Sooraya and Pyotr: comms duty, take 2

[xp_dust]

What start out as an simple evening of comms duty, turns out to be rather philospical for Sooraya and Pyotr

 

"So here we are again." Sooraya easily pushed the door open with her hip, a larger binder in one hand, a cup of tea in the other and a cloth bag dangling from one arm. "How have you been settling in with this?" 

 

"Here we are again." he said, dressed casually but comfortably and toting his own rather alarmingly large carafe in one hand and his art satchel in the other. "Between prepping for the art show and painting and learning all the necessary X-Men stuff and getting to know my suitemate and working out, my days are never as long as I would like." he said with a smile as he took the big chair in front of the wall of monitors. "Time time instead of me watching you, you watch me while I do work, yes?" he said as he hammered on the keyboard like it owed him money, logging into the comms network and putting up the first slate of reports to be reviewed.

 

"Well, I still kinda have to sign off on any final reports or decisions made and I'll have to step in if things really hit the fan." Sooraya cautioned. "But otherwise, yes, it's your show tonight as much as possible." Hefting her binder, Sooraya added: "But I think that won't be necessary, so I brought plenty to keep me occupied."   

"Brave of you." he said with a laugh, setting down his art folio and uncapping his carafe. "Oh, drat. Forgot cup. Would you mind?" he asked Sooraya, gesturing with his carafe.

 

"Need a cup?" Sooraya put down her own binder and bag before handing him a cup. "Here you go. So...  briefly run me through your plan for tonight?" 

 

"First, pull up all the usual newsfeeds. Keep eye on those." he said. "Then since I speak Russian like a native I'll take a look at the Asian newsfeeds, see what the Rodina is up to." he added with a grin. "Drink some tea, try not to sketch, fail, sketch something, but mostly, keep watchful eye on alerts." he said. Then he took the cup from her and poured himself some thick, strong, black tea.

 

"Sounds like a plan. I'll just be back here." Sooraya eyed her binder ruefully. "I've got to try to categorize this stack of exercises, as far as that goes at least."    

 

"What sort of exercises?" he asked. "Physical? Mental? Social? Educational?" he asked as he logged into things and set up his monitors. Then, and only then, did he take a drink of his tea." MUCH better." he said after he took his swallow. "Seriously, did we ever find out who provided the tea from before?"

 

"It's actually a project I've been working on for several years now." Sooraya pulled a sheaf of papers from her bag and opened the binder. "It's hard for many mutants to access information on how they can learn to control their powers. So I've been working on a sort of manual with exercises for all kinds of powers. First from what I learned from people here and at Muir, but now also with interviews from people in the Underground and District X."   

 

 Pyotr nodded. "I can see how that could be a real challenge for some." he said as he sipped his tea and scanned the never-ending sea of reports. Some got flagged for additional review, most did not. "Have anything in there for super-strength? I can recommend plowing barehanded and tractor lifts." he said with a smile.

 

Sooraya shook her head, grinning. "Probably something similar, but not exactly that. Super Strength is one I've a lot of examples for... It makes for a nice mental picture though. That's only one part though."    

 

"Now I'm curious." he said as he paged through the Russian-language newsfeeds. The translations they were getting were startlingly good but there was always cultural context to account for, so sometimes things got missed. "What else do you have for the super-strong?"

 

"Uhm... several options on how to safely explore how strong you are... various small exercises on how to modulate your strength. Some as simple as practicing cracking eggs or juggling softs balls." Sooraya explained. "There is something I'm actually more curious about..."   

 

Pyotr listened attentively as he sipped on his tea. "Go ahead and ask." he said.

 

"It's not just enhanced strength that you have. I mean... We both shift forms and that's a whole different animal to learn to control." Sooraya sipped from her tea and shrugged. "How did that go for you?" 

 

"But the strength comes with the shift. If I don't turn into Colossus, I'm admittedly a very fit example of a normal human." he said. "First time - it's been a while since I've thought about it." he said. "Saved my sister from runaway tractor. Blocked it with my body, shielded her." he said. He took a deep breath and released it, letting the sadness that often came when he thought about his snowflake pass through him.

 

"You have a sister?" Sooraya asked curiously, letting herself be diverted for a moment. "What's her name?"  

 

"It's complicated." he said with a helpless shrug. "She's Illyana Nikolievna Rasputina." he said, cherishing her name for just a moment. "She disappeared after I left for university in Moscow, but then it turns out she reappeared, nobody thought to tell us about it ... it's complicated." he said helplessly. "And you're a faithful woman and thus do not drink and there is not enough vodka in the Mansion for me to properly express how I feel about all of it."

 

"Illyana?" Sooraya fell silent, frowning. "Probably safe to say it's a big pile of animal droppings then?" She asked after smoothing her face. 

 

 Pyotr barked a laugh at that. "Enormous." he said with a nod. "Bigger than this building."

 

"Sounds like a lot to be dealing with." Sooraya nodded sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help?"  

 

He smiled. "I don't think so, but it's kind of you to ask." he said. "I'm not finding very many helpful people who are willing to assist me in rescuing my sister." he said. "Again, long story. It's in the files." he said with a helpless shrug, then glanced over to the monitors. "Well, that looks interesting." he said, making a note of things. "Asia is a large place and lots of people like to get up bad things. Hopefully this one will be nothing."

 

Sooraya checked something on a monitor of her own, before speaking: "Can I give some advice?"  

 

Pyotr nodded. "Of course you may." he said with a smile.

 

"When you mentioned Illyana and a story in the files... I put two and two together." Sooraya paused for a moment, trying to put into words what she wanted to say. "I know it involves magic... and I understand you wanting to save your sister... but some of the most dangerous and scary stuff I've seen during my time here was because of messing with that world. I've learned to avoid it as much as possible. And this may sound harsh, but step very carefully there and listen to those who know more about it. They don't want you not to find or help your sister because of unwill, but because of a very real risk."      

 

"Believe it or not, I am aware of the supposed dangers to this magic business. And under any other circumstance, I'd leave well enough alone and be the happier in the doing. But my _sister_ is wrapped up in all of this and therefore I cannot set it aside." he pointed out with a certain amount of heat in his voice. "She is family." he said simply.

 

"I do believe you and I might do the same if it was my family. If it does help anything... I'm good friends with Rahne, her roommate. And while I didn't really get to know Illyana, the few times I met her, she gave me the impression she was tough and a survivor. I've no doubt she can handle a lot of what the world might throw at her."  

 

He nodded at that. "Good to know. Do you think this Rain person would be able to help someone with the right set of skills find Illyana in whatever Limbo she is in?" he asked hopefully. "Probably a lot to ask, I know..."

 

"You mean Rahne?" Sooraya shook her head. "Not really. She's simply a young woman who happens to be a shapeshifter." 

 

"A shapeshifter? Impressive." he said, actually meaning his words. "I'm constantly reminded of how varied and diverse mutant abilities can be. Makes mine seem almost ... pedestrian."

 

"I'm no Moira McTaggert and it probably sounds cliche, but I've seen a lot of them and I like to think that each of them are unique and special in their own way. Just like everyone has their own skills and abilities, I like to think each mutant ability has something to offer as well. Even though it's sometimes hard to think of what that might be." 

 

"Oh, I don't doubt the utility of being very strong and nigh-indestructible." he said. "Just a little pedestrian. Not a lot of ... what is word .... excitement? Something like that."

 

"So if you think of a mutant power that is exciting, what do you think of then?" Sooraya asked curiously. "Shapeshifters excluded." 

 

"I'm an artist." he said simply. "I enjoy seeing the beautiful in the world. And seeing a flashy mutant power being used is ... beautiful. Possibly also terrifying." he said. "Is probably just a me thing."

 

"Hmmm." Sooraya tilted her head, taking a moment to ponder. "I'd then argue that while flashy powers being used can be beautiful, I'd say there is beauty in all mutant powers. I remember seeing a girl with the ability to grow plants use appleseeds to feed a crowd in a disaster. Not flashy, but watching the people as the plants grew in front of their eyes... it had its own kind of beauty. Even if you maybe can't capture it on canvas." 

 

He hrmmed about that visual and thought as he mulled it over. "Worth thinking about." he said after a long moment. Then he glanced over at the monitors to make sure all was well.

 

"Everything still in the clear?" Sooraya noticed his glance, automatically taking a quick look herself. "I wonder... would it be really possible to catch the wonder in their eyes in paint... Even in movies and pictures it already seem to lose something."    

 

 "What is art for if not to capture the beauty in the world?" he asked. "Serious question."

 

"That's a complicated one." Sooraya had to take a moment to gather her thoughts. "Me and art... it's not always the easiest thing. Growing up I was taught that it was wrong to make images of sentient beings because it was a form of idolatry. I've been exposed to a lot of other different viewing points since then... and I don't see things that way anymore, though worship of images and statues still make me uneasy deep down..."   

 

Pyotr could detect a whiff of Religion in the air and decided it was time to change topics. Or at least move it to somewhere a little less fraught. "Well, for me, I always saw art as a way to capture the mundane - or the fantastic - and make it real. There's a tremendous amount of beauty in the world, some of it in fairly unlikely places. I feel I have an obligation to be honest to that." he mused.

 

"I can see where you're coming from... best way for me to put it... I think art can't fully capture the beauty, the wonder, but also the sorrow of the world. But you can capture a semblance, maybe even a fragment, of it and share it with others and I think there is a lot of value in that." 

 

He just nodded to her words. "There's plenty of other people who can show the ugly is in the world. All-too-willing to make sure we're all aware of it. I choose to show beauty." he said simply. "My bank balance occasionally regrets it, but I can sleep soundly at night."

 

Sooraya narrowed her eyes. "Not all value is expressed in money. Even with my own relationship with art I've seen how it can inspire, give hope. That's valuable too."  

 

Pyotr sighed. "I should remember to not try jokes. My sense of humor is ... off, as I've been told." he said. "Yes, I could make more money if I painted a more complete picture of the world, if I chose to show the darker sides of life. But money doesn't hold a tremendous amount of appeal to me, beyond making sure that my basic needs are accomodated." he said. "Beauty, hope, positivity, these can inspire. Bring a smile, stir a heart. Far more important."

 

"Looks like we agree on that."