January Alt Event [OPENish]

[blesstherains]

WHO: Any characters not specifically being used for the Hellfire Club Event
WHAT: Volunteering to help disadvantaged and underprivileged mutants in the cold harsh winter.
WHERE: District X (located in Alphabet City, Manhattan)
WHEN: Middle of the week
WARNING(S): With the FoH possibly jumping in, this could get rough.



At the very least, the snowfall wasn't blizzard strength today. But it was making the work of unloading the trucks at the community center difficult. But the kitchen was cooking, the fires were going, and up and down the block, families lined up to get blankets, to get food, and get some hope from a group many of them considered to be heroes for entirely different reasons than most did...

The X-Men.

Comments

[theveilisin]

Luvander was wincing very slightly as he walked, trying to go easy on any areas that are still sore as he felt them steadily healing. Despite that, he sent Liir a friendly smile directly thereafter.

"I could take those little scrapes, if you like. But yes, perhaps some reward for your little helpers is a good idea, before they decide that we look edible. There's plenty of leftovers over by the kitchen, I helped gather up the used plates and bowls."

[friendofdorothy]

"You seem to already have some."

Would it be weird to offer to help him walk, he wonders? He'd like to. But too much contact. Too much intimacy.

"Good idea."

He heads that way, slow enough for Luvander to keep up, opens the door and begins gathering up leftover scraps. The rats follow at a respectful distance.

[theveilisin]

"Not for long," Luvander replied cheerfully, and he already seemed to be walking a bit easier a moment later. Part of that was the healing factor, and part of it was his absolute refusal to ever admit to hurting.

At least there was something to be done! He helps gather up some leftover bread and other odds and ends, throwing the rats fascinated looks every now and again. "You must make some interesting friends."

[friendofdorothy]

Huh. So that's his Thing. It's neat and probably doesn't ever force him to converse with a creature that just shit on his shoulder.

There's some squabbling among the rats as they both throw food, but no more than the garter-throwing at a wedding where the bridesmaids have already gotten into the mimosas. In other words, shoving and jostling but no acting like, well, animals. One twitters at him.

"This is..."

Actually he didn't catch Luvander's name, looks over at him. Awkward.

[theveilisin]

It forced him to stay with people who would pee in his boots at times, does that count?

He watches the interaction between the rats in rapt fascination, personally thinking that it would be truly fascinating to be able to communicate in such a way. At Liir's words he does an overstated double-take, as if he's present in a comedy and no one else is aware of it.

"Oh, my most sincere apologies! I'm Luvander. Luvander Páwa, according to my passport." It's not actually his family name, but he hasn't used the other name since he was six, and anyway, it might not be safe to use that one. When he'd been asked what he wanted to be called by the UN officials, he had thought of the teasing nickname his friends had given him and blurted out 'peacock'. "Though I'm afraid that now you have me at a disadvantage."

[friendofdorothy]

"These are..." He tries to squeak something out and it's just a big mess of rat-language that a human just can't really say. "...Nevermind. Anyway, I'm Liir Ko." Also an assumed last name. Kiamo Ko was the old fortress he grew up in, way off in Oz's western mountains.

He tosses out some more bread crusts, hisses sharply at a twinge in his ribs.

[theveilisin]

Luvander hides a smile behind his hand in a not very successful manner at the attempt at rat speech, but nonetheless looks pleased to be introduced to the present company in general. He opens his mouth, most likely to go off on a completely irrelevant tangent, quite possibly concerning strange names, or the fact that Ivory used to keep rats, or something. But then Liir lets out that little hiss, and Luvander rolls his eyes instead.

"Honestly, you're as bad as some of my old comrades." Without waiting for Liir's permission this time around he steps up, simply placing one hand on the other boy's cheek - it's the most easily accessible exposed skin, after all - and closes his eyes in concentration. With barely a grimace he picks up the bruised ribs, and any other little scrapes and scratches he comes across, anything from souvenirs of the fight to any light infection or similar.

But at the same time, the thin gold bracelet on Luvander's wrist brushes against Liir's cheek, and-

-a girl with flaming red hair, fastening it there, smiling brightly and showing a row of reptilian needle teeth. She says something in a Eastern European language, and there's the sound of Luvander laughing-

-a boy with blue streaks in his hair and a shit-eating grin is holding the bracelet in the air, jeering. Luvander's too short to reach it, humiliated and angry, but the girl is there, a crown of spiked skin raised in warning on her neck, slamming the blue-blond boy into a wall with an invisible force. A screech, and a black-haired girl with wings attacks her in turn, and then suddenly there is a grownup screaming and they all freeze, Luvander in the act of picking the dropped bracelet up-

-Luvander is on his knees, clutching the bracelet protectively in his hand, sobbing as he feels his skin blistering and melting. But he doesn't let go of where his other hand is gripping the wrist of the girl. She's standing with her back to him, in a cloud of fire, turning it away with her power but the air is still too hot. She's not strong enough, and Luvander can't take on her injuries fast enough. She's jerking at her hand, trying to get him to let go, screaming what sounds like curses at him. But they're soldiers, they're comrades in arms, and if he can't even save her...

And then the world goes white with noise and light as a grenade goes off, Luvander can feel something lodging in her throat, and everything goes away-

And Luvander is backing off, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

[friendofdorothy]

Liir stiffens. Not just because he's reserved but because he's afraid of exactly this happening.

He's somewhere else a few moments. This time's faster than the other ones, everything flying at him in a welter of images. He's inside his past and clearly seeing things that are private, probably things that his hail-fellow-well-met demeanor are a not very good smoke screen for. He didn't want to get to know Luvander that well, or to sympathize (empathize?) with him. Life seems to have a way of doing that though.

He staggers out of it, slamming back into the present like someone being woken up by an alarm clock. It takes him a moment.

"...I'm fine." He manages to get out, barely different from his normal quiet speech.

[theveilisin]

The other boy is hard to read. It's clear that something happened there, something that quite rattled him in some way, but what exactly? Perhaps he doesn't like being touched? But there are varying levels of reaction, and this one went beyond even the way Ivory or Al Atan would flinch when touched, and somehow Luvander isn't quite buying that.

He leans a bit closer, though in truth this definitely involves standing on his tiptoes since the other boy is considerably taller - and at least this time he's keeping his hands to himself.

"Are you sure? I mean, I do realize that is a rather pointless question, since if you really are fine you would be certain of it, and if you're not you're hardly likely to tell me, but... you looked pretty startled there for a moment. Like... what's the saying? Like someone walked across your grave?" Or someone's grave, as it may be.

[friendofdorothy]

Liir wonders why people keep touching him. This has to be the third time someone's turned him green that way this week.

"Power blip." He says, before taking deep breaths for his speeding heart. He gingerly feels his ribs. No more pain. "What did you just do?"

[theveilisin]

The green blushing is interesting and actually rather sweet, and it makes Luvander's smile widen into a grin now that he's been assured that nothing's wrong. He's not exactly sure what 'power blip' is supposed to mean, but well, people's powers do strange things all the time, right?

"Oh, that. I just took your injuries and moved them onto me instead. I take it you weren't overly fond of them and don't mind too much?" He raises his eyebrows a bit, fully aware that this is not exactly the reason why people sometimes mind.

[friendofdorothy]

Five minutes ago he would have been much more skeptical that a flibbertigibbet like Luvander could have taken many injuries and still be essentially alright. Now he was wondering where he served...He knows that word intimately. Perhaps Luvander's an ex-servant of power, like himself.

"Thanks for carrying them. That's probably the best medical care I'll get here in America."

He wonders if that little segue was too obvious, the joke too forced. He wants to know where Luvander's from in spite of himself.

[theveilisin]

The comment earns Liir a laugh and a small, rueful headshake. "You know, I've been in America for less than a year, and already I understand that joke a bit too well. Not that I'm saying it was better back home, because bastion knows I'm not that much of a liar."

He shrugs lightly. Medical care in Volstov had been advanced as well as available to the general public, true - unless you happened to be Ramanthe, or the wrong kind of foreigner, or a mutant, or someone who spoke their mind. Then you just had to make do with back alley clinics and superstition.

"At any rate, it's no big thing. It's more or less healed already, and I've felt worse."