7565/Is This Even English

Is This Even English
Date of Scene:	27 August 2021
Location:	Cafeteria and Bar
Synopsis:	Clarice rants about a book. Cynthia rants about Clarice. Lydia is abruptly dubbed their 'big sister.'
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Clarice Ferguson, Raven Darkholme

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia is out in the cafeteria side of things, working on the enchantment that will mask both Clarice and Cynthia's blood from the cult who might be hunting down descendants of Apocalypse. Spread out in front of her is a couple of journals that she uses to keep notes in, and several pieces of paper, on which are scrawled diagrams and circles, and notations in Hebrew. But right in front of her is a plate with a rather large omelet piled on top. She's eating absently as she reads her notes in another journal that she's holding, studying her notes as she works out mental arithmetic.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice and Cynthia enter - with the older sister's arm draped around her younger sister, as the pair approach the cafeteria's buffet. "Ooo, they do have a curry today," Clarice remarks - beaming brightly as she pulls down a pair of of trays. She quickly piles them with plates, and silverware, before she starts helping herself to a generous portion of eggplant curry with some nice charred flat bread.
    It's not until she's on her way towards the drinks that she spots Lydia - and instead redirects her path, moving to join the woman and setting down her food on the edge of all of Lydia's paper.
    "It isn't in English," she says in an agrieved tone.
    She obviously means all the Hebrew writting. ... //Right//?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia meanders in with her arm around her sister, not knowing what to expect in the lines of food. Since getting to the asteroid she has learned there are a lot of foods she has no idea about... curry is now added to that list.

"What in the he...ck is that?" She asks as Clarice piles whatever that is on her plate, her nose wrinkling up because it does not look good. Deciding against that... thing, she ops for some mac & cheese with chicken tenders. Grabbing something to drink as well, she follows Clarice over to the table.

Keeping the tray in her hand, not putting it on the table or Lydia's paper, she starts looking at those papers. "Whatcha doing?" She asks Lydia, not intending to bother her if she's busy, even if Clarice is.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Well, no," Lydia says, looking up from her journal. "It's Hebrew." She folds her journal closed and sets it neatly on the table and starts to gather up her papers to give the other two girls room to eat. "Hello, Clarice. Hello, Cynthia. I am working on an enchantment that should help out," she says, *tak tak taking* the pages together so they're all aligned. She doesn't know if Clarice has had a chance to talk to Cynthia yet about their heritage, so she's deliberately vague in case she hasn't.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Huh? You kne-" Clarice starts, until she finally registers some of the strange symbols on the papers Lydia is gathering up. "Oh. No, not //that//," she answers. "//This//." Reaching out - there's suddenly a small portal in front of her, and she reaches into it, and through, retrieving the Fables trade paperback, and plunking it down on the table. "I couldn't make heads or tales of it! And a dictionary was no help at all," she complains, as she drops into a seat. She sounds positively //afronted// by this. If she's going to put in the effort to try to read a thing...!

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Now that the papers are gathered, Cynthia puts the tray down. The vagueness of Lydia's answer makes her realize that there were going to be secrets, and probably a lot of them, and no one was going to offer up hints. If it had to do with her, then it would come from Clarice or not at all, and apparently, almost not at all.

Sitting herself down, she decides to just stay quiet for the moment, let Clarice rant at the person who caused the problem by suggesting a book with words that clearly her sister had no clue about.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia blinks at the paperback that has been slapped down in front of her. "Really?" she asks, somewhat surprised. She's never really read any comics in her life so she always thought that they were more like what Lumberjanes would be, except maybe with more super powers and lasers.

She picks up the book and starts flipping through the pages, trying to find out what Clarice means. It doesn't take her long to find out what she means, though. There, on the first few pages, is a character that is trying to talk through his tusks, and the words are spelled out phonetically.

"Oh!" Lydia says upon the discovery. "Yes, I can see how this would confuse you. I didn't think that a book about /fairy tales/ would do something like this." She closes the paperback and lays it atop her journals. "I'll go take this back for a refund and will try to find something that isn't so confusing. And this time I'll read it first before I hand it off to you."

She givers Clarice a soft smile, "Other than this, how are the other two books going for you?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Do something like what?" Clarice asks. She scoops up a little bit of the eggplant curry, puts it on top of the grilled bread - and sets it wordlessly on the edge of Cynthia's plate. She should //try// it. It's good! "Why isn't it in English?" She sets about helping herself to a heaping bite of the curry on another piece of the bread - letting out appreciative sounds as she now lets her gaze wander curiously over Lydia's notes. Of course, none of //that// makes a lick of sense to her, either.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia reaches over to pick up the book and look at the first couple of pages, she was curious what set her sister of and well, yeah, that would do it. Closing it, she sets it back where it was and pretends she didn't just see that.

That's when she spots the stuff on the bread now on her plate, "What is that?" She asks again, and once more her face wrinkles up in disgust. She pokes it away from her other food, not wanting cross contamination.

"She told me," she then offers to Lydia, in case she wanted to talk about it and the huge secret might stop her.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Phonetically write out a speech impediment," Lydia answers, picking up the book again. Flipping to the pages in question, she scoots around the table so that both she and Clarice can look at it at the same time. "Here. This man is trying to speak around those giant tusks. It makes more sense if you sound it out really quickly. I'll show you."

She clears her throat and then starts speaking the lines that Beast in the comic are saying, dropping her voice an octave to do so. "Ith noth my faut! Ith that anchunth curth again," she says, doing her best to make the lisped words understandable. "It dithappeared when my wife agweed to mahwee me way back when, buth now ith comth and goeth."

"See? It's like they're typing out a lisp." She shakes her head, "It's not something that I would expect you to be able to read. I'm sorry for the confusion."

Cynthia gets a nod and an "Ah." Putting the book back down she spreads out the papers that she was working on for people to take a look at if they're curious. "This is the enchantment that I'm going to place on a piece of jewelry that will mask any traces of Apocalypse's blood, if you happen to spill some. I'm still working out the particulars but I think I've got a solid framework in mind."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It's mchuzi wa biringani," Clarice supplies simply. "Eggplant curry. It's got, umm, eggplant, and tomatoes, I think. And spices and... stuff." She seems almost puzzled when she asks, "You haven't had it before?"
    Her attention shifts to Lydia as the woman moves in closer to explain the problem - and she blinks in surprise, before letting out an agreived sounding sigh. "Well no wonder I had so much trouble with it," she mutters. "That's... That's... //hard//. I really did try, you know, it was just- it was very frustrating." And poor Cynthia had to overhear her losing her temper at the book a little. "I liked the Lumberjanes one the most," she adds, finally answering Lydia's question. "The Jem one wasn't so bad though - I guess. I mean- I don't know. Music groups getting mad at each other seems a bit silly in general, though."
    She piles more of her curry onto her flatbread, asking curiously before she takes a bite, "How long do you think it'll take you to really finalize the spell? I mean - Cynthia wants to start going to a proper school, so..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Picking up her fork, Cynthia stabs up some of the mac & cheese onto it, then stabs a chicken tender. "Eggplant is disgusting," she states as if this is fact, plain and simple, fact. "Eggplant parmesan," she shudders violently just saying that. "I'm sorry, mom just could /not/ cook it, it was... crunchy, and slimey, at the same time."

With the fork still in her hand, she stares at the thing Clarice put on her plate. It doesn't /look/ crunchy or slimey, and it does smell good. "Is it... crunchy Clare? Please tell me it's not crunchy."

While still considering the state of that thing, she looks at Lydia, "You should have heard her trying to read it Lydia, it was... well... violent."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia seems to remember that she has an omelet to eat, and takes a forkful into her mouth. "I bet it was. I'll go and return this and get the next couple of Lumberjanes books." She grins and nods at Cynthia. "I bet! After looking at this I'm surprised it's taken her this long to come to me about it."

She gives Clarice's last question some proper thought. "I'd say a week at most. I've got a silversmith on commission to make the rings, and I've given him enough money to make sure that we're his priority. While he's working on that I'm working on the enchantment itself, and once I have /that/ finished all I have to do is apply it to the rings, and then we're done."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Not crunchy, no," Clarice answers. "It's softer. Almost... creamy? Try it. And if you hate it - well. You have plenty of mac 'n cheese," she points out. "What would mom say about trying it?" she adds - flashing her sister a teasing smile. There's a little underlying curiosity, though. What //would// their mother say about trying it...?
    As for the book, she lets out a sigh before she remarks, "Well, I really was trying very hard to make sense of it. I- I really do want to get better at reading. If I have to take over the Brotherhood again, for any reason... Not being able to read properly made it so much more work. And it makes it easier for me to make mistakes, and- the works too important."
    She scoops up more of her food before adding in a curious tone, "Why can't you just buy an existing ring?"
    Her attention shifts back to Cynthia as she adds, "It would probably take us at least a week to check out all of the schools we might be interested in - pick the right one, and get you enrolled, anyways."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Turning that back and forth in her head, Cynthia sighs, "She'd say you don't know if you hate something unless you try it... and since this /isn't/ her eggplant..." Picking up the piece of bread with that stuff on it, she grimaces a little then takes a bite.

Clarice said it had spices, not that it was spicy, the two things are not exactly the same thing. Thankfully, Cynthia likes spices she just wasn't quite ready for it. The texture was better, no crunchy at all, and it was pretty good even if it was eggplant.

Once she swallows she nods a little, "Okay, you could have warned me it was spicy, but it's not bad. My brain still screams crunchy eggplant, but I could probably get over that." She offers her sister a smile, then adds, "There's only a couple of schools I want to look at, but a week isn't that bad. What was that other one in San Francisco again?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I know," Lydia says with a sigh, feeling bad for Clarice's frustration. "But you're making really good progress! Truly, you are! It's just that these things take time, and it's hard to see the progress you make while you're making it."

As for buying an existing ring for the enchantment? Well, she looks positively aghast at the idea. "If I'm going to put my work into something, it's going to be something /nice/. What's the point of having a magic ring if it's something you can buy off of Amazon?" She gives the two of them a sly grin. "Besides. I think you'll like it."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It's a curry!" Clarice remarks with a laugh. "Of course it's spicy, Thia!" She grins at her sister in amusement. "Geeze. You really didn't eat any curries? Not even mtuzi wa samaki?" she asks. She nods her head toward Lydia as she adds, "They made it here - wrapped in a banana leaf with rice - Lydia tried it. It was good, right?" She rolls her eyes slightly at her sister's seemingly Americanized tastes, but turns her attention towards her question.
    "It's Amador Valley. I think the biggest problem with that one will be - well. San Francisco's timezone is almost completely opposite Genoshas, so..." Visiting her friends will be hard. "New York is still a pretty stark difference, though."
    Looking back to Lydia she adds, "I know it's getting //better// it's just- well. Not quite a quickly as I'd really like. I'm going to keep trying, though." She has to.
    As for the rings, she adds with a shrug, "I guess I'll look forward to it?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia stares at CLarice for a moment, "Why would you think I had curry before? Mom barely cooked anything, and dad seemed to prefer Italian when he cooked." She snorts a laugh. "You didn't miss out in that department, TV Dinners are a safe thing, I swear by them."

Having no real idea where Clarice's reading level actually is, she can't know how it has improved or not, but she does say, "You know Clare, I can help you if you want."

The rings, that's not something she intends to comment on but she does nod, because she gets it, no need to put magical voodoo stuff on a cheap ring, right?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia laughs joyfully at the banter between the two sisters. "Is that what that was called?" she asks, "It really was quite tasty." She leans over to Cynthia and whispers conspiratorially, "I should introduce you to Polish-American and Jewish-American food. Nothing spicy there."

Cynthia, however gets a maternal scowl from Lydia. "No TV dinners for you!" she says. "You need to eat healthy and while you're here I won't have you putting that junk in your... OH MY GOD I'M TURNING INTO MY MOTHER." Her forehead bangs the table and mumbles cries of "No, no, no," can be heard through the halo of her hair.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Okay, umm. ...what're TV dinners?" Clarice asks in bafflement. "Once Genosha's built back up again, though, with proper restaurants and such... I'm really going to have to take you out to eat. So you can get used to //proper// Genoshan food."
    She nibbles at her food, while watching Lydia's distress with some amusement, then glances back up at Cynthia as she adds, "I wouldn't want my studies to get in the way of yours. Umm... How could you help me with my reading, though? Isn't it mostly something I just have to... muddle through until it starts getting better?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia just starts laughing at Lydia's reaction and discovery that she's turning into her mother, but more so over the forehead banging on the table. Reaching over she pats the woman on the back, as she offers a soft, "It's alright Lydia... bang it out."

She looks to Clarice, still patting poor broken Lydia, and grinning broad, "TV Dinners are frozen meals that you can cook in the oven or microwave. Some are kinda healthy, most aren't. Usually I would eat the meat out of the TV dinner with a huge salad, because even mom couldn't screw up salad. I had to keep in shape after all, I was on the gymnastics team, which by the way... I strongly suggest you never do while wearing contact lenses." She nods knowingly about this.

"As for your reading, it helps to have someone with you to help you sound out the words, and then when you go to the dictionary, to help read the definition. It helped me when dad did it, so I thought it might help you."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
".. no, no, no, no..." Lydia heaves a huge sigh and flops her head over so her cheek is now resting against the table. "I got my hair in my omelet," she says, despondently. She sits back up and starts picking her hair out of her food, using a napkin to wipe off the worst of it.

"It'll be good to have someone help you when I'm not around," she finally says, giving the last of her hair a critical eye before letting it fall into place. "She /lives/ with you and can help you with your homework."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Why do they call them TV Dinners?" Clarice asks with bafflement. "What does frozen have to do with... TV?" She looks between the two, wondering if she's missing something obvious.
    She's usually missing something obvious.
    "You'll just have to take a shower after this, Lydia. I'm sure Raven will help," she offers with a straight face, taking another bite of her food a moment later. As for help with her reading... "Well. If I really get stuck on something, I'll ask you. But- I mean, I'd rather we have the chance to //do// things together, instead of just... you having to sit around, helping me with my studies, on top of your own."
    Looking to Lydia she adds, "Pete and Cynthia and I are going to go snorkeling - he just doesn't know it yet. Also, apparently he's my brother now." She gives a shrug of her shoulders. "I didn't get any say in this matter."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia rolls her eyes as she sets her fork down. "Clare, honestly. We can do all kinds of things together, //including// this. Remember my saying I want to do things for you, did that just fly out of your head in the last twenty minutes cause I /just/ said it not thirty minutes ago. Why do you do that? You want to give, give, give, but the minute someone wants to help you, oh no... not that. Don't do that. You can't do that."

She picks up the bottle of juice she grabbed to drink, opens it and takes a drink. "They're called TV dinners because they came out in the 50s, and were advertised as perfect for sitting in front of the TV with while eating."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Clarice gets a glower from Lydia. "If Raven helped me with my shower there would be very little cleaning getting done." She's silent while she watches the interplay between Clarice and her sister.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I fail to see how that's a problem," Clarice responds - just before she finds herself staring at her sister like the proverbial deer-in-headlights. "I-" she starts, before snapping her mouth shut again, uncertainty evident on her features. "You did..." she admits. "And, ummm... Maybe you could- I mean, I'd like it if you did help me with my homework, some. Maybe go over my answers with me, after I've had my first crack at it. It's just- I mean, sitting there going over all the books with me just doesn't seem like the best use of our time, is all. But like I said, it'd be helpful, when I get stuck."
    She lets out a sigh before adding, "I'm just used to needing to be pretty self-sufficient, you know?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia moves the mac and cheese around on her plate a little, not really interested in it at the moment.

"We all get used to that Clare," she comments softly. "You think there's been a whole lot of guidance for forty kids out of three adults? We older kids just did what we were supposed to for ourselves, and tried to help with the younger kids. That doesn't mean..." she sighs, shaking her head. "It doesn't mean you have to keep doing it that way. If you don't really want the help, that's fine, if you do, that's fine too. I'm always willing to help."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia stays silent for the moment, letting the two girls talk. She idly plucks hair out of her omelet seeing if it can be salvaged. She doesn't want to waste a good omelet like that.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I know you are," Clarice answers quietly. "I know you'd do anything for me, just like I'd do anything for you." She gives Cynthia a small smile, and pokes uncertainly at her food. Why does she feel like she's making a complete and utter mess of this? "And like I said - I could probably use the help with my homework."
    And what else? How else could Cynthia help? She stares at her plate for a moment, trying to think of other ways - when she blinks, then looks back up towards Cynthia. "You know what I'll really need?" she asks. "It's- I mean, same as Pete, you know? I'm usually fine on my own, but some nights - and sometimes I know, you know, ahead of time that something's thrown me off - some nights I just... It helps to have someone there."
    And she's not sure she can always ask that of Rahne.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia blinks, looking back up to Clarice. "You..." the nightmares, she had heard them from Pete and from Clarice. "Yeah, I could totally do that Clare. I don't have troubles sleeping in other people's beds with them... okay that sounded wrong," she giggles at that. "I mean... you know what I mean, but I could do that."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia having picked out all the hair that she could find, has declared her omelet edible once again, and starts to dig in. She wishes she had some sage advice, but she's never had siblings before, so she doesn't know how to guide them.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I know what you mean," Clarice agrees, with an amused smile. She nudges Cynthia with her foot as she adds, "You know that Raven finding you was- Learning I wasn't alone after all, it's the happiest moment of my life. And I would do //anything// for you. And I'm sure you feel the same. I hardly know you, Thia, but it doesn't matter. I love you. And I want to do everything I can to help you, and I'm more than happy to have your help in returrn, and we'll just figure out what that looks like as we go. Yeah?"
    She smiles with amusement as she adds, "And if you ever think I've forgotten any part of that, you can give me a smack to remind me. But we're gonna figure it all out, I'm sure of it."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia hmmms softly, looking like she's thinking deep thoughts before she asks, "I can really smack you? LIke right upside the head?" She managed to get that out with the same serious expression on her face then busted up laughing. "Well figure it out, I know we will, just have to be patient... which is not always my strongest suit."

She looks over at Lydia, "Is there anything I can do to help with that spell? I don't think I can work magic, but if you need anything I can try to help."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia looks thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm. I may need samples of your blood at some point as controls to see if the enchantment is doing its thing." She taps her fork on top of her omelet as she muses, "I'll also need to come up with some kind of spell that detects Apocalypse's presence within your blood. I wish I knew what kind of tools the cultists are using. I'm kind of flying blind here, and trying to come up with something that can fool any kind of casual scan."

She cuts off a bit of her food and pops it into her mouth. "It's not going to fool a gene sequencer or anything like that. but a passing scan it should ping your blood as something else."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Right upside the head," Clarice confirms. She leans in to give her sister a one-armed hug as she repeats, "Finding you really does make me happy," she repeats. She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly as she adds, "And I deserve to be happy." No, she doesn't exactly sound confident on that last statement, but she's trying.
    She shifts her attention over to Lydia then, giving a helplessly shrug of her shoulders. "Well. If any of us could learn anything about the cultists - it would be Raven. Yeah? I wish I knew how to help more."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
There was that stupid name again. Apocalypse. Cynthia snorted softly when she heard it, a smirk appearing on her face.

"What if it's not magical?" She asks simply. "I mean, this Apocalypse dude is a mutant right? What if detecting his blood is another mutants ability?"

Now she gathers up more mac and cheese into a bite and pops it into her mouth. She really had no idea about any of this, she was just offering a thought.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives a helpless shrug. "It might help? I don't know. I can't cover for every eventuality that might happen." She sighs, "It's like trying to kill a fly with a shotgun. You cover as much ground as you can but it just might slip through anyway." She gives Cynthia a sympathetic smile. "I wish I had a better solution to this, but I'm doing the best that I can."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "And the fact is - it might not matter. I mean, I'll be 23 before too long - and they haven't found me yet. So... perhaps they won't find us at all, if we don't do anything to bring ourselves to their attention. We don't really know how they operate, what //exactly// they're after... It's just a precaution."
    Her expression goes more serious as she adds, "But the more people who know about this - the more risk there is. Right now... it's just the four of us that know. And likely it should stay that way."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia nods to Clarice, understanding the seriousness. She would do her best to keep the information hidden in the mental pocket Pete taught her to create, do that he wouldn't be able to find it.

"I doubt they'll find us," she offers. "But just in case, right?" She looks over at Lydia, "It was just a thought, anything you can do it appreciated. When, if, you need blood, let me know."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I don't plan on telling anybody," Lydia says. "Not even Isabella. I want her to check my work but I'm still trying to figure out how to explain to her what I'm doing without telling her /why/." She nods to Cynthia, picking a chunk of steak out of her omelet to eat. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to begin testing."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice gives Cynthia an encouraging nod, and a smile. "Just in case," she agrees, before shifting her attention back to Lydia. "Well. ...why not tell her it's to mask //your// blood?" she asks bluntly, before starting back in on her curry and flat bread, letting out an appreciative sound. Mmmm... She really can't get enough of this stuff.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Cynthia looks between Clarice and Lydia a moment, "Who's Isabella?" She asks, then shovels more mac and cheese into her mouth. "Suud I know er?" She chews really fast and swallows then takes a drink of her juice.

"How can she check your work?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia hmmms thoughtfully to herself. "That's too much like lying, and I don't think I'm entirely comfortable with that," she tells Clarice. "I'll come up with something."

That's right. Cynthia doesn't know about Isabella. "She is an ancient mage who has taken interest in me," she explains. "She knows a /lot/ more about magic than I do, and she wants to mentor me."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It wouldn't be lying if you made one for yourself as well?" Clarice points out. "Which might not, honestly, be that bad of an idea."
    She doesn't go into the details of Lydia's own bloodline - it was hers to tell. Even if she did just hint at it - more than a little bit. "But I guess I can see how you wouldn't want dishonesty between you. I mean, I guess you could say that you're unable to reveal the who or the why - and leave it at that." But she honestly likes her plan better.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Now grabbing a chicken nugget, Cynthia grins broadly, "Yeah, get a ring made for you and you can be the older sister we both go to for advice." She giggles at this then pulls out the 'teenager' voice.

"Hey sis, how do you get a girl to like you? I've tried slutty clothing, but it doesn't seem to be working."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Older sister?" Lydia asks surprised. "I... guess so." She doesn't seem too opposed to the idea. It's just that it's not something she ever really thought of before since she's an only child.

As for 'advice,' Lydia deadpans, "Well, getting shitfaced and attacking your boss with your lips seems to have worked out for me."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Surprise is briefly reflected on Clarice's features as well, as Cynthia casually dubs Lydia their 'older sister.' But honestly - it wasn't off the mark from how she felt either, so she shrugs her shoulders, and offers a nod of confirmation as well, before turning her attention back to Cynthia. "I'm pretty certain that was shit advice right there. Are you sure we should be going to our 'big sis' for advice?" she asks, flashing the pair an amused smile, as they continue to banter their way through their meal.