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| What sisters are for.; Shopping for Sam. | |
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| Topic Started: August 3, 2015, 6:59 pm (92 Views) | |
| Roman | August 3, 2015, 6:59 pm Post #1 |
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Character: Husk Date: March 14 Time: Morning Place: San Francisco
"Alraight?" Her brother Josh had shoved the duty of shopping for their eldest brother in such a way that Paige had been so accustomed to over the years, that she barely even registered it. The shopping list was already tucked into the pocket of her denim jeans and she had offered a 'you're free to be on your leave' single wave with a hand as Josh escaped with Holly towards the shopping mall. The boat ride, although brief, was calming. Something about the impact of waves and the low rumble of the water in tandem with the engine... it offered a sublime silencing effect to the brain. Anxieties were momentarily quelled. The prospect of coming out to the city to shop for necessities was not why Paige had decided to tag along for the event. Although she figured she'd be picking up a few things for her siblings here as well as for those back home... it was also a self-imposed exercise to get herself used to and to get to know the other Utopians. A certain amount of fanfare was lacking when coming into an interface with another person. Maybe it was something she forgot how to do. Putting on airs, preparing for a first impression... These things took time. They delayed from the actual acquaintance of a person's true personality. That's why she stayed. She took it as her duty to make sure that her kin were all right and that Sam had a good enough grasp on the island and of the people to make his own educated decision of if this was the right place to be or not. If this was a safe place or if this was a sanctuary, she would at least find solace in that if she decided she wouldn't stick around. And truthfully... Utopia was not without its almost unending appeal. There was the notion of solidarity and mutual camaraderie between mutants... there was the above-plush amenities and facilities provided for them that was so far beyond halfway housing that it was truly shocking... and then, of course... there was the amazing tech and advancements that was installed all around the islands for the convenience and safety for all of the residents. And trust in that Paige had meticulously inspected and observed and interrogated almost everything she could think of to get exactly what kind of handle she needed to establish this as a prospect both for herself and for her family. She wasn't about wasting time. Not anymore. She took a few jogging steps up to where Dr. Grey was walking along with the group and slowed into a matched stride alongside of the woman. Granted, Jean had been supremely accommodating and wonderfully attentive in granting Paige as much information and access as she needed to ascertain that Utopia was the real deal. And after abstaining from the community vote only a few short days ago, she still felt that she was a welcome presence on the island, even if it was to make sure her brothers and sister were adequately settled. There was also a certain aspect of Jean... beyond the appearances and friendly conversations... that Paige just felt. Something about the way that she carried herself in easy, but life-wearied steps, or in the attitude that she approached every discussion or person in that everyone got the same side of her because life had conditioned her to cut out the bullshit and give it straight at face value, every time... every second. It told a life of hardship and learning. "I used to want to come to San Francisco when I was a teenager. As a family trip. Ironic, ain't it?" She glanced over briefly to Jean, building up to what she really didn't have the opportunity to say since she'd arrived. "It's so hard to get ya alone for a talk on the island, I just really needed to talk you. Fer doing all thatcha did for my family." The tone was casual and breezy, but the sentiment was anchored in cement. "The thing about Joelle is that she's really smart. More than the rest of us in a lotta ways. But I never expected her to do any of this." She shook her head a bit and idly clenched at the sleeve of her tan, canvas jacket. "I'm not gonna make excuses for what she'd done or start on theories as to why. Just thank you. For bringing my family back safe." She nodded as she veered off slightly in a different path from the rest of the group heading towards the mall. She pulled out the list of Sam's shopping needs and unfolded it. "-But because you saved 'em, now y'gotta help me shop for 'em." She waved the paper in the air slightly between two fingers. "You do that and I'm more'n happy to stay on Utopia in any capacity I'm needed." She meant it. Idly, her gaze caught a bolded word flapping at her from the page in the slight breeze that read, "True-Grip soled, size 13 D-width Redwing work boots. Oxblood." She spoke the words out loud like a parent reading their child's Christmas list. She looked to Jean. "I need a whiskey before we go." Tags: Phoenix Edited by Roman, August 3, 2015, 7:02 pm.
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| Kevin | August 10, 2015, 10:51 pm Post #2 |
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Character: Phoenix Date: March 14 Time: Morning Place: San Francisco "No... No... No... Yes..." Jean was tucked away on the back of the boat for the trip from Utopia to San Francisco. She was ignoring the beauty and serenity of the ocean, ignoring the twitches of the begrudging and the guffaws of the excited, ignoring the very company she was involved with all to get ahold of their benefactors. It was a rotation routine by this point. Muir Island one day, London the next, DC after that. She wasn't making any apologies about it, either. Lorna had unearthed some meaty information for them during her trip to DC just days earlier, which had opened their proverbial eyes up to an astounding mystery and a deafening lack of information. Jean wasn't going to stop until she knew why each and every one of them were actually investigated and offered home on Utopia. Today was Doctor Valerie Cooper. And right now, she was going through a line of security just to get the woman on the phone. It was a real bitch. "Yes... No... I don't even know what that is... Oh, okay- then no..." "Grey with an E. Doctor Grey, I'm a doctor." She always said it like she forgot for a second. "Oh my God, just tell her it's Jean, and I'm sick of waiting." "Fine. My message is- Answer the fucking phone, Val." Click. For the rest of the ride, Jean let the seething chill, even despite the salt water misting her face. When they docked, she climbed off the boat like the rest of them. She was clad in an old, oversized and shapeless black Ramones t-shirt with the sleeves hacked off and the sides shredded down to her waist, a black sports bra and otherwise bare lithe sides visible, some small cutoff denim shorts, and a pair of simple white tennis shoes. Her hair was up and sprouting out the back of a navy-blue and orange Mets baseball cap, and she had some vintage 70's hyper reflective aviator Ray Bans swallowing her face. ...This is why Jean didn't shop with people. She shopped comfortably, not stylishly. She was mostly ignoring Yoyo's request for walking buddies. Not intentionally, of course. It was just that everyone partnered up, and Jean was awkwardly alone and pretended to be more important than she actually was by filtering through her phone contacts and sending Lorna a series of texts.
And suddenly, there was a pitter-patter of steps matching her own pace, though ones more clunky than her own. Jean eyed to her left. Sturdy Paige, present. She'd almost forgotten about Paige. She must have completely blanked out when the eldest Guthrie sister got on the boat. It was nice that they didn't have to bother with pretending they cared about pleasantries, because the woman was just as silent as Jean was, though Jean offered her a chin nod in acknowledgment.
It was. This was definitely not the kind of family reunion she was probably hoping for. And while Jean didn't know the Guthrie's well enough to place any bets on their relationships, she'd observed enough to know they were close in some fashion... but had all drifted in distance over the years. She'd learned of Sam's solitary life and eventual sheriff-hood, Paige's enlistment, Liz's fight for better pastures and education, Josh's travels as a struggling musician, and of course... Joelle's status as a runaway-turned-antimutant-terrorist. They loved each other, but there was so much inner turmoil in each of them that they'd built walls up even with one another. That being said, responding to this kind of rhetorical question seemed redundant and Jean was half-worried she's find a real good way to unintentionally offend Paige. So she just nodded silently.
"Oh, it wasn't all me, no..." she was not one for feeling glorified. "I mean, without Scott, Teon, and Kay... had Yoyo not been shot and Liam not been taken, we might never have even known..." She looked over at Paige as they walked in equal strides, "I'm glad we could be there."
Jean was kind of drowning at this point. Part of what she loved about her job as a field trauma surgeon and triage medic was that things whizzed by so fast, nobody had time to sing her their praises. Because if they knew her, most of them wouldn't be singing her anything. She was a mutant with shit for a past and a lot to make up for. She didn't feel the desire for any form of praise. It just made her feel like a fraud, most of the time. So here, where everyone she'd be helping would also be around her all the time, was going to take some getting used to. She wasn't in and out like in New York. She was just in. So instead of focusing on the kind praise Paige was giving and unintentionally murdering Jean's awkward-meter with, she chose the prior to respond to. "I'm sure she's not much different than the girl you knew... just lost her way." Cliche, but true. "You can't worry about blame or cause. If we ever see her again, we can hope to get through to her and help her overcome whatever it is she's going through... and maybe find her some redemption." Jean huffed sternly and offered a small grin, "and if I wasn't still miffed about the bitch she turned into, I'd tell you how cool as shit her powers were." One of the biggest things Jean probably had going for her was piece of mind when it came to grudges. She had one, and could only bare to live with that single one. It had torn her mental state apart for long enough to know she couldn't stay mad at others long term. So, while the others were probably (and rightfully) still reeling from the trauma that was Joelle Guthrie, Jean was looking ahead.
"You want me to do more for you?" Jean whipped eyes around, fiery ponytail flapping behind her. "Oh, so you're a bitch. Got it." Jean teased and brushed a hand over Paige's shoulder. She paused a moment, a bit stunned by the girth of Paige's shoulder. The oversized jackets she wore made her look a bit more soft than she actually was. "Uhhh, what's on the list then?"
That was so specific that even Jean had never heard of half of that in terms of shopping. "...For Sam?" She didn't have a real reason to say anything, she just felt like she should respond because that's what people do. She shrugged, "big feet."
"Mikkeller Bar opens in like fifteen minutes." Jean just looked ahead and started walking again. The bar was just across the street. "By the way, you've got really nice arms..." It was the truth. She turned to Paige and gave awkward face. "No, I mean, I'm not like- no... I just mean you have really nice arms." She turned away again and faced ahead of her, "are the boots for Sam? Big feet on that one..." She said that already. Something else, Jean, something else. "You Guthries are definitely built some kinda way..." NOT THAT, JEAN. "I prefer tequila, by the way." Sigh. Tags: Husk Edited by Kevin, August 10, 2015, 10:57 pm.
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| Roman | August 11, 2015, 11:52 pm Post #3 |
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Character: Husk Date: March 14 Time: Morning Place: San Francisco With one hand in her pocket and the other one cramming the damn shopping list back into the breast pocket of her jacket for the time being, Paige anxiously smoothed a hand through the side of her shorn, blonde hair. This was her first foray into a big city in more than a year. While that may sound like a lie, as she lived in the most influential big city in the world prior to arriving on Utopia, she had almost all essentials delivered to her apartment through a service and made it out to the movies maybe once since she left the military. She didn't try to put on a 'big city' facade for the rest of her family... they just assumed that's what it was. The disconnect. It had nothing to do with living somewhere other than the family property. The truth was, Paige was still uneasy about big cities. Too much movement and undetermined noises firing at all hours. She felt ok for now, though. She had her counting. And having someone to conversate with was imperative. As Jean refused to take any semblance of credit for the rescue and safety of her siblings, as well as a handful of others, Paige just turned her head towards her and looked at her with an inquisitive quirk of the brow. There was being humble, and then there was being Jean... who seemed pathologically adverse to being seen as the hero. “Do you want me to... not say something nice about what ya did? Cuz you did lose my sister.” The delivery was dry and the subject matter was slightly dark, but the way in which it was meant was one of teasing and also slight hope for her wayward sister who she KNEW... deep in her soul, had managed to make it away alive and find someplace safe. Someplace until they could rescue her again. Even if it was from herself.
She nodded once, affirmatively. “Yes ma'am.” She listened silently as Jean broke down her sum-up of what really could've been going on inside Joelle's action that day. She even had her back in the form of chalking the incident up to situational confusion and blurred misunderstanding. She appreciated that. It was likely that almost no one else thought about Joelle considering what she had been up to with the Friends of Humanity for those many months. “I really hope so.” The mood turned a bit sullen before Jean instantly broke through it with;
“Light-based emissions, is that right? I did a lot of catching up on the FoH mission files the last couple'a days.” She wondered briefly what little Joelle would've thought about those abilities. The same girl who watched with eager anticipation at all of her other siblings as she waited for her own mutation to come. It had come too late. As Paige took more steps further down the street, she felt the familiar weariness and pressure at the sides of her temples that she had gotten accustomed to over the years. She let out a low, deep, and silent breath as Jean continued. And as she did so... Paige went through her exercise. ”one, two, three four, five... six, seven, eight, nine... ten.” She stated this mantra under her breath and was completely unconscious of doing it.
“Ah ay-um...” She stifled through a string of chuckling at both the comment and at Jean's outright spunk towards a person she didn't know that well. At the physical contact, she couldn't help but smirk slightly and instantly avert her gaze to the other side of the street. Jean sure is friendly... Paige fished her hand into the pocket of her jacket again... this time in the larger cargo pocket towards the bottom of the garment. She pulled the compact, teal-blue object just long enough to check for a blinking green light emanating from the top right corner of it. Indeed, it was blinking. To the mention of Sam's feet, or more appropriately, to the super specific shopping list, Paige gave a slight roll of the eyes and stopped at a crosswalk, waiting to cross the street with Jean at her side still. “I love him too much to bring him back his list with sharpee written over it saying, 'You'll wear what I bring you'.” It was an off-the-cuff remark that didn't warrant a necessary reply.
She looked down at her watch. Yep. Still morning. She looked over to Jean. “I'm not embarrassed if yer not.” She gestured a 'why the hell not' shoulder and crossed the street with Jean.
“Thank you.” Her tone came out casual, but her visage was anything but. Eyes wide with surprise and lips squeezed closed in stunned silence. Wait... was Jean...
“Jean. Are you...”
She offered a soft smile. “You said that already.”
She averted her eyes to the other side of the street that ran parallel with the bar and idly thumbed around with the tab on her jacket. Oh my God, I can't believe she is flirtin' with me... She quickly glanced back over to Jean, taking note for the first time of her style. The unkempt band shirt, the cool-guy sunglasses, her just super-casual demeanor. She was a real woman. Not that Paige was ever really into redheads by default. “I do all right.” She finally said, breezily looking out towards the bar ahead of them.
This made Paige kind of start to feel anxious again. This is not at all what she came to Utopia for. And while there was nothing wrong with the other woman... Paige knew that she wasn't ready for that kind of relationship. Especially not after what had happened between her old military partner Rachel and herself. She once again glanced down at the blue-green sheen of the object in her pocket and just focused on updating her street passes and gaining more puzzle pieces and getting more play coins for walking all around the city. But she kept her dorky DS habit as privately as she could. And would not offer the information that the only reason why she agreed to attend the shopping trip was to purchase the new Pokemon game. In branching her thoughts to just this aspect momentarily... it gave Paige the perspective and the words she felt she needed to address Jean with next. “Look, Dr. Grey... I may have come across all wrong with ya.” Her speech was hesitant and stuttered. “It's not that... you're not unattractive... I'm not ready for... y'know... I don't know how y'even knew that I was a- y'know... I'm just- I'm not ready for a romantic relationship right now.” They were standing outside of the doors of the bar now. “We're just getting to know each other. I like that. So when we go in there, we'll just g'on to have a couple'a drinks like any ol' friends would.” She nodded. “I mean I'm flattered, yeah... I just- It's just bad timin'. You don't want t'date me. Trust me.” Tags: Phoenix |
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3:20 AM Jul 11