xp_logs | Rogue and Sooraya; deep discussions

xp_dust posting in

Rogue visits Sooraya as she recovers from the incident last week and they end up having a pretty deep discussion.

Marie!" Sooraya looked up from her tablet, safely wrapped in a blanket on the couch with a large carafe of water next to her. "I'm glad you came. Angel won't let me of the couch still. And with the nice weather outside..." She looked longingly at the sun shining through the window.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner, sugar," Rogue said with a worried look on her face. "Logan and I have been doing a lot of camping lately, what with the nice weather, and I've been gone more often than here." In her hands, she had some treats which she set down on the end table. "I didn't know what to bring, I just grabbed food because well, it's me." Rogue laughed and lifted her shoulders. "I know, I know -- always food with me, but I can't help it. It's the Southern mama in me." With a gloved hand, she reached out and held Sooraya's hand lightly. A solemn look came over her face. "Do you need me to spring ya out? I got ways, y'know. Angel won't know what hit her."

Sooraya covered Marie's hand with her other hand. "There is nothing you could do about that. We all knew there would be risks when we decided to don the leathers." She paused a moment, adding: "I think it scared Angel. I don't remember much, but I think it happened right in front of her."

"Ugh." The sound escaped before Rogue could stop it. She could only imagine what Angel was going through ... and boy, she was being a bad friend. She really should be reaching out to everyone more. "I'm so sorry that happened. But," she said, brightening up, "you're talking, and reading, and you look great. It shouldn't be too much longer before those med peeps say 'yup, you're good, get on out there!'. And can I say," Rogue added, "you really are looking great. This like ....calmness that I haven't seen in a while. it's nice."

A thoughtful look came over Sooraya's face at Marie's last remark. "I do? It's a bit of a weird story though... even for us. I can tell you if you want?" She shifted so Marie could sit next to her and pulled a clean glass from a small table nearby. "Do you want some water as well?"

The older woman could never resist a good story. "Oh I want to hear everything." Sitting down next to Sooraya, Rogue put her hands in her pockets. "Dish. What happened?"

"I mentioned I don't remember much of what had happened at the fight... I think I just wasn't quick enough to go to sand form or something... I remember that it hurt though, something squeezing so tight around my neck." Sooraya paused for a moment. "But that not the strangest thing... Marie, when I was out... Yvette was there."

That was the last thing Rogue was expecting to hear. "...Yvette? Like ....Yvette-Yvette?"

"Yeah, like Yvette-Yvette." Sooraya gave Marie a moment to let it sink in. "It was only very short, but she said some things. Other then that I had to go back. I've been thinking a lot on them, to be honest." After another moment of silence, she added: "I know it might only have been an hallucination... but it was so real and I remember it so clearly. I can't help but thinking it's the real thing..."

Rogue gave a nod. There wasn't anything she was going to say differently. At times of near-death, strange things happened. Rogue had experienced that a few times in her life, she wasn't going to discount anyone's experiences. "What matters is how it affected you and what it means for you, sugar."

Sooraya nodded at that. "She told me to have faith and to have trust. I think she was trying to confirm some things for me I have been wrestling with."

Rogue's eyes widened with understanding. "For sure. That's definitely been a struggle for you lately, and I mean, I've been honoured you've let me come on this journey with you. I just want you to find that inner peace and strength that you haven't had lately."

"It mean... it's still not if everything is suddenly okay. I am still angry in some ways, I still have doubts and questions. But it's like a foundation is back..." Sooraya had to blush a little as she realized Marie's words. "Looking back, I feel more like I've been treating you like an emotional trashcan sometimes."

One dismissive wave and equally dismissive noise later, Rogue simply shook her head. "That's what I'm here for, silly! I'm your friend, and I care about you. You and me, we go way back, and obviously I'm here no matter what."

"I really do appreciate it. You're a good friend to have." Sooraya paused for a moment before continuing on her earlier thread. "But you know what might be the most comforting thought I had when I had the time to think about everything that had happened?"

"What's that?"

It was almost automatic to glance around to see if they were truly alone. "I'd like to think that it means they are waiting for us. Everyone we lost during those days. With whatever it was that Xorn did, that their souls were not lost... as if they'd never existed. That they are waiting in Paradise for us to rejoin them."

Ever since she'd regained her memories, and grieved again, Rogue had tried not to think too hard about their lost life, their lost friends, but at Sooraya's words, Rogue couldn't hold back. Tears almost instantly started to well up in her eyes. "' 'Ro...Jean...Bobby...Yvette...Remy..." Some of them might be here, but they weren't the same. "You think paradise is interdimensional?" She tried to sound peppy, but failed. "Cause god, I hope so."

"I honestly don't know. I just feel they'll be there waiting for us." Sooraya's voice still carried a glimmer of doubt, but her eyes shone brightly. "But you might right Marie. In the first Surah in the Qur'an Allah is called upon as the Lord of all the worlds." After another moment of quiet, she continued: "All I know is that if they were protected in some way, there must have been something that protected them..."

Rogue gave a small smile. "It sounds like you've found yourself again, Sooraya. I'm real happy to hear that, y'know."

"Some of myself at least. The core or foundation seems to be back" Sooraya agreed. "I still have a lot of questions and idea's I'm wrestling with, but I think for now I'll just try to let things settle a bit. Maybe some more puzzle pieces will fall into place."

"Like what?" as far as Rogue knew, the biggest problem for Sooraya had been her lack, or missing, faith.

Sooraya was quiet for a moment, searching for how to put it in words. "The foundation might be back, but things have changed for me. I've changed. So it makes sense to me that the foundation won't look exactly the same and that are the pieces that will need to start falling back into place."

Rogue broke out in a huge grin. "You really have no idea how happy I am to hear that." she gave Sooraya an impulsive hug. "So happy. You sound like you got this figured out, girl. I love it. I love you!"

She returned the hug. "Thanks, Marie... for being there while I went down this road." After a long moment she let go and glancing out of the window, Sooraya changed the subject. "Let's slip outside. We can sit on the porch or something."

The older woman gave an enthusiastic nod. "I think there's some fresh ice tea in the kitchen too. People watching at this time of the day is the best!"