Hope S. & Alani (and Sooraya), meetings
Dec. 27th, 2023 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsHope is definitely not snooping in Sooraya's cupboards when Alani comes home. (Backdated to December 27th.)
The day had turned into a surprisingly short one, no Chapel, it was the perfect day to sit in the suite and unwind, maybe do a crossword puzzle, maybe darn socks or sew more of the embroidery she'd picked up and set down and picked up more than a couple of times while she watched something. Upon sliding off her shoes and setting her bag down, though, there was the feeling that something wasn't... quite right. A cupboard closed in the kitchenette and Alani followed the noise to chat with Sooraya. But- "Unless my roommate became a redhead, are you... Angel?" The former roommate who she'd heard much about but never had the chance to meet. Her easy smile erased any confusion that had begun to form.
The girl who currently appeared to be snooping through the kitchen cabinets - standing on her toes - turned guiltily, but her eyes were still mostly on the unexciting contents of the cabinets. "Um," she said, "Um, no, I'm Hope? Hope Summers? Sooraya said I could wait here. I'm sorry, I'm just looking." That she didn't stop looking was certainly a thing that happened.
“Of course you can wait here. And you're looking by the looks of it,” Alani laughed, breezing past to open the fridge door. “Are you thirsty? Hungry? We have water, some juice, I could make you a tea? For snacks, hmm, I gotta think on that.”
Something about the woman's voice tore the girl away from the apparently-fascinating stack of dishes in the cabinet. There was an awkward silence, the blue-green eyes wide, one hand frozen on a cabinet door. "Are - um." The girl swallowed. "Are, you're, are you Alani Ryan? Please?" The word was tacked on at an obvious attempt at politeness, almost desperate.
"I am, oh, can I guess? Was it surfing or activists?” She asked the girl with an amused grin, pausing her own rummaging to make eye contact. Ah, less panicked, this must be the girl Sooraya had posted about. “Or… something else entirely?” Oh she hoped she wasn’t putting her foot in her mouth.
"No, um - " The girl's mouth twisted, and she looked down. "Um, sorry. I'm Hope. Hope Summers? And I'm from a different dimension and, um - I knew you? But not you-you. But she was my auntie." This semi-comprehensible story out, Hope shrugged awkwardly, wincing.
“You’re not the first person to show up here with that story,” Alani assured her, smile soft as she looked at the girl. “And I’ll say, if you’re working with Sooraya, you’re in really good hands. May I ask what she’s working with you on?”
"She's helping me learn more about this world," Hope said, finally shutting the cupboard she'd been snooping in. "And - she's just been nice to me, I guess, since I got here. I, um, I didn't really mean to wreck the house."
“Well good, I can’t see anyone choosing to wreck the house,” Alani nodded, stopping her own search to look at the shorter redhead. “I’m sorry, this must be so awkward if I look like someone who was your auntie.”
"It's not your fault," Hope hastened to say. "I just, um, she kind of - I'll see her soon, anyway." The girls hands twisted together, anxiety sublimated. "Sorry, it's not really your problem or anything." It occurred to her that the etiquette of talking to alternate versions of people you knew had been omitted from her education - to her current detriment.
"It's not, but I never want anyone to feel uncomfortable talking to me, or around me. It's pretty important to my work." Her smile returned. "I'm glad you'll see her soon, like I said, we have had visitors from other dimensions before, and I do work with the people who check dimensions."
Hope peered forward, fascinated. "You do? That's really cool. How come you guys do that? Even at home, it's really only Dad and that's because he's kind of different."
“We had an accident,” Alani explains calmly, brows knitting together as the memory comes to her. "So now we have a team to make sure there aren't any accidents like that anymore. And to make sure people are safe. A lot like your X-Men, I have to assume."
"Oh, okay." Hope accepted this without a flicker of concern, transparently used to these kinds of things. "So you're not an X-Man here? You're on one of the, um, other teams?" The girl's dubiousness around this arrangement did show, but she politely (for her) did not voice it.
"I am, my team's called eXcalibur and we watch for problems in the universes, but, mostly we collect data." Alani smiled apologetically. Not wanting to tell the girl she couldn't hep her but not wanting to promise she could do anything for her. "Ya know, even though you're stuck here, this might be a great opportunity to meet other young people. I can make you little flashcards of the kids in Generation X for you."
"I think I met some of them - is Madin one?" The girl looked a little shy, an odd look on someone who was clearly not nervous with people. "I'd like to meet them. There aren't a lot of other kids - other people my age where I'm from."
"Hey hey!" Sooraya called out from the other room: "Sorry I'm a little late."
A few seconds later she was poking her head around the door. "Hey Hope... oh hey Alani... great that you ran into each other. I've been wanting to introduce you."
"Sooraya!" Hope waved. "I met Alani, but did you know I know her already? Well, not her, but in my world she's my Auntie 'Lani and - "
The day had turned into a surprisingly short one, no Chapel, it was the perfect day to sit in the suite and unwind, maybe do a crossword puzzle, maybe darn socks or sew more of the embroidery she'd picked up and set down and picked up more than a couple of times while she watched something. Upon sliding off her shoes and setting her bag down, though, there was the feeling that something wasn't... quite right. A cupboard closed in the kitchenette and Alani followed the noise to chat with Sooraya. But- "Unless my roommate became a redhead, are you... Angel?" The former roommate who she'd heard much about but never had the chance to meet. Her easy smile erased any confusion that had begun to form.
The girl who currently appeared to be snooping through the kitchen cabinets - standing on her toes - turned guiltily, but her eyes were still mostly on the unexciting contents of the cabinets. "Um," she said, "Um, no, I'm Hope? Hope Summers? Sooraya said I could wait here. I'm sorry, I'm just looking." That she didn't stop looking was certainly a thing that happened.
“Of course you can wait here. And you're looking by the looks of it,” Alani laughed, breezing past to open the fridge door. “Are you thirsty? Hungry? We have water, some juice, I could make you a tea? For snacks, hmm, I gotta think on that.”
Something about the woman's voice tore the girl away from the apparently-fascinating stack of dishes in the cabinet. There was an awkward silence, the blue-green eyes wide, one hand frozen on a cabinet door. "Are - um." The girl swallowed. "Are, you're, are you Alani Ryan? Please?" The word was tacked on at an obvious attempt at politeness, almost desperate.
"I am, oh, can I guess? Was it surfing or activists?” She asked the girl with an amused grin, pausing her own rummaging to make eye contact. Ah, less panicked, this must be the girl Sooraya had posted about. “Or… something else entirely?” Oh she hoped she wasn’t putting her foot in her mouth.
"No, um - " The girl's mouth twisted, and she looked down. "Um, sorry. I'm Hope. Hope Summers? And I'm from a different dimension and, um - I knew you? But not you-you. But she was my auntie." This semi-comprehensible story out, Hope shrugged awkwardly, wincing.
“You’re not the first person to show up here with that story,” Alani assured her, smile soft as she looked at the girl. “And I’ll say, if you’re working with Sooraya, you’re in really good hands. May I ask what she’s working with you on?”
"She's helping me learn more about this world," Hope said, finally shutting the cupboard she'd been snooping in. "And - she's just been nice to me, I guess, since I got here. I, um, I didn't really mean to wreck the house."
“Well good, I can’t see anyone choosing to wreck the house,” Alani nodded, stopping her own search to look at the shorter redhead. “I’m sorry, this must be so awkward if I look like someone who was your auntie.”
"It's not your fault," Hope hastened to say. "I just, um, she kind of - I'll see her soon, anyway." The girls hands twisted together, anxiety sublimated. "Sorry, it's not really your problem or anything." It occurred to her that the etiquette of talking to alternate versions of people you knew had been omitted from her education - to her current detriment.
"It's not, but I never want anyone to feel uncomfortable talking to me, or around me. It's pretty important to my work." Her smile returned. "I'm glad you'll see her soon, like I said, we have had visitors from other dimensions before, and I do work with the people who check dimensions."
Hope peered forward, fascinated. "You do? That's really cool. How come you guys do that? Even at home, it's really only Dad and that's because he's kind of different."
“We had an accident,” Alani explains calmly, brows knitting together as the memory comes to her. "So now we have a team to make sure there aren't any accidents like that anymore. And to make sure people are safe. A lot like your X-Men, I have to assume."
"Oh, okay." Hope accepted this without a flicker of concern, transparently used to these kinds of things. "So you're not an X-Man here? You're on one of the, um, other teams?" The girl's dubiousness around this arrangement did show, but she politely (for her) did not voice it.
"I am, my team's called eXcalibur and we watch for problems in the universes, but, mostly we collect data." Alani smiled apologetically. Not wanting to tell the girl she couldn't hep her but not wanting to promise she could do anything for her. "Ya know, even though you're stuck here, this might be a great opportunity to meet other young people. I can make you little flashcards of the kids in Generation X for you."
"I think I met some of them - is Madin one?" The girl looked a little shy, an odd look on someone who was clearly not nervous with people. "I'd like to meet them. There aren't a lot of other kids - other people my age where I'm from."
"Hey hey!" Sooraya called out from the other room: "Sorry I'm a little late."
A few seconds later she was poking her head around the door. "Hey Hope... oh hey Alani... great that you ran into each other. I've been wanting to introduce you."
"Sooraya!" Hope waved. "I met Alani, but did you know I know her already? Well, not her, but in my world she's my Auntie 'Lani and - "
