270/Ventilation Session

Ventilation Session
Date of Scene:	04 March 2020
Location:	Ororo's Attic
Synopsis:	Jean approaches Ororo for some outside perspective on how to deal with the arrival of Rachel Gray.
Cast of Characters:	Ororo Munroe, Jean Grey

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Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo's door is always open. Sometimes quite literally; there's something safe and comfortable about the attic. It feels part of the school, but somehow removed from it as well. There's small wonder that Ororo prefers to dwell there, near the freedom of the sky.

Her attic is lit by candles and an authentic gas lamp. It casts deep shadows and highlights the sitting area where Ororo is most often found. Hot water simmers on the hotpot in her kitchenette, and Ororo herself can be found in the alcove. She's sewing something by hand, perhaps a dress. It's a colorful expanse of gold and brass, with orthagonal patterns that look almost Mayan in character. The sound of her rich alto voice fills the room, singing a quiet folk song from her childhood.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean's been having... well, it's been a rough time for the young mutant. First, right when Scott finally worked on asking her out, she finds out Rachel is her daughter from an alternate timeline. Then she found Lorna in Genosha and has been trying to get her mentally back to health which... well, it's never easy.

But now that her apparent //granddaughter// showed up from yet another timeline? Well, Jean is just avoiding everyone and anyone, her steps taking her through the mansion as she moves almost frantically in the halls, like she's a mouse trapped in a maze.

Eventually, she 'hears' the singing, though it's more like she hears the tranquility of Ororo's thoughts more than anything. Her pace slows a bit, and she moves over towards Storm's loft without even really thinking about it.

Eventually, her head pokes up through the passage leading up to the attic, and she smiles, sending telepathically, >> Hey, Ororo, mind if I join you? << Look, she doesn't want to interrupt the singing, which Ororo can sense she finds very soothing.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
"I never mind," Ororo calls back, aloud. "Kettle's on, love."

By the time Jean steps into the room, Ororo's sewing is set aside and she's standing in front of her kitchenette. The kettle is decanted into a teapot and a serviette with a selection of dried teas and additives are added as well.

Ororo herself has chosen a dress of blue and white, with a shallow collar and no sleeves. The colorful pattern of blue wave-like whorls hangs to her bare calves and she smiles invitingly at Jean when her friend approaches. The tea service is brought to the sitting area and with an effortless grace, Ororo kneels on a cushion in the center of the pit and starts setting things out.

"I wondered if you'd come along tonight," she muses to Jean. "Tea? I have some biscuits as well," she offers. "Quite fresh and very sweet."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean smiles warmly, as her current attire is... well, a bit striking for her. It's a dark crimson dress, of Wakandan styling, with a golden firebird upon the chest, mimicking her old Phoenix outfit. The dress is cut for easy movement, allowing Jean to move easily over towards Ororo, settling down next to the windrider and giving her a look.

"I know you're not psychic... how did you know?" She smiles a bit, though her eyes are fairly troubled as she then says, "Tea, and biscuits, sound amazing, 'Ro." A bit of a relieved sigh as she settles down, the atmosphere of the attic bringing calm to her soul.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
"I could give you some folksy excuse or tribal wisdom if you like," Ororo tells Jean. She busies herself with the mundane task at hand. "An old saw about reading the winds or letting the spirits of the earth guide me."

"But in truth, you are not very unpredictable. I would be equally uncomfortable had I a child from another universe 'pop in' to say hello," Ororo says, wryly. "It wasn't much of a guess that you'd come up here."

Hands search under the little ottoman in a concealed drawer and her face screws up in concentration. "Ah!" There's a metallic *pop* as something's disloged, and she offers a bottle of Cointreau to Jean.

"This might help a bit."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean gives Ororo a wry look, "A child from one, a //grandchild// from another... oh, you know me too well, 'Ro." She smiles and takes the bottle, looking at it, "Well, tempting as it is to go the Logan route, I think I better stick to glasses."

She sighs and shakes her head a bit, "Otherwise, well, you might have to deal with me passing out in your loft here. But... it's just..." She frowns, looking at the bottle intently, "I don't like the idea that I'm locked into, well, anything."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
"I was offering you something for your nerves, not something to knock you out," Ororo chivvies Jean. There's a sparkle in her eyes nonethless at the gentle ribbing and she sets the little bottle of liquer aside. Just in case the redhead decides to change her mind.

"You are not locked into anything," Ororo reassures Jean with a firm tone. Tea is poured, first for Jean, then for herself, and the little teapot set aside on a stone kept warm for that specific purpose. "These are the decisions that you *might* have taken. I might decide to return to Nairobi tomorrow. Or I might decide to go into town for milk. I have no responsibility for your choices, nor do I bear any responsibility for the decisions other strangers might have made."

A spoon stirs some cream into the tea and a tiny crystal of honey. "No matter how much those strangers may look like me, act like me, or think like me-- they are not *me*."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins a little, "Yeah, I know... I mean, I //do// know but..." She sips her offered tea, and gives Ororo a look, "But knowing it in the abstract is one thing, seeing actual relatives from the future. I mean, Rachel seems..."

She pauses, then sighs, "She's troubled. Deeply. I can't even imagine what she went through in whatever that future was. And it terrifies me, 'Ro. That could be what happens to us, if we're not careful." She takes another deep sip from the tea, "With that, plus what happened in Genosha... it's hard for me to not think this is just the start of what she experienced."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo falls silent there for a few seconds, offering nothing more than her calmly reassuring presence as Jean expresses her concerns. Fingers curl around her teacup, nestled in the palm of both hands, and she lifts the ceramic to sip from it as if drawing a draught of clean water from a pond.

"You are missing, perhaps, a more obvious conclusion," Ororo ventures a few seconds later. She looks rather pointedly at Jean. "That this ... Rachel, is the only one that felt she had a reality that required escape. I am not Hank; he can explain the physics, I am sure. I know the threads of Fate have many weavings, and many more destinies yet that are never spun. Assuming our only reason d'aitre is to crash into her destiny seems ..." Lips purse. "A little premature. Though I'd never go so far as to say 'egocentric'."

She drops her gaze to her tea again, but this time to hide the teasing grin she flashes at Jean.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean snickers a little, "Okay, yeah, I'm freaking out a little bit. And I //know// her 'past' is different than ours. I mean, apparently we didn't save Senator Kelly in her timeline, so that's something."

She hmms, and looks back over at Ororo, "On the bright side, Rachel isn't asking for an allowance from me yet, so that's good, right? I'm just... confused by how people keep showing up here from alternate timelines. I mean, I know this is something that can happen. But I wouldn't expect it to be this... frequent." Or stressful, really, but she is relaxing between Ororo's company and the tea. No booze required!

Ororo Munroe has posed:
"I don't understand it either," Oror admits. "Perhaps Hank does. Maybe we are unique and get all the time-displaced refugees. Maybe it is a facet of the universe itself, that children from the future are *destined* to travel to the past. Either as a warning or a reassurance. Perhaps the very act of them coming here undoes something terrible with the timeline and fixes things forever. Who knows?" Fingers flip dismissively. "It does not change which side of bed you get out of in the morning."

"And it could be worse," Ororo suggests. "At least this way, you know for sure you will have a family to take care of you even in the worst of times."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins, "Not //exactly// the way I thought Scott would actually notice me, to be honest." She coughs a bit, and blushes at that comment, not exactly pursuing that line of reasoning. Not that she really needs to with Ororo.

Jean then says, "And you're right. All we can do is what we do today. This doesn't change who I am. It's just one possible path that could have been, not what will end up being."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
A long-fingered hand flicks through the air negatively. "Oh no, I am not helping you negotiate *that* sticky wicket," Ororo assures Jean quite firmly. "How you and Scott reconcile that is between the two of you. But you've been making eyes at each other off and on for long enough now anyway," she says, firmly. "Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that there is some connection between you. Even if nothing comes of it," she adds, quickly. "You are not the Jean of this other world; he is not Rachel's father. You two have a say in this as well. Perhaps there is some spark this will kindle, or there is no spark at all."

"But *you* make that decision, and on your own terms," Ororo reminds Jean. "No one else."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins, and gives Ororo a light elbow, giving her a teasing look, "Geez, some help you are." She then laughs a bit, and hugs Ororo close, "Thanks. I needed this, a lot. What would I do without you anyway?" A cheerful smile greets Ororo at that, as Jean definitely seems to be feeling better now.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo returns the hug firmly and quite willingly, and with a warm smile for her friend when they break. "You will not need to worry about that," Ororo tells Jean, and gives her fingers a squeeze. "You can count on me to be there for you. Never doubt that."

She starts gathering up the teaset and rises smoothly to return it to the sink.

A pause, and she looks over her shoulder. "Perhaps, though, we might find you a different hobby for your free time, rather than mooning lovesick about Scott," she suggests with a twinkle in her eye. "I believe that leads to one singular train of thought, and that-- well, we all know what causes pregnancy these days," she suggests with a bantering tone.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins wryly at Ororo, "What, you have something in mind?" She tilts her head, standing up and stretching a bit as she looks over at Ororo, "But yeah, I'm glad that you're here for me Ororo. Always."

With that, she comes over and gives Ororo another hug, holding the embrace for a moment, then she sighs and steps back, "And oh no, no motherhood anytime soon for me, I'm //so// not ready for THAT." She grins, "Though, I will say... Rachel seemed to have turned out okay." With that, she gives Ororo a way, "Thanks for the pep talk, and the tea, 'Ro."