xp_logs | that's what friends are for

Monday evening, Alison runs into Piotr in the laundry room and she offers to talk to him about his troubles. A fairly short but nice chat ensues.

Piotr: *is alone in the laundry room, seperating his lights and darks. He looks solemn and tired.*

Alison: *wanders in, hauling in a basket of clothing - she balances on one foot to keep pry the door open and not have to deposit the basket at the same time, and stops in mid balacing act when she spots Piotr looking so sombre* Piotr? Are you ok?

Piotr: *blinks, inturrupted from his thoughts, and looks over at Alison* Oh.. hi. I am okay I guess... *he sets a shirt down and walks over, taking the basket from her in one hand so she won't need to do the balancing act*

Alison: *watches the basket go, and belatedly remembers that she can use her hands to keep the door open. Closes the door gently and walks after him, looking up at him in concern* You guess, huh? *she hops up to sit on one of the washing machines, unworried about the basket of clothing he sets down* Wanna talk about it, or would you rather I not pry?

Piotr: *sets her basket down, and returns to his clothes with a sigh* It is just... it is so -hard- for me to talk to people how I want to because I do not know all of the English. I do not understand why some people are doing some things or some things they say, and... *trails off, and shrugs*

Alison: *brings up her legs to sit crosslegged on the washing machine, and leans down, elbow on knees and chin in hangs. She smiles sympathetically at him.* And sometimes people prefer not to explain, which makes it even harder?

Piotr: *forgets about his clothes for now, and leans back against the dryer. He crosses his arms, and looks over at her, a vulnerable expression on his face* Or when they do explain I do not understand, and there is only so many times I can ask "why?" and "what?"... I am so *struggles, already having trouble expressing himself* ... I do not want to ask why and what anymore.

Alison: Frustrated. That was the word you were looking for. I know a bit of what you mean - it's happened to me when on tour, in a country where I didn't know the langague sometimes... but it wasn't the same - they weren't all friends or people I thought of as family, like you do here. *she sighs, wishing there were some way to fix things, but knowing it's more a question of time and learning than anything else* Tell you what. If you ever do have questions that people can't or don't answer... ask me? I won't be able to give you the answers all the time but - I promise to try. Until you understand. *she smiles at him encouragingly*

Piotr: *listens closely, and smiles a bit, looking unsure* You would not mind? Really?

Alison: I'll try as best as I can. Really. *she chuckles and hops off the washer* I can't garantee I'll be able to answer everything, all the time. But I'm pretty good at people stuff - at least moreso than not. And even if we can't figure out the answer between the two of us, maybe at least we'll be able to work out the right questions for you to ask. *she pats his arm and smiles up at him brightly*

Piotr: *returns the smile, and relaxes a bit* Thank you, Alison. I am glad I have good friends like you. If you ever need anything I will try and help with it for you too, okay?

Alison: *Alison blinks at the clear sincerity of the offer, and then smiles - it's a far quieter smile than any Piotr has had from her this evening so far, he notices* Thank you, Piotr. I - I'll keep that in mind.

Piotr: *tugs on his shirt sleeve* Um... is it okay if I ask you something now?

Alison: *grins widely, having expected that to happen* Of course it is. What would you like to know?

Piotr: *considers how to put this* Well... what if.. um.. I drew a picture of you-- I did not but it is someone else-- and I did not ask and you did not know that I drew you because it was secret... but you saw it anyway... and then you said you did not want anyone to see and you became sort of sad.. and mad maybe, but... what do I do? *didn't exactly explain that right, but is confused*

Alison: *blinks, and looks down, frowning slightly as she tries to sort out what he said* You drew someone, and they didn't want you to show it to anyone else, right? And seeing the drawing made them sad? *she leans on the dryer next to him, looking up at him in concern*

Piotr: *looks a bit upset* Yes... he said it made him look... *tries to remember the word* vulerable I think. That it could hurt him. And then he said people would say things about me if they saw it... I think bad things... I do not know why. He said the drawing was good, but he did not act happy...

Alison: *Alison nods to herself, and wraps her arm around his, leaning into him to offer comfort and not pointing out his slip* Sometimes people prefer to hide their real self from others, for whatever reasons they have to do so. Maybe he just saw something of himself in the drawing that he's not used to thinking about, or showing to others - and it made him afraid. Not just that others might see it through your drawing. But that you could see it too, well enough to put it to paper. *she looks up at him gravely* And I'm not sure about the bad things people might say about you... but it might have to do with his fears about things, more than anything you did.

Piotr: *puts his arms around Alison in a loose hug, enjoying the closeness and comfort while he can. He doesn't get to hug people often* But it was just a drawing of his back.. I do not understand why a drawing would scare someone... it was just.. I do not know what I would see that not everyone else would see...

Alison: *Alison leans in, tilting her head in thought, trying to think how to explain properly* I've only seen a few of your drawings, but from what I've seen... *she remembers one of Illyana in particular* You've a rare talent, Piotr. You can grasp the essence of someone, and lay it on paper. And sometimes when people are used to hiding certain sides of themselves - it scares them when they realize that they can be seen through as though through glass. *she pats his arm pensively* And maybe you saw more than even you realized. And that's what scared him.

Piotr: *doesn't say anything for a long moment, and rests his chin on the top of Alison's head* I saw what he was feeling?

Alison: *she smiles to herself, enjoying the uncomplicated contact and thinks he might understand someday, when he leasts expects it, what it was he saw* I'd say so. It sounds right to me. And it might be something you don't understand or know yet. But just because you don't, doesn't mean you might not have caught the essence of it when you drew him.

Piotr: *murmurs* Oh.... okay... *he doesn't say anything else and doesn't move, lost in thought*

Alison: *Alison grins to herself and lets him think in peace for a moment, enjoying the hug and not wanting to step out of it just yet - she knows Piotr won't attribute anything more to it than there is, after all. It's one of the things that make him Piotr, she reflects, that he can be so openly affectionate without thinking of what others might think.*

Piotr: *after a long stretch of comfortable snuggly silence, he finally sighes, and shifts* I think I will do the laundry later. Thank you for helping me, Alison... *smiles softly*

Alison: *Alison smiles back at him* Anytime. *she adds impulsively* It's what friends are for.

Piotr: *looks happier, and rests his forhead on hers a moment* You are a good friend. *he steps back out of the hug, and picks up his basket of unwashed laundry* I will see you later, okay?

Alison: Yep. Sweet dreams, Piotr. *she glows at him briefly, quite literally lighting up the room a bit in a soft glow as he leaves*

Piotr: Goodnight... *he looks around the glowing room with a smile, and leaves*