6524/Room check

Room check
Date of Scene:	15 February 2019
Location:	Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Kitty checks up on Erika. Erika tells all, some in cryptic form. Vows are maintained.
Cast of Characters:	Shadowcat, Souvenir

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Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde checks the schedules to pick a time that Erika doesn't have class, increasing the chances of catching her. Kitty then makes her way through the halls towards the dorm wing. She spots two freshmen who are supposed to be in English right now, stealing a moment with each other. And it appears, an occasional kiss. They see the new guidance counselor and get worried looks. Kitty give them a soft sigh and then a little nod of her head back towards the classrooms along with a gentle smile. They give her bashful grins and hurry off, holding hands, back to their class room. Kitty smiles a little and then continues on until she reaches Erika's door.

Kitty knocks softly on the door. "It's Kitty. Are you in, Erika?" she offers through the door. She's wearing a pair of black boots, snuggly fitting jeans and a long-sleeve top, all dark colors today. There's a silver necklace with a Star of David hanging from it around her neck, worn atop the shirt.

Souvenir has posed:
Through the door, a sudden silence. Then, "Just a minute!", followed by a fast scramble to shove what sounds like heavy boxes containing metal into a closet, the door to which is hurriedly closed.

After a moment's pause more, Erika Kristasdottir opens the door in a bathrobe and her gloves, hair still a little bit damp after showering from a morning workout. Lots of knuckle pushups. Ow. And yoga. Somewhat less ow, but still pushing things to the point of achiness. "Ummm. Hi! I didn't think I would see you until later sometime." She steps out of the way of the door to let you in, with some nervousness.

Shadowcat has posed:
"I can come back later if it's better," Kitty says as she gives Erika a warm, gentle smile of greeting. "I saw we both had a block of free time so figured I'd see if you were free to talk," Kitty says. She'll wait to give Erika a chance to decide if she'd rather wait, but if not Kitty will go ahead and enter the room.

"That's nice," Kitty will say, motioning towards the clover. "Do you grow a lot of plants? I have a few I have someone watering while I'm gone," she mentions. "Though I don't have any kind of nice set up like that. Just have them setting by the windows," the brunette says with a soft smile.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir looks at the clover. "Not.. really, that's my bed. Thistlewalker made the breed for them. They're alive and they don't think, so they don't have any memories in them. Just, I wake up kind of grass stained and smelling like a lawn, sometimes." She makes a little bit of a face. "It's comfy, but there's just the one, here. If there's *anything* else in my head, I just don't fall asleep."

She moves deeper into her room, looking around a bit. "When Andrea found me, I was about nine tenths insane, and my parents were freaking out. They're nice, but it takes awhile to get there, and I lose too much daylight." She frowns, hugs herself, then looks back over. Maybe the vampire reference in her file.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde listens to the explanation about the clover, and looks over at the plants again with a slow nod as they take on a completely different context. "So, much better solution than new sheets," Kitty says, seeming to understand now. Or at least understand parts.

"What did you mean about losing too much daylight? I saw some references in your file when I skimmed through it, but did not have a chance to find out the details," Kitty asks. She wanders over, looking at some of the role playing game books. "Tried this one when I was younger. I was never very good at it. Everyone had to keep telling me what dice to roll and everything," Kitty says, motioning to one of the games.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir mmms, "My family is in the far side of Bludhaven. There's a lot of vampires there. I don't know why. One time I went to visit, but we were, uhm... too slow getting out of town." Deep breath, lets it out slowly.

Oh! Dice! Thank GOD we can get off that topic. "Yeah, I play a lot of those. Lots of miniatures and stuff too. Tactics and stuff. I don't know who plays here, though." She hmms a bit. "Sam showed me the Danger Room, and it just seems kind of like a big miniatures board, kind've. I want to learn how to work it."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Ah... I get you," Kitty says in an understanding tone. She moves over to lean against a wall, hands behind her. "Well, if you want to get in a long trip, there are friends here who could help with that. Illyana. Kurt. Could check with them about getting you there in morning and back out before dark." Kitty hesitates before asking where else her thoughts run on the topic. Perhaps sensing the relief from Erika in the new topic.

"Well, the Danger Room is so much more. I suppose it could serve that purpose too, though not sure how Hank would feel about it. Maybe if you just used it for moving things about and not actually pounding each other so they need repairs," Kitty says with a soft grin. "Have you done very much combat training in there?" Kitty asks.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir suddenly walks over to one of the drawers and pulls out some painted miniatures that look vaguely like Andrea, Ellie, Rachel, and Laura. There's more in there, those are just the ones that were in front. "Here, I painted these myself. And, um." She carries them over to the table, and flips through maps until she gets out a small street map. "Here's the Google Maps view of the place some of them got attacked, once. I wasn't there." She puts the miniatures on the side of the table next to the one that she hasn't painted yet that might look a bit like her.

"Mmm. No... I was just there the one time. And then Rachel followed us and something about the place triggered.. the.. HELL.. out of her. I thought she was going to blow the whole room up with us in it. It was like she didn't even know we were there for a little. All we did was bring up the characters of Sam's original team, and then we had to leave to calm Rachel down."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde motions to the figures and looks to Erika, in a way that suggests she's seeking approval to pick them up. Kitty will either pick one up, if it is given, or just look at them closely. "Nice job painting," Kitty says. "Have you shown these to them yet? I bet they'll get a kick out of them," Kitty adds giving a soft smile.

She straightens again and gets a troubled look. "Yes. She's going to take some time to adjust to our... time. We'll work through it though. Introduced her to popcorn last night for the first time. It just kind of paints a picture of how big of a change it is that she didn't know what popcorn is. Let alone cheetos popcorn." Kitty glances down at her fingers. They are clean. No longer orange. But you never really know with cheetos popcorn unless you check.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir ums. "And I know you're a counselor? I'm.. a lot better now, but I never got all the way to 'good'. One of the vampires ripped the tire iron I was holding out of my hand and jumped at me. And.. I had one of Laura's socks on, and I had a wooden pencil. Uhm. And that thing with vampires and stakes is true. And I was numb for like a day and then I was totally freaked out for weeks, and that was, like, nothing compared to what Rachel had to have dealt with. I don't even know what to *say*. I tried to help, but, like.. We don't think the same way."

She looks at the miniatures. "Not yet. I mean... Everybody already thinks I'm weird, I don't know if I want to look like a stalker on top of that. I don't really get along with Andrea. She wants to be in charge of everything, because of course she does, but she's the other person on the hand grenade list. And then if she does snap out of it... she can't talk. I mean, I like her, and like, she could convince New York to give the Hulk a holiday, but..." She sighs.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gives a small nod of her head, her expression compassionate. "Yes. The things most of us been through, well, few of us haven't had rough times. And those things probably pale in comparison to what she's been through. Not that what we each faced was any less traumatic to us."

Kitty walks over to look at the bed of closer. Bed in the more than one sense of the word. "Vampires can give me the willies. I'd be freaked out for awhile too. Have you managed to get past it? And... do you mind if I ask about your family? Are they safe where they are?" Kitty asks, turning back from her perusal of the clover.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir wells.. "Not all the way better. But mostly. I can deal with it, just, you know. Brr." She hrms. "They say they are. I don't know how safe they really are, but I don't know how safe they would be anywhere. They, um.." She looks over at the notes on one of the many dry-erase boards. There's a couple of wonky looking, random letter string looking URL's there that end in .onion. "We don't always see eye to eye on morality."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde turns back and moves a little closer to Erika. She follows the glance to the dry-erase boards. "To do with mutants? Or, other areas?" Kitty asks her softly. She reaches over and will give Erika's arm a gentle touch somewhere that won't risk contacting skin. "I had issues with my own parents, when I joined the X-men," Kitty says gently.

She draws a deep breath. One of those cleansing ones, as if bringing up her own past in that regard could use one. But the brunette keeps a gentle, compassionate look on her face. The more so, perhaps for being able to relate.

Souvenir has posed:
"They're super supportive. They think it's kind of cool that I'm here. Just, like.." She half-closes her eyes at the squeeze. Touch starved. "Someday, the police are going to show up looking for them. They aren't hurting anybody, just, you know. Doing stuff for people who do."

She looks up at you, blinking some. "And now I feel like, I don't know, I'm the kind of disreputable grimy one. Like.." She points at the miniatures. "Like, there's all these really noble and heroic people around, and I'm the thief."

Shadowcat has posed:
The empathic young woman perhaps notices the reaction to the touch. Kitty pulls up the neck of her top just a little bit, tugging one side of it over to cover her neck a bit more and then opens up her arms. "Mind if I give you a hug? I don't know about you, but there's time I sure need one. Talking about stuff like this was always one for me," Kitty says. She's pretty well covered. As long as their heads stay away from each other.

"Erika, there's so many people here that have dark moments in our past. I have dark moments in my past. What you see as noble are just people that choose to make the right decision. And sometimes? They fail to. Because we aren't perfect. But then they get over it, and focus on making the right decision the next time." Kitty says in a reassuring voice. "If you have some troubles in your past, or your family's past, that doesn't mean they control your future."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir purses her lips tightly. "Okay, so like, the problem with that is? We can touch skin-to-skin all day, no problem. It's me touching your collar that's a problem. And, like, I'm not seeing anyone? And oh, well, there is like, basically no situation that I can think of for it to be okay to ask for naked hugs. Or partly naked anyway." She blushes pretty bright red at the mental image.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde covers up her face for a moment. Though it seems less embarrassment and more of a 'stupid me' gesture. "Right. Objects. Not skin. I'm sorry. I'm well-used to interacting with Rogue about this kind of thing that my mind went right there. And you're kind of... anti-Rogue when it comes to that," Kitty says. She gets a little bit of flushed cheeks too finally, though just the smallest hints of pink.

"Um, yes, that could be awkward," Kitty says. She gives a warm laugh and a grin, the kind that might turn the moment into more of a humorous one. "I'm not sure if there's a section covering this in the guidance counselor handbook. But honestly, I'm less here as counselor and more as a friend. I mean... to me, that's what the job is. I accepted the job, because I'd be doing this anyway. Not the other way around."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods vigorously. "Yeah, sorry, train of thought go sideways, screech crash boom. Um. ANYway. Like." She sighs. "I'm not supposed to be talking about the stuff that's bugging me."

"But yeah. If I did touch your collar, I would get that brain twitch, and then I would be picking up on more of your side than I want to be. unless you moved. It's kind of weird and distracting. So I quit trying to hug people." She glances at the closet door again for a couple seconds and frowns.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gives a soft laugh and shakes her head. "It's ok. And... why aren't you supposed to be talking about things that bug you?" Kitty asks. "Or, the stuff that bugs you is stuff that someone's asked people not to go into? Like the hand grenade list?" Kitty inquires.

The frown draws Kitty's attention, the young woman glancing over to the closet and back. "Everything ok?" Kitty asks, head tilting to the side. She has an open look for Erika, one that is gentle and warm.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir thinks for a bit. "Yeah, that, pretty much. I totally blame Sam, and I don't want stuff to get messed up. And it's good stuff, and I'm trying to be helpful. A good team member and all. Just, you know. I'm not up to anything bad. If you see anything weird. WeirdER."

Some consideration. "Just with my history, and feeling like I'm the pest people just sort of barely tolerate, it gets under my skin sometimes."

She looks over at the new costume in a corner, lightly armored grey and dark red. "Rachel gave me that. Andrea hates it and wants me to wear yellow and black stuff, like nobody wanted me to get close to until I showed up in that."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde looks over at the costume. "Go with the one you like best. I have some in my past that... ah... well, I expressed myself," Kitty says, breaking out in a soft laugh. "I'll pull out the team photo album to show you sometime." Really, was Kitty colorblind or what?

Kitty reaches over to squeeze Erika's shoulder gently, not pulling her hand away. She even moves over to slip an arm about Erika's waist for a side-hug that should keep Erika's robe safely between them. "I need to get going for an appointment. But I want to talk more later, ok?" she says.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods vigorously. Mmmm. Hugs. Melty hugs. "Okay. I think I'm going to change the colors a little. Maybe I can get Rachel to make me one in yellow and black, too. I like talking to you, just, um. Don't get anybody in trouble, okay? And, uh. I don't know, I'm sure things will make sense eventually. Ask somebody about D&D classes. The old versions especially." She nods, like that was important for some reason.

Shadowcat has posed:
"I like talking to you too," Kitty tells Erika. She carefully slips both arms about the young woman, hugging her tightly, keeping her clothing away from Erika's skin. Kitty will be happy to hold her for a fairly long time before finally letting her go. "I'll look into it, but I can't promise anything," Kitty says of the D&D classes. "I'll look forward to talking again," Kitty will say before heading out.