7368/Can Happiness be Deserved

Can Happiness be Deserved
Date of Scene:	14 August 2021
Location:	Research Facility
Synopsis:	A manic Clarice shares her good news with Rahne.
Cast of Characters:	Rahne Sinclair, Clarice Ferguson

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Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne is doing, gods forbid, research! She's in the laboratory area, and has been shown around and told things, most of which went right over her head. But it's interesting, and she found that she might, maybe, almost want to try doing some of her own.

So she got set to washing beakers. She's sitting, humming to herself, while she puts beakers through a washer sleeve that has an antiseptic salve in it.

Oh. Yeah, she's bored.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice is not bored. In fact, she's wearing the hugest, happiest grin on her features, and is clutching some sort of book to her chest. An album?
    "Rahne!" she greets the other woman in a cheery voice - and seems about to throw herself towards the other woman, only pulling herself up short when she sees that the red-head is handling glass. She waits only long enough for Rahne to empty her hands before greeting her with an excited hug, and a kiss.
    "I have some to show you - to tell you! Are you helping your mother with her research? Are you busy? Please say you're not busy."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne manages to not break a beaker, but it's close. She drops it, almost flinging it into the air, and with a bit of flailing manages to snatch the sllip of glass from the air before it hits the ground.

She calmly, calmly places the beaker down. Then she accepts both hug and kiss right in front of the other researchers. No shame there.

"Ye brought a book?" she asks, her arms full of teleporter. She looks at the boss, then grins. "Taking five!" Then to Clarice, "I can make time. Wot be th' panic, Clary?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "No panic! It's good. I'll show you - tell you. I- here." And with that little amount of 'explination,' Clarice blinks them both out - the pair reappearing beside Rahne's bed, where the magenta-hued teleporter flops without any pre-amble. She seems almost manic today as she sets down the album, and pulls out her phone, pulling a photo of herself in the Asteroid M garden, standing beside a teen. The younger girl has deep brown skin, and braided hair in black and purple. Here eyes are the same electric green as Clarice's though, and the pair share very similar facial features. "Look," she says as she overs the phone over. "You see? That's Cynthia.
    "Cynthia //Ferguson//."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne sits, a bit more demurely since she's wearing a skirt under her white apron. She sits right next to Clarice, hips barely touching, and smiles at the excitement as Clary opens her phone. "Wot be the emergency?" She seems happy to listen, just catching a bit of Clarice's excitement.

Then Rahne gasps, her mouth slightly open, then looks from the pic to Clary and back, just verifying what her memory tells her is true. She bounces with excitement, grabbing for one of Clarice's hands. "I got tae meet her!" she insists. "When can ah meet her? Whaur be she now?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "She's on the Asteroid. She's - we're moving my quarters. Magneto's going to pull out the wall connecting to of the entry ways - have just one door - so we'll each have our own bedroom, and bathroom, and a shared living room space. And she's still going to school of course - education is important. I want her to- it's important she has a proper education. I mean, I never did. But she does, which is good and-" Clarice is talking a mile a minute, and tears abruptly spring to her eyes as she squeezes Rahne's hand tightly. "I have a sister. A real- a real sister. Family."
    Turning she claims the album she'd dropped, opening it to the first two pages. It shows a woman of African descent, with her hair done up in tribal braids, with beads and shells at the ends of each braid. A man, also of african descent stands behind her. Both are gazing with awed, loving smiled at the tiny magenta-hued bundle in the woman's arms. The opposite page has multiple pictures of baby Clarice - one with her father holding her, another with her tucked into her bassinet, gripping tightly as a dark skinned finger with her tiny hand. "Cynthia had this. She- she gave it to me."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne lets Clarice spray words all over her, bathing in their majesty and enjoying the love that's present. She grins, she nods as she's told about the schooling, and widens her eyes! She whispers, "Ye do, ye so do," about having a sister.

But she can't talk when Cynthia shows the baby pictures. Oh, my, god. So.. "So cute! Oh my god you were so cute, you were adorable!" That's not talking, it's ranting. And she's shaking with awesomeness!

So cute.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I don't remember ever being so happy in my life, Rahne," Clarice admits. "I don't know what to do with this much happiness. I have you, I have Cynthia..." She flips slowly through the pages of the album. She's stared at every picture already - absorbing even the most mundane details. The colors of the carpet, the fact that she used to have a My Little Pony big wheel, everything, as the photos show her growing from an infant, to a stumbling toddler playing in the dirt and covered head to toe in mud, to a young preschooler.
    "Mystique found her, you know. I just- I assumed everyone was dead. If it weren't for Mystique..."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
"Your family loved ye," Rahne says, in a tone approaching awe. the pictures are incredibly clear; once, Clarice had a family who cared. She can't even process that properly. The large finger, possibly a daddy. A mommy who held her tightly. Who did NOT drop her on the nearest curb, like yesterday's trash.

Her heart is breaking, but she smiles at Clarice. She knows that it probably looks forced, but she's trying her best. "Can...ah meet her?" she asks, her heart, oh her heart. "Will tell Mystique, all th' things."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Of course you can meet her," Clarice agrees. "I mean- she's... she's doing her classes right now. But when she's done- yeah. Of course. Of course you can."
    She continues to flip through the album and young Clarice continues to grow. There's pictures of her and her family in their best clothes for Christmas - and all of them on the green, listening to music and picnicing for the Christmas celebration. There's a picture of young Clarice dressed up as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch for her fifth Birthday which was Halloween themed - other young children also in costumes present. She gets her costume soaked bobbing for apples. There's pictures of her and her family apparently celebrating her mother's birthday - Clarice sitting in her mother's lap, and helping her mother blow out //her// birthday candles.
    And there's one more page - but she doesn't flip to as she instead starts to close the album.
    

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne closes her eyes against the pictures as they become more developed, more memories. She can't breathe. Five years of happiness.

Oh, she's happy for Clarice. She's ecstatic for her! She wants Clarice to have all of these memories, to have them and more! To make new ones, with her family.

"I..cannae relate," she admits, leaning gently against Clarice, her eyes opening again. "Thes has tae be surreal for ye. Ye dinnee remember any o' this?" she asks, honestly wondering.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Bits of it," Clarice answers quietly. "Going to the beach, mostly. And Christmas on the green. And my Halloween Birthday party. And going to some sort of.... carnival parade? Just snippets. The photos help a lot." She puts one hand on the closed album - and uses the other hand to pull Rahne close as she explains, "But I was told - all those years I was in the Mutate program - I was told my parents surrendered me to the program. That they didn't want me. And I- The memories of being happy, they hurt to think about. I thought they weren't real or- I don't know. It was confusing. I was so angry at my parents."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Logic comes to Rahne's rescue. She thinks while Clarice explains, then she puts a finger on the book. "Clary. Hon. Did they ever teach ye logic, or how tae think critically?" She's serious, she wants to know. "Doctor Henry, he taught us. When ye be faced wi' two arguments, look a' both. Tell me, which one is more likely tae be true?"

She points to the book. "Tha' all o' this be faked, an' yer parents hated ye suddenly, an' your sister did nae know ANYTHING about et? Or," she touches Clarice's heart. "That th' people who wanted ye t' be a weapon lied. I'm leanin tae th' one tha' takes th' least effort."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "How do you //teach// logic?" Clarice answers with bafflement. She smiles at Rahne as she adds, with her hand still over the album, "I know that this album is true. I know - now - that they loved me. That- that the people in the program lied to me." Tears start to spill out of her eyes as she adds, "But I've only just learned all this. I had almost five years, from when I was freed, until the Sentinel attack, when I could have found my parents, and learned the truth, and seen them again, and- and let them know I wasn't dead. And I was so angry... I never did. I never looked for them, and now they're gone."
    She wipes at her eyes before she adds, "But I have Cynthia. Thank goodness I have her."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne can't answer that. She holds Clarice, letting her have the one thing she has in abundance. Compassion.

"Ah cannee fix...anythin," she whispers, close to Clarice's ear. "But as to logic, if ye read anythin' in Alice an' think it be true, we got us a problem."

She waits, hoping that at least gets a smile.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice hugs Rahne back, tightly and fiercely. The tears pass quickly, thankfully, and the comment about Alice does get an amused smile from the girl. "I don't know," she muses. "People really can have tea parties. They just... don't go on forever like that. Why did they put butter in the watch, though? Who puts butter in a watch?"
    She pulls away, wiping at her eyes as she adds, "And honestly - like I said, I can't really remember feeling this happy. Even with... Even though I didn't get to see my parents. I don't know what I would do if I were //happier.// It doesn't seem possible, somehow."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne doesn't even know how to open a watch. She rarely wastes food, and all of that still makes her smile. "Then ye will ...somethin," she says, not sure what to say. "Um. Go tae her? Ah do hae ta get back an'...wash some stupid glasses." She wants to be the one who's found a family. Clarice has hit the lottery jackpot, and it's something that it's hard not to be jealous of.

Something that she needs to get ahold of, in her heart. It's a sin. But more importantly, Clarice deserves this. Maybe even needs it, more than I do.

"I be happy for ye. I mean that." She says it like it's super important, that Clarice needs to understand. "Ye probably wonder, what be th' catch? Th' catch is, ye DESERVE this."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'm not sure that I do. Only one percent of the people of Genosha survived. I- it's incredibly fortunate. But I am grateful, and you will meet her, I promise you that." Clarice gives Rahne another tight hug. "I'm sure you'll like her. I mean- I hardly know her. We hardly know each other at all. But- I mean. She thought I was dead her whole life - her //whole// life - and now... It's just surreal."
    She wipes her eyes dry again before asking uncertainly, "Do you need any help with the washing up?"

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
She almost laughs at the offer. almost, but not quite. "Nae, et actually be an automated job. I think es a bit o' hazing, o th' new girl. Es nerd ritual." She grins widely, showing her white teeth, and then leans in and hugs Clarice about the waist. Both arms. "You'll know each other," she murmurs. "Ah willnae let anythin' stop et."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods - leaning into Rahne's hug, and wrapping her own arm around her. She seems content to stay like that - breathing in Rahne's scent, with her head resting comfortably against the other woman's. It seems to calm and center her from the manic excitement she'd shown on her arrival.
    No words are really necessary, are they?