Sooraya and Rogue (backdated)
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xp_logsRogue helps Sooraya work through some emotions related to the lynching incident.
Sooraya never missed a date. Never ever ever. Rogue was flaky, and had a bad habit of being late or cancelling at the last minute, but never Sooraya. That was why Rogue was so worried when Sooraya never showed up for their coffee date, and didn't respond to any texts, Rogue waited for almost a half hour in the garage before deciding to come back to Sooraya's room.
Knocking on the door, she called out. 'Sooraya? You there, sugar?"
It took a few moments, but then the door was opened by Sooraya who was furiously dabbing a kerchief against her eyes and a phone in her other hand. "Marie? Is it that time already? Sorry, I was..."
"Oh my god, are you crying?" Duh, Rogue. "Can I come in? what's going on? Wanna talk?"
"Just got of the phone with Ray Miller's oldest sister. She only just learned what had happened and wanted to talk about that and where she could go to say goodbye... apparently she and her and family are not talking anymore or else she'd have taken care of Ray, she said..." Sooraya explained tonelessly once they were seated on the couch.
"Oooh." Rogue nodded her head knowingly. Reaching out a gloved hand, she squeezed Sooraya's hand. "It must be so hard, being that go-to person. How are you feeling with it all?"
"Uhm, differs from moment to moment? With more half the time not even sure how to put it into words?" Sooraya wiped away the last of her tears. "Sorry I was too late though..."
"I don't think you're apologizing about our lunch date here, sugar," Rogue said gently. "I'm here to listen, or here to sit with you, whatever you need."
"I've talked quite a bit with Angel... quite a bit with the Professor..." Sooraya replied a little wryly. "I think I am kinda all talked out if I'm honest. Not sure what else I can do though..."
"But it's still bothering ya, that much is obviously." Rogue chewed on her bottom lip before her eyes lit up. "Have you tried getting your feelings out in a different way? Like art maybe? We could go to the boathouse, do some work together and see if that helps? I'd rather do that than lunch any day!"
"Huh?" Sooraya looked a tad doubtful. "Sounds like an interesting idea... I'd be willing to give it a shot. What exactly did you have in mind? Like drawing or painting?"
"Whatever works best for you." Rogue sat up straighter, her hands animated as she talked. "Some people like more tactile things like carving or pottery, and others like drawing. If you've never done it before, it can be overwhelming. I'd be happy to guide you through it though. Wanna meet in the boathouse in about 30 mins? That'll give me time to set it all up."
"Alright." Sooraya was still a little dubious, but decided to give it a go. "I'll see you in 30 minutes."
***
Twenty five minutes later Sooraya was headed down the path to the boathouse, having used the time to clean up her face a little and she'd changed in an old shirt which she didn't mind getting dirty. Pushing open the door, she looked around with interest. "So what did you come up with?" She asked curiously.
Rogue lifted a paint stained hand to her brow and pushed aside her hair. "Oh, a little of this, a little of that." She motioned to the room. It was set up like stations with a few different mediums represented. There was a space with clay, another with an easel and paints (both oil and watercolour), and another station with pastels and colouring pencils. "I mean, since this is your first time, I thought I'd set a few up, let you pick and just kinda go with whatever you want. This is meant to help you too, by the way, so if it doesn't, or you're not 'getting it', then it's okay to move on. It's not giving up if you do that."
Sooraya eyed each of the stations. She had done a little art before, but things like the pastels and oil paint were new for her. "I'm not sure where to start to be honest." She confessed. "Any suggestions would be welcome?"
Rogue tilted her head back and forth as she judged the situation. Giving Sooraya a critical eye, she pointed to the clay. "Well, since you're basically clay anyways, least when you get wet," Rogue teased, "this might be a good thing for you. Let's sit down, get your hands into it, and just form. I'm gonna throw on some music, and we're just gonna be in the moment, kay? No pressure, no nothing, and if you feel really stumped, we move on. how's that sound?"
"Alright..." Sooraya took a seat at the table with the clay, Marie joining her only a few minutes later. She pulled over a slab, gently squeezing it between her fingers, the clay stiff and cold between her fingers. "I think I remember you have to knead this for a while..." Putting action to word, she started to work the clay between her fingers.
"Pretty much." Rogue took a clump of her own, and started to play with it, enjoying the sensation of the cold material between her fingers. "Sometimes, I think I want to grow my nails out, and have pretty nails like other girls, but I would hate to pick clay out of my nails." She gave her now dirty fingers a critical look. "I really like to just feel what I'm doing, and play with clay. It's so flexible and you can do anything with it."
The clay was quickly warming between Sooraya's hands, becoming supple and a lot easier to handle. With a small spatula she sheared of a part of the clay and began forming it into an oval shape, pointed at one end. "I get why you like working with it."
"It's really only second to painting," Rogue confessed. "I ilke painting the best...or maybe drawing....and then there's pastels..." She shook her head with a smile. "So hard to pick my favourites. Art really helped me when I first came here. I mean, being a teenage runaway isn't the best foundation for anyone but yeah..." She broke off, and looked at her clay intently, already starting to form a rough looking penguin. Clearing her throat, she brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have a way to express myself. Hard to believe, I know, but once upon a time, I used to never talk. I think I was just as bad as Logan."
"That is one example to compare yourself to though... How did you figure out that art helped you?" The rough outline complete, Sooraya started to add various details to the animal she was making. Paws, a snout and some lines to suggest fur. Finally she started rolling out a slender tube of clay.
"I always liked to doodle, especially in class, but then I was all by myself, knew no one, and had no idea what was going on. My doodles kind of became more important to me, and I started to just.....draw." She shrugged a shoulder up to brush some hair out of her face, her hands covered in clay. "I realized that the days I felt the worse, were the days I didn't do something with my hands." She paused and looked up, her eyes filling with emotion. "It's really hard for me to remember what I used to be like. I am such a different person now, in comparison."
Sooraya laughed bitterly as she set about fashioning the tail to the rat that she'd been making. "That sounds totally familiar. I look back sometimes in envy during my early years here at Xavier's... She had such hopes, such faith..."
"Really? I think I'm a better person now. What's going on with you?"
"For one, she was not frustrated and angry much of the time." Sooraya carefully coiled the tail of her rat a bit, then lifted the board she'd been working on to inspect the animal she'd made up close. With a wooden tool she carefully started adding whiskers. "Angry at the rats... both the ones who did it, but especially the police."
Rogue snorted. "Rats, yeah, that sounds about right." Especially considering what Sooraya was making. Rogue wondered if she was even putting the two together. "Anger isn't always a bad thing you know, if it spurs better or greater action. It's when you let it fester..." She trailed off and sighed. "Resentment is a terrible thing."
Setting down her wooden tool, Sooraya looked up from her work. "I know. Just easier said then done?" She replied with a sigh. "I think this is pretty much done..."
The older woman gave a critical look at the mouse before nodding approvingly. "Want to squish it now?"
"I'd like to whack it with a hammer." It shot out before Sooraya could stop herself and she looked down. "Sorry, I should not have said that..."
Rogue broke out in a grin. "Oh honey. Let's do this! In fact, let's make a whole army, and just trample them down, like we're Godzilla and they're the poor little villagers!"
"Wait... what?" Sooraya raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You want me to make more rats first? I am kinda in the mood to... deal with it now." She added a little hesitantly.
"We can deal with it now! Whatever works for you." Rogue smiled brightly. Looking around, she put her hands on her hips for a moment before motioning to Sooraya to stand up. With her super strength, moving the table was a breeze and it created a big space. Moving over to where the clay tools were, she searched until she found one that looked enough like a hammer. "Will this work?"
Sooraya accepted the tool, studying it for a moment. "I suppose this will do." She looked back at Marie, suddenly feeling a little hesitant. "You sure this is not totally idiotic?"
"Mmmmmm nope! It's a physical representation of your feelings. Stomp away, my friend!"
Once more Sooraya looked back and forth between the rat she had made and the tool, then with a deep breath lifted the 'hammer' and let it come down the head of the rat, the clay splitting with a very satisfying squish. Again she raised it, now aiming for the fat body with it's many etched hairs. Her face pulled into a frown as Sooraya lifted the hammer for the third time.
Rogue watched in silence while Sooraya attacked the rat. She noted the tenseness and the anger take over, but frankly, she was okay with that. The younger woman took too much on. Once the figurine was nothing more than a smear against the floor, Rogue made an impressive noise. "Well. I think it's safe to say that you've gotten it out of your system, no?"
"At least a good part of it." Sooraya put down the tool and moved towards the tap, pouring a glass of water. "It does feel better in any case. Maybe I should keep that idea in mind if I end up feeling this way again."
"And now there's only one thing to do," Rogue said, down on her hands and knees cleaning up. Using an old paint rag, the ground was clear in no time. She stood up, and wiped her hands on the backs of her jeans. "I mean, the complete opposite of destroying a figurine is creating a frickin' rainbow. So come on sugar -- let's do some fingerpainting! I can teach ya how to make a turkey from a handprint!"
"Trying to get more positive things to the surface, I guess?" Sooraya shook her head with a small smile and move to help Marie pull over large sheets of paper and the several colors of paint.
"Absolutely!" Rogue smiled at Sooraya. "I bet we could even convince Scott to hang it up in his office."
Sooraya never missed a date. Never ever ever. Rogue was flaky, and had a bad habit of being late or cancelling at the last minute, but never Sooraya. That was why Rogue was so worried when Sooraya never showed up for their coffee date, and didn't respond to any texts, Rogue waited for almost a half hour in the garage before deciding to come back to Sooraya's room.
Knocking on the door, she called out. 'Sooraya? You there, sugar?"
It took a few moments, but then the door was opened by Sooraya who was furiously dabbing a kerchief against her eyes and a phone in her other hand. "Marie? Is it that time already? Sorry, I was..."
"Oh my god, are you crying?" Duh, Rogue. "Can I come in? what's going on? Wanna talk?"
"Just got of the phone with Ray Miller's oldest sister. She only just learned what had happened and wanted to talk about that and where she could go to say goodbye... apparently she and her and family are not talking anymore or else she'd have taken care of Ray, she said..." Sooraya explained tonelessly once they were seated on the couch.
"Oooh." Rogue nodded her head knowingly. Reaching out a gloved hand, she squeezed Sooraya's hand. "It must be so hard, being that go-to person. How are you feeling with it all?"
"Uhm, differs from moment to moment? With more half the time not even sure how to put it into words?" Sooraya wiped away the last of her tears. "Sorry I was too late though..."
"I don't think you're apologizing about our lunch date here, sugar," Rogue said gently. "I'm here to listen, or here to sit with you, whatever you need."
"I've talked quite a bit with Angel... quite a bit with the Professor..." Sooraya replied a little wryly. "I think I am kinda all talked out if I'm honest. Not sure what else I can do though..."
"But it's still bothering ya, that much is obviously." Rogue chewed on her bottom lip before her eyes lit up. "Have you tried getting your feelings out in a different way? Like art maybe? We could go to the boathouse, do some work together and see if that helps? I'd rather do that than lunch any day!"
"Huh?" Sooraya looked a tad doubtful. "Sounds like an interesting idea... I'd be willing to give it a shot. What exactly did you have in mind? Like drawing or painting?"
"Whatever works best for you." Rogue sat up straighter, her hands animated as she talked. "Some people like more tactile things like carving or pottery, and others like drawing. If you've never done it before, it can be overwhelming. I'd be happy to guide you through it though. Wanna meet in the boathouse in about 30 mins? That'll give me time to set it all up."
"Alright." Sooraya was still a little dubious, but decided to give it a go. "I'll see you in 30 minutes."
***
Twenty five minutes later Sooraya was headed down the path to the boathouse, having used the time to clean up her face a little and she'd changed in an old shirt which she didn't mind getting dirty. Pushing open the door, she looked around with interest. "So what did you come up with?" She asked curiously.
Rogue lifted a paint stained hand to her brow and pushed aside her hair. "Oh, a little of this, a little of that." She motioned to the room. It was set up like stations with a few different mediums represented. There was a space with clay, another with an easel and paints (both oil and watercolour), and another station with pastels and colouring pencils. "I mean, since this is your first time, I thought I'd set a few up, let you pick and just kinda go with whatever you want. This is meant to help you too, by the way, so if it doesn't, or you're not 'getting it', then it's okay to move on. It's not giving up if you do that."
Sooraya eyed each of the stations. She had done a little art before, but things like the pastels and oil paint were new for her. "I'm not sure where to start to be honest." She confessed. "Any suggestions would be welcome?"
Rogue tilted her head back and forth as she judged the situation. Giving Sooraya a critical eye, she pointed to the clay. "Well, since you're basically clay anyways, least when you get wet," Rogue teased, "this might be a good thing for you. Let's sit down, get your hands into it, and just form. I'm gonna throw on some music, and we're just gonna be in the moment, kay? No pressure, no nothing, and if you feel really stumped, we move on. how's that sound?"
"Alright..." Sooraya took a seat at the table with the clay, Marie joining her only a few minutes later. She pulled over a slab, gently squeezing it between her fingers, the clay stiff and cold between her fingers. "I think I remember you have to knead this for a while..." Putting action to word, she started to work the clay between her fingers.
"Pretty much." Rogue took a clump of her own, and started to play with it, enjoying the sensation of the cold material between her fingers. "Sometimes, I think I want to grow my nails out, and have pretty nails like other girls, but I would hate to pick clay out of my nails." She gave her now dirty fingers a critical look. "I really like to just feel what I'm doing, and play with clay. It's so flexible and you can do anything with it."
The clay was quickly warming between Sooraya's hands, becoming supple and a lot easier to handle. With a small spatula she sheared of a part of the clay and began forming it into an oval shape, pointed at one end. "I get why you like working with it."
"It's really only second to painting," Rogue confessed. "I ilke painting the best...or maybe drawing....and then there's pastels..." She shook her head with a smile. "So hard to pick my favourites. Art really helped me when I first came here. I mean, being a teenage runaway isn't the best foundation for anyone but yeah..." She broke off, and looked at her clay intently, already starting to form a rough looking penguin. Clearing her throat, she brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have a way to express myself. Hard to believe, I know, but once upon a time, I used to never talk. I think I was just as bad as Logan."
"That is one example to compare yourself to though... How did you figure out that art helped you?" The rough outline complete, Sooraya started to add various details to the animal she was making. Paws, a snout and some lines to suggest fur. Finally she started rolling out a slender tube of clay.
"I always liked to doodle, especially in class, but then I was all by myself, knew no one, and had no idea what was going on. My doodles kind of became more important to me, and I started to just.....draw." She shrugged a shoulder up to brush some hair out of her face, her hands covered in clay. "I realized that the days I felt the worse, were the days I didn't do something with my hands." She paused and looked up, her eyes filling with emotion. "It's really hard for me to remember what I used to be like. I am such a different person now, in comparison."
Sooraya laughed bitterly as she set about fashioning the tail to the rat that she'd been making. "That sounds totally familiar. I look back sometimes in envy during my early years here at Xavier's... She had such hopes, such faith..."
"Really? I think I'm a better person now. What's going on with you?"
"For one, she was not frustrated and angry much of the time." Sooraya carefully coiled the tail of her rat a bit, then lifted the board she'd been working on to inspect the animal she'd made up close. With a wooden tool she carefully started adding whiskers. "Angry at the rats... both the ones who did it, but especially the police."
Rogue snorted. "Rats, yeah, that sounds about right." Especially considering what Sooraya was making. Rogue wondered if she was even putting the two together. "Anger isn't always a bad thing you know, if it spurs better or greater action. It's when you let it fester..." She trailed off and sighed. "Resentment is a terrible thing."
Setting down her wooden tool, Sooraya looked up from her work. "I know. Just easier said then done?" She replied with a sigh. "I think this is pretty much done..."
The older woman gave a critical look at the mouse before nodding approvingly. "Want to squish it now?"
"I'd like to whack it with a hammer." It shot out before Sooraya could stop herself and she looked down. "Sorry, I should not have said that..."
Rogue broke out in a grin. "Oh honey. Let's do this! In fact, let's make a whole army, and just trample them down, like we're Godzilla and they're the poor little villagers!"
"Wait... what?" Sooraya raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You want me to make more rats first? I am kinda in the mood to... deal with it now." She added a little hesitantly.
"We can deal with it now! Whatever works for you." Rogue smiled brightly. Looking around, she put her hands on her hips for a moment before motioning to Sooraya to stand up. With her super strength, moving the table was a breeze and it created a big space. Moving over to where the clay tools were, she searched until she found one that looked enough like a hammer. "Will this work?"
Sooraya accepted the tool, studying it for a moment. "I suppose this will do." She looked back at Marie, suddenly feeling a little hesitant. "You sure this is not totally idiotic?"
"Mmmmmm nope! It's a physical representation of your feelings. Stomp away, my friend!"
Once more Sooraya looked back and forth between the rat she had made and the tool, then with a deep breath lifted the 'hammer' and let it come down the head of the rat, the clay splitting with a very satisfying squish. Again she raised it, now aiming for the fat body with it's many etched hairs. Her face pulled into a frown as Sooraya lifted the hammer for the third time.
Rogue watched in silence while Sooraya attacked the rat. She noted the tenseness and the anger take over, but frankly, she was okay with that. The younger woman took too much on. Once the figurine was nothing more than a smear against the floor, Rogue made an impressive noise. "Well. I think it's safe to say that you've gotten it out of your system, no?"
"At least a good part of it." Sooraya put down the tool and moved towards the tap, pouring a glass of water. "It does feel better in any case. Maybe I should keep that idea in mind if I end up feeling this way again."
"And now there's only one thing to do," Rogue said, down on her hands and knees cleaning up. Using an old paint rag, the ground was clear in no time. She stood up, and wiped her hands on the backs of her jeans. "I mean, the complete opposite of destroying a figurine is creating a frickin' rainbow. So come on sugar -- let's do some fingerpainting! I can teach ya how to make a turkey from a handprint!"
"Trying to get more positive things to the surface, I guess?" Sooraya shook her head with a small smile and move to help Marie pull over large sheets of paper and the several colors of paint.
"Absolutely!" Rogue smiled at Sooraya. "I bet we could even convince Scott to hang it up in his office."
