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xp_logsApril checks out the library and meets Alani face-to-face.
Following the questioning of her librarian status, Alani had used the label maker to whack an 'assistant librarian' tag onto a cheap 'birthday boy' ribbon, which she pointedly wore whenever she was in the library. Even if she was just sitting behind the main counter, skimming through her textbooks and taking notes once reshelving had been completed for the day. It was still early enough in most people's semester that it was quiet, but with that, she got antsy just doing her own work. At the sound of the doors opening, she sat up straighter, craning her neck slightly to see who had entered, she was surprised to see a face she'd only seen on the journals. "Oh, hey, uh, A - I know it starts with an "a" but I got that no memory uni brain. I'm Alani, this is our library, and what can I help you with?"
"April," she replied. "Nice to meet you, and I get it. No thoughts, only coursework up here." April tapped her temple with a wry grin, setting her backpack on the table with a small thunk. "What are the odds I can get a light novel for fun reading and Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near for class? I imagine I'll need to stick to the university library for the more technical books I might need."
"Well, April, it's a pleasure to meet you face-to-face." Alani flashed an easy smile before turning to the computer in front of her to type in the title that had been mentioned. "Well, while I look this up why don't you kinda gimme a ballpark of what you find fun to read. I'm a fantasy bitch myself, depending on the author I like a good urban mix, so I could recommend some of those? Alternatively, any genre you don't like?" The question trailed off as she found the book was in the system and shelved, which made her pump her fist in victory. "Good news, Mr. Kurzweil is present and accounted for. I'll walk you over and you can tell me what you're interested in?"
"Excellent." April waited by the desk until Alani had walked past, then followed her deeper into the room. "I do a lot of modern urban fiction and romcom, mostly because they don't require a lot of backstory to sink into the way sci-fi and fantasy can. When I've got more time, I don't mind digging into those, and I don't care if it's adult or teen focused. Mostly stay away from gore and true crime. Real life's bad enough sometimes without worrying about skin-stealing serial killers or shit like that. I'll take a rec though."
Alani hummed in thought as she walked past. Of course she could have just given April the call number, but she wanted to stretch her legs and also do her best to befriend the girl, if not get a feel for her. "No thought books can definitely be nice, especially if you're suffering from coursework brain. If you're good with what some people consider kids books, I think we have the whole Young Wizards series, and I think they're a pretty good read myself. But, I mean, like, they deal with some real issues..." She trailed off and stopped herself from making a face at some of the grittier reads that sprang to mind at the mention of true crimes. "God, innit just? Like, I don't judge, but for me gore and based on true crime stuff is just something I never much got into. I'll definitely write you a rec list, for when you get settled."
"A rec list would be great. I don't mind books geared at older kids and teens. Bit past Ramona Quimby, but things geared at roughly the 12 and up crowd is fine. Urban fantasy's fine too. I didn't really care for Anita Blake, but the little bit of the Hollows series I've read is pretty good. Non-fiction's good sometimes too, but I'm pickier there." April noticed the book she'd come in looking for almost immediately as they stopped in front of the shelves and carefully pulled it free. "Always nice to not spend money at the bookstore," she quipped. "So, what are you doing for school?"
"Past the Spiderwick Chronicles? They have cool drawings." But Alani was grinning, unbothered as she mentally went through the books she knew that might fit. "I know one of the authors from Spiderwick did a modern fairy tales series, but if memory serves it's a bit on the gritty side. She wrote another magic series as well, think the first book is White Cat, and I remember enjoying that." Realizing she'd gone on a small tangent, she flushed a little. "Oh, psych and social justice. I'm finishing up my undergrad this year, and trying to pick my grad school currently. You?"
"I don't.. hm" April thought through her shared memories of reading. "I think we only read the first Spiderwick book," she said with a laugh. "Can't remember why, though. And I'm in mechanical engineering. It's mostly lab work, plus the last of the electives they require. But my class on cellular engineering is just.. it's so cool. I really love seeing the different applications for nanotech, especially in the medical field. Does social justice have as much arguing in the classroom as it does online?"
At the use of the word 'we,' Alani cocked her head, interested in what she'd meant but instead deciding to file that away for later, as most people weren't as... talkative as she was. She perked back up as April talked about her own major and course interests. "Well that sounds so cool, and way beyond my own understanding of it. I'm not the most techy here, but if you're interested I know there are some people here who'd probably have a field day talking it with you. Arguing? I mean, not the screaming matches some people get into online, but some people have different ideas, sure. I think once you get to year four, like me, they've mostly been weeded out."
"It's good the tend to get weeded out, because ugh, the idea of sitting in a classroom with people that think they're the cleverest whatever in the room and everyone else is just a mindless drone? Pass. It was bad enough dealing with Chuck in our shared major courses, the last thing I wanted to do was be in a room half full of people just as obnoxiously high on their own farts." April's face scrunched unpleasantly at the idea. "It seems like sometimes people take those sorts of classes just to derail the topics and make it a waste of time and money for everyone else, and that's not enjoyable."
"Ah, so you know the type?" And Alani couldn’t help the face she made at the memories of such classmates, people who refused to accept the world as others experienced it or worse took the courses as if they were a zoo exhibit to interact with, question, and then deny the lived experiences. Definitely in her top ten least favorite people type. “I’ve been fortunate in interacting with people who take the courses seriously, or at the very least come in with an open-mind and willingness to learn what the professor and others tell them. Well, and I live here, so I can gripe dramatically to people if they’re willing to lend me an ear. Which is always the best, and if you have a classmate like that this year I’m totally willing to bemoan with you.” She gave her a wink at that. “Or suggest mindless books to consume while you have to deal with them.”
"It hasn't been that bad. The class I'm reading Kurzwell for is upper level, so most of the discourse is good. Unnerving sometimes, but we're talking about things like AI, genetics, and nanotech, which of course also brings the inevitable discussion about mutants and theories about alien races intermingling with our own." April shrugged. "I am the intersection of some of those, and my focus has been on nanotech since I learned about it, so it gets... interesting. Dad... He's a big believer in giving second chances, and also in thinking things through. He'd be incredibly disappointed if I became one of those people that do things just because I can without considering if I should, even though he's not here to see it."
"I...think I understand, I mean, to be honest you're a bit above my pay grade, but those are important points to think about and I can see how that'd connect with the advancement of technology and AI." Alani flashed a toothy grin. "Ah, the intersectionality of identity and how it shapes us. Well, and fathers. He sounds like a good one, I'm sorry he's not here, but I'm sure he'd be happy with you thinking about your actions and how it affects those around you." She began to twirl a strand of hair, before finally giving in to her nosy nature. "Can I ask, what intersections you are? No pressure, honest! I am just, hmm, curious by nature."
"With great power comes great responibility," April quoted. "Basically the Parker family motto at this point, as deeply as the sentiment's been drilled into our brains and natures." She rubbed the back of her neck, giving Alani a wry grin. "Other than human and enhanced? Ah.. woman with privilege bingo, minus the blonde hair. You?"
"As good a motto as any, that. I mean, not everyone can be 'We gladly feast on those who would subdue us,' which is S-tier." Alani nodded, going over what she remembered about the other woman's introduction. "Enhanced like your genes were altered in utero? Oh, we're doing bingo. Hm, I'm two parts Polynesian islanders, a mutant, and a not straight woman, so government officials fear me, fish want me." She laughed at her own joke. "That last part's not true, I don't know how fish feel about me. Did I get a bingo?"
"Not privileged bingo?" April half-asked, half-laughed. "And more.. enhanced like grown in a lab? I don't know the specifics because the papers were destroyed shortly after they found me, but Osborn definitely tinkered with my genetics. Dad and May don't have organic webbing, for example. It's been common enough knowledge since I was found and brought into the family that I don't consider it a secret worth keeping around people I'm living with for the long term."
"Mhmm." Of course, Alani suddenly wished she thought to ask these questions earlier, if only to fully process what had just been said. "Ookay, wow, that's- My god, you've really run the gamut, and then the portal spat you out somewhere else entirely. Thank you for telling me, curiosity stated. Uh... You're okay? I mean, ugh, that's a stupid question, and I know. Um, I work with kids sometimes, so, I get really touchy, and I know that's not everyone's jam. Do you want a hug? Can I hug you?"
"We did a lot of family therapy. And individual, too. Finding out was hard on everyone. The portal.. I'm not going to lie and say it's fine, but it's.. I'm able to be my own person here? That history's not hanging over me in the same way. It's hard, but it's hard the same way that moving across country for work after I graduated would've been, minus the ability to keep in touch." April thought about the idea of being touched for a minute. "I'm generally more a fist bump person, but a side hug would be okay. I'm not used to being touched a lot."
"Yes, therapy good. Everyone should go to therapy, it helps so much, even if sometimes you gotta twist some facts a little bit because, well, this is where we live and honestly I've been here going on four years and it continues to get wilder in ways I couldn't exactly tell your average therapist." Alani smiled, offering a fist to bump instead. "I'm happy to go for a fist bump, please don't feel like you need to accept a hug in any way, April. Like I said, I'm touchy, but I'm not going to demand everyone get one my level."
"If I was overly concerned, you'd hear a long 'Nooooooooooooooooooope' as I webbed my way out of the room," April replied dryly, bumping Alani's fist with her own. "It took a while for my family to get used to touching me, and it was always more hesitant than touching each other, so I didn't really get used to that. And of course classmates.. mostly high fives and fist bumps, sometimes a light smack to the shoulder or a hip bump. Last time I gave someone a full-on hug outside of family... huh, I guess after Thanksgiving. One of the younger girls in the department got dumped by her high school sweetheart."
"Perfect, then we shall get along swimmingly." Alani chuckled. "Oof, good on you, but, man, poor girl getting dumped by a high school sweetheart. I was the opposite, right up till my X-gene activated I was clinging to this person or that, then, well, things changed but I got better." She flashed another quick smile, shoving her hands into her pockets. "If you ever want a hug, you know who to call now."
"It made me glad I've never dated anyone seriously enough to throw me off like that if we broke up," April replied with a grimace. "And oh, I'd never considered that, but hugging does have the risk of my.. well, they mostly look like shadow tendrils? Actually, sec.." she trailed off, concentrating for a brief moment until the dark tendrils were visible from the corner of her eye. "Risk of these guys wanting to get on the fun too." They waved slowly, curling and unfurling along her arms as she held one out. "They're less slick than they look, if you want to poke them."
Alani was grinning like a child on Christmas morning as the tendrils began to move along April’s form. Half-formed questions formed in her mind and just as quickly left when she tried to form them into a way that would make sense outside of her head. With the information that she could poke, she reached out hesitantly towards April, to run the tip of her pointer finger across. “Holy shit,” it was barely above a whisper, before she looked back up. “That is amazing. This is... you? Or, no, sorry, you said ‘they,’ so do they have a mind of their own?”
"More willingness to act on my subconscious thoughts. I uh.. first time they manifested, one of them bopped May like it was a rolled up newspaper. She'd said something, I was annoyed, and then this sorta thump-thwap as it smacked her on the shoulder. Got Dad a few times too, before I got them to mostly behave. So.. they're me, but marginally independent, I guess?" One of the tendrils reached out and gave Alani's arm a slightly clumsy pat before receding back into April's body. "Most people don't react as calmly as people here have, even to just the hair tendrils. It's kinda nice, people just politely asking if I'm aware of what they're doing. Nobody's ever said they're amazing before."
"Oh, yeah, I probably come on a little strong, huh?" She chuckled and shifted back a little to give the other woman space, though she continued to watch the tendrils with interest. "Almost like a manifestation of your id? Impulses that you might usually shove down because the rest of your brain goes 'hmm, better not' due to taught morals and societal pressures. And, I like to think most of us have at least an understanding of what it can be like. I mean, when I manifested I destroyed my parents couch like a paper shredder." She could laugh at it now, having worked through a fair bit of the trauma.
"No, it's.. it's good. Just unexpected. And uh.. paper shredding a couch sounds pretty terrifying, honestly?" April's eyes were wide as she looked at Alani. "Did you freak out? Because I definitely had a bit of a panic when I realized I had a full form, not just the bit of tendrils and my arms."
"Oh yeah, which did not help me. I don't really have any relatives with... anything, so the X-gene was a new, wild learning experience. " Alani puffed out a sigh, though she was grinning toothily. At the mention of a full form, she tilted her head as she tried to imagine it. "I would love to see that one day, if you're comfortable with that. Er, unless there's some conditions that make it something you'd rather not do just for the hell of it."
"There's probably security footage of it since that's how I arrived. First time it had ever happened though, so I'm not sure how to do it safely yet." April reached her hand out, patting Alani gently on her shoulder. "But once it's a little warm I can show you the spider stuff outside, or maybe in the Danger Room? Garrison showed me how to do basics on it."
"Well, if you ever want or need me, I'm here to help." Alani's smile widened at the pat, more cheerful than wry. "Deal, to either, I would love to see spider stuff. Let's check this out for you and I can get you a quick book rec list."
Following the questioning of her librarian status, Alani had used the label maker to whack an 'assistant librarian' tag onto a cheap 'birthday boy' ribbon, which she pointedly wore whenever she was in the library. Even if she was just sitting behind the main counter, skimming through her textbooks and taking notes once reshelving had been completed for the day. It was still early enough in most people's semester that it was quiet, but with that, she got antsy just doing her own work. At the sound of the doors opening, she sat up straighter, craning her neck slightly to see who had entered, she was surprised to see a face she'd only seen on the journals. "Oh, hey, uh, A - I know it starts with an "a" but I got that no memory uni brain. I'm Alani, this is our library, and what can I help you with?"
"April," she replied. "Nice to meet you, and I get it. No thoughts, only coursework up here." April tapped her temple with a wry grin, setting her backpack on the table with a small thunk. "What are the odds I can get a light novel for fun reading and Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near for class? I imagine I'll need to stick to the university library for the more technical books I might need."
"Well, April, it's a pleasure to meet you face-to-face." Alani flashed an easy smile before turning to the computer in front of her to type in the title that had been mentioned. "Well, while I look this up why don't you kinda gimme a ballpark of what you find fun to read. I'm a fantasy bitch myself, depending on the author I like a good urban mix, so I could recommend some of those? Alternatively, any genre you don't like?" The question trailed off as she found the book was in the system and shelved, which made her pump her fist in victory. "Good news, Mr. Kurzweil is present and accounted for. I'll walk you over and you can tell me what you're interested in?"
"Excellent." April waited by the desk until Alani had walked past, then followed her deeper into the room. "I do a lot of modern urban fiction and romcom, mostly because they don't require a lot of backstory to sink into the way sci-fi and fantasy can. When I've got more time, I don't mind digging into those, and I don't care if it's adult or teen focused. Mostly stay away from gore and true crime. Real life's bad enough sometimes without worrying about skin-stealing serial killers or shit like that. I'll take a rec though."
Alani hummed in thought as she walked past. Of course she could have just given April the call number, but she wanted to stretch her legs and also do her best to befriend the girl, if not get a feel for her. "No thought books can definitely be nice, especially if you're suffering from coursework brain. If you're good with what some people consider kids books, I think we have the whole Young Wizards series, and I think they're a pretty good read myself. But, I mean, like, they deal with some real issues..." She trailed off and stopped herself from making a face at some of the grittier reads that sprang to mind at the mention of true crimes. "God, innit just? Like, I don't judge, but for me gore and based on true crime stuff is just something I never much got into. I'll definitely write you a rec list, for when you get settled."
"A rec list would be great. I don't mind books geared at older kids and teens. Bit past Ramona Quimby, but things geared at roughly the 12 and up crowd is fine. Urban fantasy's fine too. I didn't really care for Anita Blake, but the little bit of the Hollows series I've read is pretty good. Non-fiction's good sometimes too, but I'm pickier there." April noticed the book she'd come in looking for almost immediately as they stopped in front of the shelves and carefully pulled it free. "Always nice to not spend money at the bookstore," she quipped. "So, what are you doing for school?"
"Past the Spiderwick Chronicles? They have cool drawings." But Alani was grinning, unbothered as she mentally went through the books she knew that might fit. "I know one of the authors from Spiderwick did a modern fairy tales series, but if memory serves it's a bit on the gritty side. She wrote another magic series as well, think the first book is White Cat, and I remember enjoying that." Realizing she'd gone on a small tangent, she flushed a little. "Oh, psych and social justice. I'm finishing up my undergrad this year, and trying to pick my grad school currently. You?"
"I don't.. hm" April thought through her shared memories of reading. "I think we only read the first Spiderwick book," she said with a laugh. "Can't remember why, though. And I'm in mechanical engineering. It's mostly lab work, plus the last of the electives they require. But my class on cellular engineering is just.. it's so cool. I really love seeing the different applications for nanotech, especially in the medical field. Does social justice have as much arguing in the classroom as it does online?"
At the use of the word 'we,' Alani cocked her head, interested in what she'd meant but instead deciding to file that away for later, as most people weren't as... talkative as she was. She perked back up as April talked about her own major and course interests. "Well that sounds so cool, and way beyond my own understanding of it. I'm not the most techy here, but if you're interested I know there are some people here who'd probably have a field day talking it with you. Arguing? I mean, not the screaming matches some people get into online, but some people have different ideas, sure. I think once you get to year four, like me, they've mostly been weeded out."
"It's good the tend to get weeded out, because ugh, the idea of sitting in a classroom with people that think they're the cleverest whatever in the room and everyone else is just a mindless drone? Pass. It was bad enough dealing with Chuck in our shared major courses, the last thing I wanted to do was be in a room half full of people just as obnoxiously high on their own farts." April's face scrunched unpleasantly at the idea. "It seems like sometimes people take those sorts of classes just to derail the topics and make it a waste of time and money for everyone else, and that's not enjoyable."
"Ah, so you know the type?" And Alani couldn’t help the face she made at the memories of such classmates, people who refused to accept the world as others experienced it or worse took the courses as if they were a zoo exhibit to interact with, question, and then deny the lived experiences. Definitely in her top ten least favorite people type. “I’ve been fortunate in interacting with people who take the courses seriously, or at the very least come in with an open-mind and willingness to learn what the professor and others tell them. Well, and I live here, so I can gripe dramatically to people if they’re willing to lend me an ear. Which is always the best, and if you have a classmate like that this year I’m totally willing to bemoan with you.” She gave her a wink at that. “Or suggest mindless books to consume while you have to deal with them.”
"It hasn't been that bad. The class I'm reading Kurzwell for is upper level, so most of the discourse is good. Unnerving sometimes, but we're talking about things like AI, genetics, and nanotech, which of course also brings the inevitable discussion about mutants and theories about alien races intermingling with our own." April shrugged. "I am the intersection of some of those, and my focus has been on nanotech since I learned about it, so it gets... interesting. Dad... He's a big believer in giving second chances, and also in thinking things through. He'd be incredibly disappointed if I became one of those people that do things just because I can without considering if I should, even though he's not here to see it."
"I...think I understand, I mean, to be honest you're a bit above my pay grade, but those are important points to think about and I can see how that'd connect with the advancement of technology and AI." Alani flashed a toothy grin. "Ah, the intersectionality of identity and how it shapes us. Well, and fathers. He sounds like a good one, I'm sorry he's not here, but I'm sure he'd be happy with you thinking about your actions and how it affects those around you." She began to twirl a strand of hair, before finally giving in to her nosy nature. "Can I ask, what intersections you are? No pressure, honest! I am just, hmm, curious by nature."
"With great power comes great responibility," April quoted. "Basically the Parker family motto at this point, as deeply as the sentiment's been drilled into our brains and natures." She rubbed the back of her neck, giving Alani a wry grin. "Other than human and enhanced? Ah.. woman with privilege bingo, minus the blonde hair. You?"
"As good a motto as any, that. I mean, not everyone can be 'We gladly feast on those who would subdue us,' which is S-tier." Alani nodded, going over what she remembered about the other woman's introduction. "Enhanced like your genes were altered in utero? Oh, we're doing bingo. Hm, I'm two parts Polynesian islanders, a mutant, and a not straight woman, so government officials fear me, fish want me." She laughed at her own joke. "That last part's not true, I don't know how fish feel about me. Did I get a bingo?"
"Not privileged bingo?" April half-asked, half-laughed. "And more.. enhanced like grown in a lab? I don't know the specifics because the papers were destroyed shortly after they found me, but Osborn definitely tinkered with my genetics. Dad and May don't have organic webbing, for example. It's been common enough knowledge since I was found and brought into the family that I don't consider it a secret worth keeping around people I'm living with for the long term."
"Mhmm." Of course, Alani suddenly wished she thought to ask these questions earlier, if only to fully process what had just been said. "Ookay, wow, that's- My god, you've really run the gamut, and then the portal spat you out somewhere else entirely. Thank you for telling me, curiosity stated. Uh... You're okay? I mean, ugh, that's a stupid question, and I know. Um, I work with kids sometimes, so, I get really touchy, and I know that's not everyone's jam. Do you want a hug? Can I hug you?"
"We did a lot of family therapy. And individual, too. Finding out was hard on everyone. The portal.. I'm not going to lie and say it's fine, but it's.. I'm able to be my own person here? That history's not hanging over me in the same way. It's hard, but it's hard the same way that moving across country for work after I graduated would've been, minus the ability to keep in touch." April thought about the idea of being touched for a minute. "I'm generally more a fist bump person, but a side hug would be okay. I'm not used to being touched a lot."
"Yes, therapy good. Everyone should go to therapy, it helps so much, even if sometimes you gotta twist some facts a little bit because, well, this is where we live and honestly I've been here going on four years and it continues to get wilder in ways I couldn't exactly tell your average therapist." Alani smiled, offering a fist to bump instead. "I'm happy to go for a fist bump, please don't feel like you need to accept a hug in any way, April. Like I said, I'm touchy, but I'm not going to demand everyone get one my level."
"If I was overly concerned, you'd hear a long 'Nooooooooooooooooooope' as I webbed my way out of the room," April replied dryly, bumping Alani's fist with her own. "It took a while for my family to get used to touching me, and it was always more hesitant than touching each other, so I didn't really get used to that. And of course classmates.. mostly high fives and fist bumps, sometimes a light smack to the shoulder or a hip bump. Last time I gave someone a full-on hug outside of family... huh, I guess after Thanksgiving. One of the younger girls in the department got dumped by her high school sweetheart."
"Perfect, then we shall get along swimmingly." Alani chuckled. "Oof, good on you, but, man, poor girl getting dumped by a high school sweetheart. I was the opposite, right up till my X-gene activated I was clinging to this person or that, then, well, things changed but I got better." She flashed another quick smile, shoving her hands into her pockets. "If you ever want a hug, you know who to call now."
"It made me glad I've never dated anyone seriously enough to throw me off like that if we broke up," April replied with a grimace. "And oh, I'd never considered that, but hugging does have the risk of my.. well, they mostly look like shadow tendrils? Actually, sec.." she trailed off, concentrating for a brief moment until the dark tendrils were visible from the corner of her eye. "Risk of these guys wanting to get on the fun too." They waved slowly, curling and unfurling along her arms as she held one out. "They're less slick than they look, if you want to poke them."
Alani was grinning like a child on Christmas morning as the tendrils began to move along April’s form. Half-formed questions formed in her mind and just as quickly left when she tried to form them into a way that would make sense outside of her head. With the information that she could poke, she reached out hesitantly towards April, to run the tip of her pointer finger across. “Holy shit,” it was barely above a whisper, before she looked back up. “That is amazing. This is... you? Or, no, sorry, you said ‘they,’ so do they have a mind of their own?”
"More willingness to act on my subconscious thoughts. I uh.. first time they manifested, one of them bopped May like it was a rolled up newspaper. She'd said something, I was annoyed, and then this sorta thump-thwap as it smacked her on the shoulder. Got Dad a few times too, before I got them to mostly behave. So.. they're me, but marginally independent, I guess?" One of the tendrils reached out and gave Alani's arm a slightly clumsy pat before receding back into April's body. "Most people don't react as calmly as people here have, even to just the hair tendrils. It's kinda nice, people just politely asking if I'm aware of what they're doing. Nobody's ever said they're amazing before."
"Oh, yeah, I probably come on a little strong, huh?" She chuckled and shifted back a little to give the other woman space, though she continued to watch the tendrils with interest. "Almost like a manifestation of your id? Impulses that you might usually shove down because the rest of your brain goes 'hmm, better not' due to taught morals and societal pressures. And, I like to think most of us have at least an understanding of what it can be like. I mean, when I manifested I destroyed my parents couch like a paper shredder." She could laugh at it now, having worked through a fair bit of the trauma.
"No, it's.. it's good. Just unexpected. And uh.. paper shredding a couch sounds pretty terrifying, honestly?" April's eyes were wide as she looked at Alani. "Did you freak out? Because I definitely had a bit of a panic when I realized I had a full form, not just the bit of tendrils and my arms."
"Oh yeah, which did not help me. I don't really have any relatives with... anything, so the X-gene was a new, wild learning experience. " Alani puffed out a sigh, though she was grinning toothily. At the mention of a full form, she tilted her head as she tried to imagine it. "I would love to see that one day, if you're comfortable with that. Er, unless there's some conditions that make it something you'd rather not do just for the hell of it."
"There's probably security footage of it since that's how I arrived. First time it had ever happened though, so I'm not sure how to do it safely yet." April reached her hand out, patting Alani gently on her shoulder. "But once it's a little warm I can show you the spider stuff outside, or maybe in the Danger Room? Garrison showed me how to do basics on it."
"Well, if you ever want or need me, I'm here to help." Alani's smile widened at the pat, more cheerful than wry. "Deal, to either, I would love to see spider stuff. Let's check this out for you and I can get you a quick book rec list."
