7830/New Growth in the Garden

New Growth in the Garden
Date of Scene:	10 June 2019
Location:	Gardens, Xavier's
Synopsis:	Rachel is back around with some things on her mind. Rahne ends up discussing them with her.
Cast of Characters:	Marvel Girl, Wolfsbane

---

Marvel Girl has posed:
Returning to the school - again - brings back all sorts of memories for Rachel. Some of them are good. She has a few happy memories left from her childhood. But they're usually overshadowed by the darker memories of what followed, and again by the thought of what might still come to pass in this timeline. Being here just reminds her of what's important.

Coming back here, of course, means she needs to work things out with people again. Figure out what's most important to her. That also means a //lot// of feelings talk though, so Rachel's come out to the garden for a little bit of refuge from the feels.

She's traded in her leather and spikes for slightly more practical ripped jeans and a tank top, crouched by a row of vegetables to pluck out weeds. One fist is full of the interlopers, while the other digs at the roots of another one, trying to loosen it.

Wolfsbane has posed:
One of the benefits of sharpened senses is knowing when you're close to a familiar person, or in this case, a familiar scent. While this version of Wolfsbane doesn't know Rachel Grey as well as the one from the horror-filled future the woman is from, they've spoken to some extent about things before, whatever Rachel was willing to share. Rahne was nothing but supportive.

Now, it may be a time to start all over again. On her way past the gardens, the wolfen woman changes course to enter it instead. Quietly she approaches, leading her along to catch sight of the woman doing something completely mundane: a little gardening. "Hullo, Rachel," she begins, hands tucked into the leathers she wears. She's kept the fuzzy features, though her appearance is primarily human.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Scent is one way to sense a person. Telepathy is another. It's hard to surprise Rachel, even when she's seemingly engrossed in another task. When Wolfsbane approaches, she settles back onto her heels, tossing her bangs out of her eyes with the back of her wrist. "Hey, Rahne," she greets, shaking some of the dirt off of the roots of the weeds.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat much the other day. I was kind of..." Grimacing, she turns back to the row of vegetables and her weed prey. "It was a lot of people, for something that makes me a little nervous, if I'm being completely honest."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Masking thoughts is not something Wolfsbane does a lot of around here. She can, but there's usually no great need to. The interesting thing for a telepath is when they touch her mind, when she's like this, there's a little more than just a human mind in there. She stands by, a few feet away, and a hand withdraws so she can give a brief wave, claws visible a moment, then stuffed away again.

"Och, that's quite all right. I dinna think ye were th' only one a little apprehensive about things. I was mostly keeping tae muhself as well, just watching everyone just in case. Wi' whit's oot there, ye canna be too careful," she explains, showing some understanding there. "Besides, there were a lot o' scents, an' it was a bit noisy. A' least th' food was good, an' ye dinna have Avengers here every day."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah. You know, I'd kind of be okay with not having Avengers here //any// day," Rachel admits, digging in the dirt with one finger. Sure, she could use telekinesis. But for a task this fine, she'd probably end up blowing up half the row of vegetables. Better maybe to do it the old-fashioned way.

"I know they said they were here to help. It's just, in my world...they didn't. Not when it came down to it. Not when it came down to putting lives on the line. So I'm kind of suspicious, you know?" The weed finally loosens enough from the soil to come out, and she adds it to the collection of trophies in her other hand. "It just sounds like good PR to me."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane grimaces briefly as a suspicion regarding Rachel's distrust comes up true. "I didna think o' it like tha'. All I really knew from whit ye told me was I..or another version o' me, anyway..ended up in th' same situation ye did. I had nae idea whit th' Avengers did there or no', or whit anyone else I might know did."

Taking a step closer, she gestures toward the weeds. "Need a hand?" She seems to have nothing better to do, aside from being here for the conversation.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Sure." Rachel smiles faintly at the offer of help, offering over her handful of plucked weeds. It's not exactly a bouqet. "Just kind of...occupying myself," she admits. "Gives me something to keep my body busy while my brain works over things. Something useful to do that...actually leaves things better."

She pauses to brush her hair out of her eyes with the back of her forearm, staring at the row of plants. "The way the world views us as mutants isn't the same as the way they view people like Captain America. I mean, they //built// him to be what we already are, but he's a hero and we're just vigilantes. Why?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane moves over to crouch, then shift to her knees for some of the weed pulling. She uses a few claws to help sift through the dirt - no jokes about the digging! - as she makes quick enough work of a patch that it suggests she's done this before at one time or another. "Are ye feeling any more comfortable here? I'm sure there's still a lot ye're used tae being one way tha's different here, an' things ye might be seeing tha' make ye think o'..well, home, for better or worse."

With the thought raised about the world seeing people like Captain America compared to mutants, she shakes her head. "Maybe in a way he's, ahh, well, ye know. Blond hair, blue eyes, I guess whit ye'd call an all-American look. He could be anyone. But so could many o' us. A lot o' us look normal, an' I can look normal if I want tae, but he was made tae save America during World War II an' we're born th' way we are." She's quiet a few seconds, and Rachel might pick up conflicted thoughts, then she adds, "There's a lot tha' does no' always make sense."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Comfortable isn't really my thing." Rachel manages another of those small, awkward smiles as she glances over before it's back to the digging. "But I sort of...git my head on straight. Made some decisions. Decided how I'm going to live my life. So that's something. I'm more comfortable with //me//. The familiar things aren't going to go anywhere."

She lets out a huff of breath, wrinkling her nose. "I just find it hard to trust people who don't have skin in the game, you know? If Sentinels show up at this school demanding we all stay here until they handle something, is Captain America going to show up here and tell them we're free citizens too?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane remarks, "Ye came from a future where comfort didna exist, so I understand ye being wary o' some things." A few more weeds are piled up, then she wipes her hands against themselves, dislodging some dirt that tries to cling to her. "But if ye're figuring things like tha' oot, how ye want tae live, being fine wi' who ye are, tha's good."

She shifts around to sit down on a nearby bench, leaning forward a bit. "I get whit ye mean about th' trust issues. It took me a while before I felt I could trust most people wi' things, an' there's a lot I still keep tae muhself. Muh own father tried tae have me killed when this happened." She gestures to the fur, the wolfen side. "Tha' leaves some scars."

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel glances over her shoulder at the confession, her walls dropping just long enough for a glimpse of sympathy in her features before they're back up again. "People are dicks, Rahne," she says, shaking her head as she turns back to the dirt. "For //no// reason. Or every reason. Or no //good// reason," she snorts softly. "I feel like I've heard all of the supposed reasons."

Finding a shortage of weeds, she falls back onto her heels, then shifts to sit cross-legged in the dirt. "The way I see it, Rahne, I'm here now. And frankly, so far as I know, everyone I knew or cared about back home is dead. There's nothing left to fight for back there. But there's //everything// left to fight for here."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane picks up on the look and flashes Rachel a thin smile, broken slightly by the language used. Even after having grown a bit, matured, 'naughty' words still seem to make her pause. Who knows if she's ever said a filthy word in her life? "I..I'm no' sure. I try tae see th' best in people, but so often we only seem tae see th' worst. Is it because tha's th' way it really is, or because it gets th' attention in th' news?"

Picking at her claws a bit longer, she gives herself a shake of the head and a sniff, then she simply shifts back to her fully human appearance, the skin pale, the fur and claws and all the rest gone. A few bits of dirt just fall away from spots that are no longer there, including fur. Rahne says, "Ye have a second chance a' a new life."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"No," Rachel shakes her head. "No, I've got a a second chance to stop what happened on my world from happening to other people. It's not my life. //My// life doesn't exist anymore. I got taken out of that life and dropped here. There's no- There's no me here. Not now, at least. Maybe not ever. So what's the point of me being here if it's not to make sure that things end up better here?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Rahne returns a similar gesture, trying to find the right words for what she wants to say. It's not much clearer in her thoughts, which are conflicted, to say the least. "I..I dinna agree, exactly. This is still yuir life. It's just..it's a different one noo. Ye're still ye, ye've done things before, an' aye, bad things have happened an' different bad things could still happen, but noo th' shackles tha' were forced on ye are off, an' ye can choose th' path ye'll follow."

Moving to her feet, she tries approaching to touch the woman's arm with a hand, a gentle, supportive gesture. "If tha' means trying tae make sure yuir past doesna repeat itself here, good. If tha' means being whoever makes ye comfortable here, an' happy if ye can be, great. Ye deserve a chance tae do whit ye want. Yuir life is still yuir own, even if ye dinna feel tha' way right noo."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Who I want to be, what makes me happy...those things are so small, Rahne," Rachel shakes her head, arm tense under her hand. "Kate - my Kate - probably died to send me here. And honestly, I just..." She takes a deep breath, forcing it out slowly. "I'm one person. I'm practically all that was left. And if all those people died to save me, who just doesn't- doesn't deserve a half of one, then I owe //so// much more."

She brushes her hands off on her pants, moving to stand with restless energy. "For as long as I can remember, I've been a fighter. And for good reason. So for now, that's priority number one."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Undoubtedly, the Rahne of that world is probably dead or in an even worse place than before Rachel left, too. Who can say? "Whit ye owe anyone is tae do th' best ye can here. Tha's whit they sent ye here for. Naebody sent ye here tae hide somewhere an' do nothing. I'm no' suggesting tha'. But ye're allowed some time tae come tae terms wi' things here, tae learn whit ye need tae, an' fight yuir fight while also being allowed tae live yuir own life. Just dinna forget that, all right?" the young Scottish woman explains and suggests. "I've got muh own demons inside me, muh own fears an' nervousness about things, but I'm also trying tae get past a lot o' tha' wi' th' help o' muh friends, which I consider ye part o'."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Historically speaking, being my friend doesn't tend to work out all that well for people," Rachel smiles wanly, setting a hand to Rahne's shoulder. "But thank you. I appreciate it. I do. I get what you're saying. I've just...got a lot of my own stuff to work through, I think. Especially with what's happening. I won't fail again. Not when there's so much still to save."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Rahne allows the wolf to return to the way things were before. It's sort of a more natural choice for her now. "I've never let a thing like tha' stop me before, an' I'm no' about tae change, so I guess ye're stuck wi' me as a friend for better or worse." Rachel could feel the change with her hand at that shoulder, as the fur returns along with a little extra musculature. "An' I'm no' gaunae push ye. Just take things a' th' pace ye're comfortable with, but if ye need someone tae talk wi', ye can find me."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Thanks, Rahne." Rachel brushes her hands off again, taking a deep breath and letting it out on a more controlled sigh. "I should go get in some training," she says, looking around the garden. "Thanks for talking to me. I thought it all out myself, but...but saying it to someone else sort of helps define it."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Like hearing it aloud an' getting something back from someone else makes it more, I guess, real?" Wolfsbane asks, hands clasping in front of her, near the front of her leggings. "An' maybe we should train sometime. If muh..other self had any tricks ye knew o', maybe ye can show them tae me. I could always use some more practice."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeeaaaah, you don't want to learn tricks the way they taught them," Rachel says with a wry, hard-edged smile. "But yeah, we might be able to figure some things out. Always good to keep your edge, after all." She steps away, leaning down to gather up the discarded weeds in one hand. "No sense in leaving these to take back root. I'll see you around, Rahne," she smiles faintly, turning to head back to the mansion.