(no subject)
Sooraya stumbled, and almost fell, as she walked through the Milliways door.
A chill breeze blew through her tunic. Small wonder, it was still early spring here despite her months away.
She was outside, had been walking toward the playing fields and woods behind the school buildings. Best to keep going, then.
Sooraya hiked, noticing things as if they were new. The Sentinels on the borderline of the Institute grounds made her skin crawl. She'd never really grown used to them, and now...she set her teeth, made herself look away.
A touch to the side of her head, behind her ear, showed her that the surgery scars were still there. She could feel the ridged skin along the hairline. But her burqua concealed them from sight.
Off in the distance, another student--Nezhno--waved to her. She returned the gesture, smiling.
"Sooraya," a voice called from behind her.
Sooraya stopped and turned. "Laura." Her roommate tended to prefer the outdoors, too, given a choice. She said she didn't like feeling walled in.
They were a study in contrasts; Sooraya's darker skin and eyes to Laura's fair
and blue-eyed, Muslim niqab to skintight leather and metal studs, showing a good bit of skin, though not indecently by most standards. Laura
moved with the silent grace of a predator, even when off-duty, it was instinctual. So was her concern for the people she called "friends."
The younger girl's blue eyes narrowed, puzzled, as she came closer.
"Your scent's...different. I almost didn't recognize it, at first."
Uh oh. That, Sooraya hadn't thought of, but...for one, she was older, if not by much. And she'd be carrying scents from Milliways; that of the people there, woods, salt water from the lake, alcohol and smoke...none of which had been present when Laura saw her a few hours ago, here.
She was quiet for a moment, thinking, then, "Because something's...happened.
But I'd rather not talk about it where we might be overheard."
She wouldn't lie to the other girl, even if Laura wouldn't be able to spot a lie; and with 'X-23's senses, she very well might.
"There are the caves underneath the school," Laura suggested. "No one goes in
anymore. And I'll be able to tell if anyone's coming close enough to snoop."
"Sounds like a plan," Sooraya agreed.
Laura was studying her, intently. Sooraya met her eyes straight on. "Is something else wrong? You were looking for me..."
"I asked again, about Kevin."
"Miss Frost? What did she say?"
"Nothing. Only that he chose to leave, and she won't force him back. Particularly now." Laura scowled.
Sooraya led the way toward a hidden hatchway, covered by the foliage, that opened to a large(man-sized) hole and a thirty-foot drop. No ladder. The original students who'd been using the caverns, years ago, hadn't meant people to be able to get in easily.
Sooraya changed, unselfconsciously. She was vaguely aware of Laura catching up
her clothes to bring down for her, as she entered the cave, winds and sand
sliding through the empty space to reform on the rocky floor.
A few seconds later, Laura landed beside her, taking the jump easily to land on her feet. Sooraya took the bundled clothes from her and redressed quickly.
They walked further into the caverns, a familiar set of tunnels and drop-offs
that they'd navigated before. The interior was lit by dim overhead panels, once they were past the entry by about fifty yards.
Finally, Sooraya paused, and sat on a boulder.
Laura sat facing her.
"I was away from the Institute. I went out a door, and it didn't take me onto the grounds, but another place." Sooraya went on to describe Milliways as best she could. Laura only listened. She interrupted occasionally to ask
questions. The mention of being Bound elicited a displeased frown from Sooraya's teammate. "A trap, then?"
"If so, it's one that kept me alive." Sooraya hesitated, then went on to
tell Laura about Rachel, about Muldoon, the other M'Ways patrons, and about Dr. Fawkes--and why she'd needed a doctor's assistance.
Laura's hands, bare of claws for once, were gentle as she moved Sooraya's hair out of the way to look at the incision scar more closely. "...you smell healthy now." It wasn't quite a question. "Did the other X-Men help?"
"I feel better. My vision still worries me," she admits, touching her right eye.
"We should find Josh, or Archangel, later, then."
The account of the world without magic, or other powers, and the dragons, made
Laura grin. "Sounds like fun," was all she said. "You went...for him?"
"For people who needed it," Sooraya corrected. "Quinn? he's a remarkable person, yes, but it's not like that. I do like him. I respect him. He has a job of protecting everyone...it's not so different from what we do. Just the situation."
"Did you want to come back?" Laura hesitated. "If the door changes again--"
"I'd want to go. I have friends there too now. But what I'd like is if it was more than just me. It's part of why I don't want everyone to know, not when they're kept out. It's like gloating that I can leave, and they can't.
That, and...it might be more important that the Sentinels, and their handlers, never find out."
"I won't tell anyone. But, the telepaths here? How can we"
Work on your shielding, Sooraya, It was Frost's voice. For once, the headmistress' telepathic communication lacked its usual feeling of cheerful scorn or condescension. And what makes you so very sure I didn't already know? You're not the only one who can keep secrets, dear, her tone was unusually gentle, though I quite agree on the need to continue this one. Keep it between the two of you, for now.