12/22 Instance: Lemony Secrets.

[littlebamf]

Timeline: Current.



Selene: The forest was gloomy and outlandish, as usual. Selene wandered around the tall, wide trees, occasionally glancing up at the night sky. The thick cloud obfuscated most of it, but here and there some stars could be seen, as well as some eerie, colourful light. Selene climbed up onto a huge, gnarled root to get a better view, then looked up. She had never seen such an odd light before.

Selene: She looked around, trying to find her bearings, but all that she could see in the dim, strange light were trees, more trees, and shadows in between them. Jumping off the root into the soft moss below, she took of in a random direction. That one was as good as all the others.

Ocelot: He stalked through the trees, following the noises that the girl was making as she walked through the fallen leaves. His mouth opened and he licked his lips in aticipation of how she'd taste, this girl, his pearly fangs glistening sickly in the green and purple lights above.

Selene: Selene stopped and looked over her shoulder. Nothing but trees to be seen. And shadows. Odd... she couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding something from her eyes. Something that followed her. Turning back around, she cautiously walked on, past another great root towards a forest of large mushrooms she could see in the distance.

Ocelot: Hunched over so much he was almost walking on all fours Ocelot crept forwards ... so close ... almost within pouncing distance, then he'd have her, he was almost drooling in anticipation, he hoped she screamed ...

Selene: Selene didn't walk faster, even though she clearly felt that she wasn't alone in this forest. It was behind her, she knew it by the way the back of her neck tingled. Maybe someone she knew? But why would they creep up on her like this? Walking a bit slower, she leaned down to pick up a loose branch from the ground, gripping it tightly with her hand.

Ocelot: She was getting a weapon? That wouldn't work and now she'd stopped, edging closer he judged the distance was close enough and broke cover, running forwrads and colliding with the girl's slender form, sending her tumbling to the floor. Straddling her he pinned her arms by the wrists and leaned down "Ello beautiful," he purred.

Selene: She didn't make a sound, too surprised by the sudden assault. Her heart beat faster in her chest and for several seconds she could do nothing but stare up at... it, into its single eye. No, definitely no one she knew. Feeling that her arms were trapped, Selene glared at its face, forcing herself to breathe slowly. That didn't went well, and there was no doubt that this thing meant harm.

Selene: Selene looked at her trapped wrists, then back at her attacker's face. "You are holding me down," she stated, her voice distorted by her clenched jaw. "Let me go, or I will hurt you."

Ocelot: "Oh will yer now darlin'?" Ocelot hissed, leaning his head down and licking the girl's cheek "Yer don't wanna be doin' that t' me now beautiful, 'cos we're gonna be good friends."

Rahne: Rahne looked up from where she'd been laying down on a log, watching the clouds chase each other across the sky as she idly waited for anything she knew to come along ... she'd thought she heard something.

Rahne: Frowning she sat up and pushed a stand of hair behind her ear and concentrated ... felt like ... her eyes opened wide and she jumped up and ran.

Rahne: Breaking through the trees she saw him, with someone pinned under him, and she stopped "You're just a nightmare, go away!" Ocelot raised his head and hissed and Rahne backed up half a step from that mad eye "No, you're not real, you're just a-a figmet, your just going to fade away now."

Rahne: Ocelot snarled at her, and was gone. Rahne wnet over to the girl on the ground "Umm .. you ok- ... hey! What're you doing here!?"

Selene: Selene didn't move at first, but just turned her head to look at... a girl with red eyes and red hair? "Who... who are you now?" She blinked, then looked in the other direction. "And who was that? Do you know him? Where did he go?" Selene sat up as she looked back at the other girl, then down at her hands. They were covered in blood. But she did seem to be friendly.

Selene: Crossing her legs, Selene slid slightly away from the other girl, watching her carefully. "This is... very confusing. But I guess that I am mostly okay."

Rahne: "Him?" Rahne snorted and turned away "He's just a old nightmare, a dead one, he won't come back."

Rahne: Turning back she rested her weight on one leg and folded her arms as she stood "You don't recognise me without the fuzz roomie?" She smirked.

Selene: "Roomie?" Selene slowly stood up, leaning over to give the other girl a closer look. "Fuzz?" There was something in the way she stood, she acted and talked, in her eyes... "Rahne? Is that you? You look different. Did you shave?" Selene frowned and tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing here?"

Rahne: Rahne's eye twitched at the 'shave' comment "Well ... no acctually, this is how I should look, or at least how I used to. And I asked you first, you do know where this is right?"

Selene: "How you should look? You mean this is how you look when you are not a big werewolf?" Selene looked Rahne up and down. "I like it. The eyes and the blood, it suits you." Glancing at their surroundings, Selene ran a hand through her hair. "We are definitely not in our room. I remember that I came here before... but it looks different now."

Rahne: Rahne blinked and looked down at herself ... blood on her hands, that wasn't going to go away for a while was it? "Well normally once I'm done disembowling people I wash, but for some reason I can't find a shower around here ... and my eyes ar-were green." Rahne chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment, thinking back on what she'd learnt from both Farouk and Dai ... "Ever heard of lucid dreaming?"

Selene: "Lucid dreaming... yes, I know what it is. A dream where you know that you are dreaming." Selene looked at the mossy ground. "However, I often don't even know when I'm awake and not dreaming. Sometimes I wonder if there's a difference between the two. Being awake and dreaming..." Her gaze returned to Rahne's eyes. "Are you saying that we are dreaming at the moment?"

Rahne: "Give the girl a prize ... but the real question is, what are you doing in my dreams." Rahne decided to lean against the trunk of one of the trees "I don't like people getting into my head."

Selene: "Oh, really? What prize did I win?" Selene looked around again, pointing at one of the huge, gnarled roots. "And I'd say that it is you who is in my dream. I recognize this tree. I dreamt of it before. Besides, it was the figment of your imagination that assaulted me, not the other way around."

Selene: Selene spotted a pine cone on the ground, picked it up and petted it until it grew wings and fluttered away. "First you invade my room, now it's my mind. I told you that it wouldn't be a good idea if the two of us were that close, no?" She looked back at Rahne, slightly smirking. "Do you now see why?"

Rahne: Rahne watched the pine cone fly away into the trees "Yeah? Well up there," she pointed, "are the aurora borealis, the northen lights, and I dream of those alot, and like you said, that was my nightmare just then, so it must be you!" she snapped.

Rahne: "You would have thought they would have known better then to put me in with a brain raper, do you normally wander into people's minds willy-nilly?"

Selene: Selene frowned at Rahne while she tried to make sense of her words, then her frown turned into a glare. "I do not rape anyone!" She accentuated every single word and folded her arms. "It's beyond my capabilities to fully control my powers. Did I give you the impression that I actually planned this? Excuse me, but I'm just as confused as you are."

Selene: "I guess now you see the reason why I usually prefer to be on my own." Selene turned away and took a few steps through the soft moss.

Rahne: Rahne watched Selene's thin back for a moment, eyes narrow and calculating "Why are you like this? So ... prickly."

Selene: "Oh, am I?" Selene paused for several seconds before going on. "I'm not used to social contact, that's all. Hence my conversational skill are not always... adequate." She still had her arms folded, but reached up with one hand to thoughtlessly play with a strand of hair. "Aside from that, it's quite helpful for keeping people at a healthy distance."

Rahne: Rahne put her head to one side, "Well ... I wasn't so good at socialising whe I first came here, I was raised in isolation, you just have to be willing to learn." Like this Rahne was freed from the ... effects of her illness and she was feeling alot more relaxed, less nervous and confused.

Rahne: "Why do you want to keep people at a distance? 'Cos you wander into thier minds without realising it?" Though to be fair ... Rahne thought to herself, i've got wierd psychiness too .. maybe I should work on making my shields work again.

Selene: "I think this time it's you who deserves the prize." Selene turned around, looking back at Rahne. "As I've said, I have little control about what I do. I never had it, but it's been much worse in the past." She looked down. "At some point... I no longer knew what were my memories, my thoughts, and what were those of others."

Selene: "And it affects the people around me, as well." She nodded once at Rahne. "Just as it does right now, in this moment, with you. This is the reason why I am like I am - and the reason why I'm here. To find some help."

Rahne: Rahne looked at Selene for a few minute in silence before sitting down on the ground, unfoulding her arms "Aye, well I can believe that ..." she thought for a moment, deciding whether she should tell her or not. "It's good you getting help for it, the last thing you want is to end up doing something silly 'cos of it ..."

Selene: Selene watched Rahne sitting on the ground for a moment, then sat down next to her. "What do you mean?" Her fingers played with the moss on the ground, trailing over some odd flowers. "I'd say that I already did a lot of things that others would label silly, but something tells me that you have a specific sort of silly on your mind."

Rahne: Rahne looked up at the sky and watched a school of salmon fly though the trees, "Well ... from the sounds of it you had ... or have the same problems that my granda had, he was a mutants too, a telepath."

Rahne: "He couldn't keep the voices out, and in the end he killed himself ... it was the only way he could think of to make them stop ..." she leant back against the tree trunk "I guess I can see why now ... but you dodn't wanna end up like that, doing something silly like that."

Selene: "I'm sorry for your grandfather." A flower wound itself around Selene's hand, crawling onto her arm as it turned into a scorpion-like insect. She lifted her hand, playing with it. "Yes, now you understand my troubles. Or rather, a small part of them. But rest assured, I have no intention to follow him anytime soon. I wouldn't have gone through the troubles to come here if I planned to."

Selene: She looked up from the strange animal on her hand, at Rahne. "I do seek help, and Xavier can give it. As can Lizzie, and Rachel." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, what makes you think that I didn't already tried to take that other road?" The insect suddenly stung into her skin, and Selene closed her hand, squishing it. "I had to find out that it's not so easy."

Rahne: Rahne shrugged, "I don't pretend to know anything about you, i'm just speaking what's on my mind, and from my experience death isn't so great." She looked up and watched the tree above them burst into bloom.

Selene: Selene looked up at Rahne, raising an eyebrow. "You experienced death? Really?" Seemingly, her roommate was far more intriguing than she had originally thought. "Would you mind telling me about it?"

Rahne: "I tried to drown myself, and it worked sorta, my brain died but I have a healing mutation as well as a dual psychic, it ... it was peacefully. I was drifting away from myself, that's what it felt like. Like my mind and body were here," she held out one hand, "and I was over here somewhere." she held the other hand away.

Rahne: "I ... could acctually feel my brain shutting down, but it wasn't scarey ... I ... could just feel myself comming appart, all my memories and the pain all fading away. I forgot ... which was what I wanted, so I was happy ... then there was nothing, no darkness but no light just ... a void."

Rahne: She smiled "Hey, why'd you wanna know anyway? Morbid wee vampire arn't you?"

Selene: "I am curious by nature." Selene gave Rahne a small smile in return. "That's very interesting. Thank you for sharing this with me. Seeing that our minds seem to be so interwoven at the moment, it seems fitting that we gain some insight into each others being." She watched how the carapace of the dead insect in her hand broke open to reveal a dragonfly, taking off into the trees.

Selene: "And another reason why I asked is because I wanted to know whether your encounter with death was similar to mine." Her eyes moved back to Rahne's face. "And apparently it was. I know that void you're speaking of. But I didn't like it. It felt empty, meaningless and boring when I was faced with it. I prefer this reality, even though it is much harder to handle at times."

Rahne: Rahne watched the dragonfly fly away, then winced when it was snagged out of the air by a tree branch and crushed "Dragonflies always make me think of Angel ..." Rahne turned to look at Selene "So ... you've felt it too? How did you come back from it?"

Selene: Selene carefully thought about her reply for a moment. "Apparently my... gift... is very intent on keeping me alive, I guess. To restore my life force..." She tried to think of a way to explain it to Rahne. "Much like your healing mutation, I'd say. Afterwards, I realized that there was no other alternative for me but to find a way to cope with my condition, to somehow control it."

Rahne: Rahne looked up again at the blossoming tree, then quickly looked down, the flowers had all turned into bright blue eyes "Umm ... well on one level that sucks ... but on the other it doesn't 'cos that means you're getting better ... i mean ... I'm glad I didn't die even if comming bak has left me with some ... problems."

Selene: "Life appears to be all about the problems, doesn't it? It does have it's value, though... and I say it shouldn't be wasted lightly." Selene plucked on of the eye-flowers from the ground, returning its glance. "Isn't the hardest, scariest and most confusing journey also the most worthwhile one?"

Selene: "We all have our troubles to overcome. I'm well aware that I thoroughly pointed out yours on our first meeting, but without a doubt you have noticed that I bring plenty of my own."

Rahne: Rahne snorted and glanced at the flower Selene was holding "That's an understatement ... don't they freak you out? Being watched like that?"

Selene: "Yes, somewhat. I don't like being watched." She turned to look at Rahne again, slightly smirking. "That's the reason why I usually prefer to be the one who watches."

Rahne: Rahne shifted on the ground "I don't like them, not to long ago they were watching me, he was watching me with all those hidden eyes ... I could see them you know ... only they were just behind the walls ... like what I could see was only a sheet and they were behind it ..."

Rahne: "But ... but I know they're not real, it's all just in my head, i need to keep hold of that ..." she trailed off.

Selene: Selene watched Rahne attentively. "Sometimes it's hard to tell which things are real and which are just in our head. Sometimes, there's no difference at all." She blew at the flower, sending it away. "He was watching you? Are you talking about the one who was here earlier? The one that assaulted me? Your old nightmare?"

Rahne: "Aye ... he was real once .. but now he's long gone and can't hurt me anymore ... i'm just ... haunted I guess ... he's partly the reason I look like this in my dreams." She indicated her bloody hands and eyes. Why am I telling her this?

Selene: “Real once, gone now?” Selene ran both hands through her hair, fanning it out to the sides, then let the long strands drop again. “If I'd be asked to put the clues together, then I'd say that your bloody hands are the reason why he can't hurt you anymore. Am I right?”

Selene: “Real once - gone now?” Selene ran both hands through her hair, fanning it out to the sides, then let the long strands drop again. “If I'd be asked to put the clues together, then I'd say that your bloody hands are the reason why he can't hurt you anymore. Am I right?”

Rahne: "... Doesn't that bother you? Knowing that?"

Selene: "Bother me? Why?" Selene tilted her head to the side. "I take it you killed him. But you also said that he haunted you, watched you. And that he hurt you." She furtively glanced around, then leaned over to whisper: "Besides, he seemed to be very dangerous when I met him earlier. Certainly not very friendly. If you ask me, it's a good thing he's dead, no?"

Rahne: "He was still a person, even if he was an evil psychopath, and now he's dead ... how do I make up for that? I know people say that he deserved it and I didn't have a choice, but still, at the end of the day I took another persons life ..." Rahne shrugged and looked away

Selene: "I do not know how you can make up for that." Selene watched Rahne out of the corners of her eyes. She pondered how much she wanted to tell her. "I'm sorry that I can't give you a more helpful answer. It's funny how taking a life is such a simple action, and yet has such complex consequences. You'd think that we had found a better way to deal with it by now - considering how often we do it."

Rahne: Rahne's head shot up and she stared into the distance "... 'how often we do it'?" She asked, before turning to look at Selene carefully, did she mean that in a general sense as in 'we humanity' or did she mean 'yourself and I'?

Selene: "Yes. We all are hunters, in a certain sense. Some more, others less." Selene nodded, then lied down, resting her head on her hands as she watched the colourful sky overhead. "But humans seem to have a fondness of killing each other, and they don't even do it for their own survival. It happens all the time, everywhere. And still they try to find ways to justify their actions."

Selene: Selene was silent for a moment, watching and thinking. "Seeing that we will have to get along in the future, because we will not only have to share a room, but apparently also our thoughts, memories and dreams - whether we want to or not..." She looked back at Rahne. "I'd like to tell you that I know exactly how you feel."

Rahne: Rahne looked worried "Hey, I don't plan on ... shareing dreams with random telepaths for the rest of my life, i'm gonna be working on geting my shields back ... but, well i'm hardly in a position to judge, so if youwnat to tell me anything you can okay? It's always good to get stuff off your chest."

Selene: "That's a wise decision. I'm working on doing the same, but I do not know how successful I'm going to be, or how long it's going to take. So I guess we'll have to deal with the current situation for a while." Selene paused. "And I shall consider this. Apparently we have more things in common that I initially thought. That's what I wanted to point out."

Rahne: "I guess you're right," Rahne smiled "I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do it, Remy said that when he first got his empathy-thing he built up shields without anyone showing him how too, and hell, if even I can learn how to shiled anyone can."

Rahne: "And .. aye I guess we do, apparently i'm a good listener so if you ever wanna, you always know where to find me." Rahne risked a smile.

Selene: "I do, inevitably." Selene gave a tiny smile in return. "But I have to admit that you are far less intolerable than I initially thought you to be. In fact, I even enjoy this conversation. A rather interesting way to spend the sleeping hours."

Rahne: "Umm ... thanks, you're not so bad yourself, good taste in music at least, even if you are a bit ... wierd about lemons."

Rahne: Rahne looked thoughtfully up at the sky, which had a couple of boats flying through it ... probably after the salmon. "Acctually .. now that we're sorta geting to be friends now maybe you could answer me one thing ... what is it with the lemons?"

[Ferguson]

That was strangely precious

But damnit, no lemon answer.

[steyn]

Yeah, that lemon makes me wonder