(no subject)

[el_paso]

Who: X-friends and visitors to the Howlett farm
When: The month of June
Where: Howlett farm, R2
What: Mingling for those evacuated to the farm!
Warnings: Threads will have individual warnings

Comments

[coercive]

[Laura's surprised that her older, other self is here. It doesn't show on her face, and she keeps her tone conversational. Nodding in response to the question she's been asked, she brings a hand down to rub and pet at the horse's neck.]

His name is Rictor.

[She doesn't ask what Laura is doing here, if she's staying at the farmhouse where she belongs. No, she just smiles a little because kindred spirits always understand what the other is thinking with things like simple looks or the tone of their voice.

Don't worry, the look Laura gives says. Peaceful sleep is hard to come by.]

[foins]

Rictor. [A strong name. Powerful. Like the other her. She nods, as if the other needs confirmation or approval, but at the least it indicates she finds the name suitable.] He has a good home.

[Like her other. And the other Logan who she has not yet dared to meet. She feels it isn’t her place. The others belong together, now in their new home. They have found a place here where she had not, and even in her continued vagrancy, the information does bring her some peace of mind. She does not need to know the breadth to know that they have also suffered. It is in their nature, as mutants, to be so.

She senses her kin also suffers from the sleeplessness, the reason why she is awake as well, and smiles in return, faint and sad. There was a time when she thought she deserved these things, being the monster the Facility made. Though she no longer does, and especially now knowing her other, she finds herself somber, wondering what their lives could have been if they had known freedom from the start.]

I am glad that you are well.

[coercive]

[For the first time in her life, Laura can actually describe herself as being well. She doesn't like to focus on that fact though, and feels like if she does something terrible might happen to take it all away.]

You can stay. He would like to see you.

[She addresses their father, because he's never far from Laura's mind. In a perfect world, they could live as sisters here and they could both be happy. There isn't such thing as a perfect world, and so she assumes that Laura will be content to keep her distance.]

[foins]

[The offer is genuine. She has no doubt the other Logan would be curious. Her own Logan would too. Always watchful, even from a distance.

But he is not hers.

Her gaze lowers.] I do not wish to take him from you.

[Not implying that he would only care for her and not also her other but rather she does not wish to steal his attention away in any capacity. She has been in that position before, and it hurt her heart. It still hurts her heart at times.]

And I do not want to disrupt what you have. It is a good home. A good place to belong to. A life you deserved from the start.

[coercive]

[An eyebrow quirks at that, and she shrugs. She wants to insist, but her heart won't let her. She's afraid to get attached, afraid to insist on something she doesn't feel like she deserves.]

It is a life we both deserve. He can love us both.

[She's riding without a saddle right now, so she pats the empty space behind her on Rictor.]

Come. We can ride.

[foins]

[Hearing her other say the words makes her take pause. She looks up again, to meet her gaze but does not answer with regard to the former. It is a thing she fears still, having what she deserves, having love. Not belonging had always come so naturally that belonging seems almost terrifying. And with the disappearance of Angel, she fears to lose what she has found again, even if it welcomes her with open arms.

She lets the thoughts stew. They can wait.

Nodding at the latter invitation, she steps closer. Rictor gets a gentle reminder of her presence with a hand to his rump as she steps to his side, and only when she is certain that Rictor will allow her does she draw herself up. Her hands find their way to her other’s sides, for balance after she’s seated properly, and...

Well. It is a very different view.] Everything is so short now.

[coercive]

No. Everything is slow now.

[Laura bluntly corrects, but her tone is kind. Since they're both ready to go, she makes a clicking sound and Rictor takes off at a trot. She keeps it up for a handful of seconds before she presses her hand against the horse's neck. He breaks out into an all out run after that, so Laura can demonstrate just how slow everyone else is in comparison to them.

Getting to go this fast and feel the night air over her makes her smile. The fact that she gets to share this with family makes her feel content and happy. Not many things do that. But this is very nice.]

[foins]

Slow. [It confuses her, and she repeats to try and understand. The repetition doesn't help at all. Thankfully, her other chooses to demonstrate, and soon it is clear. Yes, slow is a good word for this. A much more appropriate word.

A smile forms. This is that freedom she has known but shared and with kin. Even though silence falls between them, she's not known such a comforting peace in so long. The air dances past, and their hair flows with it in unison. A feeling bubbles in her chest, and she laughs, honest joy filling her lungs.

Her hands find the sky, her weight balanced carefully where she sits, and the wind slips past like a whisper. What wonder she feels.]