Owner	Pose
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir flees the Wellness Center. Flees, I say. Flustered and embarrassed. Also smelling slightly of plant life because her new bed came in. She slinks through and tries to head up the stairs quietly to her room until her cheeks stop being bright red.
Laura Kinney	Laura sees Erika go running through...and then trying to sneak by. Which is so not going to work with Laura. "What is wrong?" The terse brunette asks.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir starts and squeaks, jumping a bit. She blushes and looks over, then waves, "Hi!" a bit too loudly. She stops and thinks about how exactly to explain 'What is wrong'. This is apparently a kind of a difficult question. "...Uh. I said something really stupid and embarrassing." That's maybe part of it, sure. The part that isn't going to be even more complicated and messy.
Laura Kinney	Laura looks thoughtful. She's never really had to worry about that. "Did you apologize?" That seems to be the all-purpose answer for social problems, from what she's seen.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir uhhhms and thinks. "I don't think I did anything WRONG, just really, um... Foolish." She bites her lip and reviews in her head. "Andrea and Mason were making me feel really embarrassed, so I wanted to leave, so I said, um..." A bit quieter and blushing more. "Well, I MEANT to say either something about washing my hair or doing homework about ocean biology, because those are good reasons to leave, right? But that's not what I actually *said*." She looks at the ground and kicks at the floor lightly.
Laura Kinney	Laura listens. "What did you say, then?" She's clearly still trying to figure it out, though she's about the last person in the world who is qualified to help with this.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir uhs... "I said I needed to shampoo my fish." She bites her lip. "That totally sounds like some sort of dirty innuendo, and I was already embarrassed enough because of Andrea's tent idea. Or, like..." She gestures exasperatedly. "...I guess you had to have been there."
Laura Kinney	Laura blinks. "And I was not there. Shampooing a fish is not possible, though." She considers, and peers. "Is this a sexual issue?"
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir ummmmms.... "...Probably? Uhh... It SOUNDS like one anyways? I mean it wasn't SUPPOSED to be." She blushes. This line of thought is rapidly departing her comfort zone. She aggressively throws in a "How are YOU doing?" and an attempt at a friendly smile. Fake it till you make it, right?
Laura Kinney	Laura nods, apparently thinking nothing more of it. The attempt to put her onto another track is simple as can be. "I am fine. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir uhms.. Inwardly smacks various distracted ideas out of the way. "...I forgot everything about how to fight after last time, and I broke both of my hands.." She looks down, drooping a bit in disappointment. "I'm still trying to figure out how my powers work. It sucks. Maybe you can think of things I haven't tried doing yet?"
Laura Kinney	Laura frowns. "You should not have broken your hands. Bruised. But not broken." She considers. "The only thing I could think of to try would be to do so repeatedly to build muscle memory."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir ohs.. "Yeah, I think I am going to try toughening myself up first. I'm not nearly as sturdy as you are." She hmms. "Hey, I haven't tried touching anything somebody else is holding or wearing yet. I don't know WHAT that would do. Do you want to help with that?" Because she suspects it might end up complicated with anybody else. So many drama minefields.
Laura Kinney	"Parts of my skeleton are bonded to an unbreakable metal. No one is as sturdy as I am." She considers. "You may touch my clothing."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods, "Okay, thank you." She goes over and sits down next to you, to be safe, bites her lip, and pulls off a glove. "Okay, here goes. Let me know if you notice anything." She reaches over and touches your boot, gasps, and goes into her usual eye flutter and twitch thing.
Laura Kinney	Laura watches, impassively. She doesn't move, doesn't blink. Just watches to see what will happen. Erika's one of the stranger people she knows.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir ...gaaaahs, eyes unfocusing before she closes them tightly and pinches her nose shut with her free hand, still clinging to the boot. "yeek. ohshitloud.." She squints and makes herself breathe regularly, trying to figure this out. "..okay, I guess I deserve that.."
Laura Kinney	Laura actually seems pleased. "Oh, good. Now you can see how disturbing it is to be in here." And it is. Ever been in a locker room after people have worked out? Everyone smells like that to Laura. /ALL THE TIME/. The entire mansion is a melange of unpleasant scents, and there's no privacy; everyone is too loud.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods her head. "Okay. I think this makes sense. Can you look around and move your arms a bit? And yeah, I am SO SORRY. That has to suck. I have to wear gloves all the time, that's a totally different kind of suck." She thinks a little. "It must be a little bit like how Andrea probably doesn't want to let me anywhere near any of her private stuff anymore."
Laura Kinney	Laura nods. "Very well." She does as asked. She's actually remarkably GOOD at this. Memories pop into her head of being...well, basically a lab rat. A younger Laura, doing precisely as directed by scientists. And...being punished when exact compliance is not given. THAT isn't the nicest memory to hit. Especially if she experiences the pain.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir ums, "I mean, she doesn't mind turning into a wolf and curling up next to me, but still." Small blush. "Holy shit, girl, people are evil some times. I'm getting a few memories here. I'm not going to do anything I think might hurt you. And I am SO SORRY that you ever went through that! Okay, this is making sense. Do you feel that?" She tries to do something in return. It doesn't do anything, so no, you don't notice it.
Laura Kinney	"I do not." Laura replies. "I do not think you would hurt me. And...thank you?" She's not sure what to say to that. Erika's apologizing for something she didn't do, and she doesn't get that.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods. "Okay. Can you try picking out a couple of smells? I'm just sort of getting a mishmash, but I don't think you are trying to smell anything right now." She crinkles her nose. "It's pretty crazy in here. I'm sorry if I smell bad.."
Laura Kinney	"Of course." Laura says. She'll actually cycle through, as she sniffs. Erika. Angela. Josh. Mason.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir tilts her head. "Huh! I never noticed that. That is awesome. And probably pretty annoying in some places." She hmms at a thought. "How much do you notice with that? And how good is Andrea's nose compared to yours, do you think?" She blushes in faint embarrassment for whatever reason.
Laura Kinney	"I do not know. We have never compared." Laura answers. "I imagine it is only comparable once she has changed."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods. "Okay, that makes sense. I'm going to let go now, because I can't think of anything else right now. That was super helpful! Let me know if there's ever anything I can do to help you with anything?" She lets go of your boot and puts her glove back on. "Seriously, I owe you. Everybody else is all drama and awk." Herself included. Ugh!
Laura Kinney	Laura looks back. "I do not think you owe me. But if you wish...I...have trouble understanding people." She spent 15 years learning to be a weapon, and none of them learning to be a person. "I would learn whatever you can teach."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nodsnods. "Sure! I have no idea how to teach that. But I'll try? Um. You can try asking me questions to start out? I'll do my best to answer. Um. I might not want to answer some things in front of other people, though..." She chews her lip kind of a lot. "Like general questions sure. But not so much about specific people. People like to think they have secrets." She frowns, realizing - guilty as charged.
Laura Kinney	"What do you think of me?" Laura asks, looking back to Erika. "I am not seeking secrets."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir hmmms. A lot. Fights through some of her own brain. She opens her mouth a bit, then closes it. "Um." She sighs. "Okay, so like.. you used to be scary, but you're really sweet and nice to me. And you're always very honest." More pondering as she peels through layers that are increasingly uncomfortable. "A-and..." She frowns and tilts her head, because that bit is under lock and key. Moving on. "You feel super young to me, kind of. Um. 'incomplete'. So I don't want to do anything that would hurt you. I feel responsible."
Laura Kinney	Laura listens. "I did not mean to frighten you. And I am fifteen years in age." she states. "You are not responsible for me, however."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods, "Right, not like I am the one responsible for you, more like a general duty?" She uhms, super uncomfortable. "And I think you are pretty, but not like more than people like Andrea or Jubilee that are like ten times more embarrassing, and I don't want to be, and I don't want anybody to know because that could make stuff really awkward and crap Andrea is totally going to smell that and I am so screwed. " She looks kind of uncomfortable about admitting that. "Like, I'm sure you smell that anyway, so it's not like I can keep it secret. But it's like.. An extra layer that I don't want that makes things complicated."
Laura Kinney	Laura listens to that, and tilts her head. "I...do not understand. Please, understand?" That ramble was confusing at best. Moreso given her limited understanding.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir inhales, exhales. "I like girls like boys do, I don't want to. It's just an extra, distracting layer. You can probably smell it. I don't want anybody to know. I don't even want to know that about me. Sometimes someone says something that should be innocent, but I take it differently. It's really annoying and I hate it. That's a confusing mess. I can't even figure it out for myself. Other people have different confusing stuff. So they act weird. "
Laura Kinney	Laura takes a scent, considering. "I see." While she could detect the scent before, there was no context to it. "I have no experience with such things." she admits. "If there is something I can do to assist you, I will." She remembers the secret bit. "And I will not tell anyone."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir smiles in relief. "Thank you. I mean, I know I'll have to deal with that eventually? But like, hopefully not for a long time." Wishful thinking, but hey.
Laura Kinney	Laura nods. "You do not need to thank me. You are teaching me. It is more than a fair trade." The concept of having X-23 as a "little sister" is a weird one, but it seems to be how it's shaping up.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods. "Okay. Would you like a hug? I'd like a hug, but not if you don't want one. I know you might have some bad memories that might make you not want a hug for reasons that don't have anything to do with here or me, and that's totally okay."
Laura Kinney	She knows more about hugs now. "You may hug me. I would like a hug as well." Laura answers. She'll somewhat awkwardly open her arms and step up.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir gently wraps you into a hug, smiling some. "I really appreciate you. It's good to be able to talk to you."
Laura Kinney	Laura squeezes in the hug. "It is...pleasant to have someone to speak to as well. It is not something I am accustomed to. And you are much less confusing than Andrea."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir grins. "Yeah, she's super complicated. So is Mason. Oh, my, god. I never know if they are going to kiss or try to kill each other."
Laura Kinney	Laura makes a frustrated growly noise. "They have entirely too many people around them making too much noise. And they treat it with far too much importance."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods. "They do. I know it pays the bills for them, but it's annoying."
Laura Kinney	Laura actually smiles a bit at that. "You and I understand each other better than most. I think." She relaxes the hug. "Thank you for your help."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods and lets you go. "Sure. But yeah. You can always talk to me. I'll do what I can. I think I am going to go deal with that.. fish.. thing now though. And the shampoo thing. Just, you know.. not at the same time."
Laura Kinney	Laura nods. "Go shampoo your fish." she says, apparently it now being a catchphrase between the two.