Sooraya & Match: The Calorie Talk
Sep. 13th, 2023 01:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(slightly backdated) Sooraya comes across Match practicing a new skill and realizes the teen may have missed an important point of his tour.
Match snapped his fingers intently, watching a small flame spark to life at the tip of his thumb with such intense focus that his brows furrowed, teeth gritting behind his lips as he tried to keep the fire going, to raise it a little so that he could- And just like that it was gone again. "God damn it!" He shouted, heat racing off him like a wave as he glared at his own hand.
Angrilly, he began to dig around in his backpack for something to eat before he tried again. Which... of course was when he saw Sooraya. Horror flickered onto his face before the shame set in and he looked down. "S- sorry. I didn't know you were there."
"Don't worry about it, Match. I know how frustrating it can be when your powers don't cooperate with what you want." Sooraya smiled sympathetically. "I remember my own struggles at first. What were you trying to do?"
Pulling out a can, he examined it before pulling the tab and the can lid open. "Fire knives," Match mumbled, still not making eye contact as his face flushed. Grabbing a spoon he shoved it into the can and began to stir it up before the coconut milk was no longer separated. "I could do it when I was around Longshot... but, now, I- it doesn't work." With that out, he tipped the can up and began to drink the contents.
"Fire knives? That is an interesting thing to practice, though good for self defense." Sooraya commented thoughtfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if it is more difficult of your own then if you're with Longshot though."
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he raised an eyebrow in question, confused by the connection. “Because of his positive outlook on life? I mean, I guess, he's, like, encouraging and stuff. That does help.” Okay, it made sense when he walked through it out loud.
"It is always harder when you try to do things on your own for the first time." Sooraya acknowledged, eying his can of coconut milk in the meantime. "And I'm not sure if it's even the case, but I've heard Longshot's powers make him lucky. Maybe he helped you along, just a little. But you could be totally right too." And because she couldn't stop herself, she added: "And why are you eating coconut milk like that?"
Match had been nodding in agreement before he looked to Sooraya in utter confusion at the point that the older man had powers that made him lucky. That seemed like a cop out, to the boy you started fires by accident and now finally on purpose. But the smaller ones lacked what the accidents had been. The final question had him slowly look down to the can, carefully setting on the ground, slightly behind himself to remove it from the line of sight before responding. "Because it's food?"
Sooraya shook her head: "An ingredient, yes. Food... maybe. But definitely not a meal or even a snack." Reaching in her bag, she pulled out a package with granola bars and some protein bars with mixed dried fruit and meat. "I carry these to hand out in DX, but put them in your bag for now. It's a lot easier..." She paused before adding: "Match, did anyone show you the cupboard?"
He dropped his eyes to the proffered food, heat rising in his face - well, really the temperature had also risen around him, but the color in his cheeks wasn't from that. He accepted them, mumbling his thanks, to stow them into his bag. "Yeah, I got a tour, remember, I saw tons of cupboards. There are a lot of kitchens here."
"Looks like we missed something important though." She frowned. "Outside the kitchen, there is another cupboard, hallway closet, and it is stocked with supplies like this." She gestured at the bars he was holding. "You can get what you need from there and it's restocked very regularly."
"Oh..." Match scrunched his nose in thought as he looked at the food he'd been given. He was itching to pick the can back up before bugs could get into it, if they hadn't already. " Kyle already told me about the fridge in the Danger Room area that's free to grab, but I'm okay, I've been picking up cans to sell, so I'll have my own income for food and stuff. And living with the Morlocks, I already, like, know how to tell what's good to eat for canned foods."
"You know how to take care of yourself in that way. You've more than shown me that, Match." Sooraya explained, bending down to pick up the can and offering it back once Match finished stowing away the supplies. "And normally that might've been enough. But with your powers... I don't know for sure, but I think you might've one of those power sets where you need more food than an average person. Most people with fire type powers do. And I'm worried you're not getting it the way you're eating now."
"Oh." The arguments that had been forming in his mind quickly disappeared as Match listened. That... made sense, maybe, probably. He was always hungry since his mutation activated, now that he'd thought about it. But he'd learned to ignore the idle gnawing. His fingers tapped on the side of the can, trying to figure out what to say next. "I don't know, I...maybe that makes sense?"
"Sounds familiar huh?" Sooraya tilted her head a little. "The doctors might be able to help you, but knowing you might not be a big fan of that. I've got another idea though."
His face had been a journey, fear flashing the briefest of them all but first before anger and then a calm as the topic of the doctors was avoided. "Okay," he began hesitantly. "What are you thinking?"
"You could try to keep a bit of a food diary. Basically you take some notes each day on what you eat and how it makes you feel. That can give you an idea of what works and what doesn't.... how much you need to eat or what foods are best for you." Sooraya simply explained. "And I wouldn't be surprised if having enough energy might help you a little with stabilizing your powers as well."
"O...kay." Match agreed slowly, seeing the logic in her words, though he didn't want to think about potentially following up with the idea in the nebulous future. He looked back down to the can with a lack of interest, though he swirled the remaining contents around to check for bugs. "I can do that. And then I just, what? Meet with you in a couple of weeks?"
"If you want, we can. You can bounce some thoughts of me, if you want. But I have to be honest... I am no doctor. So we'd be figuring out stuff together." And a discrete consultation with Jean or Amelia might still be on her calendar for some advice.
“Well that’s okay,” he said after a moment, face thoughtful as he worked it out. Sooraya wasn’t a doctor, just wanted what was best for him, and that was fine in his book. He slowly finished off the can of coconut milk before offering her a lopsided grin. “Alright. We can meet some time next month, figure stuff out.”
Match snapped his fingers intently, watching a small flame spark to life at the tip of his thumb with such intense focus that his brows furrowed, teeth gritting behind his lips as he tried to keep the fire going, to raise it a little so that he could- And just like that it was gone again. "God damn it!" He shouted, heat racing off him like a wave as he glared at his own hand.
Angrilly, he began to dig around in his backpack for something to eat before he tried again. Which... of course was when he saw Sooraya. Horror flickered onto his face before the shame set in and he looked down. "S- sorry. I didn't know you were there."
"Don't worry about it, Match. I know how frustrating it can be when your powers don't cooperate with what you want." Sooraya smiled sympathetically. "I remember my own struggles at first. What were you trying to do?"
Pulling out a can, he examined it before pulling the tab and the can lid open. "Fire knives," Match mumbled, still not making eye contact as his face flushed. Grabbing a spoon he shoved it into the can and began to stir it up before the coconut milk was no longer separated. "I could do it when I was around Longshot... but, now, I- it doesn't work." With that out, he tipped the can up and began to drink the contents.
"Fire knives? That is an interesting thing to practice, though good for self defense." Sooraya commented thoughtfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if it is more difficult of your own then if you're with Longshot though."
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he raised an eyebrow in question, confused by the connection. “Because of his positive outlook on life? I mean, I guess, he's, like, encouraging and stuff. That does help.” Okay, it made sense when he walked through it out loud.
"It is always harder when you try to do things on your own for the first time." Sooraya acknowledged, eying his can of coconut milk in the meantime. "And I'm not sure if it's even the case, but I've heard Longshot's powers make him lucky. Maybe he helped you along, just a little. But you could be totally right too." And because she couldn't stop herself, she added: "And why are you eating coconut milk like that?"
Match had been nodding in agreement before he looked to Sooraya in utter confusion at the point that the older man had powers that made him lucky. That seemed like a cop out, to the boy you started fires by accident and now finally on purpose. But the smaller ones lacked what the accidents had been. The final question had him slowly look down to the can, carefully setting on the ground, slightly behind himself to remove it from the line of sight before responding. "Because it's food?"
Sooraya shook her head: "An ingredient, yes. Food... maybe. But definitely not a meal or even a snack." Reaching in her bag, she pulled out a package with granola bars and some protein bars with mixed dried fruit and meat. "I carry these to hand out in DX, but put them in your bag for now. It's a lot easier..." She paused before adding: "Match, did anyone show you the cupboard?"
He dropped his eyes to the proffered food, heat rising in his face - well, really the temperature had also risen around him, but the color in his cheeks wasn't from that. He accepted them, mumbling his thanks, to stow them into his bag. "Yeah, I got a tour, remember, I saw tons of cupboards. There are a lot of kitchens here."
"Looks like we missed something important though." She frowned. "Outside the kitchen, there is another cupboard, hallway closet, and it is stocked with supplies like this." She gestured at the bars he was holding. "You can get what you need from there and it's restocked very regularly."
"Oh..." Match scrunched his nose in thought as he looked at the food he'd been given. He was itching to pick the can back up before bugs could get into it, if they hadn't already. " Kyle already told me about the fridge in the Danger Room area that's free to grab, but I'm okay, I've been picking up cans to sell, so I'll have my own income for food and stuff. And living with the Morlocks, I already, like, know how to tell what's good to eat for canned foods."
"You know how to take care of yourself in that way. You've more than shown me that, Match." Sooraya explained, bending down to pick up the can and offering it back once Match finished stowing away the supplies. "And normally that might've been enough. But with your powers... I don't know for sure, but I think you might've one of those power sets where you need more food than an average person. Most people with fire type powers do. And I'm worried you're not getting it the way you're eating now."
"Oh." The arguments that had been forming in his mind quickly disappeared as Match listened. That... made sense, maybe, probably. He was always hungry since his mutation activated, now that he'd thought about it. But he'd learned to ignore the idle gnawing. His fingers tapped on the side of the can, trying to figure out what to say next. "I don't know, I...maybe that makes sense?"
"Sounds familiar huh?" Sooraya tilted her head a little. "The doctors might be able to help you, but knowing you might not be a big fan of that. I've got another idea though."
His face had been a journey, fear flashing the briefest of them all but first before anger and then a calm as the topic of the doctors was avoided. "Okay," he began hesitantly. "What are you thinking?"
"You could try to keep a bit of a food diary. Basically you take some notes each day on what you eat and how it makes you feel. That can give you an idea of what works and what doesn't.... how much you need to eat or what foods are best for you." Sooraya simply explained. "And I wouldn't be surprised if having enough energy might help you a little with stabilizing your powers as well."
"O...kay." Match agreed slowly, seeing the logic in her words, though he didn't want to think about potentially following up with the idea in the nebulous future. He looked back down to the can with a lack of interest, though he swirled the remaining contents around to check for bugs. "I can do that. And then I just, what? Meet with you in a couple of weeks?"
"If you want, we can. You can bounce some thoughts of me, if you want. But I have to be honest... I am no doctor. So we'd be figuring out stuff together." And a discrete consultation with Jean or Amelia might still be on her calendar for some advice.
“Well that’s okay,” he said after a moment, face thoughtful as he worked it out. Sooraya wasn’t a doctor, just wanted what was best for him, and that was fine in his book. He slowly finished off the can of coconut milk before offering her a lopsided grin. “Alright. We can meet some time next month, figure stuff out.”
