![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
xp-wolfsbane.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsRahne gets to meet Illyana and Xavin, her new suitemates. It's overwhelming and a bit weird at times but at the end, there's the offer of food.
Rahne stood uncomfortably in the middle of her room, feeling very much out of place with her bags at her feet. She'd been shown to her room and told to relax, get settled, if she didn't feel like venturing out after her tour. The smells alone had convinced the Scot that retreating to a smaller space would be for the best but now that she was here ...
She swallowed a rush of tears and slowly sat down on the bed that didn't smell like it had been occupied. There was a roommate - an Illyana? - and someone else in the suite they were sharing. Which was good. Maybe. She'd never had a roommate or anything like it ever. Just Reverend Craig.
Thinking about him made her reach up to touch the silver cross that hung around her neck in an oddly long chain and she sighed, drawing comfort from the feel of it.
"Hey," said a blonde girl from the doorway, awkwardly crossing her arms. "Are you, um . . . Rahne? Xavin, Rahne's here!" she yelled back out into the suite, without waiting for an answer.
Xavin had been watching youtube videos on a Starkpad and pulled off headphones to look at Illyana and smiled at Rahne. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Xavin. That-" this was said with a point at Illyana, "is Illyana. And this is our suite. I get my own room, 'cos I'm the oldest and then you two get to share."
Rahne took a deep breath. "Um, hello. I hope I didn't take yer bed, it didn't ..." She flushed. Telling someone something didn't smell like them was probably very rude. "Didn't look used?" That sounded lame but better than "it didn't smell like ye". "Sorry, that sounded weird but it's been a very weird few weeks, aye? And I was warned about jetlag, which sounds just awful."
She wondered if Illyana had just moved in since the room seemed awfully empty and decided that was safe enough to ask. "Have ye both been here long?"
"No," Illyana said, obviously not sure what to respond to. "I'm not staying that long," she added, because it seemed like the girl needed . . . comfort?
Xavin sighed. "Uhuh." 'I'm not staying long' had become a constant refrain Ilyana's side of the suite, related to everything from fritos wrappers to the bathroom incident. "I've been here a couple months now, almost but Scotland. I mean, whoa. That's just so..."
"Far away?" Rahne supplied with a smile. "Aye, it is! The flight took forever and I ..." She blushed. Or was still blushing. It was hard to tell. "I've never flown before and Miles and I apparently get airsick," she said sheepishly as she edged into the common area, impressed that all this space was theirs to share. It was the fanciest set up she'd ever seen. "Before that it was quite nice. I don't have much in the way of stuff, so I won't be taking up too much of yer space."
Illyana blinked at this unexpected - and unnecessary - courtesy. "I sleep there," she said, pointing at the corner of the room with the best view of the windows and door. A carefully folded blanket and a pillow were indeed stacked unobtrusively on the floor. She paused, scanning the room for anything else she considered 'hers'. "That's pretty much it."
Xavin had worked on a just don't look just don't look theory about Illyana's room up until now because on the one hand, there was morbid curiosity and on the other, there was the sinking feeling that the more you knew, the more you'd have to call Rogue and be all 'I know you're not really a counsellor but...' "You sleep on the floor? But that's... Um." Xavin took a deep breath, edited the reply and went with "Okay!" bright, cheerful and determindly smiling. "Rahne, have you seen the rest of the suite and had a tour around the mansion yet?" Because maybe it was time to bring out the Illyana Warnings.
She slept on the floor? That was ... worrying. But Reverend Craig had always taught her not to judge, though Rahne briefly wondered if he ever encountered a girl sleeping on the floor next to a very nice bed? Luckily, her attention was directed back to Xavin and she smiled. "Nay. They said I should rest but ..." She gave a slight shrug. "I don't feel all that tired." Sooraya had shown her around some of the mansion but she knew there was far more to explore.
Suddenly Rahne's smile fell completely off her face and she twisted her hands together. "Before that, though, ye all should know. Because I don't want to scare any of ye. I ... I ..." Rahne couldn't lift her eyes from the suddenly interesting carpet. "I turn into a w-wolf. Sometimes. Actually, more than sometimes. I can't control it yet and it just happens but I haven't done anything horrible to anyone, I promise! I don't get much warning when it happens..."
Xavin nodded, biting a lip and held out a hand to Rahne sympathetically. That anxiety was so very, very familiar, only without the potential of getting eaten. Just beaten up or something. "You turn into a wolf? Wow. That's... Wow. You know, I'm a shapeshifter, too."
"Yeah, sometimes Xavin looks like a guy," Illyana said dismissively, like this was something completely unworthy of comment. "So you just turn into a regular wolf?" Illyana eyed Rahne skeptically, tilting her head like she couldn't quite see it. "That's it? Not a super-sized one? No breathing fire? Flying? Poisoned claws?" From the sounds of it, she could go on, but restrained herself out of some hazy idea of politeness.
Rahne's eyes had jerked up from the carpet and at Xavin but then to Illyana and she tried to process everything. "Ye are? Really? Do ye ... can ye control it? Or is just ... poof?" She made her hands flutter around slightly in a vague hand gesture that she didn't quite understand herself. "I just go poof." She sounded really glum.
Though Illyana's questions were pulling her out of that state and more into 'really confused'. "Nay?" she said hesitantly. "Does that happen to people here? I am bigger than a normal wolf, I suppose? Dr. Moira said so but I really don't know how big wolves are supposed to be. I'm nay supersized though." She squinted slightly, trying to work out her thoughts. "As long as I don't breathe fire as a wolf we'll be okay as roommates?"
Xavin gave a frustrated headshake. "I can't control it, really. It's just - now I'm this shape and now I'm going to try really hard to not shift because I gotta go to school or ... whatever." Xavin bit a lip, arms crossed tightly and looked away for a moment. "I can't control it." There was a pause and then, focusing back on Rahne, "Do you think... do you think you could show us? It's so much cooler than my powers or ... whatever it is Illyana does. Like, what do you actually do?"
Illyana rolled her eyes at this question, as though it was totally irrelevant - not only to the conversation, but to life in general. "Teleporting," she said. "Sometimes. Not right now. I'm still a little run down." She focused back on Rahne. "So what you're saying is that other than growing a fluffy tail and some pointy teeth, wolf-you is still you?"
Oh my god, she turns into a puppy. Xavin didn't say this out loud, because it would just be too weird and it was already too weird but. She turns into a puppy!
"You teleport?" Xavin asked Illyana. "No shit!"
Teleporting sounded way better than turning into a wolf. Rahne wished they'd gotten to pick their own powers - that would have been nice. Maybe something like teleporting or flying? Turning into a wolf would have been on the bottom of her list. Like, number 10000 even. She focused on the most important question first, though. "Aye, it's still me!" she said in a rush. "I'm just ... just fuzzy. And big. And I rip through my clothes, which is really annoying. Ah ... sorry Xavin, I wish I could but I haven't found the ..." She searched for the right word and caught the sight of Xavin's game. "On button?"
She sighed a little. "I wish I could teleport. That sounds really awesome."
"It's all right," Illyana said, shrugging like this was really not something she gave a lot of thought to. "Anyway, as long as you're not dangerous I don't know what you're so worried about."
Xavin nodded. "I know, right? Teleporting would be so much better than this," which was said with a vague hand-wavy gesture up and down. "Seriously, Illyana, why do you have to get all the luck?"
Illyana blinked, tilted her head to the side. "That's just how things turned out, I guess," she said finally, blandly. She glanced at Rahne. "Are you hungry? The food here's free."
That got Rahne's attention. She'd eaten before they'd left Muir but, well, then she'd gotten sick and had transformed once, so her body was calling for more food. "I ... I could eat," she said quickly, trying not to seem too eager. She was also tired but Dr. Moira had warned her to not sleep until it was actually time for bed so eating sounded like the next best thing. "We can just go into the kitchen at any time?" she asked, wondering if there were precise times for meals.
Xavin nodded, saying "Yeah. It's not a jail or anything." There was a pause and then, after eyeing Illyana, said "Not a literal jail! Figure of speech. You can use the kitchen downstairs outside of set meals or use our kitchenette but that's really just a pannini press and a microwave and a toaster oven. I want to get a pancake maker, too, because then I'd never have to leave." Xavin paused again and said "Um. Just so you know. Illyana is kind of... look, don't joke about things like there being demons in the computer around her or anything because she gets upset if you use metaphors. Or screw with her. You know."
"Xavin lies a lot," Illyana explained matter-of-factly, totally unbothered by Xavin's characterization of her. "I think it might be a mental thing."
Well, it was nice to know that she'd been roomed with two very ... interesting people. "Ah, no demons, got it," Rahne said slowly, one of her hands going up to tug slightly at the cross at her neck. Because one couldn't be too careful, right? She glanced shyly at Xavin, thinking she didn't look like someone who lied but then she had only known her - him? Her head swam but she couldn't bring herself to ask, as it seemed too personal - a little while. "No demons, no lying," she said, starting over. "But food?"
"I'm not a liar, Illyana. Don't be a jerk." Turning to Rahne, Xavin said "yeah. I'm going down to the main kitchen to do some sandwiches and... Maybe some mac and cheese. Want to come? You too, Illyana."
Catching Rahne's eye while Xavin's attention was elsewhere, Illyana tilted her head significantly at Xavin and nodded. Definitely lies a lot being the implication, although it didn't seem to upset the blonde girl at all. "I bet they have that chocolate cereal still," Illyana said. "Sure."
Rahne suddenly wondered what, exactly, she'd gotten herself into. But maybe all of them where like this? And she was just going to have to adapt? Maybe everyone was like this and she was the weird one. It wasn't like she'd had a lot of friends or hung out with kids her own age lately. Instead of voicing that, she gave a wobbly smile. "I like chocolate," she said, knowing that food really was a great idea.
Rahne stood uncomfortably in the middle of her room, feeling very much out of place with her bags at her feet. She'd been shown to her room and told to relax, get settled, if she didn't feel like venturing out after her tour. The smells alone had convinced the Scot that retreating to a smaller space would be for the best but now that she was here ...
She swallowed a rush of tears and slowly sat down on the bed that didn't smell like it had been occupied. There was a roommate - an Illyana? - and someone else in the suite they were sharing. Which was good. Maybe. She'd never had a roommate or anything like it ever. Just Reverend Craig.
Thinking about him made her reach up to touch the silver cross that hung around her neck in an oddly long chain and she sighed, drawing comfort from the feel of it.
"Hey," said a blonde girl from the doorway, awkwardly crossing her arms. "Are you, um . . . Rahne? Xavin, Rahne's here!" she yelled back out into the suite, without waiting for an answer.
Xavin had been watching youtube videos on a Starkpad and pulled off headphones to look at Illyana and smiled at Rahne. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Xavin. That-" this was said with a point at Illyana, "is Illyana. And this is our suite. I get my own room, 'cos I'm the oldest and then you two get to share."
Rahne took a deep breath. "Um, hello. I hope I didn't take yer bed, it didn't ..." She flushed. Telling someone something didn't smell like them was probably very rude. "Didn't look used?" That sounded lame but better than "it didn't smell like ye". "Sorry, that sounded weird but it's been a very weird few weeks, aye? And I was warned about jetlag, which sounds just awful."
She wondered if Illyana had just moved in since the room seemed awfully empty and decided that was safe enough to ask. "Have ye both been here long?"
"No," Illyana said, obviously not sure what to respond to. "I'm not staying that long," she added, because it seemed like the girl needed . . . comfort?
Xavin sighed. "Uhuh." 'I'm not staying long' had become a constant refrain Ilyana's side of the suite, related to everything from fritos wrappers to the bathroom incident. "I've been here a couple months now, almost but Scotland. I mean, whoa. That's just so..."
"Far away?" Rahne supplied with a smile. "Aye, it is! The flight took forever and I ..." She blushed. Or was still blushing. It was hard to tell. "I've never flown before and Miles and I apparently get airsick," she said sheepishly as she edged into the common area, impressed that all this space was theirs to share. It was the fanciest set up she'd ever seen. "Before that it was quite nice. I don't have much in the way of stuff, so I won't be taking up too much of yer space."
Illyana blinked at this unexpected - and unnecessary - courtesy. "I sleep there," she said, pointing at the corner of the room with the best view of the windows and door. A carefully folded blanket and a pillow were indeed stacked unobtrusively on the floor. She paused, scanning the room for anything else she considered 'hers'. "That's pretty much it."
Xavin had worked on a just don't look just don't look theory about Illyana's room up until now because on the one hand, there was morbid curiosity and on the other, there was the sinking feeling that the more you knew, the more you'd have to call Rogue and be all 'I know you're not really a counsellor but...' "You sleep on the floor? But that's... Um." Xavin took a deep breath, edited the reply and went with "Okay!" bright, cheerful and determindly smiling. "Rahne, have you seen the rest of the suite and had a tour around the mansion yet?" Because maybe it was time to bring out the Illyana Warnings.
She slept on the floor? That was ... worrying. But Reverend Craig had always taught her not to judge, though Rahne briefly wondered if he ever encountered a girl sleeping on the floor next to a very nice bed? Luckily, her attention was directed back to Xavin and she smiled. "Nay. They said I should rest but ..." She gave a slight shrug. "I don't feel all that tired." Sooraya had shown her around some of the mansion but she knew there was far more to explore.
Suddenly Rahne's smile fell completely off her face and she twisted her hands together. "Before that, though, ye all should know. Because I don't want to scare any of ye. I ... I ..." Rahne couldn't lift her eyes from the suddenly interesting carpet. "I turn into a w-wolf. Sometimes. Actually, more than sometimes. I can't control it yet and it just happens but I haven't done anything horrible to anyone, I promise! I don't get much warning when it happens..."
Xavin nodded, biting a lip and held out a hand to Rahne sympathetically. That anxiety was so very, very familiar, only without the potential of getting eaten. Just beaten up or something. "You turn into a wolf? Wow. That's... Wow. You know, I'm a shapeshifter, too."
"Yeah, sometimes Xavin looks like a guy," Illyana said dismissively, like this was something completely unworthy of comment. "So you just turn into a regular wolf?" Illyana eyed Rahne skeptically, tilting her head like she couldn't quite see it. "That's it? Not a super-sized one? No breathing fire? Flying? Poisoned claws?" From the sounds of it, she could go on, but restrained herself out of some hazy idea of politeness.
Rahne's eyes had jerked up from the carpet and at Xavin but then to Illyana and she tried to process everything. "Ye are? Really? Do ye ... can ye control it? Or is just ... poof?" She made her hands flutter around slightly in a vague hand gesture that she didn't quite understand herself. "I just go poof." She sounded really glum.
Though Illyana's questions were pulling her out of that state and more into 'really confused'. "Nay?" she said hesitantly. "Does that happen to people here? I am bigger than a normal wolf, I suppose? Dr. Moira said so but I really don't know how big wolves are supposed to be. I'm nay supersized though." She squinted slightly, trying to work out her thoughts. "As long as I don't breathe fire as a wolf we'll be okay as roommates?"
Xavin gave a frustrated headshake. "I can't control it, really. It's just - now I'm this shape and now I'm going to try really hard to not shift because I gotta go to school or ... whatever." Xavin bit a lip, arms crossed tightly and looked away for a moment. "I can't control it." There was a pause and then, focusing back on Rahne, "Do you think... do you think you could show us? It's so much cooler than my powers or ... whatever it is Illyana does. Like, what do you actually do?"
Illyana rolled her eyes at this question, as though it was totally irrelevant - not only to the conversation, but to life in general. "Teleporting," she said. "Sometimes. Not right now. I'm still a little run down." She focused back on Rahne. "So what you're saying is that other than growing a fluffy tail and some pointy teeth, wolf-you is still you?"
Oh my god, she turns into a puppy. Xavin didn't say this out loud, because it would just be too weird and it was already too weird but. She turns into a puppy!
"You teleport?" Xavin asked Illyana. "No shit!"
Teleporting sounded way better than turning into a wolf. Rahne wished they'd gotten to pick their own powers - that would have been nice. Maybe something like teleporting or flying? Turning into a wolf would have been on the bottom of her list. Like, number 10000 even. She focused on the most important question first, though. "Aye, it's still me!" she said in a rush. "I'm just ... just fuzzy. And big. And I rip through my clothes, which is really annoying. Ah ... sorry Xavin, I wish I could but I haven't found the ..." She searched for the right word and caught the sight of Xavin's game. "On button?"
She sighed a little. "I wish I could teleport. That sounds really awesome."
"It's all right," Illyana said, shrugging like this was really not something she gave a lot of thought to. "Anyway, as long as you're not dangerous I don't know what you're so worried about."
Xavin nodded. "I know, right? Teleporting would be so much better than this," which was said with a vague hand-wavy gesture up and down. "Seriously, Illyana, why do you have to get all the luck?"
Illyana blinked, tilted her head to the side. "That's just how things turned out, I guess," she said finally, blandly. She glanced at Rahne. "Are you hungry? The food here's free."
That got Rahne's attention. She'd eaten before they'd left Muir but, well, then she'd gotten sick and had transformed once, so her body was calling for more food. "I ... I could eat," she said quickly, trying not to seem too eager. She was also tired but Dr. Moira had warned her to not sleep until it was actually time for bed so eating sounded like the next best thing. "We can just go into the kitchen at any time?" she asked, wondering if there were precise times for meals.
Xavin nodded, saying "Yeah. It's not a jail or anything." There was a pause and then, after eyeing Illyana, said "Not a literal jail! Figure of speech. You can use the kitchen downstairs outside of set meals or use our kitchenette but that's really just a pannini press and a microwave and a toaster oven. I want to get a pancake maker, too, because then I'd never have to leave." Xavin paused again and said "Um. Just so you know. Illyana is kind of... look, don't joke about things like there being demons in the computer around her or anything because she gets upset if you use metaphors. Or screw with her. You know."
"Xavin lies a lot," Illyana explained matter-of-factly, totally unbothered by Xavin's characterization of her. "I think it might be a mental thing."
Well, it was nice to know that she'd been roomed with two very ... interesting people. "Ah, no demons, got it," Rahne said slowly, one of her hands going up to tug slightly at the cross at her neck. Because one couldn't be too careful, right? She glanced shyly at Xavin, thinking she didn't look like someone who lied but then she had only known her - him? Her head swam but she couldn't bring herself to ask, as it seemed too personal - a little while. "No demons, no lying," she said, starting over. "But food?"
"I'm not a liar, Illyana. Don't be a jerk." Turning to Rahne, Xavin said "yeah. I'm going down to the main kitchen to do some sandwiches and... Maybe some mac and cheese. Want to come? You too, Illyana."
Catching Rahne's eye while Xavin's attention was elsewhere, Illyana tilted her head significantly at Xavin and nodded. Definitely lies a lot being the implication, although it didn't seem to upset the blonde girl at all. "I bet they have that chocolate cereal still," Illyana said. "Sure."
Rahne suddenly wondered what, exactly, she'd gotten herself into. But maybe all of them where like this? And she was just going to have to adapt? Maybe everyone was like this and she was the weird one. It wasn't like she'd had a lot of friends or hung out with kids her own age lately. Instead of voicing that, she gave a wobbly smile. "I like chocolate," she said, knowing that food really was a great idea.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-07-09 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-07-09 03:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-07-09 05:07 am (UTC)I'm going to have to follow up with an "I think Illyana is crazy and she sleeps on the floor and we found that she keeps bags of cheetos in the closet" log.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-11 01:20 am (UTC)