stables. Then she stopped and looked around, watching him enter the mansion. That had been quite a nice looking man...