8151/Bad dreams and nightmares

Bad dreams and nightmares
Date of Scene:	07 October 2021
Location:	Mystique's Quarters
Synopsis:	As the night comes to a close, Lydia talks to Mystique about the disturbing things that she's seen. Declarations of unconditional love are then said, and Mystique tests her shifting abilities.
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Raven Darkholme

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
It's early evening but Lydia has returned home looking tired, haunted and bedraggled. When asked about her day her response only was, "Alcohol now, talk later." So now it's later, and Mystique and Lydia are in their bedroom, and they're getting ready for bed.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight," she tells her lover. "There's just been... too much. Too much." She's dressed in her night clothes, jammie bottoms patterned with little pink hearts, and her favorite oversized tee with the words, 'Team Bella' emblazoned on the front.

She's currently brushing her thick curly hair, trying to work out all the knots and kinks in it. "Between what happened today, and what I saw during your rescue..." She just shudders at the thought of it all.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique still sleeps naked, even with the flaking though thankfully that was far less than it was. Taking the hair brush from Lydia, she steps behind her and starts brushing her hair for her, to help with the knots. She had no comments about 'Team Bella' but she silently wondered if Hatshepsut would or did.

"Well, we have a couple of options," she offers quietly. "To help you sleep that is. Hathaway can come give you sleeping medication, or I could exercise all your body parts until your exhausted, and the final choice... what happened today? Talk it out."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia sighs contentedly, leaning her head back as Mystique picks up brushing her head. "There's this kid," she begins. "She... can't be older than 17. She's a lot like Clarice. Abandoned as a toddler I think, thought her parents didn't love her but found out later that they had died before they could really raise her." She looks up to meet Mystique's eyes in the mirror. "She didn't get sent off to be an assassin, but she /did/ bounce around in the foster care system for a while."

"Somebody has been targeting her. They kidnapped her and imprisoned her in a crystal, leeching off her healing abilities." She shakes her head, forestalling any questions. "Not a mutant. Like me she's got a bloodline that goes way back into predynastic Egypt. Might actually be descended from a god. We're still trying to figure that one out."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Working the brush slowly through Lydia's hair, Mystique watches her eyes in the mirror as well. Some how, that isn't at all what she was expecting. Yes, on a certain level that's bad, but that's nothing compared to watching Victor in action. It takes her a moment to find the reason that this particular thing would be considered so terrible, indications of just how jaded the cobalt mutant had become after a hundred and forty years.

"Did you manage to get her out of the crystal?" She asks, because that is the only part that she can see as horrible.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Not me," Lydia says, "But yes. But while she was kidnapped a lot of her blood had been taken, and it's being used to fuel horrible rites. It turns out she was kidnapped by her cousin who, as it turns out, is a really powerful necromancer." She takes a deep breath, "During the unveiling of the Priestess of Khonsu artifacts she tried to bring something big. We're not sure what it was but it was going to be Evil and nasty, and that's Evil with a capital E."

Lydia takes a deep breath and lets it out. "So this morning John had this /brilliant/ idea of trying to trace Phoebe's blood back to the necromancer. Things didn't go so well. Materialized an assassin right in front of him. We took care of it, but when it finally died it decayed right in front of us."

"Turns out she was using a mummified corpse that's been dead for fifteen some odd years." She looks up at Mystique with haunted eyes, "I had to examine the damn thing for clues. It was... terrible. But that wasn't the worst part."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Now Mystique was starting to understand. Where as this sort of thing was part and partial for her own life, for Lydia this was new and horrifying. Getting the last of the knots out of Lydia's hair, she sets the brush down and hugs her from behind first, then turns Lydia so she can hug her more from the front.

"I'm beginning to think that it might be a good idea for you to /not/ do these things, love," she offers quietly, while still hugging. "It effects you /so/ much, and you don't need this in your life."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia, at first, leans back into the hug, and when turned around, she rests her head on Mystique's shoulder. "I know but... but I just can't let this necromancer run around and ruin this poor girl's life."

She wraps her arms around her lover's back. "And... and... we decided to call the body's soul back to it to find out what was going on." She shivers at the memory. "It talked. It tried to move. I was... I was dealing with it at the time. I was able to just kind of lock the horribleness away so I could do what had to be done."

She sighs and starts to nuzzle the crook of the neck, "The poor guy's soul was trapped on this plane. If I wasn't there... they would have just /let/ it stay there. I had to send it on it's way. They don't /think/ of these things, they're so focused on defeating the necromancer they forget everything else that's important." She looks up and rests her head against Mystique's forehead. "That's why I can't stop."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique frowns deeply, tightening her arms around Lydia then kisses the top of her head to conceal the frown. She knew the woman had no cooping mechanism for this sort of thing, she locked it up and dealt with it later, but had no idea how to really deal with it. Clarice had told her what happened with Victor, it was all too much for Lydia and she knew it now.

"Alright," she breathes as she lifts her head and rests it against Lydia's. "This last thing then, but you aren't built for this Lydia. I love you so deeply, I see these things eating at your soul. Things that don't even effect me any more, and I don't want you to reach that point ever. So this last thing, alright? Until we find a way to deal with the aftermath of it all in a way that actually helps you."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia looks up to Mystique and gives her a brave little smile. "We save the girl and then from there on out it's unicorns and rainbows." She gives Mystique a kiss and sighs once it breaks. "I wish I could be brave like you. Where I had the tools to deal with this kind of stuff."

"I want to be useful in the field." she says, "I don't like being the kind of woman who's too delicate to get her hands dirty, if you know what I mean."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique scoops Lydia up, one arm under the back of the knees, the other around her to hold her in place, then carries her over to the bed and lays her down. "You are no damsel Lydia," she says as she walks to the bed. "You can take care of yourself, you can get your hands dirty, and you have. We need to find a way to help you with some of the things that happen, that's all."

Once Lydia is on the bed, she moves to stretch out beside her, them wiggles in and up against her. "So that's what we do love, we start working on the things that upset you. I never want for you to be as heartless and cold as me about things, and some things will likely always bother you, but it's how we handle it afterwards that may help."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"How /do/ I handle it?" Lydia asks. "Other than just keep exposing myself to it until I become numb." She turns on her side to face Mystique and tucks an arm under her head, and the other over Mystique's waist. "Do we have a therapist?" She chuckles at the notion, "I think we all could use a therapist, to be honest."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique wraps her arms around Lydia, settling in comfortably and kisses her on the forehead.

"There isn't a therapist on the planet who would take on work with people like us, their advice would be a clinical, 'Stop doing it'," she replies. "I do happen to know of one, just one therapist that might be able to listen to the things we do and have actual advice because she's done it herself. I could call her, see if she'd be willing to help out, if you'd like."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia makes a little mrring sound when kissed, and snuggles in closer. She's silent for a few moments before answering. "I don't think I could stop doing it if I tried," she answers honestly. "The good that we do... the good that /I/ do... is worth it, I think."

She skootches down so she can tuck her head underneath Mystique's chin. "Call your therapist. See if she'll be able to help. I need to be able to cope better, but I don't think we have the right tools for me yet."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The snuggle, then the nuzzle of her chin against Lydia's, and Mystique is content.

"There is a great deal you can do without going into the field Lydia," she offers, nuzzling again. "In fact, there are a few things I can think of right off the top of my head. The underground in China, you could easily become the contact for them. You could help me with all the small details that I should delegate but never do, I could actually..." she mocks a gasp, then kisses the top of Lydia's head. "... delegate."

Putting her chin back in the proper place, she continues, "And while you're doing those things, we can see if the therapist I know can talk to you. I want you to be happy, I /need/ you to be happy Lydia. I've reached a point where I realize... my love for you, it's stronger than anything else, and more important than even the work we do."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia can't help but chuckle. "You? Delegate? Ha! Ha, I say, ha!" She runs her hand up Mystique's back to show that she's only kidding. "But seriously. You've gotten better at that. You've been trusting Clarice to do a lot over the past few months, and she's been up to the task."

She untucks her head to plant a smooch on Mystique's lips. "When I first met you it was like you were carrying the weight of the world all by yourself. You were always so tense. So fierce. I mean..." she amends. "You're still fierce. But in a different way."

She scowls a little bit at Mystique's declaration of undying love. She has to admit it makes her a little bit uncomfortable. "Raven," she says carefully and starts to talk slowly so she can organize her thoughts as she goes. "There'll be a point in our lives when I'll pass, and leave you behind. Hopefully that point will be a long, long time from now. When that happens, though, I need you to carry on and be strong, to not turn my passing into bitterness and anger."

She reaches up to caress her lover's cheek. "I love you dearly, and you've grown so much, and I would do /anything/ for you. You know that? /Anything/." She looks up to stare lovingly in Mystique's eyes, running a thumb over her cheekbones, feeling the soft skin underneath.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique closes her eyes and presses in more against Lydia, even resting her cheek more firmly against her hand. "I'm well aware that there will come a time that you will grow old and pass on Lydia," she says quietly. "You make me want to be a better person Lydia, and that means forgiving that the march of time will eventually take you. I try not to think about it, what I do think about is how to make every day of your life wonderful, to give you everything you could possibly want and be there for you through it all."

Opening her eyes she lets her breath out slowly as she looks into Lydia's eyes and smiles, "The only thing you ever have to do is be yourself, and be happy. I can't promise I won't lose my shit some day when you're gone, but I won't turn to anger, if that's what you want."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"I try not to think about it too." Lydia says with a soft smile. "Besides. There's an entire lifetime to fill with happiness before that happens."

She's silent as she continues to rub her thumb across the cheekbone as a thought occurs to her. "When will Dr. Hathaway give you to go ahead and shift again? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
There were many things that Mystique could have said in this moment, but every single one of them would have been a lie. This was Lydia, the one person on the planet, and the Asteroid, that she didn't lie to. No matter how much the truth sucked, Lydia got the trut every time.

"Well..." she sort of hedges. "Uh... about that." She kisses Lydia rather passionately, using chemicals and hormones to help make what she's about to say a little easier to go down. Breaking the kiss, she looks back into Lydia's eyes and says, "I can't shift... or rather, haven't been able to since China. Hathaway thinks it the stuff they injected me with, and that it will wear off."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Mmmph," Lydia grunts, the deep kiss coming unexpectedly (but not unwelcome). When they break, the corners of Lydia's lips pull down into a slight frown. "That's unfortunate. I hope that wears off sooner rather than later. Still," she says with a another kiss, "at least you get to be your beautiful cobalt self."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique twitches slightly, then kisses Lydia again because honestly she does not want to talk about the fact that Hathaway also said it may never come back. Once she breaks the second kiss, she nibbles on Lydia's bottom lip before saying, "Technically, it's been a week and I could try, but I've sort of been... I'm terrified to find out I can't, so I've been putting it off."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia giggles at the little nibble, and returns her arm to drape around Mystique's waist. "If you never try, you'll never find out if you /can/," she counters. "Think of it this way. If they had found a way to turn off your powers completely, you wouldn't have this beautiful cobalt skin," she says trailing her fingers up Mystique's spine. "And you wouldn't have these beautiful amber eyes." To make her point she kisses each of her eyelids.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A shiver runs up Mystique's spine right along with Lydia's finger. She wasn't lying when she said she would do anything for the woman, so... taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and focuses her mind on the change.

At first Lydia can feel Mystique's skin shudder, not the muscles the actual skin, like it was struggling to listen to the psionic command to be something else and struggling. Letting her breath out, Mystique curses softly then she pulls in another breath and holds it, just like she used to do when she first learned she could change herself. It helps, focusing all of her energy and mind on the change, the skin shudders, then shimmers into the beautiful African woman Ayaan.

"Ow, ow, ow..." she breaths out and sucks in a sharp breath. "Okay, that hurt like a mother fucker, but... it worked."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia is always in awe at Mystique's ability to change, and the feeling of her changing underneath her fingers always leaves her amazed. "Does it still hurt now that you've shifted?" she asks, delicately touching her skin, almost afraid that the touch would cause further pain.

"Maybe you should sleep like this? Shift back in the morning?" She shakes her head, brows creased in worry, "I don't want to stress things out too much which would delay your recovery."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique shakes her head slowly. "No, it doesn't hurt now," she offers, relaxing again. "Just the actual shifting hurt, which has never happened before, not even when I first learned to do it... but," she lifts her arm to look at it. "The concentration required to maintain it is... less that is used to be."

Wrapping that arm back around Lydia, she rolls onto her back and pulls Lydia on top of her. "It works... I'm not stuck."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia laughs delightedly as she's spun on top of her lover. Straddling her waist, Lydia bends down to give Mystique a long, deep kiss, letting her curly brown hair curtain their faces. "It works," she breathes. "You're not stuck."

"Now," she says authoritatively, as she sits up, and whisks off her shirt, to leave her top naked. "Let's just make sure that /everything/ is in working order...."