Sooraya & Mel | X-Men
Apr. 7th, 2025 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_aero posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsMel has a query for Sooraya.
With a vase of freshly cut flowers in one hand (she'd kept up the habit, even after her firing), Mel knocked softly on the door of Sooraya's office. It wouldn't be neighborly to show up empty handed, especially when coming to ask a favor.
"Come on in!" Sooraya called, quickly typing a few notes in her laptop. "Just take a seat. I just need to get this bit down before I lose my train of thought." She didn't fully look up, just focused on the book and her fingers flying over the keyboard.
Mel entered the room with a wave. Pulling out a chair, she placed the vase on an empty corner of the desk while she waited for Sooraya to finish. “No worries, take yer time. I apologize fer not messaging ahead.”
With a sharp clack of the period key Sooraya looked up. "No worries, Mel. Like I said, just really needed to get this down." She caught sight of the flowers and paused: "Wow, those are lovely." Tilting her head she added in a joking tone: "Was there anything special I did to deserve those?"
"Nothin' other than bein' yerself," she smiled. "I thought you might like the pop of color. Spring is on its way after all." Adjusting a bit in her seat, Mel continued on. "I actually had a bit of a favor to ask, if it would be alright. About the X-Men."
"A favor about the X-men? That sounds interesting." Sooraya quickly closed her laptop and pushed the science books to the side. "No one is in trouble, right?"
“Oh no, nothin’ like that,” Mel quickly assured. “I jus’.. I think I’d like t’join one of the teams at some point, but ain’t sure which one really. I was wonderin’ if you might be able to show me some of what y'all get up to.”
"Hmmm..." Sooraya tilted her head a little, taking in Mel. "I think we can figure something out. But I've a question for you first. What makes you think you might want to join the X-men? Is there something that draws you?"
"I like the idea of helpin' people, I guess. I've been in so much trouble this past year I figure I'd like to be the one doin' some of the savin' from time to time." She tugged a piece of her hair out of habit. "I've been trainin' a lot fer somethin’ at any rate. Pretty decent too now I think.”
"There are many ways of helping people though." Sooraya gently pointed out. "And saving as well... At XFI your brother does a fair amount of both, we do so in the Underground and even a bit in the community center."
That made Mel feel self conscious in her answer. She knew Sooraya wouldn't mean it that way, but she couldn't help but think that she wouldn't be useful enough on a team like the X-Men. Her powers weren't exactly.. combative. Maybe they wouldn't want the liability. "Well, um. I guess yer right 'bout that. I was plannin' on seein' if I could help out there as well, maybe. I dunno. I jus'.. I've always liked workin' with my hands, y'know? An' I enjoy the trainin' an' while it's been scary as all hell at times, bein' able to get out of a tough situation is... rewardin' I guess? Being able to think on my feet and makin' sure everyone gets home safe."
"That makes a lot of sense. So not only wanting to help people and trying to save them, but also the challenge of doing so?" Sooraya leaned back a little, taking in the young woman in front of her. "How much do you know already about the team and what it entails?"
"Y'all are crisis response fer mutants, yeah? Helpin' mutants in danger, stoppin' mutants from doin' the endangerin', stuff like that." It was a rough paraphrase of what Marius had told her about the team all those nights ago. That conversation had stuck in the back of her mind, though maybe for different reasons now. So much had happened over the year.
"That is kinda the core of it, yeah." Sooraya nodded. "We cover both sides of the coin, but sometimes also totally different stuff. Though it's not usually in our wheelhouse, sometimes we also deal with consequences of magical stuff or experiments gone wrong."
Lifting her shoulders, Mel said, "I figured. Y'hear stories, y'know? From all the folks who've been here long enough. It's been... eye-opening? Like, it certainly ain't what I was worried about back in Cumberland, but it feels like somethin' I could help with, maybe."
Sooraya looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I do need to check in with Cyclops as well on this, but I think I have a few idea's what we can do to give you a taste of what it's like to be an X-man. How much do you know of the daily duties that come with it?"
“Thank you, I really ‘ppreciate it. An’ um.. not much? Or anythin’ really.”
"First big component is training. Not just with your powers or combat skills." Sooraya explained. "But there are also things like first aid training, de-escalation techniques and learning the basics of the jet, though you don't have to become a full pilot if you don't want to."
That made sense. At the mention of the jet Mel’s eyes lit up slightly. “Yeah, those’d be good to have. I do a lot of physical trainin’ already with Namor an’ others, but I ain’t got much of a clue on th’ rest of it.” She was CPR certified at some point for work, but it had been a while. “How does that typically work?”
"You mean the training is organized?" Sooraya tilted her head, just a little quizzically.
"I guess, but it's not a pressin' question. Thank you so much fer talkin' with me. I really 'ppreciate it."
"I'm happy to do so, Mel." Sooraya narrowed her eyes, considering. "Another important part of being an X-man is monitor duty. You watch the news and other incoming communication for situations the X-men might have to respond to."
"So jus' keepin' an eye out fer anythin' that might concern mutants? Or jus' general happenings?" Her getting most her news off of TikTok might have to change. It was time to accept that she was getting *shudder* old.
"A bit of everything. There's the news, but there are also some websites we keep an eye on, for one." Sooraya simply explained.
"Ah, alright. Makes sense." The clock struck the hour, which caught Mel's attention. Had they really been talking for so long? She straightened in her chair.
"But how about I talk to Cyclops and I'll see what we can set up. I can tell you lots, but it's easier to show you some things." Sooraya quickly shifted tacks. "Does that work for you?"
“That would be real swell of ya. It would definitely work fer me.” A pleased sort of warmth spread through Mel’s chest, glad to be one step closer to figuring out what she wanted.
"I'll let you know as soon as I hear something."
With a vase of freshly cut flowers in one hand (she'd kept up the habit, even after her firing), Mel knocked softly on the door of Sooraya's office. It wouldn't be neighborly to show up empty handed, especially when coming to ask a favor.
"Come on in!" Sooraya called, quickly typing a few notes in her laptop. "Just take a seat. I just need to get this bit down before I lose my train of thought." She didn't fully look up, just focused on the book and her fingers flying over the keyboard.
Mel entered the room with a wave. Pulling out a chair, she placed the vase on an empty corner of the desk while she waited for Sooraya to finish. “No worries, take yer time. I apologize fer not messaging ahead.”
With a sharp clack of the period key Sooraya looked up. "No worries, Mel. Like I said, just really needed to get this down." She caught sight of the flowers and paused: "Wow, those are lovely." Tilting her head she added in a joking tone: "Was there anything special I did to deserve those?"
"Nothin' other than bein' yerself," she smiled. "I thought you might like the pop of color. Spring is on its way after all." Adjusting a bit in her seat, Mel continued on. "I actually had a bit of a favor to ask, if it would be alright. About the X-Men."
"A favor about the X-men? That sounds interesting." Sooraya quickly closed her laptop and pushed the science books to the side. "No one is in trouble, right?"
“Oh no, nothin’ like that,” Mel quickly assured. “I jus’.. I think I’d like t’join one of the teams at some point, but ain’t sure which one really. I was wonderin’ if you might be able to show me some of what y'all get up to.”
"Hmmm..." Sooraya tilted her head a little, taking in Mel. "I think we can figure something out. But I've a question for you first. What makes you think you might want to join the X-men? Is there something that draws you?"
"I like the idea of helpin' people, I guess. I've been in so much trouble this past year I figure I'd like to be the one doin' some of the savin' from time to time." She tugged a piece of her hair out of habit. "I've been trainin' a lot fer somethin’ at any rate. Pretty decent too now I think.”
"There are many ways of helping people though." Sooraya gently pointed out. "And saving as well... At XFI your brother does a fair amount of both, we do so in the Underground and even a bit in the community center."
That made Mel feel self conscious in her answer. She knew Sooraya wouldn't mean it that way, but she couldn't help but think that she wouldn't be useful enough on a team like the X-Men. Her powers weren't exactly.. combative. Maybe they wouldn't want the liability. "Well, um. I guess yer right 'bout that. I was plannin' on seein' if I could help out there as well, maybe. I dunno. I jus'.. I've always liked workin' with my hands, y'know? An' I enjoy the trainin' an' while it's been scary as all hell at times, bein' able to get out of a tough situation is... rewardin' I guess? Being able to think on my feet and makin' sure everyone gets home safe."
"That makes a lot of sense. So not only wanting to help people and trying to save them, but also the challenge of doing so?" Sooraya leaned back a little, taking in the young woman in front of her. "How much do you know already about the team and what it entails?"
"Y'all are crisis response fer mutants, yeah? Helpin' mutants in danger, stoppin' mutants from doin' the endangerin', stuff like that." It was a rough paraphrase of what Marius had told her about the team all those nights ago. That conversation had stuck in the back of her mind, though maybe for different reasons now. So much had happened over the year.
"That is kinda the core of it, yeah." Sooraya nodded. "We cover both sides of the coin, but sometimes also totally different stuff. Though it's not usually in our wheelhouse, sometimes we also deal with consequences of magical stuff or experiments gone wrong."
Lifting her shoulders, Mel said, "I figured. Y'hear stories, y'know? From all the folks who've been here long enough. It's been... eye-opening? Like, it certainly ain't what I was worried about back in Cumberland, but it feels like somethin' I could help with, maybe."
Sooraya looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I do need to check in with Cyclops as well on this, but I think I have a few idea's what we can do to give you a taste of what it's like to be an X-man. How much do you know of the daily duties that come with it?"
“Thank you, I really ‘ppreciate it. An’ um.. not much? Or anythin’ really.”
"First big component is training. Not just with your powers or combat skills." Sooraya explained. "But there are also things like first aid training, de-escalation techniques and learning the basics of the jet, though you don't have to become a full pilot if you don't want to."
That made sense. At the mention of the jet Mel’s eyes lit up slightly. “Yeah, those’d be good to have. I do a lot of physical trainin’ already with Namor an’ others, but I ain’t got much of a clue on th’ rest of it.” She was CPR certified at some point for work, but it had been a while. “How does that typically work?”
"You mean the training is organized?" Sooraya tilted her head, just a little quizzically.
"I guess, but it's not a pressin' question. Thank you so much fer talkin' with me. I really 'ppreciate it."
"I'm happy to do so, Mel." Sooraya narrowed her eyes, considering. "Another important part of being an X-man is monitor duty. You watch the news and other incoming communication for situations the X-men might have to respond to."
"So jus' keepin' an eye out fer anythin' that might concern mutants? Or jus' general happenings?" Her getting most her news off of TikTok might have to change. It was time to accept that she was getting *shudder* old.
"A bit of everything. There's the news, but there are also some websites we keep an eye on, for one." Sooraya simply explained.
"Ah, alright. Makes sense." The clock struck the hour, which caught Mel's attention. Had they really been talking for so long? She straightened in her chair.
"But how about I talk to Cyclops and I'll see what we can set up. I can tell you lots, but it's easier to show you some things." Sooraya quickly shifted tacks. "Does that work for you?"
“That would be real swell of ya. It would definitely work fer me.” A pleased sort of warmth spread through Mel’s chest, glad to be one step closer to figuring out what she wanted.
"I'll let you know as soon as I hear something."
