7759/LD Phone Home

LD Phone Home
Date of Scene:	09 September 2021
Location:	Oasis, Egyptian Desert
Synopsis:	Lydia calls Mystique and Clarice to tell them that she's going to be a couple of extra days at the Oasis. They don't take the news that she's joining the coven very well, but in the end, they all agree than when she gets back a celebration is necessary.
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Raven Darkholme, Clarice Ferguson

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia is led out of the oasis, past the barriers and back into the desert. Hatshepsut handed her her phone which can contact the Asteroid from just about anywhere. "Thank you," she tells the ancient queen and takes a few steps from her to get a bit of privacy. Then she settles down into the sand, legs crossed, and dials Mystique's personal number. This is going to be a long conversation.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique may or may not have injured her hand punching metal walls, so it is presently in an ace bandage making even typing interestingly challenging... talk about distraction. She of course had had to tell Clarice, which meant the young mutant is the only one to know and is likely the only reason that the hand is wrapped in the first place.

When her phone rings she looks over at it, expecting it to be some random person but instantly recognizes the number, taps the phone to speaker to answer, "Are you alright?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia smiles into the handset, happy to hear her girlfriend's voice. "I'm good. More than good. Even better now that I hear your voice," she says. "I miss you."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "You know. One of the only rules on this asteroid is that all injuries are supposed to be reported to and checked out by the medbay," Clarice remarks, as she's putting away the extra bandaging in a first aid kit. Learning basic first aid was just //good common sense// when you live this kind of a life.
    She falls quiet when the phone rings - and at the way Mystique speaks into it, she doesn't even bother with crossing the short distance between the first aid kit and the desk. No, in one of the most flagrantly excessive uses of powers - she teleports about three feet to sit on the edge of the desk, looking at Mystique expectantly.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"You can ask Clarice, I more than miss you," Mystique comments right back. She'd hug the phone if Clarice wasn't there, since that was there Lydia's voice was coming from... but with the younger mutant there, nope. "The lo-jack went out yesterday, have the location... and it's back on now, so I'm assuming there's jamming going on. Are you sure you're alright?"

She looks up at Clarice, and even though she's on the phone and it's on speaker, she says, "I'll go to the medbay in the morning. I don't want to wake Emily."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"There's a magical field around the encampment that keeps electronics from working," Lydia explains. "So right now I'm out in the desert getting sand up my butt so that I can talk to you." You can hear her grinning from the other end of the phone.

"But seriously. I'm doing good, they're treating me like a princess, which I guess, I sort of am. I got a lot of answers. A lot a lot. It's put me more at ease seeing what they're doing down here. " She pauses, dreading telling her about the ritual. "I've decided to join the coven, but that means that I'll be spending a few more days down here."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Can we teleport down for a face to face?" Clarice asks. "We could teleport down for a face to face. I mean- ...teleporting being a thing and all. Oh, hiiiiii Lydia! I wasn't worried at all."
    Liar.
    At the news that Lydia has decided to join the coven, her eyebrows go up - and she watches Mystique curiously for her reaction to this news.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
For a moment Mystique looks like she might punch the wall again, but just balling her hand up into a fist hurt enough to remind her what happened that last time she did that, but Clarice got to see the balled up fist and pain shoot through the cobalt mutants eyes, but no punching.

"Figured as much," she finally says when she is certain there is no hint of the physical pain in her voice... emotional pain, that's another matter entirely. "She was worried to, don't listen to her lies." Internally she is screaming and punching things, externally she just looks very, very, very unhappy. "Lydia, does this feel... right? This is what you're meant to do?" She then asks, already knowing the answer to Clarice's question.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia lets out a breath to Mystique's question. "The more I stay here, the more I talk to the coven, the more right this feels." She glances over to where Hatshepsut is standing and shakes her head. "I think it's best if we stick to the phone for now, Clarice. I'll talk to them to see if it's okay for you to port down here next time, but I don't want to make any assumptions."

She starts drawing circles in the sand as she talks, "Listen. I know that you're worried that I'm being set up for a long con, but you and I know that the more people are involved in a con, the more likely it is that somebody will slip up. There's thirteen coven members, of which I've met eleven of them, including Hats..." She pauses realizing that Mystique doesn't know about Contessa Isabella's true identity. "Isabella. Put a pin in that. I'll come back to it in a bit." She knows that Mystique would have caught the hesitation and correction, so she promises she'll get around to it.

"And that's not including all the wait staff and just the sheer /expense/ of it all," she continues. "It just doesn't make sense if it's a con. The cost that they're putting out would overshadow just about any reward that I could think of."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice reaches out, resting her hand lightly on Mystique's shoulder and giving her a small, tight smile and a nod of acknowledgement. She gives a light squeeze, and leaves her hand there as she listens to Lydia's reply.
    "Well. Seems silly not to allow a face-to-face. We've got your current location." What's to stop them from porting down their later if they wanted? She listens to the rest of it with a faint frown pulling at her lips. Isabella wasn't the woman's real name? And what were the odds that Lydia had ended up... ensorcelled in some way? That's a thing - right?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Sitting back in the chair, Mystique closes her eyes. The con worry ended a long time ago, her worries were much deeper but she wasn't going to voice them, in fact she hadn't voiced them before. She hadn't missed the slip up, nor the exact partial word that was almost said. Many possibilities from that, but for now there was a pin in it.

"If you think it's the right thing for you Lydia, then you do it." She finally says, opening her eyes as the mask slips back into place over her features. She realized that the mask was obvious to Clarice, that she would know it was to conceal and lock things away and the change in her tone would be noticed by Lydia, but she obviously didn't give a flying rats butt.

"This entire thing has been around what is right for you, about following your dreams. I said before, I'll say again, I won't stop you."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"You have a fair point, Clarice." She turns to face Hatshepsut and calls out to her. "They want to come down and meet me. They've already got my location from a tracker they put in me. You know, just in case." Hatshepsut shakes her head and Lydia turns back to the phone. "No, it doesn't look like it. This is kind of a sacred place for them."

She listens to Mystique and nods, her voice getting quieter so her hostess won't overhear, "I know. You're being very supportive, and I appreciate it. I also know that this whole thing worries you, and I don't want you to be worried."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'd feel better if one of us were allowed to be there with you," Clarice answers quietly. "I mean - if we're sisters and all. Shouldn't your family be allowed to see something that's so important to you?" She knows the answer, but she doesn't really care. She says it anyways - and still her hand lingers on Mystique's shoulder, trying to be present and supportive.
    At least they know Lydia's alive? At least they know she's alright, and enjoying herself? Even if the situation does make them both feel uneasy.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique smirks, not that Lydia can see it, but she can hear it in her tone. "You can't control my worry, nor can you end it," she looks up at Clarice for a moment, only then truly realizing the woman was touching her shoulder. That realization helped her relax a little and she offers her a smile.

"It may be a sacred place to them, but you're more important to us then they are. So Hat-Isabella, we leaving a pin in that?" She is trying very hard not to demand more, Clarice is doing a better job of putting it politely, because truth was she was already considering just going there, but she didn't want to mess things up for Lydia... well, she did and she didn't... more didn't. The little voice in the back of her mind just liked to mess with her.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I know," Lydia tells Clarice. "And I miss you too." She silent after Mystique tells her that she can't stop the worry. "All right," she concedes.

And then it's time to unpin Hatshepsut. "Right. Isabella. Well," she says, drawing out the word, "It turns out that Isabella is a three thousand year old vampire. She also happens to be the pharaoh queen Hatshepsut, who I am a direct descendent of. I know this is true because when she revealed her true form to me, it exactly matched up with what I had seen during the genealogy spell. That would be kind of hard to fake."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "A pharaoh queen," Clarice repeats. "...like with the pyramids and stuff?"
    And there you have it, folks. The extent of Clarice's knowledge on Egypt.
    "Huh," she remarks, her gaze still locked on Mystique. "A Vampire? Like 'What We Do In the Shadows'?" Yes, of all the vampire movies out there - //that's// the one she's seen. It's Talia's fault. "The fact that she's a vampire, though... That's... not a risk?" she asks uncertainly.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"Excuse me what?!" Mystique damn near yells as she sits bolt upright in the chair. "Vampire?! Are you insane?!"

Aaaaand breath. Take a moment, collect self, initial reaction passed. She raises a finger on the good hand, that gesture of 'one moment' to Clarice. "Alright, so Hetshepsut," she says, pronouncing the name perfectly. "I knew there was something more to the woman, but a... Lydia are you insane? I love you, I want you to be happy, but a three thousand year old vampire? You do realize they eat people, right? How can we know you aren't influenced by her glamour? This changes a lot Lydia."

Now she looks to Clarice, "I have no idea what you're talking about. We'll talk vampires in a minute." She stands up now because if she doesn't start the pacing process she will stupidly punch something again. "Lydia, not all vampires are the same. Christ..." she starts cursing in another language.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Like in the pyramids and stuff," Lydia confirms. "I was kind of surprised by that twist, too. I think she's more the kind of vampire that you'd see in my book than that movie, though." She sighs and continues to draw circles in the sand, "Is she a risk? Hm. Possibly. She's the second vampire I've met and they don't seem interested in hunting people down and killing them. They prefer having voluntary donors for food."

Then she holds her phone away from her ear once Mystique starts yelling at her. Once she calms down Lydia puts the phone back to her ear. "If she wanted to eat me, she has had /ample/ opportunity to do so," she says calmly. As if on their own accord, Lydia's fingers move from drawing circles to drawing lines. "I don't know if she's glamouring me," she says honestly. "But again, I can't think of a reason /why/ she would pressure me to join the coven."

"I've thought about this. A lot. And that's the question that I just can't answer. If they meant to harm me, they could have by now. Easily. If they want me to join their coven, why mind whammy me? It doesn't even fit in with the coven itself. They're followers of Isis, who is a benevolent goddess. She's a goddess of magic and wisdom and protection. Not the kind of goddess you'd perform a human sacrifice for."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Okay. So. Definitely a bad thing then," Clarice remarks at Mystique's rather emphatic reaction to this news. She lets her hand fall away - and watches as Mystique paces around the room - nibbling at her lip.
    "What would your vampire friend do if we teleported down anyways?" she asks. "Or if we opened a door so you could come up here for a little bit to chat in person? I think we all would feel better having this discussion in person. You could always go back again afterwards..."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique continues the pacing for a moment, across the room to the window then back again to her chair.

"It's not just Isa... Hatshepsut I'm worried about," she states once she's back in range of the phone. "Where there is one vampire, there are many, and they don't tend to get along all the time. You'll be connected to that."

She then looks to Clarice, staring for a moment and realizes that if Lydia comes back now, there was little to no chance Mystique would be able to let her leave for a second time knowing what she knows now, and that would be bad, so, very, very, bad.

"No..." she then states. "No... Lydia, this is your choice. If you feel safe and comfortable there, then it doesn't matter how fucking freaked out I am at the idea of vampires near you, or how worried Clarice is over my reaction to it. If you came back now, I'd likely not want you to go back and that'd be bad."

Another small pace, this time just a few steps away and back again, "You said you feel safe and comfortable, that this is what you want. What Clarice and I think doesn't matter. Thank you for letting us know what's going on."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"That's the thing," Lydia says, her voice sounding a little bit tired. "I'm already connected to it. Theres... oh God this is going to sound stupid. There's a rival clan of vampires who want my blood since I'm directly related to Hatshepsut. They think it'll let them summon her son (who tried to murder her) so then he can try to take over the world or something. Regardless of the reason, they want my blood. And if one guy can find it, so can these guys. Joining the coven will help protect me from them."

"Between that and Hatshepsut not actually being in charge of the coven, I do feel safe and comfortable. More than I had expected," she says, her fingers finally stopped drawing in the sand. She looks down to what she had idly drawn and realizes she had traced out the sepirot. "I don't know how to explain it. This is the right thing to do. I feel it in the core of my being. And... and thank you for understanding."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Yeah - Mystique's reaction has Clarice pretty unnerved, and it shows in the way her hands tighten on the edge of the desk where she still perches. Vampires, and rival vampires, and all of it with Lydia caught in the middle? With a potential plan for world domination thrown into the mix?
    "Can't you ask her... I mean, say that this is so important to you, and that you'd really like to have some of the people from your life there to share it with you? Maybe they'll allow it. We could, umm..." What is called? "Sign an NDA?"
    Yes, she knows she sounds ridiculous, she doesn't care. She doesn't like feeling like there's no way around this - no way to back Lydia up.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique paces into the bedroom and when she passes back there is a bottle of whiskey in her hand. She twists the top off and tosses it onto her desk before taking a drink, then the bottle gets offered to Clarice.

"That's the part that matters Lydia," she then says, having managed a belt to keep herself from punching something again. "That is feels right to you, everything else is on Clarice and I do deal with on our own."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Okay," Lydia says, unsure. She wishes she knew what to say to help ease their worry, instead she decides to just let them. There's nothing to do. Instead she says, "I miss you so much and I wish you could see the place. It's /incredible/. Look. Don't... don't go punching walls over this. If you need to hit something, go to the training room and, I don't know, punch that Reverend Sinclair in the face."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Oh my //God,// a program with a hundred Reverend Sinclairs sounds so therapuetic right now," Clarice mutters as she takes the offered bottle, taking a swig. She flashes Mystique a smile, before offering the bottle back to her.
    Of course she'd had a bottle in her room. Why'd she even bother to bring some over?
    "Look, I really do home that you have a wonderful time, Lydia, and that you learn a lot and... you know. All that stuff. Since we're none of us any good at helping you with magic stuff." Even if she does hate the anxiety all this secrecy is causing them.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Looking at her bandage hand, Mystique snorts softly. She still hadn't found the Reverend. She was close once, but he went to ground and disappeared. He knew he was being hunted and he wasn't alone out there. He has a huge support network of religious nut jobs, and they were willing to throw themselves in front of a train to protect him.

"I get the secrecy," she admits, taking the bottle back and this time getting out some paper cups. "Let's face it, we're that secretive. We hate that they are because we hate not knowing, but you can bet there are quite a few people who hate that they aren't allowed into the Inner Sanctum for the very same reason. Do I want to be there, hell yes I do, I miss you to insane levels, but I also want you to be happy and follow your heart."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Just know that there hasn't been a day where I haven't thought about you," Lydia says. She looks back down at her sepirot, and sweeps her hand over it, erasing it from the desert. "And think about it this way, they'll help us defend ourselves against magical attacks if it comes down to it. They'll want to help me, and helping me means helping you."

She sighs, "I also found out that I have /amazing/ potential. I thought I was a flame, but I'm a bonfire. I'll need guidance before I do something that will end up backfiring so spectacularly that I end up hurting me and my loved ones. Who knows. Maybe I'll be able to scry where Sinclair is. I doubt he'd have thought of that."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "That would definitely be a plus. If any man needs rubbing out..." Clarice mutters under her breath, letting out a huff of a sigh. She picks up one of the cups, holding it out towards Mystique so she can fill it, before taking a sip from its contents.
    "You know, when you get back, we should plan some sort of celebration, yeah? I mean - I've already told Raven I'll take over her duties for a day or two... Might as well throw a nice celebration into the mix as well."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Whiskey goes into both of those paper cups, but just a bit. Mystique has no intentions of getting drunk, but it's the whiskey or finish breaking her hand.

"I've always known you had amazing potential, Lydia," she comments, almost smiling. "You tend to under estimate yourself, think yourself not worth it or not as good as... insert random person here. I'm glad someone could finally get your head out of your ass and make you see it though."

She eyes Clarice, "A celebration would be a good idea, I mean a public one, cause the private one no one's invited to but you, Lydia."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I, on the other hand, know that I am abso-fucking-lutely amazing," Clarice interjects helpfully.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"A celebration sounds grand!" Lydia says with a grin. "I'll let you all do the planning. I want to say, not too big, but you're right, Raven. I keep putting myself down like that. If nothing else, this trip is breaking me of that habit."

"I've spent most of my time here wondering 'Why me? There must be some kind of mistake' despite all the evidence that says the contrary." She heaves a sigh as the inner voice tries to put herself down again. "I'm trying to fight against that impulse. Why /not/ me?"

She gets a rather wicked grin, "And I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to our private celebration. They're going to have to peel me off of you if they want us to get anything done."

Clarice's interjection gets a roll of the eyes. "You are, in fact, abso-fucking-lutely amazing, Clarice. You too, Raven."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Which is why I'll be taking over the Brotherhood for that time period," Clarice remarks in amusement. "But yes. I figure - we give the pair of you the day. And the //next// day, in the evening, we have a celebration." The question is - where? To buy out a fancy restaurant could be fun... She gets a thoughtful look on her features as she sips from her cup once more.
    "There's a reason the three of us make a pretty good team," she remarks. "We're all abso-fucking-lutely amazing."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Hatshepsut managed to hear just one part of the conversation as the wind changes, 'Abso-fucking-lutely.' and now she's attempting to figure out if that is an actual word or not.

Mystique just quirks a brow at Clarice, girl can't read that well but she's creating words. "I won't want to peel you off of me Lydia," she teases. "I'll be wearing you like a robe for at least a week..." she eyes Clarice again. "Okay, just a day, but I'll make it feel like a week."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I look forward to it," Lydia growls, savoring the mental image. "I... look. I hate to go, but I should get going. I'm being waited on hand and foot. They're treating me like a princess. They even have fresh figs! Have you had a fresh fig before? They're /delicious/."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Can't be as good as fresh soursop," Clarice remarks easily. She takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. "Look - take care, Lydia, and have fun. We'll see you soon. I'll... plan us an excuse for me to wear another of those dresses you guys //forced// me to buy," she points out. "To celebrate your return. Yeah?"
    Hrm. That means taking Cynthia out to buy a dress, it occurs to her. Well. That should be fun.
    "We care about you up here. ...sis." Yeah, that's still a bit weird. But it didn't feel //wrong,// by any stretch.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique finally looks at the phone. This was the part she didn't want, but it was obviously an eventuality. Lydia had to get back to not being murdered or tricked by the three thousand year old vampire and ancient coven of witches.

"Never had a fresh fig," she admits, picking the phone up to hold with her good hand, leaving the bad hand to hold the paper cup... it can do that much. "Listen, don't take forever... I'm going nuts without you here. I love you, Lydia... go become even more special than you already are."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia hears the receiver being picked up, and she lowers her voice to a more intimate tone. "Just a few more days," she promises. "It's only a few more days, and then I'll get to see you again. Hang in there for me, okay? I love you, too, with all my heart. Every beating ounce of it. Take care of yourself," she says, in parting, and hangs up.

She gets up off the sands, brushing a tear away from her eyes and hands the phone back to Hatshepsut. "I want you to take a picture of me," she says. "I want to send it to Raven to show her how pretty I am in this gown."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    As the connection goes dead, Clarice finishes off her whiskey in a single swig, then moves in towards Mystique, wordlessly wrapping one arm around the other woman - silently fighting the urge to teleport down to the coordinates.
    It was a pretty strong urge, to be honest.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Hatshepsut offers Lydia a nod with a slight chuckle. "Make sure to put the light from the oasis to your side, to help illuminate your beauty," she offers then accepts the phone to take that picture for Lydia to send. "Once you are a member, we will see about finding a way to allow your friends to visit with you Lydia, because your troubles will become their troubles. I will work on a possible binding spell."

She starts to walk back toward the oasis before pausing to add, with a huge grin on her face, "Magical NDA." Yes, she could hear the conversation.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia grins and walks around to find a good position with which to get her picture taken. Once found, she poses with a demure smile and lets Hatshepsut take her picture. "That would be great," she says taking the phone back and starting to type out a text to Raven. "It'll go a long way to alleviate their worry."

She sends the picture to her lover with the text, 'Thinking of you, love, your desert princess.' She doesn't care how corny that makes it sound. It's perfect.

She glances up at Hatshepsut. "Magical NDA," she chuckles. "I forgot. Vampire hearing." She walks back to the woman and hands the phone back to her. "Let's get back into the oasis and you can go over the rite with me."