(no subject)

[friendofdorothy]

[1: Network/Private to Claudine Renko/Voice]

I'm glad to hear they're letting you onto the intranet at least. Which is good because there is one more question I've been wanting to ask you...

[2: Action]

[Despite participating in the riots with a paper thin disguise, Liir has actually gotten more studious in the previous couple weeks, being on examplary good behavior. He's particularly eager to help out on any errand that takes him to the lower levels. You might catch him doing that, or speaking in low tones to a cockroach or something, promising it bed crumbs if it makes sure 'she' is ok.]

[3: Action]

[Becoming an x-person will mean going back into combat. He certainly can't rely on there being animals always available for that. So you can find him working with one of the long punching bags, repeating sequences of attacks. The repetition soothes him and the sweat cleanses him. Jab, fake cross which drops his level into a double leg...cover the face with the forearms, turn that into an elbow and clinch with it...it's balm for a mind that thinks too much.]

Comments

2

[mouflon]

[When Rin walks in on Liir in the middle of a conversation with what seems to be a cockroach, she doesn't interrupt. She just folds her arms and waits for him to either acknowledge her or finish up, her expression only mildly dubious.]

Making friends?

[friendofdorothy]

[Liir practically jumps, causing the insect to skitter off]

...More like checking in on one we already know.

[mouflon]

I meant the roach, but if that's what you'd rather talk about, we can do that too.

[She shrugs a shoulder, like the subject is nbd.]

Gotten anything good out of bugging her room?

[friendofdorothy]

She's not being mistreated but they won't let her out anywhere. They're scared of us talking to her, I'm sure. [Oh, right, she wasn't there for the meeting...] She knew who I am. Instantly.

[mouflon]

What, us specifically?

[She sounds a little dubious, but... Thoughtfully, Rin's gaze lowers toward the floor, shifting her weight back on one heel.]

And how do you feel about that?

[friendofdorothy]

Probably us more than the general population, but everyone, really.

[Liir shrugs, looks a little embarrassed.]

As if...I should apologize because she was expecting someone else.

[It'll have been easy for her to figure out after being his friend for this long that he feels inadequate to Elphaba's legacy]

[mouflon]

[That particular quirk of his had been clear from the first time they talked about it, but putting that aside...]

If someone had picked me out that easily, I would have been pissed. [Though whether she means at herself or them goes unsaid. She sets her hands on her hips.] So you didn't get off on the right foot or what?

[friendofdorothy]

None of us did. Though I suppose I made a less terrible impression than everyone else. [Which he is shortly going to ruin after this thread.] Anyway, that's one of the reasons I want to talk to her. She recognized almost everyone else too and didn't tell us how.

[mouflon]

Ugh. You're making me glad I didn't meet her up close and personal. [She shudders, a little theatrically.] She's really something, though, isn't she? She didn't get a word out before all hell broke loose, but I think the entire crowd was in awe without her even opening her mouth.

[Or maybe that was just her. Rin certainly sounds impressed, and maybe even a little jealous.]

[friendofdorothy]

[Or maybe she's nursing another crush.]

She has the kind of charisma the psychics would be jealous of. You...want to follow her. I also wanted to ask her if she knew anything about...your comrades. And my sister. [He knows it's a sensitive subject for her. He covers up the charitable gesture by tacking his own need to the end. That way she can't think he's pitying her.]

[mouflon]

[That's preposterous. She can't have a crush on every powerful mutant woman.

For a second, Rin's eyes narrow, but the mention of his sister does seem to mollify her. Still, it is a sore spot, and one she has never precisely admitted to, even if her avoidance of that part of her story has only made the shape of that gap more and more clear.]

There's nothing to ask about. [hmph] You really think she'd know, though?

[N-NOT THAT SHE CARES]

[friendofdorothy]

She might. She knows a disconcerting amount. Like that Luvander Paha was an anti-mutant quasi-gestapo in his home country. She knew this about us on sight, with the professor there to shield our minds. [There, topic touched briefly on then moved past, long enough to let her know he could help but not long enough to wound her pride.]

[mouflon]

[Rin stays quiet for a moment, considering that information. Then, she sighs, the sound rawer than her usual exasperation.]

Liir, it's been months now. If they made it out alive, they would have found a way to contact me by now.

[An actual admission. Her tone is blunt, but her voice lacks some of its typical energy.]

[friendofdorothy]

And if they were dead, some government would be crowing about it. [Liir sighs too. He's not good at this 'reassuring' thing. Realizing this, he does something that will get him called a honto baka or something and gives his friend a hesitant hug.]

[mouflon]

[. . .]

[mouflon]

What are you doing?! Just, just knock it off!

[HUMAN EMOTIONS, GROSS]

[friendofdorothy]

They're call 'hugs'. One generally gives them to one's friends when they seem sad.

[He'll let her go if she stiffens up or tries to squirm away but otherwise, enjoy your hug]

[mouflon]

[She shoves him. It's not nearly as effective a shove as it could be, which, in her own tsundere way, means she trusts that he'll let her go.]

Don't make things weird, you— you stupid...!

[How eloquent.]

[friendofdorothy]

[He does, frowns a little. Did he just fail at hugging?]

Alright. I thought...Anyway. She may know things about you. Don't be startled by it. [There. Subject change. Make things less awkward.]

[mouflon]

Ugh...

[If he's going to frown like that, she feels a little bad. But she's still red-faced, and when she looks at him, it looks more like she's glaring.]

I'll keep that in mind, assuming I ever get to talk to her. A- Anyway, just... My comrades and I never hugged much.

[That's not exactly an apology, even by Rin's lousy standards.]

[text/private]

[openedthedoor]

You'll forgive me, witch boy, if I'm not fully in the mood for answering questions.

[voice]

[friendofdorothy]

[Text. No way to verify it's actually her. Troubling. But no choice but to forge ahead.]

You'll probably want to hear this one. [He clears his throat, screws up his courage.] Will you...go to prom with me?

[Nearly mortally embarrassed, he reaches for the button to turn off the feed, then realizes he hasn't fully articulated why he's asking this. He takes a few seconds to compose his thoughts. Then:]

It's...note just a passing infatuation. You swept me off my feet when I first saw you.

[There, hopefully those references will be clear enough: the Witch's notebook and broom that he showed her back in District X.]

[openedthedoor]

What the fuck are you doing?

[friendofdorothy]

Trying to help you.

Find love that is, of course.

[He is not trying to help her find love.]

[openedthedoor]

I'm ending this conversation and talking to Xavier about erasing you from my memory. This is legitimately the most stupid thing I've ever been subject to.

3

[notacostume]

[Mona Lisa's doing some of the same, herself. Using the punching bag to deliver a series of kicks over and over again. Her mutation's left her particularly in shape, though her legs are particularly well-developed. There's a fair amount of impact and force behind her kicks, each one rocking the punching bag a fair bit.

Being mostly reptilian, she's not exactly capable of sweating, but it's still a decent workout, as she delivers kick after kick.]

[friendofdorothy]

[Liir finds himself watching her work on it. It's not just that she has good form or that the bag's folding itself for her, jumping up and down on its chains. It's that she's green too. It shouldn't mean so much to him by now, having known Beast Boy, who he's sure he's not related to. But it still strikes him sometimes.]

[notacostume]

[She delivers one last kick before taking a breather, the punching bag finally settling into place. All in all, Mona seems pretty pleased with herself and her progress. Considering how utterly unathletic she was before, this is one part of her mutation that she's far more okay with. The rest... she's still working on.

She's about to head off to take a take seat somewhere before noticing her "audience."]

... Yeah?