2396/All The Secrets That You Keep

All The Secrets That You Keep
Date of Scene:	10 September 2017
Location:	Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Yana vents her frustrations out to Diya about Jean finding out she is a Bratva Princess.
Cast of Characters:	Black Rose, Okhotnik

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Black Rose has posed:
    It's later at night, the sun has gone down and the moon has come up, and long ago someone left with the food truck ... that delivered food to the kitchen, but Yana Asarov is not in her room. She is also not sneaking anywhere. No. She is stalking about, not unlike an angry tigress, and muttering to herself, low, and angrily, in Russian. The Bratva Princess is not happy. In the least.

Okhotnik has posed:
Out and about in the outdoors, Diya has a tendency to spend a lot of time out of the Mansion. She needs the fresh air, and the feeling of no walls to hem her in. It tends to ratchet down her anxieties and tension, making her easier to deal with. It also tends to leave her with less noise and a more limited palette of strong scents to assault her hypersenses. But it also means that some sounds or scents stand out to her quickly, because they do not belong within the fabric of the more natural surroundings. Like Russian cursing.

The ashen blonde soldier leans against a tree perhaps forty or fifty yards away, watching the blue-haired princess pace and snarl, listening to her bitch. She doesn't say a word, and she approached as carefully as she can, just by force of habit. No need to announce herself, after all. That sort of stupid recklessness gets a lone soldier, no matter how talented, well and truly dead. Meanwhile, Diya is cataloging all of those that the princess feels have wronged her. Quite a list, it seems, and Diya amongst them.

Black Rose has posed:
    << What did she think, anyways? That I'm supposed to come into the school and just say, hey, by the way, I'm the daughter of the local Pakhan here? Like she wants me to wear the star on my forehead or something. >> She pauses, in her tirade, clearly talking to herself, << Alright. So, she let me stay. Let me, far as I can tell, remain with the New Mutants. So there's that. But I still don't know how she knew. The only -possible- way, that I can see, is she was investigating Diya. Figured out what happened with the Evos. But that would've taken her to questioning Lexi, and Diya both. Lexi? She wouldn't give me away of her own accord. But, as talkative as she can be, she might've let it slip. Diya? Unlikely. Unless she thought revelation of my family would protect me further. But, I'm not in danger here. >>

Okhotnik has posed:
~// "What is wrong, Princess?" //~ Diya questions, long about the time Yana finally rants herself out a bit, and takes a breath. It's a semi-natural breaking point, the right place to interrupt the flow. But the soldier doesn't move; she stays right where she is. If Yana yells at her to go away, she will. Doesn't mean she doesn't care.

Black Rose has posed:
    << She found out, >> Yana turns towards the voice, her face twisting into a rather angry expression. << That I'm Bratva. Ms. Grey. I don't know how. But she found out. I almost lost everything I worked for, in coming here. Now she doesn't trust me, >> she says, making a fist. But, she's at least tempered enough to not throw a fit, to not start whipping things around with her abilities, << Because I didn't tell her when I enrolled. What was I supposed to do? And -- how the hell did she find out, anyways?! >>

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya winces, getting rather tense when that anger is directed at her. It's in her nature. But she just leans on the tree, unmoving, and lets Yana vent her displeasure. ~// "I do not know how she found out. I did not tell her, though we did speak. A lot." //~ More words from Diya to Jean than she has spoken to anyone at one time in over two years. And somehow it seemed as if Jean understood even more than she herself said, but Diya isn't sure how that works. ~// "She let me stay. Asked me to stay, in spite of everything." //~

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana kicks a tree - luckily, she's still keeping herself unempowered. The tree doens't even move. Then, she just sighs, "It's all screwed up. Thankfully, though, I did convince her to keep it to herself. To not share it with the rest of the staff. But she says now she doesn't know if she can trust me." She looks utterly flustered, frustrated. "I don't like any of this, Diya," she exhales, and leans against the tree, folding her arms, and looking more than a little grumpy.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya stands upright from the tree and walks over towards Yana, looking into the other woman's eyes with that soft reflective glow in her own eyes. "Why would she not know if she can trust you? Isn't she one of the mind-speakers?" she inquires, curiously. Of course, she hasn't put that together with this whole leaked secret thing. Oops. "I can understand not being happy. I am not happy, myself. I hate the thought of her, of others here, knowing my past. Involving themselves. You want them to be safe. You don't want the Bratva to infect this place."

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana sighs, long. She shakes her head, "No. The Bratva aren't going to come here. Like I told Ms. Grey, ... my father is a very insightful man. He does not want the secrets here. He doesn't care about them. What he is doing is -working-. Being - quiet. Unobtrusive. Content with the way things are running. Pushing himself further, the Bratva further, is cause to bring attention down on them. Get them in the public eye. In Daredevil's sights, or Spider-Man's, or the Avengers. Even the New Mutants here. I don't know. My father knows this. So he is content, to run his legitimate businesses, and oversee the actions of the Bratva. To make sure we are only taking calculated risks."
    She frowns, shaking her head. "For once, Diya. For once I wanted people to not know. So people would either like me, or hate me based on who I am. Not whose daughter I am. Coming here, for me, was as much about that as it was learning to use my abilities. Now? That's ... more or less gone."
    She frowns, deeply. "But, yes. I do want them to be safe. I want -you- to be safe." She looks to Diya, the frown still etched on her expression. "Maybe she read my mind. I don't know. I don't think so. She found out somehow. I guess what's important now is that she's not telling anyone else. But I don't know what to do next. Diya. I -always- know what to do next. Always. I --,"
    Yana turns away, punches the tree again, and is silent.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya purses her lips. "You said she promised not to speak of this to others. So then, the only ones who know are Lex and I, and Miss Grey. So your chance is not ruined, is not gone. I may not understand these people. But my instincts tell me that she would not lie." Simple logic. But Diya is, at her core, a very simple person. Painfully direct.

"Explain something to me." Diya inquires, after a bit. "The mind-talkers. How do they work? What do they hear, and how do they hear it?" Diya has no experience with other powered folk; she has no idea how it works, or how it does not. But she's having a suspicion. It is better if she asks and then confirms, than speaks out of turn.

Black Rose has posed:
    It takes Yana a full minute to compose herself back. But, she does so after a few long breaths, and a lot of silence. Finally, she swallows, and says quietly but steadily, "I've not really encountered any telepaths until I got here," she admits. "But, I understand some of the fundamentals. They can - well, one thing they can do is set up like a communications system, like a radio, inside your head. Link you to other people on the 'network'. You can broadcast thoughts, words, towards others like you would radio chatter. Another thing they can do is sort through your brain. Read your thoughts. Or even create impulses in you to do things. Like, when Ms. Grey summoned me, she did a thing where she was basically 'calling my brain' for me to come talk to her."
    Yana's eyes narrow, suddenly. She frowns. "You think she read my thoughts? Found out that way?"

Okhotnik has posed:
"I do not know." Diya answers honestly. "I know she used the mid talking to call me out of the tiger, to make me change." Clearly tis is an experience that still unnerves her to think of, and there's nothing she can do about that. "And she called to my mind, to bring me to her office to talk." A similar trick, it would seem. "But I wonder. Could she listen to my thoughts and memories, as she also listens to my words?" Because Jean interviewed Diya in detail about her past, her history, her situation. And that included meeting Lex in Mutant Town. And what followed.

Black Rose has posed:
    "It's highly possible," Yana conceeds, shrugging. But, she has nothing to call Jean out on, and without hard evidence? She certainly doesn't want to risk her position anymore than it already is. She kicks the ground from her idle position, "This just sucks." She breathes out her mouth in a quick expellation of breath that causes her bangs to pop up, momentarily.
    "So how are you doing with all of this? Enough about me."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya shrugs. She cannot speak to this; she's no authority whatsoever. But she is thinking about it, and she is not happy. She'd lash her tail if she had one. "I am sorry, Yana."

That said, when Yana turns to questioning Diya, the ashen blonde woman shrugs her shoulders. "I am doing as best I can. Trying not to let feeling hemmed in make me crazier than usual." She lowers her gaze. "I hate that she thinks it is a good idea to involve others in this problem."

Black Rose has posed:
    "You hate involving anyone else. Even me, and Lexi," Yana points out. It's not the first time she's heard this, afterall. And, she knows it'll hardly be the last. "I hate Ms. Grey knowing my father is the Pakhan. But, you know, we just both have to deal with it, I guess." She looks over at the older woman, "Still, I'm glad you're here. I know Lexi is too." She half-shrugs. Half-smiles, "It gives me someone sane to talk to, at the very least."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya smiles wryly. "Yes. And it seems Tabitha as well, though she does not wish me to know this." They have discussed this before, as well. It all mystifies the soldier. "I will be going out some evenings, soon. I will need you to make sure that Lex remains here, safe. I will return when I can, likely early in the mornings, after dawn as I understand it." She does not immediately explain what this is about, however. Playing things close to the vest, as always.

Black Rose has posed:
    "I'll talk to Dani, and make sure we both keep an eye on her. I'll make sure she stays put," promises the Russian blue haired girl to he other Russian. She pauses, takes a step towards the other Russian, and without warning, embraces the other woman, hugging her gently. "Thanks." She says, quietly, disengaging the hug only a moment later.

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya goes stiff at the embrace, still far too unsure about herself to really relax into such an expression of connection and emotional warmth. but she gently pats at Yana's back in that distracted, helpless way of those who just don't know what to do with themselves or their hands in this situation, until she can loosen her spine when Yana lets her go. "You ... are welcome. For whatever it is I have apparently done to your satisfaction."

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana offers, mildly, "You're one person around here who I can talk to, and - don't have to pretend with. That -- at least mildly understands me." She brushes a tendril of her hair back, then, confidentally. "I just needed someone to vent to. So, thank you for being there. And, for being my friend, Diya." Her smile turns slighly lopsided, "Let me know if you're still going to use teh safehouse? If not, my dad will probably end up turning it into another kind of safehouse - this one for mutants who don't have anywhere else to go. See, my father? While he's Pakhan, he's -- not an evil man. I suppose the word you could use is minimilistic. But he knows what it's like to grow up as a mutant. He hasn't forgotten that."
    Clearly, there's more than simple loyalty to Yana for her father, and she loves him more than just for the driven nature, the manner in which she was raised by the fond way she speaks of him, now. She hesitates, then offers warmly, "I'm also glad I didn't have to leave the school, to protect you. I would have." She eyes Diya another long moment, before she exhales, "But I should get back, before they call curfew. I don't need to be in any more hot water for a little while than I already am with Ms. Grey."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya tilts her head slightly, watching Yana curiously. Friend? Uh oh. But she just nods a bit dumbly. "Yes, of course." she responds, considering the safe house. "I have not been back to Mutant Town since ... Miss Grey 'invited' me into the Mansion." she admits, ruefully. "I have left the others without protection. I can only hope that my absence will draw whatever threat would have come after me, instead of having free reign over them."

That said, the soldier nods to the princess. "You go. I will be in shortly. I just need to go for a run, work off some of the tension before I try to lay down inside the walls. I am glad you did not have to leave here." Diya turns, starting to jog away, but her voice will drift back, "I want you safe, as well."