6644/Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne
Date of Scene:	24 February 2019
Location:	Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Erika asks Rahne about Doug Ramsey, gets advice.
Cast of Characters:	Wolfsbane, Souvenir

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Wolfsbane has posed:
It's late at night in Xavier's. Most people are sound asleep or at least sequestered in their rooms. Not so with Wolfsbane. Being a graduate brings certain perks with it, among them no need to worry about sneaking out for late night excursions. There were times she was spotted wandering the grounds in wolf form back in the day.

Tonight, the library is where she's gone, seated in a corner of the room with a couple books before her, on the table. One, centered around some Scottish history, is open before her. She's gone with the wolfen features tonight, looking otherwise human for the most part.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir slips inside, courtesy of her weird sleep schedule that she just runs with sometimes. She has a few topics she'd like to learn about - a shameless information spider, her powers fit her well. And there's been a couple of things that keep coming up that are on the back of her mind. When she drifts into the library quietly, practicing being inconspicuous and quiet, she looks around the room. Oh, hey, Rahne. Someone to talk to. She has questions.

She pads quietly over. Quiet to human senses maybe, certainly not to, oh, lots of people on campus, but she's working on it. "..Hey, you're up late. Everything okay?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's already glanced up, marked the page in her book, and closed it by the time Erika comes into view. "Hullo, Erika. I heard ye on yuir way in," she says, no need to explain that one. Looking over toward the wall where a clock can be found, she turns back to the younger student. "I'm fine. Just some quiet reading. Is there..something I can do for ye?" If it sounds awkward, it kind of is. Someone must still be getting used to no longer formally being a student.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir shrugs a little. "I was just up late. Middle of the evening and I'm out, then in the middle of the night, I pop awake for no reason and do stuff before I get sleepy again and sleep until the alarm goes off. I get more done when I just roll with it. Anyway, yeah, actually."

She finds a seat and slips into it. "So, um, Sam keeps comparing me to Doug Ramsey. I looked him up and I got a bit, but, uh.. I don't really know much about the guy other than, you know, the dry bits and the awful bit at the end." She frowns a bit. "Or, you know. Much else about anybody really. I kind of feel like I'm having to live up to something."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Och, I remember those nights," Wolfsbane nods slowly. There's also a glass of water nearby, which she reaches to have a sip from. "I just felt like reading in a quiet place away from muh room, an' there's nae shortage o' books in here," the wolfen mutant explains, though she grows somewhat..guarded, perhaps, when Doug's name is brought up. "Why does he compare ye tae Doug?" she wonders, voice matching the expression she's taken on.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir frowns. "Well, like.. Andrea turns into a huge werewolf that heals, Laura heals from everything in an instant, Kaydin gets bored and runs to Italy for pizza in the middle of a sentence, Ellie blows stuff up, and I... pick up litter to copy weird skills and talents. I think he's worried that people are going to drag me into something way over my head. I mean, if I can get ninja souvenirs, I'm not totally helpless, but still. Not a situation I want to be in. The vampire was scary enough."

She frowns and looks around a little bit. "I assume, anyways. He just.. does. A lot. I'm almost afraid to ask him about it, is all. I feel like I'm having to fill the shoes of somebody I don't even know, so like.. I figured I should ask around for some good stories or something?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane takes on a similar expression. "I'll have tae have a few words wi' Sam. It's no' fair tae ye tae be comparing ye tae anyone else. Doug..was Doug. Ye're Erika. I understand some o' whit we can do may seem more..amazing, or useful, or safer when someone can heal or change tae an indestructable metal like Piotr or go intae people's minds, but.."

Shaking her head as she trails off, she admits, "I suppose I understand why Sam may think o' Doug when he sees ye. Doug could instantly understand any language he heard, an' even communicate wi' it right away. I think it went deeper than tha', but tha's all I really understood. Ye being able tae touch something an'..learn from it?" She waves a hand, realizing she's probably not explaining it the best, probably not understanding the powers that well. "It's still useful, but aye, tha' means ye're probably no' in th' middle o' a fight like some o' us wid be." More quietly, she adds, "An' trust me, there's no' a thing wrong wi' no' being in th' middle o' a fight. It's safer tha' way." So says the one with the claws and fangs.

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods, "Oh yeah, I don't really like it when the fights break out close to me. I feel pretty helpless. Even with a kung fu souvenir, I feel exposed - I might know kung fu or whatever, but I'm still really squishy. I'm working on that, but like.. I'm still just some girl. I just like having the extra options so I can get away better."

She frowns. "I think people assume I'm going to, like.. break into, like, Logan's room, steal all his socks, and go running around playing Daredevil or something." She looks off to the side for a moment. "I mean, yeah, I want some of his socks, but just so I can get away from the stuff everybody else jumps in face to face with. No way can I stand toe to toe with giant robots and stuff. But I want to feel like I'm doing something. I feel like I can do a lot, but nobody really knows what to do with me, kinda?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
"I'll share a wee secret wi' ye," Wolfsbane says, reaching toward one of her ears, then the back of her neck as she rests that elbow on the tabletop. "I dinna like fighting an' I only do it when I have tae. I can heal faster, no' like Wolverine, but tha' does no' mean I canna die. I'm always afraid, in th' back o' muh head, tha' th' next fight might be th' one tha' goes wrong, an' I pray it never does."

She adds, "I think being aware o' tha' makes ye more likely tae be careful. But, wanting Wolverine's socks is no' something I'd call being careful. Tha' sounds like a good way tae get on his bad side." A thin hint of a smile suggests something short of total seriousness, and she runs a hand through her hair again, tied back in a ponytail. "There will come a day when ye're more sure o' yuir place. I'm no' sure when that'll be, but ye'll know it when ye do. Until then..I dinnae really understand how it works for ye, but I think ye should focus on trying tae see more how it works, how long it lasts depending on..." She grunts. "I mean, I can track a scent, but th' older it is or th' more other scents are around tae get in th' way, th' harder it is tae follow it as long."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods. "I've been doing that a lot. About a two second seizure when I touch something. Which SUCKS when kids hit me in the back of the head with a paper airplane or toss confetti in my face, by the way. I can let go of it for a couple seconds before it drops out. Thumbnail when I first log it in, open it up to get the contents. I forget *everything* I got out of it when it drops. Stuff like that. It's really hard for me to explain it to people in a way they understand, though. I guess because it's not like shooting lasers or flying or anything.." She tries to come up with an appropriate gesture for an abstract concept and fails, flailing a moment, "..Primal like that."

"And yeah, I just.. I know I'm flimsy, just I feel like I have to live up to something I don't understand. And trying to get the most out of what I know ends up feeling like, I don't know. I'm not sure what I'm going to look like in the end very well." She frowns a little. "So I thought, you know. If I learned more about the good parts of who I keep getting compared to."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane turns inwardly thoughtful, as if she's trying to figure her way through a problem. "Have ye tried anything like keeping a journal o' whit ye pick up from whitever ye touch?" she asks. "Like, how long it lasts depending on whit it is? Or how strong it is? If a smaller, common thing is any different from something bigger?" The way she tosses out the questions suggests she's taking shots in the dark, curious to see if any of it's been attempted already or not, and what the results may have been or will be.

"I guess ye are similar tae Doug in th' sense he often struggled tae find ways he thought he fit in because whit he could do was no' flashy, but there were times he could do things none o' th' rest o' us could. I'm sure there will be a time when something ye pick up will mean th' difference." She exhales through her nose, a slow sigh as she comes to eye the table more than Erika or anything else. "Doug was a close friend. He'd do anything tae help oot, even if it put him in danger. If Sam's thinking o' Doug when he sees ye, I'd take it as a good thing."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods. "Oh yeah, all the time. Then I hope that I can make out half the jargon I used in my notes. Ever tried teaching somebody something with a handwritten note? It's kind of slow going. But like, I can kind of cook okay now. It's not a size thing, it's just.. what they were doing when they carried it around. I have to adjust my stance and stuff for my build. I can usually work out stuff like how tall they were, boy or girl, things like that from that part. Oh, and combination locks are a total joke for me to open. That's the first thing I ever read, actually."

She nods. "And that sounds.. yeah, pretty me. I just.. Sometimes I feel like when the things I can do come out, people won't think of me. But yeah. I think I would have liked to know him better..." She bites her lip, getting a touch misty-eyed.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane ahs. Seems her ideas have already been taken into account, which is probably for the best. It means Erika may already be on a good path toward learning more. "Is there any way for ye tae control it? It took me a while tae learn how tae do partial changes or just change one or two things. Naebody knew it all right away. Ye just have tae keep a' it."

Her head tilts, next. "Are ye saying ye can pick a lock just by touching it? There's something that could be useful if stealth is needed." She takes on a few moments of silence and merely nods to the wish of having known Doug better. "Aye.."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir mms. "Every combination lock, somebody's opened at least once. So I just touch it and remember opening it. the one in the back alley was a six digit keypad, and I was carrying my roofied friend running from some creeps. First try. The seizure brainasplode thing whenever I touch something kind of bites, though.." She holds up a gloved hand, a bit like Rogue, and waggles her fingers.

"That and I can't fall asleep if I have anything in my head. I sleep on a patch of grass in my room. That kind of messes with things. I have a couple ideas how to get by in a pinch now, but still."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane takes note of the fingers, then says with a frown, "Is it always like tha', or..have ye noticed any improvement wi' th'..ye know." She touches her head to finish the question that way. "But there ye are, it sounds like ye could pick any lock ye wanted. Ye know tha' could be used for bad reasons." The mention of trouble sleeping and what helps it go better sees her squinting, realizing, "Nae wonder I smelled grass up there on th' way by. Ahh, I wish I could tell ye I had more ideas right noo, but I'd have tae see how it works more first."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir wells.. "So far it's always like that. Maybe there's a way to deal with it, but.. I haven't learned how yet. It's not like there are other psychometrists here to learn from. And yeah, I know, I don't want to do the bad reasons, I was raised better than that, even if they are total hypocrites. Anyway, I should probably head back to my room. I'm starting to wind down again." She yawns a bit, stretches, and stands. "Thank you for talking to me, I'll catch you some other time? Or just come bug me whenever."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"I hope tha' becomes less trouble for ye as ye learn more," Rahne offers. It's possible that may never change, for all anyone knows, but it could. "An' I'm sorry if I was no' much help, but I'm glad if I did help in any way. I'm still getting used tae no' being a student any more muhself. I'm no' used tae giving others advice." She reaches for her book again, starting to slide it back closer to her. "Sleep well, an' ye're welcome."