xp_logs | Hope and Dori: Another first encounter (Reply)

Hope meets another very distinctive inhabitant of the mansion.

Hope clutched her book tighter under her arm. After a some days in the mansion, she was finally starting to find her way around a little and she was easily able to find main area's like the kitchen, the library and the rec room. It was to the latest room she was headed now, having grown a little tired of the suite she shared with Tandy and if it was not too busy, she could read there for a while.

As always she quickly checked herself over before entering room to make sure her clothes and hair were neatly arranged and when she was satisfied, she pushed open the door. The room was empty, except for a young woman watching the television. On the screen was a cartoon with people running around and shooting water and fire from their hands. Not wishing to interrupt too much, she said quietly: "Good afternoon."

Dori had smelled and heard someone coming into the room, she turned around and smiled, moving around her tail as it popped back up behind her, "Hey. You're one of the new kids, aren't you? I'm Dori. Nice to meet you!"

She blinked. And blinked again. A man who looked like an angel, a man who looked a little like a demon and now a girl with a tail... almost like a faun or a centaur, half man and half beast. That's it... She was living in one of her fantasy books.

Still, she moved forward a little hesitantly and held out her hand. "I am Hope Abbott. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

"You don't have to be so formal, you know," Dori said, and then offered a bowl of caramel, chocolate and snickers popcorn, "Want some? I'm watching this show, I can start it over, I recorded all the episodes and it's awesome."

Hope just gave her a small smile and cautiously took a seat on the couch. Her book could wait for a few more moments and it would be good to know someone else. She stole a small glance at the girl's tail as she asked: "May I ask what you are watching? It does not seem familiar to me."

"First, stop talking so formally, you don't have to. Secondly, it's called Korra, it's the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, which was like the best show ever," Dori explained, "And this one is really good too."

"I am sorry, but I usually speak this way." Hope explained, stopping herself from giving a small shrug. "What is the show about?" She had heard of Avater: The Last Airbender, but she had never gotten the whole picture on the show. And she certainly had not heard of a sequel.

"Yeah, well, you really don't need to be so formal around here," Dori said happily, "And this is about the reincarnation of Aang, and her name is Korra, and generally about kids with super powers and stuff. It's really, REALLY good."

Kids with super powers and reincarnation made some kind of sense to her, but not in combination with the unknown names. It reminded her of the books she loved to read so much though. "It sounds interesting, though I still cannot really picture it." She said cautiously. "It might be fun to see what it is about." Hesitantly she reached over, taking a little bit of the popcorn and took a dainty bite.

"Well, sit down and I can start it over from the beginning. I own all three seasons of the first series too," Dori said happily.

"I'd like to give it a try. Could you tell me a little more background that will help me follow it better? Especially considering that it is a sequel." Hope wiggled just a little to gain a more comfortable seat on the couch, then crossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap. It was still a little difficult though not to steal glances at the girl's tail.

"If you're really that curious about my tail you can touch it," Dori offered, "Just as long as you don't pull." She noticed that the other girl was staring, which was okay. She was still used to it. At least here no one tormented her because of it.

"I apologize, Dori." Hope blushed a little. "I am still unused to being around visible mutants." She gathered her courage for a few moments and asked: "Did you truly mean what you just said? You would not mind if I..."

"Yeah, as long as you don't pull it or anything," Dori said, moving it a bit, the brownish red fluff well groomed and clean, "I mean, best to get it out of your system now. And hey, you can't be as bad as my little brother after I manifested. He pretty much made a game out of pulling it."

A little hesitantly she reached out with her hand and touched Dori's tail. It felt rather soft and she patted it a little. Her other hand came up to cover her mouth as she giggled a little. Quickly she pulled her hand back though. "Thank you, Dori." She said simply.

"Hey, no problem," Dori said, her tail twitching a bit, "I figure it's better to do right now so it doesn't like eat you up or anything."

"It would not have 'eaten me up'." Hope replied with a small smile. "Where I grew up we did not have any visible mutations, so it is... very different." She finished. Hope turned back to the TV and frowned a little at the opening narration. "They are the characters from the previous series?" She gestured at the drawing of Aang, Katara and the others that flashed over the screen.

"Yep, I have all of that on DVD too if you want to borrow it," Dori said simply.

"Thank you. I will certainly keep your offer in mind." Hope gave her another smile. "Though maybe I should see if I enjoy this episode before making plans... I do enjoy reading fantasy, so this might be fun."