6533/=Making good on a promise.

=Making good on a promise.
Date of Scene:	12 June 2021
Location:	Carrion Cove
Synopsis:	Nicolai keeps his promise, but there are still answers to be had. Clarice gets a glimpse of what it's like to be Haunt and some new and shocking information about her family.
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Nicolai Codona

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice meets Nicolai in the common lounge area on the Asteroid - her expression uncommonly anxious as she shifts back onto her heels. She manages a smile as the man approaches. "You're sure about this?" she asks. "I mean - going to the island seemed to throw you. If you think this is too much..." Yes, she's giving him one more chance to back out before she opens the portal. "I mean - I'm sure you saw it on the news. Things were bad, there." Quite the understatement that.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Is he *really* sure? Hell no. Nicolai's never been at the site of such recent death and destruction on such a massive scale, not even close. He knows the island wasn't even close. But he's good at faking it anyway. "I'm sure, I'll be fine," he assures Clarice and he sounds like he really means that. Normally he's not a good liar, not when it comes to people he cares about, but in this case the fact that he DOES care about Clarice is the reason he's good at lying to her. She needs this, right? Or so he thinks.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice responds by nodding her head - and opens a portal into the heart of the residential area of Carrion Cove. "I'm bringing us - as near as I can tell - to close to where they lived," she explains. "But if you need to leave, we'll leave," she adds - waiting for a sign of confirmation before she steps through the portal onto the ruined street - a warm tropical breeze blowing through her hair as they're greeted by the silence of the abandoned city.
    A few birds are heard singing and calling to one another in the ruins. A stray, now feral dog skitters away at their arrival - growling quietly as it disappears into the rubble. Clarice looks around as if lost - trying to find her way in the maze of ruined buildings. She had the flat number for where they'd lived - but could they find it?

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    The SECOND, Nicolai steps through that portal, he staggers. That should be the first sign that maybe this isn't such a good idea? He recovers though and mumbles, "Tripped on something." In his head, he's screaming... OH MY GOD, this sucks. But outwardly, for now, the only sign he might be in distress was that little stumble and a furrowed brow that's starting to bead with sweat. "So, where to?" His gaze is mostly on the ground.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    If Clarice weren't so focused on her own anxiety at returning her - at the task at hand - maybe she'd be more intune to Nicolai's distress. Instead, he gets a slightly distracted, "You're sure?" She really is giving him plenty of opportunities to back out of this. The portal lingers behind them for a few moments before finally blinking out, as she takes a few steps along the street. It isn't much of a street - ruins spill across it, so you have to meander your way around piles to find the most stable ground - or simply climb up and over piles that were once homes. "I think..." she says uncertainly. "Okay. That's 632, and this is 639, so if we go this way..." 654 was their goal. 654, apartment 10. But were they even home when all of this happened? Was it a useless endeavor?

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Every single bit of his being is screaming... NO I'M NOT SURE... on the inside. Outwardly, he's still holding it together. Nicolai is even managing to not flinch when the things he's seeing that she can't come in too close. "Yeah, sure as rain..." The words are whispered though, barely there as if he's afraid to disturb the silence here.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice is halfway up a pile of rubble as she turns to look back at Nicolai in response to that whisper. There's an uncertain look on her features as she perches on that unsteady ground, studying the man. Whispers just weren't like him. Brash confidence was more Nicolai's style. "I don't need answers," she asserts. "We don't need to do this. I mean - they're dead. Of course they're dead. //Everyone's// dead. We can just go back," she proposes. The apartment's so close, though. So close. Now that she's come this far - she come back on her own? See if she can find something of theirs? Would she even know it if she saw it?
    Probably not.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    When Nicolai staggers this time, he wasn't moving so it's unlikely that he tripped. Reflexively, he reaches out to snag Clarice as he's falling to one knee... and that's when it happens. He phases from Nicolai to 'Haunt', but he hasn't left his physical body, it just means one of his powers is active. From the place where his hand touches Clarice, a soft, sickly green glow spreads from his hand to surround her.
    ... giving her the ability to see what he sees. This odd transfer, or sharing of power doesn't seem to include sound, which is probably a blessing with the way many of the restless dead around them are moaning and wailing, the fact obvious with their open mouths and pained expressions.
    This is how he lives *all the time*. It's like an overlay over the 'real' world, hazier and translucent, but very much there. It's not just the restless dead, there's an entirely different landscape, an entirely different *world*, one consisting of barren landscapes and dark skies, swirling storm clouds and flashes of lightning. Trees are dead, dark, bent and twisted things, buildings shift and change shape as if alive, everything is muted and gray. It's a nightmare of a land, this place he has a foot in all the time. Is it always like this, or does it look different when he's not in a place filled with nothing but death?
    ... not five feet from the pair stands the woman that resembles Clarice's mother, but older than the picture.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "W- ...What?" is all Clarice can intelligably manage as the sight of so many dead surrounds them. Oh god. Oh, god, what is this? Her heart begins pounding in her chest - and instinctively, she creates one of her javelins in her hand - clutching it tightly as her gaze darts around them. All of these people... What is happening?
    "Nicolai, are we in danger?" she finally manages as her gaze goes from one desperate, pained visage to another.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Off in the distance, further away and somehow separated from the 'other' world is yet another, in that one... dark black shadows, huge and serpentine, swim through the clouded sky like giant sea-monsters. After all, the Astral plane isn't only a world of the dead, it's just that the 'dead' part of it is the one that Nicolai is the most connected to.
    "No..." His voice is still that barely there whisper... then it dawns and he asks, "Why do you ask?" He doesn't seem to be aware of what he's doing or that he's still touching her.
    Clarice's mother, because that is who that woman is, walks closer and reaches out as if to touch her daughter. But why does she look so much older than she would had she died here?
    ...and how did Nicolai EVER think coming here would be a GOOD idea? He had to have known how bad it would be. It's bad enough that he's actually *crying*, not that he notices. It's not a noisy thing, just silent tears shed for the masses of dead and suffering. He doesn't just see them, he hears them... almost feels them.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "There's so many," Clarice answers quietly - before one of the approaching ghostly figures finally catches her attention, and she simply stares, slack-jawed for a moment. After a few, increasingly shaky breaths she asks in a whisper, "Mom?" How can she be seeing her? How can this be real?
    "Mom, what happened? How did you die? Where's dad?
    "...why didn't you ever come for me?" She doesn't really expect any answers - but she asks anyways, with tears streaking down her own cheeks now.
    This doesn't matter. This //shouldn't// matter. She barely remembers her parents. They never brought her to this island, and the Magistrates came for her, and her parents never saved her. They never came.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Still with the barely there whisper... "You can see?"
    ... at the same time Clarice's mother is saying something, but what? She seems to desperately be trying to tell her daughter something, something that Clarice can't hear.
    Then Nicolai notices everything for the first time, that glow spreading from HIS hand to Clarice. He jerks his hand away and, for his friend at least, the horrors are gone. ...at least the horrors of the Astral plane.
    "What the fuck..." whispered even lower.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "No no no no- mom!" Clarice protests as the images vanish - and she reaches out with the hand that's now freed - grabbed for the space in front of her where her mother had stood a moment ago. "Mom! She was there - she was talking. I couldn't hear her..." Her gaze, still filled with tears turns back towards Nicolai. "Is she here? What is she saying? Nicolai..." Tears are still streaming down her face - it's an unfamiliar feeling for the young mutant.
    She doesn't allow herself to cry, often.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Nicolai doesn't answer at first. He's staring at his hand, the one he pulled away from Clarice... baffled. That's never happened before. But then he hears the emotion in her voice. "... she didn't know. She thought you were de..."
    His words are cut off when he lets out a pained scream and falls to his knees, doubled over. Didn't he say they weren't in any danger? Generally that's the truth of the matter. But every once in a while, one of the restless dead is angry enough, powerful enough that they ARE able to become a threat to those in this world, especially if someone has one foot in theirs too.
    Nicolai cries out again and falls completely to the ground. There's 'blood', spreading out over his light gray t-shirt in a blooming flower pattern of glowing green.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Nicolai?" There's distress in Clarice's voice as the man doubles over and she reaches out for him - teleporting both of them almost on instinct to a safe place. ...which turns out to be her bedroom. They both appear on the floor beside the bed - Clarice leaning over Nicolai so she can hold him by both shoulders. "Nicolai, what just happened? Are you alright? Do we need the clinic?" she asks in an urgent tone - trying to blink the tears out of her eyes.
    Her mother'd thought she was dead? She thought - what? That the government took her, and killed her? For being a mutant?

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    After a moment of disorientation over the sudden and unexpected 'blink', Nicolai scrambles to sit up, leaning against the bed. He lifts his shirt to reveal claw marks over his rib cage. Damn, it could almost have been a glancing blow from Mr. Creed! Deep enough in one spot to *almost* show rib, it's kind of bad... but not bad enough to cause a complete panic?
    "No, no... I'm fine," he grits out through clenched teeth. "Just something to wrap it with." He could maybe use a few stitches? Maybe? "How did... I ... you saw?" He seems more worried about that than his injuries.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I saw," Clarice confirms - but her gaze is locked on his wounds with worry, and concern. She pulls open a drawer, taking out a clean shirt and moving towards Nicolai to press it into the wound. "I... I should blink us into the infirmary. Barrim can patch you up." Which meant telling Mystique how it happened in the first place... damnit. But that's how things go, sometimes.
    Still keeping pressure on the wound with one arm, she reaches up and brushes her tears away with the back of her other hand.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "It'll heal, Clarice. No one has to know but us." It's not like the same thought about Mystique hasn't crossed his mind. "Just get me... a needle and some thread and some gauze and tape." He's nuts... but he's insistent about it. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I didn't hear much, it all happened so fast. She said... they told her you died. She thought you were dead."
    Back to his wound again, he mentions, "I promise, it'll be fine. I've spent a lot of years dealing with my own cuts and bruises, you know?" Hospitals, they never really knew how to deal with the likes of him.
    "I'm just sorry I didn't hear more. You shouldn't have blinked us out."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "You were hurt," Clarice counters fiercely. "I- I shouldn't have taken you there. I-" She shakes her head. "This is on me - and I can't let you put yourself at risk... for me. Besides, Mystique has ways of finding this stuff out. She'll know you're injured. We should just go to the infirmary, and I'll take care of everything with Mystique.
    Moments ago - she'd been a teary mess. Somehow, she seems to have shut all of that out. Other things to deal with at the moment, after all.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "No she won't. I'm not going to tell her." Nicolai sits up just a little bit more and moves to take the t-shirt from Clarice and lift it. "The bleeding's already slowed," he says before he presses the shirt back again. "Seriously, I'm fine. ...and I want to go back." WHAT?! "Not now, but in a few days. I know what to expect now, I can be better prepared for it mentally." ...and he won't touch Clarice, that's for damned sure. "... I want to hear her story."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Nicolai..." Clarice says uncertainly. She shakes her head. "You've seen her hear though, right? And in the warehouse. We- we don't have to go back there. And- and it doesn't matter. They're dead. They're both dead. Does any of the rest of it really matter?" She turns away from his as she talks - perhaps so she can seek out needle and thread. She does have a little sewing kit. ...doesn't she?

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "She only seems to show up when she thinks you're in danger," Nicolai points out. He keeps holding pressure on the wound, but it really is starting to slow on its own. It's not as if he bleeds like a normal person anyway, it sort of seeps unless the wound is truly deep or to a major artery. "... Clarice..." Her name is said quietly, gently, it's a definite precursor to something else to come, something bad or shocking... "...she mentioned a sister. You've never mentioned a sister."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah, well, that's fine then. I'm in danger often enough - we'll have lots of opportunities," Clarice quips back lightly. She opens a cupboard while she talks - and soon enough, she has her hands on a small sewing kit. It honestly looks like she doesn't have much in the cupboard - she really isn't one for posessions.
    She was starting to open it when he speaks next - and she freezes mid motion, turning her head to seek out Nicolai's gaze. "I- because I don't have one," she claims - but her voice is soft, and weak.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I think you do," Nicolai replies in that same, gentle voice he used to say her name. He motions for her to bring the sewing kit to him. "The bleeding's slowed enough that I should be able to stitch up the worst of it pretty easily." His voice is a little louder... something for her to focus on while she tries to process the news in the background.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice remains still for a few moments longer, but eventually she does move forward, handing over the kit wordlessly - and sinking down to the floor beside Nicolai.
    She makes no attempt to speak for a while as she tries to turn this over in her brain. A sister. A sister?
    "It doesn't matter," Clarice finally says in a quiet voice. "She'll be dead too." She never met her - never even knew she existed. She'd //had// a sister.
    What had she looked like?

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Nicolai reaches out and takes the supplies from Clarice. Apparently he plans on doing his own stitching? "You don't know that," he murmurs as he gets to work sewing up his ownself like he's done it a thousand times before. He barely finches and that's only through the deepest, most tender areas. "... your mom, she looked older. I don't think she died in Genosha, so... maybe your sister didn't either?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "You don't think - you think they left Genosha?" Clarice asks - her gaze going to Nicolai's features. Her expression is closed, and closely guarded - either she was hiding her emotions, or she was hiding from them. "Then how did she die? If she didn't die there, then why go back there?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I don't know, Clarice. She's never spoken before tonight." His stitch work obviously isn't medical level. That'll leave scars, but he's closing the wound readily enough... in what appears to be a basic, sewing, hem stitch. Nicolai looks up from his handiwork half way through. "I'm sorry... I really am. ...and I do want to go back when this is healed a little. You deserve more answers and since that's the only place she's ever spoken... then it's as good a place as any to try again."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Are my answers worth putting you in danger?" Clarice asks. ...is her dad alive? Does she have a sister? Her fingers pluck uneasily at her clothes.
    "...maybe she spoke because I could see her? Because I spoke to her? Why couldn't I hear her?" It's subtle - but on that last question, the bare hint of pain and longing manages to leak into her otherwise flat, even tones.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I don't know that either," Nicolai replies softly as he returns to the stitching. "... that's never happened before, I ... I don't know how to make it happen again." The pain in his voice, the 'apology' in his tone isn't as subtle as hers. "I... I'll try though, but maybe it'll just be enough that she knows that *I* can hear her now."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice didn't remember her mother's voice. She only remembered her face because she'd found the picture on the internet. "Maybe it will," she agrees - her tone even once more.
    "I'm sorry I got you hurt, Nicolai. I never thought that would happen."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I didn't either. It's not a common thing," he begins as he places the last few stitches and takes a moment to admire his handiwork. "See, all better." Then Nicolai looks up at Clarice. "That kind of thing really doesn't happen often. They have to be really angry and really focused to come through to this side like that. It wasn't your fault, Clarice, it wasn't." ... and he truly believes that, knows it to be true even. It wasn't her fault, but there's something he's holding back.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It's not all better," Clarice asserts flatly, turning her gaze towards him. "And the fact remains, I'm sorry.
    "I think it'll be better if we try to find another way to get these answers." Her gaze goes back to staring at the wall across from her before she adds, "So she wasn't able to follow us here? It doesn't work that way?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I don't know how it works," Nicolai admits. "Each one of them is different, with different motivations and different ... I don't... tethers? Callings?" He just sees them when they choose to show themselves... or if he crosses all the way over and seeks them out, sometimes it works that way. "I'm sorry I don't have more answers." A beat and he adds, "It's my gift, my ability, it's not up to you how I chose to use it or not." His tone there is gentle, but firm and it's the truth of it. "...you wouldn't want me to tell you not to use your portals to help a friend if I thought it was too far or too dangerous, right?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "...I would not," Clarice confirms, as her fingers begin plucking idly at her clothes again. "But I'd rather we try to find a safer way. Why- there's no real need to rush for answers. I haven't had answers for years - what's a little longer?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "It's one more minute that you could spend knowing your sister," Nicolai points out. Family, it's important, even moreso when you don't have any... or many. He slowly pushes himself to his feet to prove he's okay and does it without so much as a wince, much to his credit. He holds out a hand to help her up as well.
    "Besides, if I get into trouble, it's not like I don't have my own personal backdoor out of it, right?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "She could be dead," Clarice states as she allows Nicolai to help her up. Well - that's better than 'She'll be dead, too,' right? "We'll figure it out later," she adds. "When you're better." But it's unlikely Clarice is just going to //drop// the idea of finding another solution - rather than just going back to Genosha.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    It is better, but Nicolai still feels the need to add, "...and she might not be."
    If she lets him, Nicolai will pull her into a hug, comforting... just a friend comforting another. Even if she doesn't, he'll murmur, "We'll figure it out and we'll get your answers and I'll survive it, promise."
    A beat and... "So, how do I get out of physical training for a week or two without Mystique catching on?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice allows herself to be pulled into the hug - though she's still, and even a little stiff in his arms. This not someone who's used to hugs. Slowly, reluctantly, she lifts one arm to put on his back in return.
    When she hug is released, she pulls away, staring down at the floor for a moment, then looking back up to Nicolai. "I don't think you do," she answers - before adding in a slow, thoughtful tone. "Well. Unless you can think of any business you have to take care of 'back home' for the next week or so."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I could just avoid it by spending the next week or so Earthside, looking for properties or something?" Nicolai reaches out again, but this time it's to wrap an arm around her neck and attempt a playful 'noogie'. "Or we could fake it and you can just go easy on me?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Hey!" Clarice protests - pulling away. For a moment, her smile appears. Perhaps not as broad as usual, but it's there. "What if I don't know how to go easy on someone, hrm?" she asks.
    Honestly - she'll bet Mystique'll somehow figure it out - if they're pulling their punches for a week.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Nicolai shrugs, "Does it matter? I'll just kick your ass even if you're not going easy." He winks and starts for the door, tossing over his shoulder, "Let's go eat, yeah?" Not that he'll eat much, he never does, but he still does need to eat *something* from time to time, like the second Tuesday of every week or some such? "Should maybe stop by my room for a clean shirt first though, huh?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah, probably should," Clarice agrees, not bothering to counter Nicolai's boasts. She follows him a few steps towards the door - but stops well shy of it. "You go on without me," she suggests. "I'm just gonna..." Going to do what, Clarice? "...take a shower, I think."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "Sure, get cleaned up," Nicolai agrees... if cleaned up is a euphemism for stand in the shower and cry or something. He wasn't born yesterday. He takes the few steps back to her and ... there's another hug. He's kinda European, it's a thing with them. "I'll make sure there's plenty of waffle mix." He lets her go in short order and heads on out to change and then grab a bite.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Her arm lifts again - this time a little quickers - though honestly she's a little relieved when he releases her. Clarice offers a smile, even if it doesn't seem to reach her eyes. "There's always plenty of waffle mix," she counters. "I'll see you in a bit." She starts to turn back towards her bedroom when she pauses mid-motion, and looks back to her friend, instead. "Nicolai?" she says to stop him. "...thanks." Because it's just occured to her that she may not have said that yet.