7322/Golem Maintenance

Golem Maintenance
Date of Scene:	11 August 2021
Location:	Mystique's Quarters
Synopsis:	Lydia and Mystique go to perform some maintenance on Lydia's golem, only discover a mysterious letter imbedded into it. They take it up to the Asteroid where they meet up with Clarice to make sure it's safe and then open it up.
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Raven Darkholme, Clarice Ferguson

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
It's the day after Raven got back from imprisonment and she and Lydia have spent almost the entire morning cuddling with each other. Once hunger had won out over cuddling, Lydia cooked a home made breakfast for her lover wearing nothing but a chef's apron, and after that she decides it's time to do some maintenance on the golem.

The first thing that they need to do is actually find the thing, so Lydia takes to the skies, bringing Raven along with her until they find her lumbering creation. The golem itself has been doing pretty good. Bushwickites have accepted it as part of their community, and it's been gently stopping trouble where it goes, save for one incident where it accidentally gave a drug pusher a concussion.

"There it is!" Lydia calls out to Raven as they wheel about above the roofs of Bushwick, pointing to where the golem is plodding along. "Let's get this done so I can take you back home."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique lounged and snuggled, then took a shower while Lydia was cooking. She's a quick shower person, ten minutes tops, then she spent the remainder of the breakfast creation time making it more difficult for Lydia by poking her bare parts with a grin.

After breakfast, she choose real clothing, a simple shirt, some slacks and again, no shoes. Flying with her lover once again brings out a wild 'Weeeee!' from the cobalt mutant She was looking for the golem of course, but Lydia spots it first.

"Just don't drop me, that's all I ask," she says with a laugh, waiting for them to land.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I'll never drop you," Lydia says as the land, leaning up to give Raven a quick peck on the cheek, and turns towards the golem. "Hey, buddy, come here," she says. The golem pauses, turns its glowing amber eyes to Lydia and obediently treads over to her. As the golem approaches, one could see that the Bushwick community has been busy decorating it. Across its back is a 'Free Mystique' mural, while its front is littered with graffiti. Atop its head is a ring of flowers. "Aw, that's cute!"

The golem stops in front of them, waiting patiently for further orders, and Lydia pulls out a heavy brick of clay wrapped in plastic and a cement trowel from her bag. "What do you think," she asks Raven. "Keep the graffiti? Some of it isn't that bad."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique snerks as she sees the banner on the Golem, then starts laughing as she looks over the other graffiti. "You need to leave what you can," she comments. "It makes him part of the community, or they wouldn't bother tagging him."

She's never really looked at the thing up close, his arrival had been a surprise and the last couple of times she was around him she was a little busy to look at him. He was large, there was no question about that, he lacked any real definition, but he was effective.

"I really like those flowers on his head, and I think it might be time to give him a name."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"He has a name," Lydia says walking up to him with a trowel, looking her golem over. "It's Baruch Magen. It means 'blessed shield' in Hebrew. He could probably use a nickname, though." She looks up at his face fondly and pats his chest. "Isn't that right, big guy?" The golem's response is only to stare down at his creator impassively. "Okay. Let's get this done so we can go back home and spend the rest of the day naked with each other."

She floats up so she's eye level with Magen, and plants a hand on his head and mutters a few words in Hebrew. It seems that the hard clay surface of the golem seems to soften, become a bit more pliable, and Lydia pops the camera from out of its recess in his forehead. She turns it around and opens the case and pulls a couple of batteries out from a pocket and replaces them and finally presses the camera back into his forehead. She smooths it out some so it fits snugly once more, and floats back from the camera waving at whoever the operator is that's monitoring Magen.

"There," she says. "That's done. Did I tell you that he has a fan?" She asks, looking over her shoulder to Raven, as she floats down a bit so she's eye level with it's chest. "For the past week or so there's been somebody hitching a ride on it. I think she put something /in/ the golem for me to find."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique watches this process with curiosity. Clearly she's seen magic before, but every time she does she learns a little more about it and how it works.

"How about just B for short?" She offers, watching the clay go soft and the battery switch out. At the mention of 'something in the chest' however, all relaxed care is gone.

Without pause she climbs up the golem to get in reach of Lydia, reaching out to take her hand. "Hold up there sexy... what are you talking about? How do you know this 'something' is safe?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia considers this for a moment. "He probably wouldn't have let her put it in himself if she had ill intent," she says running her fingers along the seams and creases of the golem. "If it was a bomb, it probably would have gone off by now. It's been a few days since she put it in him. I'll put my shield up just in case, though."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique perches on the Golem as easily as she would on anything really, climbing a second nature to her.

"Okay, now that is more comforting," she offers, letting out a slow breath. "You must forget my level of paranoid, cause that just scared the shit out of me. Be careful."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's glowing green chitinous armor snaps around her, protecting her from danger, as her fingers continue to search the golem for anything embedded into it (besides bullets). She finally finds where the woman stashed whatever it was into him, and she scowls. Sending a tendril of ectoplasm to her bag, she pulls out a pair of tongs and brings it back to her. Using them she digs around in the soft clay, until she pulls it out: An envelope.

"Hunh." she says, flipping the sealed envelope over her hands. "It's a letter. I wonder what it says."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique watches very intently, prepared to dive behind B's head. When the envelope is pulled free she just stares at it.

So this person just used the Golem as a mailbox?" She blinks. "I think maybe we should have that checked before you open it. Unfortunately, people know I'm dating you so they might try something to get to me."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia stares at the envelope nodding. "Yeah. That /is/ strange. There are..." she waves a hand in a circle, "a myriad of ways to get a hold of either one of us." She pauses thinking, "I think we should take a trip up to the asteroid to get it checked out. Let me finish up here and then we can go and /then/ we can spend the rest of the day naked together."

She slips the envelope into a pocket and floats the block of clay towards her, and unwraps it from the plastic. She starts to sing a Polish folk song to herself as she works, taking out bits of clay and patching up the cracks that have formed in the joints and crevasses of the golem, smoothing them out with the trowel. When she gets to a bullet hole, she uses the tip of the trowel to dig out the bullet before patching it up. It takes her a good twenty minutes to go over the whole thing before she's done, and she takes a step back, admiring her own work with a nod. Stepping forward, she places a hand on him, and mumbles a few lines of Hebrew, letting the clay of the golem set again.

"Off you go," she says patting B affectionally. The golem's eyes seem to blink in acknowledgement and he turns to resume his never ending patrol. "Okay," she says, stepping up to Raven to plant a kiss on her mouth. "Let's pack up and get going."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique just hangs out on B's shoulder, watching Lydia work with a smile on her face. She'd offer to help, but really she just wants to use the clay to make small obscene things, better she just keeps her hands to herself. There is something peaceful about watching Lydia work and singing as she goes.

When she reaches the shoulder the cobalt mutants is sitting on, Mystique climbs back down to sit on the curb and watch the work continue. A few people passing by wave to Lydia and B, but they've gotten used to the golem being around now, so it's just another one of those things you see in Bushwick.

As Lydia comes back down, Mystique picks herself up and brushes her butt off to accept and return the kiss. "We should throw him a party at some point, just another reason to get together," she comments, picking up Lydia's bag to carry for her. "I'll get Ritz to teleport us to the Asteroid. We can do a scan on that envelope then get naked."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods, and steps close to Mystique, threading an arm around her waist. "Let's go," she says. "No time like the present." Mystique calls in the teleport, and once they step through, Lydia lets her lover lead the way. She's gotten to know most of the Asteroid by now, but she honestly doesn't know where they keep the scanners for these kinds of thing.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Once back to the Asteroid, Mystique leads Lydia to the med-bay. Medical scanners have numerous purposes, and as none are in use, she grabs a tech to get things set up.

"Put on some gloves and get the envelope out," she comments to Lydia, going to collect a few other things for tests. "We're going to perform a serious of quick tests then scan it."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia does as she's told, putting on some nitrile gloves, and fishing the envelope out of her pocket and handing it over to Mystique for testing. "What kind of scans are we going to be doing?" she asks curiously.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice was at her desk working, and all the reading- look, it's exhausting, and she's ready for a break.
    So when she gets a notification that Lydia and Mystique are in the medical bay, that's all the excuse she needs. Even if the message doesn't read as a medical emergency.
    That just means that she bothers to take the time to stroll the short distance between the quarters alotted for the leadership of the Brotherhood to the medical bay, her hands coming to rest in her pockets as she watches them handling a mysterious envelope with gloved hands. "What's that?" she asks simply.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique pulls a pair of gloves from the box as well, slipping them on before she takes the envelope from Lydia. The item gets set on the plastic tray she placed other items on a moment ago.

"I plan to run a few tests on the paper and the contents," she replies to Lydia, then looks up at Clarice enters. "Gloves..." she points to the box.

"Lydia had a little present left for her /in/ the Golem, so I'm running some tests and going to scan it to make sure someone isn't trying to kill her. It's pretty well known she's my girlfriend now, and someone could be trying to get to me through her, so... I'm making sure that doesn't happen."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods, taking a step back to let Mystique do her work. "It's a strange way to get a message to me," she admits, turning to Clarice. "I've got a public email address that I use for fans to contact me. It's not that much of a secret." She gives a bashful grin and shrugs, "Most of them are really sweet."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Hey, I'm the one who gets to issue you orders - for today and tody only - jailbird," Clarice remarks casually - with a grin on her features.
    No, that's not how things work and she knows it. But if she can't at least have a little fun with all this, then what's the point?
    Despite her words, she dutifully pulls on a pair of gloves as she adds, "If anyone went after Lydia, I'd happily end them - if not for how furious you'd get over me denying you your own vengence."
    Amusement pulls at her lips as she asks, "Should I send you fan letters at your email address?" she asks.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
With the envelope on the tray, and her hands protected, Mystique open one of the small bottles and pulls out the eye dropper top. A single drop gets placed in a petri dish, then the dropper is replaced to the bottle and it's closed. Picking up a small cotton q-tip, she peals the plastic off the end and dips it in the drop, then the q-tip gets run over the side of the envelope. This exact thing is repeated three times with three different bottles, and three locations on the paper.

In the room behind her the tech is getting the scanner ready. For medical means, it gets used like a MRI, but it has other settings that Mystique plans to use.

"You got it boss," she says to Clarice as she sets a plastic dome over the envelope and steps back. "Only takes about five minutes, then we'll know what the paper is made of, if there are any diseases or poisons present, or if any foreign chemicals that should be present are on the outside."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives Clarice a wide grin, "Only if you're a fan!" Her grin fades a bit, "If somebody comes after me...." She shakes her head. "I'd rather that you didn't kill them, but you do what you have to do."

Lydia scowls. "That letter had been in my jeans. I better go put them in the wash and change into a clean pair, just in case." She leans over, gives Mystique a quick peck on the cheek, and walks out the door. She'll only be gone for a few moments while she changes.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "No one gets to go after the leadership of the Brotherhood, Lydia," Clarice answers quietly. "And going after you, is doing that. We'd have to respond the same if someone went after Rahne to get at me, as well..." She knows that wouldn't go over with the diminuative wolf, either.
    "I could order you to get me a coffee," she muses thoughtfully. "But it //is// your day off, so - I //suppose// I'll give you a pass."
    As Lydia prepares to leave Clarice remarks, "Hold up until we get the results. I doubt it'll take long, and a few minutes more won't make a difference, I imagine."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique was just about to stop Lydia when Clarice did, and that was the reason Clarice was her second... she got it.

"Get your own coffee," she then comments, before moving back to look at the envelop, then the timer. "No poison or diseases... another three minutes for chemicals and what the paper is made of."

Looking behind her for a moment, the tech gives her a thumbs up, then slips out the side door of the scanner room... no way is he risking getting anything from what is likely a love letter from a fan.

"Better not to walk through the Asteroid again until we're certain," she finally says to Lydia.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia stops as she's about to go out and change clothes, and turns around nodding. "Okay. It's just that you've got /me/ being paranoid, now. I'm just not used to thinking this way," she explains.

When it's revealed that there's no poisons or diseases she looks a little relieved. "Well, so far so good." She gives the pair of mutants a grin, "Though I do admit this heightens the mystery of the letter greatly."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Rude! Such cheek! I'm going to have to put that into your performance review," Clarice counters with a smile, leaning back as she continues to consider the letter. Without glancing towards Lydia she adds, "If you're worried, you take the pants off in here. I'm pretty sure Mystique won't raise a protest."
    And seemingly neither will she. Honestly, for all of her sometimes-seeming, prudishness, the thought doesn't seem to bother her at all.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Looking over to Clarice the cobalt mutant grins broadly as she says plainly, "You do that, just don't space me like you did Stixx."

Her amber eyes shift back to the envelope, "Lydia if you want to take your pants off, there's some doctor scrub pants in the closet over there," she points, still watching the paper. "Okay, it's standard paper, well not standard, a bit higher quality actually. Expensive. Aaaand..."

The last stripe she made turns a pale blue which makes Mystique smile, "No chemicals. We're good."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives Mystique a sly grin. "I can do scrubs if you want to play a little doctor later." More seriously she turns to where the letter is. "That's good. I don't have to worry about my clothes now." She looks to Mystique and asks, "What's next?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Hey, I have to keep my options open," Clarice counters with a grin.
    "Alright. So now we can it and open it?" Clarice asks in a curious tone. She admittedly looks curious as she eyes the envelope. "Do we have any notion of who left it? Someone we know, or...? Some sort of completely foreign element?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"Someone left it /in/ the Golem for Lydia, made it obvious on the camera," Mystique offeres, then picks up the letter.Heaving into the room at the back where the tech had set up the scanner, she shuts the door behind her. The envelop is placed in the scanner, then she enters the tiny booth to run a series of scans over it. Then another set, grand total of ten minutes before she looks at the read outs on the screen. Slipping out of the booth, she collects the letter and returns to the main room.

"This envelope contains.... more paper, nothing else, you're good to open it." She offers it offer to Lydia.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia shakes her head at Clarice. "No. She liked to hitch a ride on B over the past week or so. We caught her on camera, from time to time and a few days ago she inserted this into the golem itself." She blinks as she remembers, "Oh, yes! We're calling the glem B as a shorthand for his name."

She takes the letter into her hands, feeling the quality of the paper under her thumb. She turns it over to where it's folded, and slips a nail into the crease and tears it open. She pulls out the letter, lavender in color, and unfolds it and reads it once. "Hunh," she says thoughtfully. She turns the letter around to see if there's anything on the back, and finding nothing, turns it back to the front. Her brows furrow a bit and she brings the letter up to her nose to sniff and comments, "Roses."

"Okay," she says, shaking her head. "It reads,

"To Lady Lydia Dietrich:

"There is something beautiful and amazing about you and your work. I do not refer solely to the Golem you have crated to look over your people, but also the books that you have written." Lydia looks up and mentions, "She's got every one of my books listed here." She turns back to the letter and continues,

"I realize that you may be curious as to how I slipped through the wards on the Golem to give you this letter, but a simple Email would have been looked past in your busy life and I would very much like the opportunity to meet you in person. I have no ill intent, and you are welcome to bring your lovely girlfriend Raven, or as many of the Brotherhood that would permit you to feel safe.

"Below you will find my phone number.

"Contessa Isabella Esposito"

Lydia looks up. "Aaaand she's got her phone number on here." She holds the letter out to see if any of the other ladies would like to take a look at it. "Looks like I got a fan in the Italian nobility."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice waits for Mystique to return - chatting idly with Lydia about the Ghostbusters movie, which she has finally seen, no doubt to Lydia's utter delight. As if people don't compare her powers to Ghostbusters and Slimer often enough, now she has to get it from //Clarice// too.
    But Mystique returns with the letter she falls silent, waiting and then listening in silence.
    "I'm not familiar with the name," she offers simply, glancing towards Mystique with a questioning look to see if the name means anything to her.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique had remained right by Lydia as she read the letter, and now accepts it to look it over. "Hand written, flare tip fountain pen, old style penmanship, I mean seriously old, the style stopped being used in the last 1800s. The stationary is expensive Italian," She pauses, turning the page over then holds it up to the light to see if she can spy the watermark and her eyes widen. "Holy shit, this stationary is Fabriano!"

She looks from the paper to each of them and realizes then that they most likely have no idea what that means. "Fabriano parchment dates back to the 1200s, they've been in business that long and their parchment and paper is /the/ most expensive in the world."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia just rolls her eyes at the mention of Slimer. She was teased a lot when she was in high school about it, but since it's coming from Clarice, she lets it slide.

She blinks at Mystique when the quality of the letter is declared. "Wow. That's... a really ostentatious way of trying to get my attention," she says. "She's certainly got it." She takes the letter back from Mystique and peers at the letter. "Who would practice their penmanship like this? It's...." she shakes her head, speechless.

She carefully folds the letter and slips it back into the envelope to hand it back to Mystique. "I want to meet her," she declares. "After all this, I kind of feel obligated to." She looks thoughtful and turns to Mystique, "Let's see what we can find out about her, and then we can set up a meet. I'm sure you'd want to come along."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Expensive paper?" The thought baffles Clarice, obviously. "How much does a sheet of it cost?" she asks uncertainly, studying the paper with baffled curiosity, before directing her gaze towards Mystique.
    "Do you think the individual is long-lived, like yourself and Mister Creed? I mean, that would explain anachronisms."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique pushes the letter back toward Lydia, "It's your letter, you keep it. If you want to meet her, we'll go meet her, it's as simple as that, however we will be prepared for anything to happen."

To Clarice she offers, "That stationary is nearly three hundred dollars for twenty sheet with envelopes, wait... colors, make that more like three hundred and eighty dollars."

Removing the gloves, she drops them in the garbage, her brows knitting as her brain kicks into high gear. "She clearly knows something about magic, or she wouldn't have been able to put that in B, so it's possible she's older lived through magical means, or perhaps she's a Mutant who uses magic as well, either way, we won't know until we meet her. Clarice, I want you there as well, for emergency evac, if needed."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods in agreement, as she takes the letter back. "There's all manner of things out there that live a long life," she says. "We won't know until I give her a call. I'd prefer doing a bit of research into her before I do that though. That seems like the smart thing to do."

She gives her companions another nod. "All three of us should be there /at least/," she says. "If you want to take anybody else, Raven, I'll leave that up to you." She shakes her head, still amazed that somebody this rich, and possibly /old/ would be so interested in her books. "This is all...." she trails off. "I don't know. A little creepy don't you think?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Three hundred for twenty sheets..." It's obvious Clarice actually spends a moment trying to figure that out in her head.
    Nope. Division is hard. ABORT. ABORT.
    "Of course I'll be there. I have to keep you both safe," she says simply - as if Raven //really// needs Clarice's help with that. Still - always better to have back-up than not.
    "I mean. ...creepy? Flattering? Strange, certainly. All of those things..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique snerks, already pulling out her phone to enter the name and send the computers searching across the world for information on the woman. If she was as rich as she appeared to be, there had to be something out there about her, though it might take time to get through aliases, as surely a Contessa would have many of them.

"Mainframe is spinning up a search on her now," she offers before sliding the phone back into her pocket and stepping over to slip her arm around Lydia's waist. "In regards to creepy, what Clarice just said. Until we know more about this woman, let's go with creepy and flattering as our reaction."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods, agreeing with Clarice. "All those words, and more. I'm just stunned at it all, really. Why go through all this trouble for /me/? I know my books are decent, but I don't think that they're /that/ good to go through all this trouble."

She leans into Mystique's arm and just stares at the letter. "What am I even going to /do/ with this? I can't just throw it away or anything, and I don't want to pin it up with the other nice fan mail that I get. Damaging the paper feels sacrilegious."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I mean, Mys- Raven would go through the trouble," Clarice supplies. And yes - she's still having trouble with that. "But not me. Nope. I'm too lazy." She smirks in amusement. She's anything but lazy - she's just not as motivated as Mystique happens to be.
    "Don't people make, umm, books with souvenirs of... things?" she supplies in an uncertain tone. "Someone suggested something like that when I was complaining about not understanding hobbies..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Another smirk is offered to Lydia, then Mystique reaches over and pulls open a drawer. Into the drawer her hand goes and she pulls out a plastic bag about the size of the letter, and it is offered to Lydia.

"Use this, pin the plastic," she comments, then slides the drawer closed. "And Clarice, you're thinking of scrap books. Strange hobby, but it's based in applying sentimental attachment to thing. The only thing I'm sentimental about is a set of pistols from 1890." She does not go into why.

"Now, in regards to why you Lydia, because you're an amazing person, with an amazing talent for writing, even if you don't think so."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia can't help but blush at the compliment as she takes the baggie and seals the letter inside. "I didn't say I thought was /bad/," she laughs. "My books sell, and get favorable reviews, so I'll concede to 'very good'. But amazing?" Her only denial is a shake of her head, but she does reach up and gives Mystique a kiss. "Thank you for thinking so."

"My grandmother keeps scrapbooks," she says. "For her it's a way of keeping family history alive. She's from Poland and her parents survived World War II. Not much else made it out of there save for a few pictures and scraps of letters that they managed to save." She snakes an arm around Mystique and gives her a bit of a hug. "I should introduce you to her. You'd like her." She nods at Clarice. "You too. She'd probably adopt you, once she hears that you're an orphan. She barely speaks any English so I'd have to do some translating, but that's okay."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Whatever it is, Raven probably speaks it," Clarice offers in amusement. "I never picked up any languages though." With an embarrassed shrug of her shoulders she adds, "Haven't I picked up enough adopted family lately, anyways? I mean - Dyani's family have apparently made me part of their tribe... or something. I don't really get it. But that on top of..." Her gaze flicks towards Raven for a moment. That was a conversation she was going to need to have, fairly soon, "...everything else."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique tightens her arm around Lydia, then hugs her back and kisses her blushing cheeks.

"Polish? Yes I speak it," she offers, then kisses Lydia's cheek again. "I would like to meet your grandmother, however I think we need to address the other issue with your mother before we go introducing me to any more family members. You not only outed yourself, but you did so on national television to the horrible Raven Darkholme. Even /I/ have gotten texts from your mother."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Laughter escapes from Lydia. "You can never have too much family. Besides, you've never tasted my grandmothers cooking."

Mystique gets a look of horror. "She's texting /you/?" She buries her head in her hands, "Oh God, what am I going to tell her? I suppose this isn't one of those things where if I ignore it it'll go away."

She groans, when she realizes that, no, it just won't go away. "Okay. I'll send her a text and then we can set up a meeting. But tomorrow. Today I just want to spend the rest of the day with you."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'm still adjusting to- well. To accepting that I have more family than just Mister Creed," Clarice admits in a wry and embarrassed tone. "But I'd like to meet her sometime, and try her food. What sort of things does she like to make?"
    She looks between the pair as they talk back and forth about Lydia's mom, an uncertain look on her features. "What sort of things is she saying in the messages? I guess she didn't like seeing you support the leader of the Brotherhood on the international news..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique kisses Lydia on the top of the head, "Tomorrow is fine, and this time we'll be completely honest. I'll show her a few forms so she can understand that they're all me. Either she accepts or she doesn't. You know your father does, and I love you so that's all that matters."

She looks to Clarice, "For people like us Clarice, getting all the family we can is a good thing. In regards to the texts, those are between she and I, I have no intentions of outing her texts to others, not even Lydia, unless she /really/ wants to see them... then I'll 'accidently' leave my phone open to the texts for her to find."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"A lot of traditional polish food. You know. Pierogis, and that kind of thing," she explains to Clarice. "Really delicious stuff."

The mention of the texts garners a shake of the head. "I can only imagine what they say. I'm curious as to their nature but I'll respect your wishes to not out them."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I certainly didn't mean to pry," Clarice says hastily, letting the matter of the texts drop.
    The matter of 'family' in general, though... "It's... there is something nice in knowing just how many people do truly care about me," she admits in a quiet voice. "I'm just not really used to it yet. It feels like things have changed a lot over the last few months. Or maybe that I've changed."
    Looking to Lydia curious she remarks, "I'm not sure if I've had pierogis before. What are those?" she looks to Mystique. "Are they served here in the cafeteria?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique shakes her head, "No, you didn't pry, you asked a question, nothing wrong with that."

She gives Lydia a nudge with her hip, for no other reason than she can. "I love Pierogis," her eyes shift to Clarice as she grins. "I'll bet we can ask for them to be made. May not be completely traditional, but they'll be close. Eddie likes to make sure he gets as close as he can, but he's also still learning to chef."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"They're little pockets of dough stuffed with all sorts of things," Lydia explains. "Traditionally potatoes and meat but, really, you could stuff it with anything. Then you boil them until they're done. They're so good."

She grins at Mystique, "I'll get my grandmother's recipe from her and send it to Eddie. I bet he'll like that."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Well - he did well with Genoshan foods over the last week or so for me - and some of my other favorites," Clarice supplies with a fond smile. She'd rather appreciated the man's support during the week Mystique was gone. Sure it was a small thing - but havings someone go to the extra effort to make food like that just on her account... She smiles with amusement as she adds, "He did a chips-and-dips bar one of the days."
    See? Some people know the key to her heart.
    "What's your favorite thing to have in pierogies then - if you can put different things?" she asks Lydia curiously, before giving Mystique a questioning look to include her in the query as well.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"Spinach and goat cheese, with the meat and potato," she answers, then gives Lydia another nudge.

"If your grandmother is willing to share, Eddie would love that. He's broadening his horizons, used to just cook the basics in the Army." She looks to the clock on the wall. "Alright, it's time for naked yum, yum time Lydia, but let's have dinner with Clarice afterwards, deal?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Mmm," Lydia says thinking. "I think my favorite are ones that's stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms. My grandmother would make those every year for my birthday, but the ones Raven mentioned are good, too." She nods to her lover, "I'll get the recipe from her, and do a bit of translating since I don't think Eddie speaks Polish."

Then her eyes light up. "Naked yum yum time?" she gasps. "I /love/ naked yum yum time!" She turns to Clarice and says, "I'm sorry. I love you, but it's naked yum yum time. Time to go!" She grabs Raven's hand and pulls her along heading straight for the bedroom.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah, well. Time for me to get back to work anyways," Clarice replies. "I guess I'll go get that cup of coffee - //myself//. Can't even order you around, geeze." She grins at Mystique and Lydia, giving Mystique a playful bump with her shoulder on her way towards the cafeteria.
    "By the way - any restaurant in the world we like! So it doesn't necessarily have to be 'dinner!'"
    There are some benefits to have a teleporter for a 'daughter' after all.