xp_logs | Moira and Romany Finally Meet

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Moira's out for a walk and finds herself at the baseball field. She also stumbles on Romany. They start talking about Iceland in hopes that it would help put some of the pieces together and also touch on the subject of Amanda and how much of a brat Pete was when he was young. Romany also convinces Moira to try one of Homily's infamous tonics.

Moira really hadn't planned where her walk would take her. All she had wanted was to get out of the confines of the mansion and away from the stress and worry that everyone was dealing with. Of course, it didn't help that she had ended up yards away from where everyone had been playing baseball just a few days ago. Sadly, she gazed around and shook her head. Nathan would have a heart attack if he knew she was out here by herself.

Still, it was hard to turn away and she took a sip of the almost-cold tea before turning around.

"It's hard to keep away, isn't it?" said a woman's voice, English-accented. Romany moved away from the shade of a nearby tree where she'd been taking shelter from the sun and heat, but still within range of the diamond. "Moira, isn't it? Amanda told me about you."

A little surprised, she turned and blinked. "Nice ta meet ye, finally," she responded, reaching out to shake the other woman's hand. It felt a little surreal but sometimes it was best to cling to things that are normal. "Aye, first time I've been out 'ere since they disappeared. Part o' me would 'ope that I would come out an' they'd be back." Moira grimaced. "Good ta be 'opeful, I guess."

"We need hope - it stops us going completely mad," Romany told her. "Romany, if you hadn't guessed - I'm told my brother and I look somewhat alike. And they will be back, it's just a matter of when and how. Stephen and I are working on the last, at least."

A ghost of a smile appeared. "Ye do at tha'," she responded. "Oh good. Because this is well beyond me expertise. Between ye an' Stephen, though, I'm sure ye'll find somethin' ta brin' them 'ome wit'. Beyond Amanda, I 'avenae 'ad much dealin' wit' magic."

"Besides Iceland, you mean?" Romany asked cannily. She could see the tension in Moira's body language, the general disorder of her aura. The woman was at breaking point, and whilst much of it was beyond Romany's ability to meddle with, she could at least deal with the magical parts. "Stephen said something had happened there, something that was related to this."

Moira grimaced slightly. "Part o' me was still 'opin' for a scientific explanation ta tha'," she admitted, finishing off her tea. Turning, she looked at Romany and frowned. "I'm assumin' tha' 'tisnae th' case then?"

"What happened in Iceland... every magic user in the northern hemisphere felt it. Possibly further. If it had not been so soon after the attack at Columbia, you would have had to tie Amanda to the bed," Romany said with a hint of wry amusement. "It was a source of magical power, stronger than most sources available here on earth. Someone was messing about with the balance of things."

It was a very good thing that Moira had come to the mansion already open minded. It hadn't taken her very long to accept that magic existed, despite the scientific thought process she had to have. But still..."Bloody 'ell," she muttered, reaching up to rub her eyes. "Well, tha' would explain why all o' our tests keep bringin' up nothin'. I knew it wasnae mutant related." She chased her thoughts for a moment. "An' nay lon' after, everyone disappeared...?"

"It seems so. And by the same force. It would help if we knew what had happened exactly in Iceland... Stephen told me you were supposed to confer with him, but then this happened and I'm guessing you didn't get around to it?" Gracefully, Romany took a seat on the grass beneath the tree's shade and patted a spot near her. "We have more than enough time now, and it would help. A lot."

"Anythin' ta 'elp." The response was immediate and she settled herself in the cool grass, grateful for the shade. Scots were not normally hot weather creatures and she had been standing out there for a while. "Wha' do I need ta do?" Moira smiled a little. "'Tis a wee bit 'ard sayin' I dinnae know wha' comes next."

"How about you tell me what happened? To you personally, I mean. There is... mystic residue, I suppose you could call it, so I know that whatever the power in Iceland was, it touched you directly." Romany was careful to keep her tone friendly and informal - she didn't know Moira, but she knew the woman would brook no interfering in her life. And she certainly needed some kind of release valve.

"I'd say th' entire thin' was a bit odd but..." Her gaze wandered to the baseball field and then back to Romany. Moira really hadn't talked about this, except with Nathan, but if it would help get everyone back then she would tell her what she knew. "We went ta Iceland because there were a great deal o' power flare ups. Normally, mutants display their powers around puberty. But tha' many, in one small area, was unheard o'. When we got there...beginnin' is kind o' fuzzy. But Dr. Bartlet an' meself also developed powers. Seemed whatever it was only affected 'umans because everyone else was unaffected." A wistful smile crossed her face. "Romany, I've been at this job for many years now--first time I've ever managed ta experience it first 'and. I manifested wha' appeared ta be a cornacupia like power. Food, clothing, thin's like tha'...I could feed an' clothe th' poor. It was amazin'."

Moira's face hardened, though, as she started in on the rest of it. "But ye dinnae get somethin' like tha' for free. Those affected lost th' ability ta create. Our imagination for anythin' new was gone. Took some time ta figure out but we were faced wit' some problems. I wasnae there when they capped whatever it was tha' was causin' it but we did make th' decision ta stop it. Sometimes th' devil's price is a wee bit ta 'igh."

"Indeed it is," Romany said softly, obviously thinking over what Moira had told her. And it was helpful, both in terms of finding out what had happened to the children, and for Moira herself. "But which particular devil offered the bargain, I wonder?" She caught the look Moira was giving her, and smiled. "Sorry, thinking out loud. An old habit. And you and this Doctor Bartlet... Has there been any ill-effects? I know Stephen would have been here like a shot to check things out."

"I dinnae think so, nay for th' magic side o' thin's." The ulcer was due to every other stressful thing in her life, she thought ruefully. "Dr. Bartlet an' I really 'avenae talked about it much, I know it was 'arder for 'er ta give up than meself." Moira's thoughts turned back to Iceland. "Everythin' was so bloody chaotic when we got there, nay rhyme or reason for any o' it."

Chaos. Another piece of the puzzle slotted into space, and Romany couldn't help a small triumphant smile. So much for Strange and his mysterious 'contacts'. "I've noticed this particular environment doesn't lend itself well to people talking about their difficulties. Which can't be good for their health." She gave Moira a knowing look. "I have a tonic, one of Homily's, that's quite good for stomach ulcers."

An eyebrow arched slightly but she couldn't help but laugh. "Lord, ye'd think I was wavin' a sign around me 'ead at this rate," Moira muttered. She paused. "I've 'eard 'bout this tonics o' 'omily's..."

"I cheat. Shamelessly. Auras, remember?" Romany joined in the laughter. "And yes, Homily's tonics have become... infamous, I believe is the right word. And don't believe a word my brother says about them, either."

"At this point, Pete's avoidin' me because 'e knows I've got a set o' medical supplies specifically for 'im tha' are safely in th' freezer."

Romany threw back her head and laughed at that. "That is so like him," she said. "He never could stand being told what was good for him, even when he was small. The grey hair's his fault, I'm sure." She gestured at the sprinkling of silver in her dark hair. "He was such a monster, and I must admit, I was not exactly prepared to be a surrogate mother in my teens. Something of a wild history, you understand."

Moira's thoughts traveled back to her own past and she grinned. "Completely. Children are 'ard ta take care o', even when yer expectin' ta 'ave tha' job. An' I can only imagine wha' Pete must 'ave been like when 'e was younger..." A slightly horrified expression crossed her face at the thought of that.

"Try a combination of Nathan and Amanda," Romany suggested with a wicked smile. "With a good dose of his own innate bastardry thrown in. Pete was a handful."

"An' they talk 'bout me 'avin' th' patience o' a saint. I think I'll stick ta bein' grateful tha' all I 'ave ta deal wit' is a grown up Pete. Well, as grown up as 'e, or Nathan, can get." She rolled her eyes slightly, having seen Nathan's inner three year old on a fairly regular basis.

"Boys never truly grow up, which is why I'm eternally grateful the last child I'm having a hand in raising is definitely not male." Romany chuckled, but her eyes strayed again to the playing field. "Although Amanda seems determined to find a whole new set of ways to give me grey hair. Pete never got himself kidnapped to another dimension, at least, not while he was still at hime. Heaven knows what he got up to after he left."

"Probably more trouble than 'e'll ever let on," Moira agreed, but her gaze followed Romany's. "They'll be back, either under their own power or ours. Heaven help whoever gets in th' way o' tha'." Despite her strong words, she was worried and afraid. Ten years after the fact and she was still grieving Kevin. It would be a hard blow, almost impossible, to take if saw one of the kids she had gotten close to—did not come back.

"They will. I have no doubt of that. Just when is the question." Romany didn't voice her fears that time - however much of it had passed for the children - spent in a magical realm would not go unmarked. She just hoped that whatever changes had been wrought, they were for the better. "And now I believe I owe you a potion? Shall we go back to the house so I can practice my dark arts upon you?" she asked, again with that wicked smile. She liked Moira, much for the same reasons Pete did (although he probably wouldn't admit it). The doctor had a good head on her shoulders.

She laughed at that. "Aye, I suppose if ye must," she replied, grinning. "Besides, I if I dinnae take th' tonic, Nathan'll find somethin' else ta ply me wit' later. An' I'd rather be awake an' feelin' better, then sleepin' an' feelin' better. "Besides, 'tis nay every day tha' I get ta say tha' someone 'practiced their dark arts' on me. Makes for an interestin' story." Moira felt some of the tension ease out. Talking about Iceland, even a little, had helped and she guessed that had been part of the reason Romany asked. Standing, she brushed the grass from her jeans and realized that, while the circumstances were not the best, she was glad to have met the other woman.

"You're most welcome," Romany said, reacting more to Moira's unspoken thoughts than anything she'd said. "I promise, the potion isn't half as vile as Pete might tell you. Fairly horrible, but not completely vile." She stood, a little less easily than she'd sat. Blast, she was getting old. "And whilst I'm poisoning you with occult brews, you can tell me all the non-traumatic gossip of the place."