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Post by Aurora on Jan 30, 2007 16:37:12 GMT -5
"Anyone who buys this stuff is pathetic."
Aurora sat at the table in the kitchen, her long legs crossed, one elbow resting on the table as it's hand pointed the TV remote and the screen. She'd been flipping through channels as she talked with Angie, but upon reaching a classic born-again-Christian preaching show, she'd paused to listen and watch for a few moments. The animosity and disgust could almost be tasted coming from Aurora even before she spoke.
"They're going to be shit-out-of-luck when they die and realize that all of their praying and finger-pointing was a waste of their time," she said dryly, as in the background the man on stage bellowed.
"PR-RAISE His name-uh!"
Though she'd never had an in-depth conversation, even with Angie, about her take on religion, she made it clear many times in off-handed ways that she would have none of it. How much of this was in rebellion to the way she - or, Jeanne-Marie, rather - was raised, was an unsure thing. But either way, the way in which her lip curled as she watched the crowd waving their arms and shouting out in agreement to the preacher's words showed that her philosophy of death was much as the children's rhyme went: the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout.
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 1, 2007 2:02:26 GMT -5
"I'm not particularly religious," if anything, Angie could more be called Agnostic, even though she did swear religiously just plenty, "but if it makes them feel good for now, then I say whatever."
Stirring slowly with the wooden spoon - she was making cookies, even though it somehow felt a bit innappropriate to her - the young Australian looked up at the TV thoughtfully.
"Gotta say, it'd suck to be really hardcore religious and have Dead Man bring you back." It'd suck to be anyone and have Dead Man bring you back, of course. Something that she was... well, worried about whenever she thought about death within the Brotherhood. Sure, they could still be useful even after death when a guy like Dead Man was on the team, but... It was just wrong.
"I dunno, I don't agree with violence in the name of Jesus or whatever, but as long as people aren't forcing their beliefs onto me, I don't really care what a person thinks in their own head." Taking a fingerful of cookie dough, Angie offered the bowl to Aurora.
"Do you remember anything, you know, of the school or whatever?" Jeanne-Marie seemed to be much more religiously minded than Aurora, which made the young blonde wonder just what the deal was with the two of them. Not that they saw Jeanne-Marie often.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 1, 2007 15:11:01 GMT -5
"Gotta say, it'd suck to be really hardcore religious and have Dead Man bring you back."
Aurora mused over the idea for a moment. She started to think that she didn't think he'd do that, if for no other reason than because the others in the Brotherhood had known the deceased person and would protest. "We'd all flip. Pyro would never let him keep whoever alive. Or, well. Undead," she decided, setting the remote down on the table and turning her gaze and attention from the TV screen to Angie.
"Do you remember anything, you know, of the school or anything?"
"Everything," Aurora answered with a nod, uncrossing her legs and leaning back in her chair, her hands folding on the tabletop. "Except it's like it happened to someone else, most of it. When I think about some of the memories, I remember feelings, like it sort of happened to me. But most of it, I don't get any reaction. It's like watching TV."
She wondered if by asking if Aurora remembered, Angie had been curious to hear what had happened. "It was hardly anything worth remembering, anyway," she said, her lips pursing slightly. "Lots of prayer and classes and scriptures. And punishment. Got my ass beat a couple of times," Aurora remembered. That she had said she had been beaten, rather than that Jeanne-Marie had been beaten, was of note. "Because the stupid bitch went running back to the school both times I tried to leave. But she got beat, too, so I'm slightly gratified."
Aurora was clearly bitter at Jeanne-Marie for causing her the pain on the two occasions. And she held no pity, nor any guilt for essentially causing the punishment in the first place by running away.
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 4, 2007 2:07:30 GMT -5
"We'd all flip. Pyro would never let him keep whoever alive. Or, well. Undead."
It wasn't until Aurora spoke that Angie realised she must have thought out loud.
Have to be careful of that. After all, there were some things that she didn't particularly relish the idea of broadcasting around the base through a lapse in attention.
Not that she expected that most of her 'secrets' were still only known to herself anyway. If everyone didn't know about her crush on Pyro they were blind, deaf and stupid.
Or new. With pink in her cheeks, Angie asked, "Do you remember anything, you know, of the school or anything?"
"Everything. Except it's like it happened to someone else, most of it. When I think about some of the memories, I remember feelings, like it sort of happened to me. But most of it, I don't get any reaction. It's like watching TV."
Huh. Well, that was interesting. The blonde nodded as Aurora explained, "It was hardly anything worth remembering, anyway. Lots of prayer and classes and scriptures. And punishment. Got my ass beat a couple of times," Aurora remembered. "Because the stupid bitch went running back to the school both times I tried to leave. But she got beat, too, so I'm slightly gratified."
"How did you...?" Pausing for a moment to get her thoughts in order, Angie asked, "How did she get control back the last few times, but she's only been able to once since we met?" Jeanne-Marie had been nice the one time Angie had interacted with her, but she had also been weird and clearly not as strong (as a person, strength of character or however you'd say it) as Aurora. So it seemed odd that she had been able to get a hold of their body so easily back in the day.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 4, 2007 18:08:24 GMT -5
"How did she get control back the last few times, but she's only been able to once since we met?"
Aurora paused a moment, her eyes on the far wall as she thought. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I've read a couple of books on it, but that's about it. I guess since I'm the mutation, and I didn't show up until about thirteen, she was the stronger personality at first. And then I got stronger over time, and I have this feeling that when I found out about what I was, and contacted the Brotherhood, I had a purpose and a place that made me want to fight for the body even more."
Aurora paused a moment, and licked her lips. "That's not backed by anything scientific...Just a hunch."
"I'm hoping that I got rid of her for good...so I won't have to worry about it anymore." She drummed her fingers on the table, then laid her hand flat, her eyes examining her nails. "So what's Australia like? I imagine it's pretty hot, like here, right? But...less jungle, more...clay? Red dirt?"
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 7, 2007 4:21:39 GMT -5
There was something about Aurora's situation that just seemed so... odd. It couldn't be that simple, could it? Or was it that it was overly complex? There was something about the idea that Aurora herself was a mutation... It was a bit strange. All Angie could do was shake her head to try to dislodge the thoughts that were making it spin.
"I'm hoping that I got rid of her for good...so I won't have to worry about it anymore." She drummed her fingers on the table, then laid her hand flat, her eyes examining her nails. "So what's Australia like? I imagine it's pretty hot, like here, right? But...less jungle, more...clay? Red dirt?"
"Some of it, yeah." The question had gotten a smile out of her - so many people assumed that Australia was small just because it was an island, when it was in fact about the same size as the mainland USA. But Aurora had more of an excuse than everyone else, the way Angie saw it.
"I grew up in the city, though - not too different from any other city, really. Just had the seasons around the opposite way to the northern hemisphere and everyone sounds... um, like me?" Thankfully, the Brotherhood had a lot of diversity in it, so she wasn't the only one who had a non-American accent. Though Aurora had lost most of her French-Canadian.
"I'd really like to go back sometime. Maybe we can rob a bank over there sometime." She grinned.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 7, 2007 16:54:02 GMT -5
Aurora let loose a hearty laugh at Angie's suggestion of robbing a bank in Australia. "Lets," she said. "They wouldn't be expecting it, I bet we could hit one on every continent before they even knew what hit them."
The smile on her face lingered as she looked across to the wall. "I hope we do something exciting again soon, Angie. I don't like being pent up here like this. It feels like we haven't done much since Baltimore."
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 11, 2007 19:57:09 GMT -5
"I dunno, I don't mind being cooped up." It was no secret that Angie wasn't exactly a fighter.
"And we've gone out a couple of times. When we went to New York to pick up Sy and Mystique and Dead Man... You went with Mystique last time, too." The young Australian shrugged a little uncomfortably. Two mentions of the shapeshifter in as many sentences wasn't exactly something that she liked to do. It was no secret that she wasn't exactly a fan of the older woman, either.
Part of it was jealousy, but part of it was the discomfort caused by being called Angela, by the way the shapeshifter looked at her and talked to her... It reminded Angie of her mother. And yeah, her mother had always made her feel like she was inadequate, but when you linked that feeling in with the jealousy... Well, there was something about Pyro being with a woman who reminded Angie of her mother that was just wrong on several different levels.
Shaking her head to dislodge the thoughts, the young healer said, "And besides, I've been doing things here... I like it here." The second half was much quieter than the first.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 13, 2007 19:04:33 GMT -5
"I like it here, too," Aurora agreed, to stamp out any thoughts she may have given Angie that she wasn't happy there. "It's just...to quiet."
"And of course you've been doing things, you've got talents," she continued. "Cooking, all that stuff. I haven't got a hell of a lot to do. Haven't really...found any hobbies yet, you know?" She said what she did in a casual tone, though her very words betrayed a hint of something not far from self-deprecation. Could the confident, headstrong young woman really be unhappy with herself?
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 19, 2007 0:15:23 GMT -5
"Well, do you really know what you like doing?" Other than killing? "Maybe you should try a few things and see if there's anything you like. I can't imagine that we'll be able to go out... shopping or anything anytime soon." Certainly not regularly, either.
Angie spooned out the cookie dough while she spoke, looking forward to the time that she'd actually get to eat the finished product. There was nothing in the world like fresh baked cookies, still warm... Mmm.
She was already drooling.
"I could teach you how to play some of Pyro's XBox games or something? I have some books? I know it's boring sometimes but I don't know that it'll change anytime soon." Ah, the downfalls of being internationally wanted mutant terrorists.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 20, 2007 17:15:35 GMT -5
"Hmm...I like flying...And training...And things like running, swimming, that kind of stuff."
Aurora considered Angie's suggestions. "X-Box might be fun..." she mused. Her eyes fell on the cookie dough Angie was spooning out in little globs. She stood and went to the counter across from her, leaning against it and crossing her arms. "Do you need any help? And...can I have some?" she asked, creeping her hand toward the cookie dough with a wicked grin on her face as she watched Angie for the go-ahead.
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 21, 2007 23:38:15 GMT -5
"Of course you can," the Australian grinned and offered the bowl. "As for helping... well, I'm pretty much done with these ones. But if you want, I'll come get you when I'm starting on dinner and you can help me with that?"
So Aurora liked physical activities. Training and flying and swimm... Oh, god, had she been going in the ocean? Weren't there sharks and jellyfish and...?
Dragging herself away from that train of thought, Angie went back to thinking about the things that Aurora could do in her spare time. "Have you ever gone down to help Dharma with his building? I know I've been thinking about going down into town and seeing if any of the buildings would be easy enough to fix up... You know, in case we ever get to the stage where there's more than just Brotherhood members living on the island. And it'd be nice to be out of all the metal." She quite fancied the idea of the island becoming like a mutant nation, full of all sorts of people who just wanted to live in peace.
It was a dream that she felt a little embarrassed about revealing even part of.
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Post by Aurora on Feb 22, 2007 17:50:26 GMT -5
Aurora gave her friend a grateful smile and took a bit of cookie dough with her fingers, her mouth already watering in anticipation. She had no doubt that it would be delicious, having been spoiled by Angie's cooking for weeks now. "Yeah, do that. I'll try not to burn anything," she agreed with a smile and a nod.
Sure enough, when she put the dough in her mouth, it was incredible. Aurora sagged against the counter, her eyes closing. "Mmm!"
When Angie spoke again, Aurora opened her eyes and licked her fingers as she listened. "Yeah, I've seen town a few times...and it's in serious need of repair. That would be really fun, actually." She sounded excited about it already, now that the idea had gotten into her head.
"More than Brotherhood members? Would it be safe to have anyone else here? Even mutants...We'd have to do rigorous background checks; the government could send spies. Or maybe I'm just not thinking things through right," she said with a shrug. Since she'd never been schooled - even as Jeanne-Marie - on the details of the government, she wasn't exactly well-informed on any of it.
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Post by Nightingale on Feb 26, 2007 3:40:08 GMT -5
"Yeah, do that. I'll try not to burn anything," Aurora said, and Angie grinned. She actually thought that it might be good for Aurora to learn about cooking - since she'd only been 'alive' for a certain amount of time, the Australian doubted that she'd ever learned. It would be a good thing to know... if Aurora ever wanted to have a normal life after all of this. If there was going to be an 'after'. It was hard to say, really.
"More than Brotherhood members? Would it be safe to have anyone else here? Even mutants...We'd have to do rigorous background checks; the government could send spies. Or maybe I'm just not thinking things through right."
"I wonder what they did to check us out. I'm sure Gill would be able to tell us more." The trout-headed mutant seemed to know everything.
"I mean, how did they know that we were who we said we were?" They probably had some way of knowing. Some sort of machine or something. Magneto... from all reports... was a very clever man. He would have something in one of the locked rooms that told him all sorts of information, surely.
"I dunno, we'll work it out. I think the important thing first is to start rebuilding. No sense thinking about bringing mutants here if there's no place for them to stay, right?"
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Post by Aurora on Feb 26, 2007 12:20:23 GMT -5
"Right," Aurora agreed, stealing another gob of cookie dough with two fingers. "Have you talked to Pyro about it? We could really do a lot of good; we'll just have to sit down and figure all the details out." Which was most likely something Aurora was not going to volunteer for. She'd do the physical stuff, the re-building, but the planning and thinking was not her cup of tea. But then again, that was what made Angie so valuable. She was good at that kind of stuff. A good organization needed both the planners and the doers; the brains and the brawn, so to speak.
She was quiet for a bit as she licked the cookie dough off of her fingers. When she did speak, she was carefully casual, though there was a certain slight tone of secrecy to the way she said what she did. "So, before Mystique left, she gave me this stuff she found...I had asked her to help me find information about my family. Since she can find out just about anything."
"I haven't read it yet," she said, and at first it might have seemed surprisingly uncaring considering the depth of the information, but her slightly sheepish smile gave away the true reason. "I'd really like to have a second mind there with me to make sense of everything when I do read it...Would you mind...?" So she was too proud to admit that she was nervous, if not scared, to read it herself. But the fact that she had requested Angie to be there with her shed some light on her true feelings.
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Post by Nightingale on Mar 2, 2007 6:02:09 GMT -5
"Have you talked to Pyro about it? We could really do a lot of good; we'll just have to sit down and figure all the details out."
"Not yet," Angie admitted. "I think he might know that I want to, though. I think I might have mentioned something about it before, in passing... But never really got into the nitty gritty." Because Pyro was all about the fight, and Angie wanted peace. Her powers weren't made for fighting - she was a clean up girl, the help girl, not the one you wanted protecting your back when battle was hot and furious. She needed protecting - she was worse than useless. Or so she felt, sometimes.
"So, before Mystique left, she gave me this stuff she found...I had asked her to help me find information about my family. Since she can find out just about anything." The young Australian nodded, though there was a moment where tension showed on her face. At the sound of Mystique's name. Just as soon as it appeared, though, it was gone.
"I haven't read it yet," she said, and at first it might have seemed surprisingly uncaring considering the depth of the information, but her slightly sheepish smile gave away the true reason. "I'd really like to have a second mind there with me to make sense of everything when I do read it...Would you mind...?"
"Oh! Of course not. I'll be happy to." In her mind, Angie finished the sentence. Happy to sit with you. Because she understood that it was support Aurora wanted, rather than someone to decipher jargon or trace complicated lines. And it made her happy to know that the French-Canadian would think of her. Because that was the place that Angie wanted to take. Not the place that she was currently in, which was inextricably linked to the violent struggle that they were embroiled in.
"She found something, then? A lot of information, or...?" After having helped Pyro with research into his own family, Angie was both curious and wary about what Aurora's information would tell them. It seemed like too many members of the Brotherhood came from broken homes. Not in the divorce sense, but in the sense that they were actually broken, like, needed to be fixed and she wondered what they'd all be like if their families had been different... More accepting... Better people.
Yes, better people. She thought that most of them would still feel as they did about mutant-human differences... But maybe they wouldn't be so adamant about fighting, about superiority and...
"When did you want to take a look at it all? I'll have to check my schedule..." Angie smiled at her own joke.
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Post by Aurora on Mar 8, 2007 16:13:36 GMT -5
Aurora smiled at Angie when she agreed to help. Of course she hadn't expected her friend to decline, but she was glad she had agreed so heartily nonetheless.
"She found something, then? A lot of information, or...?"
"It seems like a lot. She said it includes background history on each member of the family, as well as photos, newspaper articles, that kind of stuff..." She was quite anxious and nervous, actually; which was something that Aurora didn't experience very often.
"When did you want to take a look at it all? I'll have to check my schedule..."
Aurora shrugged, her eyes straying to the table, her finger running over a scratch in the metal. "Any time, really. Like we were saying...not much to do around here." She returned her gaze to Angie. "Do you have time today?"
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Post by Nightingale on Mar 11, 2007 7:54:52 GMT -5
"It seems like a lot. She said it includes background history on each member of the family, as well as photos, newspaper articles, that kind of stuff..." Aurora was obviously anxious, and Angie could understand why. It had taken years - sixteen, in fact - before she knew who her father was. And while you could try to prepare yourself for that kind of thing, it really was a big deal.
When did you want to take a look at it all? I'll have to check my schedule..." Trying to make a joke, Angie smiled a little, but she was starting to feel nervous for Aurora.
"Any time, really. Like we were saying...not much to do around here." She returned her gaze to Angie. "Do you have time today?"
"Of course. Any time you like. Right now, if you want." Aurora could easily run down and get her info and they could spread it all out (because Angie cleaned as she cooked, and there was the nice big table in the kitchen to accomodate a much larger group than currently lived in the base) and have cookies once they were finished... Cookies would be good if anything was a bit depressing, too. Yeah, right now sounded like a good plan.
"You definitely want to know then? I mean, my dad turned out to be a bit..." Waving her hand vaguely, Angie shrugged. He'd paid for her flight over to get the cure. Even though he was a mutant himself. The more time she spent with the Brotherhood, the more her resolve wore down - she was starting to see him as essentially a traitor to their species. "And Pyro's family was a bit odd. I mean, what happens if it isn't good?"
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Post by Aurora on Mar 14, 2007 11:18:33 GMT -5
Aurora considered Angie's question for a moment. "At least I'll know," she answered ruefully. "I mean, my life played out the way it did, and what I find out isn't going to change that. If it was bad, it isn't going to make my life any worse now."
She was quiet a moment, before continuing on, her eyes on the wall as she thought and spoke. "And...I had this - well, it might have been a dream, or a memory, or something - but I was really little...and I remember my parents were there. And there was a boy there, he was my brother. And everyone was smiling, and I remember I felt really happy." Her eyes moved from the wall to the table for a moment, then lifted to Angie's face. "So whatever happened, I don't think they're to blame."
Of course there was no way to be sure. Except to read what Mystique had found out. Aurora straightened and moved towards the door. "I'll be right back."
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