A Haven to Call a Home: New Friends
Oct. 17th, 2023 12:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_madin posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsHaving decided they can't stay at the Mansion, Madin took up Quentin's offer and moved to Oregon, looking for a fresh start in Radha's commune.
"Okay, now you just loop the cord at least three times. Keep it loose so you can pass the end through them, like this . . . " The mousy brunette's fingers wove the leather cord with practiced ease. Josie pulled the end tight, then moved the knot back and forth to demonstrate. "That's how you make it adjustable. You know, traditional mala have one hundred and eight beads, so you can just wrap it, but Radha didn't want to be appropriative. It's not like she wants us chanting to her or anything. They're just so we can identify each other, and it gives the people we talk to something they can remember us by. So we use eight beads -- eight for infinity. And so we can make more than three a day." She gave Madin an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I know this is kind of boring. Putting together care packages and everything. I promise we do other stuff, too."
Madin watched her repeat it one more time before picking up their own set of leather cords and beads. They worked slowly but carefully as they made the bracelet. The pattern was simple enough. "Nah I'm good. Boring is fine, you know? At least this is useful," they replied. "How's that?" They nervously held out a finished bracelet.
"Perfect!" Josie plucked the bracelet from Madin's hands and slid it onto her wrist, testing the band. She flashed a toothy smile and held her hand out to them like a model displaying a new bauble. "Oh, this is going to go so much faster with your help. No way this is your first time. Did you do a lot of crafts in summer camp or something?"
Madin smiled back. "Sort of. I had a friend who was mad into crafts at one point." The friendliness was a trap. It was always a trap. Madin knew this but fuck it was hard to remember sometimes. And Josie was nice. Just nice.
"I got into it when my mom was in the hospital. She was sick a lot when I was a kid. That's why I became a nurse. Y'know, until they found out I was a mutant, anyway." A brief shadow passed over Josie's face at that, but it cleared quickly. The smile returned. "That's why I like this place. Like, nothing against humans, but sometimes being around them all the time is just . . . exhausting. If they know you're a mutant you have to worry about making yourself seem safe, and if they don't know you're worrying about what'll happen if they find out. You know? Here we don't have to worry about that." She slipped the bracelet from her wrist and gazed at it wistfully. "It's just a relief not to have to check yourself all the time."
Madin was quiet for a moment. They were never good with words and didn't know what to say. "Jeeze. That's real fucked. I'm sorry about your mum. And your job."
"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything. Anyway, things happen for a reason, right? And all that got me here." The older woman set the bracelet on the pile and flashed them a smile. "I guess you probably have a story, too? Like I'd love to hear it if you want to share, but don't worry about telling it if you don't want to. That's another great thing about this place: you don't have to explain yourself to anybody."
Madin laughed bitterly. "It's a long story. Um. Spent some in jail, you know, cos. Kicked around a bit. And like, in detention after that cos my parents wouldn't... Yeah." They paused and continued. "And then um. Moved around a bit overseas and here in the States, I guess." They didn't want to mention the Brotherhood but... Josie demanded honesty in some way. "I got ... I got involved with the Brotherhood for a bit. I don't really have an excuse. I was a kid but that's not an excuse." Heart pounding, Madin looked down at their bracelet, barely able to see it.
"Oh, sweetie." Josie moved to lay one hand over Madin's. She squeezed, gentle but firm, in a gesture she must have performed dozens of times during her tenure as a nurse. It lasted only a moment before she released the younger mutant, as if Madin was a frightened bird she dared not hold too long.
"I'm sure you only did what you had to do," she said. "It's okay. You're not the only one here who's been forced into choices they never should've had to make. This world just wasn't made for us. But that's why we're here, right?" The smile returned, soft and encouraging. "So we can make a better one."
"Yeah, that's why we're here." It had a touch of sadness to it and Madin looked away, focussing more closely on the beading on their hands.
"Okay, now you just loop the cord at least three times. Keep it loose so you can pass the end through them, like this . . . " The mousy brunette's fingers wove the leather cord with practiced ease. Josie pulled the end tight, then moved the knot back and forth to demonstrate. "That's how you make it adjustable. You know, traditional mala have one hundred and eight beads, so you can just wrap it, but Radha didn't want to be appropriative. It's not like she wants us chanting to her or anything. They're just so we can identify each other, and it gives the people we talk to something they can remember us by. So we use eight beads -- eight for infinity. And so we can make more than three a day." She gave Madin an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I know this is kind of boring. Putting together care packages and everything. I promise we do other stuff, too."
Madin watched her repeat it one more time before picking up their own set of leather cords and beads. They worked slowly but carefully as they made the bracelet. The pattern was simple enough. "Nah I'm good. Boring is fine, you know? At least this is useful," they replied. "How's that?" They nervously held out a finished bracelet.
"Perfect!" Josie plucked the bracelet from Madin's hands and slid it onto her wrist, testing the band. She flashed a toothy smile and held her hand out to them like a model displaying a new bauble. "Oh, this is going to go so much faster with your help. No way this is your first time. Did you do a lot of crafts in summer camp or something?"
Madin smiled back. "Sort of. I had a friend who was mad into crafts at one point." The friendliness was a trap. It was always a trap. Madin knew this but fuck it was hard to remember sometimes. And Josie was nice. Just nice.
"I got into it when my mom was in the hospital. She was sick a lot when I was a kid. That's why I became a nurse. Y'know, until they found out I was a mutant, anyway." A brief shadow passed over Josie's face at that, but it cleared quickly. The smile returned. "That's why I like this place. Like, nothing against humans, but sometimes being around them all the time is just . . . exhausting. If they know you're a mutant you have to worry about making yourself seem safe, and if they don't know you're worrying about what'll happen if they find out. You know? Here we don't have to worry about that." She slipped the bracelet from her wrist and gazed at it wistfully. "It's just a relief not to have to check yourself all the time."
Madin was quiet for a moment. They were never good with words and didn't know what to say. "Jeeze. That's real fucked. I'm sorry about your mum. And your job."
"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything. Anyway, things happen for a reason, right? And all that got me here." The older woman set the bracelet on the pile and flashed them a smile. "I guess you probably have a story, too? Like I'd love to hear it if you want to share, but don't worry about telling it if you don't want to. That's another great thing about this place: you don't have to explain yourself to anybody."
Madin laughed bitterly. "It's a long story. Um. Spent some in jail, you know, cos. Kicked around a bit. And like, in detention after that cos my parents wouldn't... Yeah." They paused and continued. "And then um. Moved around a bit overseas and here in the States, I guess." They didn't want to mention the Brotherhood but... Josie demanded honesty in some way. "I got ... I got involved with the Brotherhood for a bit. I don't really have an excuse. I was a kid but that's not an excuse." Heart pounding, Madin looked down at their bracelet, barely able to see it.
"Oh, sweetie." Josie moved to lay one hand over Madin's. She squeezed, gentle but firm, in a gesture she must have performed dozens of times during her tenure as a nurse. It lasted only a moment before she released the younger mutant, as if Madin was a frightened bird she dared not hold too long.
"I'm sure you only did what you had to do," she said. "It's okay. You're not the only one here who's been forced into choices they never should've had to make. This world just wasn't made for us. But that's why we're here, right?" The smile returned, soft and encouraging. "So we can make a better one."
"Yeah, that's why we're here." It had a touch of sadness to it and Madin looked away, focussing more closely on the beading on their hands.
