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Post by Nightingale on Oct 22, 2006 10:59:57 GMT -5
The page she'd been staring at for the last twenty minutes was burnt into her memory now, so that even when she closed her eyes she could see what it said. Though Angie hadn't written down her final conclusion, that was burned into her memory too, and ran one hand through her hair as if she could clear the thought out of her mind.
She couldn't decide what to do with the information. Should she tell Pyro what she'd found, what she suspected, or should she just pretend that she'd found nothing? In the end, it was the same final result - 'No, I couldn't find your dad.' It was just how she got there that was the different thing.
What she needed was advice. She'd never had to deal with this sort of thing before - she wasn't even eighteen, after all. Angie didn't know what she was supposed to do, didn't know if the way she felt about Pyro was clouding things. The problem, as far as she could see it, was that Pyro hadn't exactly made all this public knowledge, and she needed to ask someone that wouldn't get curious about her 'hypothetical' questions - or, even if they did know immediately what she was talking about, wouldn't actually say anything to anyone else about it. With Pyro, Mystique, Python and Aurora gone, and apparently Juggernaut too, the island was feeling rather quiet.
But quiet was good.
She actually slapped her forehead when she realised what she could do.
Dharma!
Though Angie still suspected that he turned into a statue overnight, the tall Chinese mutant certainly fit her criteria for someone to talk to. He spun her head in circles sometimes, yes, but maybe she'd be able to nut something out eventually.
Her feet took the path down toward the beach almost automatically, though she hadn't actually visited the building site in ages. Things were really coming along, too - it seemed like he had all the posts up, she was looking forward to seeing the final result.
"Hey, Dharma."
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Post by dharma on Oct 22, 2006 11:26:28 GMT -5
Dharma was carefully setting thin, flat boards in place over certain stabilizers. The whole structure would stand a foot and a half or so off the ground, so sand could shift as it pleased. The green wood was a perfect jade colour that was already polishing to a beautiful darker green streaked with rich browns. He was very pleased with the results.
He heard Angie approaching and lifted his head. Smiling a bit at her, he nodded.
"Good morning Angie."
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Post by Nightingale on Oct 22, 2006 11:35:53 GMT -5
"Morning." She gave him a smile in return, though it was a little distracted - not quite as bright and cheerful as it could have been.
"Wow, this is really coming along, isn't it? How much longer do you think?"
He'd probably give her one of those non-answers, like 'As long as it takes.' For some reason, she felt the need to observe the standards of conversation instead of just coming out and asking him for advice, even though she suspected that Dharma really wouldn't care.
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Post by dharma on Oct 22, 2006 11:42:01 GMT -5
Dharma sat on the edge of his primitive building structure, brushing sand off his hand and taking a slow, easy breath of the sea air.
"It has taken several weeks to put the foundation posts up and I have just begun the flooring. It will take another few weeks for that to be done. The roof will take the most time. So I would say, perhaps a few months." HE nodded.
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Post by Nightingale on Oct 22, 2006 13:07:11 GMT -5
Well, that wasn't what she'd expected - Dharma was, apparently, harder to predict than previously thought.
"That's a long time for one building." She wondered if all the rest would take that long, and indeed how many buildings they were even planning on having. For that matter, who would get the first one? What would it be used for?
Obviously, Angie's mind was awhirl with all kinds of questions that were probably attempts to distract her from her original purpose in coming to see him. Well, it felt a bit strange to just be coming down and talking to him without any real prelude. It wasn't like they were the best of friends - he was a much more authoritative figure to her, being older and a powerful mutant. Not to mention wise. Which was why she'd come to him.
"I was wondering if I could possibly ask for some advice."
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Post by dharma on Oct 23, 2006 7:16:05 GMT -5
Advice. And now it seems he had finally settled here on the island, as the foundations of the building were laid, so was his purpose. It seemed what the world wanted from him on Genosha was not dissimilar from his place in the monastery. He looked to Angie and nodded somberly.
"Of course. Though I am as humble as any here, I will tell you what I see, and you can take what you wish from it."
She would anyway. People so young were rarely ready to hear Truth. They interpreted it as they wished, molded it to their purposes, and made the bricks of their path out of it. If they were lucky, it led them in the right direction.
He hoped Angie would be so lucky.
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Post by Nightingale on Oct 23, 2006 7:42:02 GMT -5
"Right."
She didn't exactly know what he'd meant by all that, but she gestured at the ground and sat as if to say 'This might take a while.'
"I was wondering... Um. If you care about someone..."
Oh, god, did that sound like she was trying to hit on him?
"Well, if you find out something that might... hurt someone. That you care about. Should you tell them? I mean, I know that a lot of it probably depends on what it is, you know, but... Like, if you're going to have to either tell them and know that it might hurt them, or avoid the truth, what do you do?"
Wow, that was one big jumble. Apparently she'd gotten good at spurting out somewhat non-sensical monologues.
"Did that make sense?" She frowned, as though she'd managed to confuse even herself with the question.
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Post by dharma on Oct 24, 2006 6:23:05 GMT -5
Dharma thought it over for a moment, his face going still. When he moved again it was almost frightening, how he could shift between a stony facade and life's motion thoughtlessly.
"Pain is just that. Life is suffering. You will come across pain one way or another, it is your reaction to pain that makes an individual unhappy."
"If the information you have to give them is the truth, hiding it from them is a greater injustice than hurting them."
His dark eyes shifted back to her and once again, he ceased moving but for the wind shifting his hair.
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Post by Nightingale on Oct 24, 2006 7:17:37 GMT -5
It was tempting to wave a hand in front of his eyes, just to see if he blinked - Angie was still half convinced that Dharma wasn't quite human. She just sat there, though, looking at him while he considered the question.
His return from the land of the stone-faces was so sudden that she flinched, and his answer wasn't exactly what she'd expected.
"What, my reaction to the pain, or their reaction to the pain? 'Cause I was planning on, you know... Trying to break it to him gently."
She frowned, playing with a lock of her hair.
"Alright. Truth equals good, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Dharma."
She didn't want to just run off now that she had her answer, even though she probably could have without offending him.
"Did you want any help or anything? Sorry I didn't come down to the beach this morning, by the way. I'll be there tomorrow, maybe you can teach me some more kata."
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Post by dharma on Oct 25, 2006 7:02:01 GMT -5
He nodded. "That would be good. I would enjoy that. You do not have to work with me on the building if you have other things to do. But the kata... I have become accustomed to having someone there with me."
And then, Dharma actually chuckled.
"You are busy. Go about your business. I hope that I have helped."
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Post by Nightingale on Oct 25, 2006 7:58:44 GMT -5
"Oh. Well, not really, but I'm sure I'll find something to do, and I wouldn't want to get in your way."
She stood up a little awkwardly, brushing the sand off her jeans, and looked out toward the ocean.
"It's going to be really lovely down here. I don't like all the metal in the base, you know? Needs some mood lighting or something."
She stuck her hands in her pockets - even though she felt a bit weird to be running off without helping him, it didn't seem like Dharma was going to be offended or anything.
"But yeah. Uhm... Thanks again, and I'll see you later on. If you do want help, you know, I'll be around."
[Exit Nightingale]
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