Alison comes to Chicago to talk to Sarah Pryde about Kitty

[x-kitten.livejournal.com]

This log is so beyond late...



Sarah Pryde had come home early from work so she could be here when Kitty came back from her ballet lesson. Not that she expected the teenager to be glad to see her, not after the fight they'd had last night, but she figured she'd try and extend the hand of peace to her daughter one more time. She'd even stopped at the bakery down the street and picked up some of Kitty's favorite sweet buns.

She was just puttering around, cleaning up her office and the dishes Kitty had left in the sink - and she was doing her best not to assume her daughter had done it on purpose. Afterall, there was no way the girl could have known she'd come back early.

Probably.

The door bell ringing pulled her out of her thoughts and she shut off the water to go see who was there.

"Hello!" Alison beamed cheerfully, eschewing the use of 'Mrs Pryde' at the last minute, because all things considered now might not be the best time to find out if that was still how the woman wished to be called or not. "I hope this isn't an inconvenience, but I was on the area and thought I'd drop by... I left a message?" She remained firmly outside the door, waiting for an invitation before even thinking of moving an inch.

Sarah blinked, startled to see the woman before her. "You did?" It was out of her mouth before she really processed what she was saying. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I mean, come in, come in. I didn't get the message, I'm afraid." She moved out of the way to let Alison come in. "Ms. Blair, right? You..." Sarah trailed off, suddenly having an idea why the other woman might have come. "You teach at Xavier's school." She decidedly didn't call it 'Kitty's school'.

Well, the message had been left that same afternoon, yes - but it was a message. Alison didn't even wince as she walked in, but paused respectfully in the hallway as soon as Sarah realized why she was there. It was, she decided, the single most important thing that throughout this entire discussion, the woman not feel out of control or overcome by events. Not once.

"Yes, I do. Music," she smiled pleasantly, tilting her head to the side a bit, shoulders relaxed and expression open. "I hope it's not too much trouble that I came over to check on her progress while she was away from the school?" Politeness would demand Sarah reply that it was no trouble at all. But if she answered otherwise, then they'd be at least talking about any issue - were there some - and that would be only good too. Win/win, as far as Alison was concerned.

"Oh, I thought Kitty had said she had you for dance? I know she never took a music class and her dance lessons her are going fine, you really don't need to worry." Sarah smiled, happy to make the assumption that the reason the other woman was here was just to check on Kitty's progress. If that was the angle she wanted to play it from, that was fine with Sarah. Especially since Kitty was a good enough student to be doing fine where ever she was - academic progress would never be a reason for her to need to go back to Xavier's. "It's good of you to worry about her over the summer, but really it wasn't necessary."

"So she's been doing well with controlling her mutation as well?" Alison gave her an earnest look, certainly not at all concerned about speaking so bluntly on the matter. After all, that was why Kitty had been sent to Xavier's to start with. And power control was the only real card Alison had to play - except of course Kitty's own real desire to come back.

Sarah blinked, as much at the bluntness as at the question itself. "Well, of course, why wouldn't she be? She has been at that school training for years now. To the best of my knowledge she hasn't had any problems in a very long time." She paused, wondering for a moment. It was no secret to Sarah that her daughter didn't really talk to her that much anymore. "Why?" she finally asked. "Has she... has she said something, in a letter maybe?" And God, but it hurt to admit that there might be something her own daughter wasn't willing to talk to her about, but would tell to this... this woman.

Don't intrude on her personal space, no matter how much a simple pat on the hand would be required in a "social" setting. This wasn't tea with a friend of her mother's, after all. And those years were long past anyway. Instead, rock solid and radiating as much as calm as she could, Alison just shook her head, answering simply. "No, she hasn't. It's simply a concern the staff at the school always keep close to their hearts. It's easy for years of training to become undone at times, especially when we consider that our students are teenagers after all. Also, powers sometimes evolve - this is a rarer case and not on we think applies to Kitty. But we do know we haven't even begun to explore the range of possibilities, as to what she might be capable of doing."

She smiled a bit, spreading her hands open, palms upwards. "We're theorized as to what she might be able to do, but her training levels are kept as smooth as possible. We want to make sure that she's ready for the next step, before we explore further. Healthy in mind as well as body, if you will. IT helps a great deal we've found, that there isn't the issue of discrimination at the school. Not being a social outcast or having to deal with extreme reactions from her schoolmates allows Kitty to concentrate on just being a teenager instead."

Sarah relaxed fractionally - surely if Kitty really had a problem she would tell her, their little fights aside. "I guess I can see how that would be. You're certainly right that years of training can be lost if a skill is not kept in shape - all of Kitty's dance instructors would tell me the same, I'm sure." And for Sarah, Kitty's mutant powers really did seem to be just another sort of skill that she had. "And I guess I do see what you mean about any possible... reactions, to her mutation that might come about. I know she hasn't told any of her friends here about her powers," Sarah admitted. "However, she seems to be doing very well for all of that."

"But that's taking into consideration the support network she has with the school, right now." Alison looked down, sighing. "I envy her that." She chuckled lowly then looked up, as though setting something aside. "I had to go through school on my own, hiding what I could do from everyone. It's not easy. You watch everything you do, wonder when you'll slip and in front of who. It... eats at you, after a while. And there's no one you can lean on-" again, another shake of the head. "I'm sorry. Of course, right now, this doesn't apply to Kitty in the least. It's not a worry for her, at Xavier's."

Sarah paused, wondering for a moment what this Ms. Blair must have lived through, her worry over Kitty overshadowing any other reaction for a moment.

In that moment the sound of the door opening could be heard, and Kitty's low mutter, "Did I leave the door open...?" The door shut, and Kitty came down the hall, pausing when she spotted her mother. "Oh, mom, you're home. I wasn't..." Kitty trailed off. "Al!" Kitty's face split into a grin as she spotted her teacher. "Al, you're here?"

Alison smiled, genuine joy showing through and rose to her feet. "Hiya kiddo. Surprise!" Which was fair enough, because she hadn't told Kitty when she'd be there, after all. "I brought some letters and stuff from the kids at the school, they're in the car." She closed the distance between them, not at all shy about hugging the girl silly. "We all miss you," she murmured, throat going tight.

Sarah heard her daughter's muffled "I miss you all too, so much..." and her lips tightened, but she didn't say anything.

"Al, I can't believe you actually came all the way here," Kitty added. "Or that you managed to do it without Jamie trying to smuggle a dupe in a suitcase..."

"Oh, he didn't stand a chance with both Artie and Miles ganging up on him," Alison chuckled, pulling back with both hands firmly on Kitty's shoulders, looking her over carefully. "You look good, kiddo."

"Yes, I'd say good old midwestern food and clean living suit her," Sarah said, finally standing up.

Kitty scowled. "Oh, sure mom. Because the air out here is so much better for me than in Westchester, and instant ramen for lunch is good for me while Lorna's three course nutritionally balanced meals are bad..."

"Speaking of which, she added some of the new pocky she made for Shiro to the care package I brought along," Alison smiled casually as she said this, deliberately ignoring the undertones of the discussion between mother and daughter. "Everyone misses you a lot."

Kitty let herself be distracted from the argument she and her mother had gone over so many times. "Lorna made pocky? God, Shiro must have been through the roof."

Sarah Pryde was equally willing to let the 'discussion' drop, not really feeling up to fighting in front of company. "I'm sorry," she said suddenly, "I've been terribly rude. Ms. Blaire, are you going to be staying over here in Chicago? We have a spare room you can use if you need..."

"Well, not literally, but yes he did." She wrinkled her nose at Kitty in amusement at the thought however, before turning to face Sarah as she spoke. She did have a room booked at the hotel but... "I'd truly hate to impose," she offered. "I know this has all been very last minute and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you." But one short talk would not be enough, that much was clear.

Kitty snorted at the 'not literally' comment, imagining what Mr. Marko would have had to say if Shiro had literally gone through the roof.

Sarah smiled pleasently. "Oh, it wouldn't be any trouble, I'm sure."

With a smile which combined equals parts of relief and simple appreciation, Alison accepted the offer. "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that. I've had enough of hotels to last me for a lifetime," she chuckled, shaking her head. And it would give both of them time to get more into the heart of things.

For the first time since coming home, Kitty smiled at her mother. "Here, Al," she said. "I'll grab your bags and take them up to the guest room. And don't worry, mom, I'll make sure it's suiteably clean." Which earned her a smile in return from her mother.