269/Stir-Fry That Burns Like a Phoenix

Stir-Fry That Burns Like a Phoenix
Date of Scene:	04 March 2020
Location:	Kitchen
Synopsis:	Laura and Hope eat spicy food and talk about the Future.
Cast of Characters:	Laura Kinney, Hope Summers

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Laura Kinney has posed:
     Someone's taped a warning sign to the kitchen doors, with a chili pepper overlayed on a radioactive symbol. Knowing the current kitchen's inhabitant, it likely wasn't her, probably someone else. Inside, one Laura Kinney is making stir fry, with peppers and onions already sizzling in the wok and giving off eye-watering steam. Other ingredients are being chopped, but there isn't a knife in use. why bother when you have your own?

Hope Summers has posed:
The thing is, Hope's experiences with food are limited enough that she doesn't really believe in food that //isn't// good. So while she grasps the gist of the symbol on the door, she also smells food cooking. And she's not going to let a little sign turn her away from the possibility of sharing it.

One of the doors swings open to admit a peering redhead, brows rising when she sees who's inside. "Oh, hey Laura," she greets, stepping the rest of the way in and coming over to pull up a chair. Boundaries. Also not super familiar.

"What're you making?"

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "Stir Fry. Most people do not like it as spicy as I do. Or do not like me using my claws to cut when they are sharper than the knives." Striaght to the point as always. Chopped bell pepper is added to the wok, and Laura assaults the bamboo shoots next. "You are welcome to have some if you wish."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Sounds like some people are picky," Hope shrugs, dropping into the chair where she can watch the preparations. "I mean, makes sense to me. Plus you don't have to worry about cutting yourself. Your fingers'll never be in the way. Although if you're cutting peppers and you bring the claws back in, I'm guessing that stings a little. Probably less than the whole putting out the claws in the first place though."

Her nostrils flare as she takes a sniff of the fumes, measuring. "Sure, I'll try it," she nods, then looks back toward the doors. "So...how long've you been here?"

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "Pain is not... I do not feel it in the same way other people do. I have not for a long time." Laura isn't sure how much Hope knows about her childhood but... it wasn't pleasant. "I have been at the school for a couple of days now. One of my sisters required discrete medical treatment, and we are hoping that some of the more scientific X-Men can help with other issues." Bamboo shoots go in, the slicing of chicken begins. "I know the others have asked you a lot about your future knowledge, but if it is not too much trouble... I have a few myself."

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope hesitates for a moment, head tilting as she considers. "Sure, I can answer some questions," she says slowly. "Just...Don't think it's going to tell you about your life or what's going to happen or how you should live it, okay? Because things change. All the time. Trust me, I know from experience. And sometimes the more you mess with things, the harder you make it, you know?"

Laura Kinney has posed:
    Laura nods, taking all this into consideration. The prepared chicken is scraped into the wok, which is lidded and left to cook. Retracting her claws and washing her hands, Laura turns to look at Hope again, leaning against the island. Hints of several emotions cross her face before she simply asks, "...Was I happy?"

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope stills, her features unreadable. Her lips purse slightly, her brows furrowing and smoothing in succession. Finally, she speaks. "I can't say," she answers honestly, though there's sympathy in her voice as well. "We didn't...we didn't really talk about it? To be fair, pretty much everything and everyone was in crisis the entire time I was there, so there weren't a lot of opportunities to just be happy," she adds, rueful.

"But you weren't alone," she offers. "You were part of a team. You cared about things. Those are- In my experience, those are things that count toward happy."

Laura Kinney has posed:
    Laura nods slowly, as if mulling this over, giving the wok an occasional shake. "My life has not been... very pleasant. But knowing that People were willing to trust me, and that I trusted myself with them... This is good. Thank you." She offers a weak smile, although it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope's answering smile is understanding, a slight dip of her chin. "Hey, I get it," she says quietly. "I don't know about //this// place, but this place where I cam from was really...There are a lot of people who are super close to each other and if you're not used to being part of a big family, it's just //weird//. I mean, you don't want to hurt their feelings or anything, but sometimes you also just need to not be part of a crowd."

Laura Kinney has posed:
    "I have instincts. People approach me wrong, or surprise me... I might hurt them. And there are people looking for me who would hurt anyone I care about to draw me out. It is part of why I isolate myself. People are uncomfortable around me." The lid is lifted, and Laura experimentally tastes a bit of pepper. Hmmm. Needs a bit longer.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope nods again. "Sure, it makes sense." She doesn't seem uncomfortable though, shifting to sit cross-legged in the chair. "You're worried about hurting people." She pauses, smile quirking again. "So, the first time I met you, I was just a kid. Like, younger than Gabby. Nathan and I were stuck in the future, that's a long story, but the short version is that Scott had sent you and some others to help us. And you did. Enough that when Nathan said it was time for us to go, I fought him to stay with you. That didn't work out great for me, mind, but it wasn't because of //you//. You were one of the first people other than Nathan that I trusted. //Really// trusted, to help me."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     This time... The smile is more confident. "I am glad to meet you, Hope Summers." A hand is extended. "If I was able to earn your trust then... You have mine now. I trust my own judgement. If you need me, you may call me on the number I gave you. I may take some time to arrive, though. Not all of us have jets."

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope reaches out to take the offered hand with a grin, her grip firm. If she's thinking about the adamantium claws beneath the surface, she certainly isn't showing it. But it seems more likely that she's genuinely not worried about it. "Same," she says, reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants to pull out the phone and give it a look. "Though hopefully it rings and I hear it, because no guarantees I'm checking for messages."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "The ringer is loud and annoying unless you turn it off. I have checked." Laura dispenses this sage advice, before turning to the stove and taking the wok off the heat. Stir fry is served into bowls, and one is offered to Hope. If there was any issues in her sinuses, there aren't any more. This stuff is HOT. "Enjoy. There is milk and ice cream in the fridge if you need them."

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope takes the bowl, just about ready to dig in when Laura mentions milk and ice cream. Pausing, she quirks a brow. "Is it...are you supposed to eat it with milk or ice cream?" It's not that she's worried about the heat. She'll figure //that// part out in a minute. But it's more that she still doesn't think about food as anything other than rare fuel.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "Capscaicin is the compount that makes spicy food burn. it is fat soluble, so milk or ice cream are more effective at removing the burning sensation if you do not enjoy it. I enjoy spicy food because the food I ate growing up was extremely bland." Matter of fact as always, Laura digs into her own bowl and is clearly savoring the flavor. "As I said. Many find my personal cooking... unpleasant."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Huh." Hope considers that for a moment, then nods, as if she's found a place to store the information away and is ready to move on. And move on she does, taking a healthy bite of the stir fry. No fear. "Food didn't happen on the regular when I was growing up," she says as she chews. "I mean, Nathan did the best he could, but there just //wasn't// food a lot of the time. So we ate whatever we could get and we dealt with it." One eye squints closed as the heat starts to sink in, making itself known. "Whew," she breathes, blowing through her lips before the takes another bite.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "You will not have to worry about that again. Food is plentiful here." The Wolverine isn't having any issues with the heat, and in fact seems to be enjoying it. "I had to get used to many things after I escaped. Freedom is... exhilirating."

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope turns a sidelong grin in Laura's direction, continuing to eat despite the heat. It's food! And bonding! What's a little burn? "Freedom," she echoes. "Yeah. I gotta be honest, I haven't really gotten around to thinking about what I'm going to do here. What it means. My whole life was building up to...to what I think I just did before I ended up here. Am I supposed to try to get back? I mean, I'm not sure I even should. I'm not sure there's any reason to, if I did what I needed to."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "You said you got here through time travel, right? From the future. If that is correct, you have all the time in the world to relax, train, do whatever you wish. If you do not enjoy life, you are not living. Only surviving." Okay, this is... surprisingly deep, even to Laura. She's not normally a philisophical person

Hope Summers has posed:
"I...don't think I'm from //this// future," Hope says slowly, standing up to go and get the milk from the fridge. "Too many things are too different. Mostly my //present// was the year 2010, and most of the people here were like...at least ten or twenty years older. But it's 2020 here. I mean, I guess people could just be counting time differently but..." She trails off, shaking her head as she pours herself a glass of milk. "I don't know, I think this place is fundamentally //different//."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     Laura nods slowly as Hope explains things, eating at a slow and steady pace. "There are many theories of multiple universes. Dr. McCoy would be able to explain things better. I... I am not a scientific person. My knowledge is much more focused, outside of what it took to get my GED." It's one way to keep the truant officers off your back, and Laura hadn't done well at all in her last experience at a real high school. Suspended before lunch. ...That had been a fun day bedides school, though.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Hey, you're ahead of me there," Hope smiles ruefully as she brings the milk back to her bowl, taking a drink before she starts to eat again. "I didn't make it through much in the way of classes before things got crazy again. And there wasn't a whole lot of studying growing up. In hindsight though, finding myself stranded in a strange world, I'm //kind// of glad I didn't spend a lot of time learning stuff that wouldn't even be true here."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "Yes. It would be bad to fail all your history classes because you knew the wrong history." Laura returns the smile, already mostly finished with her own food. "I imagine the others will let you take classes here. They are very accepting. Even if some of them are scared of me."

Hope Summers has posed:
"All honesty, I'm not really a classes kind of girl," Hope confesses, digging in on the stir fry. Sure, her cheeks are red and there's a slight sheen of sweat on her brow, but she's still eating. "I'm not even a hundred percent sure I'll stay here. Not that the people here aren't great, I'm sure. Just. For the first time, I don't have to be somewhere, training for something. I kind of want to see what's out there."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "I definitely know that feeling. I suggest a road trip with friends. I think that is usually what people our age who want to see the world do." Laura may also have watched too many movies. And never really had friends to go on a road trip with.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Do you have a car and can you drive?" Hope asks, perking up a bit. Because it's a no on both of those for her. "We could totally go and find things. And places. And people. Seriously, who's going to mess with us?" Aside from everyone and anyone, but they'll be //fine//!

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "I have a car and can drive. And several licenses. Gabby would want to come. ...But we would need to figure out the thing they have going on that required us to come here in the first place." Laura isn't about to dump private medical issues everywhere without Gabby's permission.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Sure, definitely," Hope agrees, catching that reticense and taking a moment to wash down a mouthful of stir fry with a swallow of milk. "Not that it's any of my business, but is it...powers related?" she asks. "I used to be able to help with that. I might not too. Things seem to be weird right now," she adds, frowning to herself.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "Gabby told me that they did not get my powers. It is more related to what Alchemax did to them." Laura's non fork holding hand clenches, drops of blood welling up on her knuckles before the skin heals over again. "We have to eliminate the team who made them. Nobody deserves to be raised as a weapon."

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope takes another bite in silence, watching Laura. "There are worse things," she says after a moment. "But...yeah. No, you're not wrong. Want some help?" She says it casually, like she's offering to bring in the groceries.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     Laura starts to open her mouth, but quickly closes it again. Hmmm. "I would need to ask both of them. And Logan. I must warn you, though. What I do... it is not very nice. And it is not for everyone. That is part of why I am not enrolled here. I do not want to make people uncomfortable."

Hope Summers has posed:
"I know." Hope doesn't seem unsettled by it, but she's not dismissing it either. "You're the ones who go in to do the things that other people can't do. Not just physically can't, but can't because of how it hits everything else around them. So was Nathan. That's who raised me," she adds. "Nathan took me into the future to keep me safe, but he was always a soldier first. Anyhow, if something is happening that's hurting people, that's hurting mutants...Well, stopping that sort of thing is what I do."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     Laura nods again. "I might suggest choosing someone else's power other than my own. Logan and I do not feel pain the same way others do. Most people would not be able to function after the first time the claws came out. ...But if you fully understand the risks, I will not stop you."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Oh, believe me, I know," Hope grimaces. "I've copied him before. Growing back skin is //not// a good time." She's quiet for a moment, shifting her weight uncertainly. "I'm not sure what's going on with my powers right now. I might not really have a choice. But I didn't have powers for most of my life. Nathan taught me how to manage without."

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "We will have plenty of time to practice together and figure things out." Laura offers another smile, before turning back to the wok again. "Would you like seconds?" Such is the curse of the regenerator.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope is finishing off her first bowl, and for once looks at it without immediately saying yes. "I think I'm good," she finally answers, smile quirking. "It's good, but you're right. It's crazy hot. Wouldn't want to make myself sick overdoing it. Thanks, though," she adds as she stands, draining the glass of milk. "I think I'm going to see if I can figure out the basics of this place. At least I've got some practice with that."