8264/The Prodigal Daughter

The Prodigal Daughter
Date of Scene:	16 October 2021
Location:	Garage / Stables
Synopsis:	Laxmi and Logan meet Bellona, Gabby's older clone sister.
Cast of Characters:	Gabby Kinney, Laxmi Mallick, Logan Howlett, Lorna Dane

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Gabby Kinney has posed:
The garage wasn't somewhere that Gabby hung out too often. She'd visit on occasion, or grab her motorcycle out of here that she'd gotten as a birthday gift. But with school, and training, and her other extra curricular activities that took her out of the city often, it was rare she actually spent any length of TIME in the garage. Yet tonight her scent is present. Present, and all over as if she'd been exploring every nook and cranny searching for something. Then left after taking Gabby's motorcycle helmet that rarely got used. Odder still was the scent that mingled with hers: Gun oil. The motorcycle itself remains untouched.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    Laxmi, utterly unaware of any clone-based shenanigans, steps into the garage with one of the students, who eagerly makes his way over to the pumpkin carving station. The child settles in and gets to work - while Laxmi perches herself on the edge of the table with a tablet, humming to herself as she works. The tablet screen displays musical notation, which she alters with with a stylus, scrolling back and quietly singing out parts of the score as she works.
    The child seems content to ignore her, as he sketches out his design on a pumpkin with a marker.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Although it was night, and Logan usually patrolled the grounds, James had offered to take a full patrol one night, in exchange for the same from Logan another night. That meant Logan could have some time to do what he wanted for a change, and that something was working on his truck. The old thing was on it's last leg really, he knew it, but he had troubles parting with something he could actually remember.

Walking into the garage the first thing he notes is Laxmi, followed by the student and then the pumpkins. There is no comment offered regarding those pumpkins, or his thought of how he'd carve one with his own claws. Halloween was one of those holidays he just didn't get all hyped up about, though he wasn't against kids having a good time.

One more step and the bombardment of scents hits him, causing him to pause and take more intent sniff at the garage. Those not used to Logan would think him a bit insane, but those who knew him, knew he was actually looking for something.

"Odd," he says quietly, more to himself and then he starts following along all the places Gabby went to try and figure out what his clone-daughter had been up to.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Where there were tools, the scent of 'Gabby' lingered. Nothing was ultimately taken, but a few items moved around. Then over to the rack where helmets were kept. Where her's was missing. It's about this time that another set of footsteps approaches, along with the scent of the one that Logan was currently tracking in his own way. What she hadn't expected was the once empty garage to be full now of people. The helmet wearing figure stops in the doorway regarding Laxmi, the pumpkin carving child, and then her head swivels over to Logan. It's here her hands flex at her sides clenching and relaxing again in a single gesture. Then without a word, moving as if she belonged here, she strides for the motorcycle attempting to ignore the others. She... moves differently though. It wasn't the relaxed energy of Gabby but the exact measured steps of someone used to not wasting movements.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    Logan stalking about the garage, sniffing at things catches Laxmi's attention - though the students seems to be singularly focused on this drawing - and now carving. Her singing stops as she studies the man, a curious and puzzled expression on her features. "Is anything amiss, Logan?" she asks in a polte but slightly concerned voice. Nothing seems out of place to her.
    Her gaze shifts towards the diminuative and helmeted figure that enters - puzzlement on her features. As a dancer, judging how someone moves is second nature to her - and why would the girl wear a helmet around her own school?
    "Gabby, dear?" she asks uncertainly.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Hearing the foot falls, Logan turns but then the scent of blood strikes his nose. Nothing about this felt or smelt right, and the movements of the Gabby in the helmet are wrong. Instinct kicks in, and he moves to place himself between Laxmi, the student carving the pumpkin and what he has determined now is not Gabby.

"You best identify kid," he states toward the 'not Gabby'. "Close, so close, butcha ain't Gabby."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
There's an angry hiss of breath that escapes the figure who stops a few steps away from the motorcycle. So close to just *leaving* and she's called out. Again her hands twitch at her sides, but she doesn't bother to hide the fact that she isn't Gabby at this point. Something obvious by the utterance of, "Fucking old man. Didn't want to run into you." Both hands lift to reach for the helmet to pull it off. The hair that spills out isn't the dark raven of Gabby, or even Laura, but a pure white devoid of color entirely. The face beneath was almost as pale. The only shock of color were her red eyes that glare angrily at the teachers that had caught on to her deception. Otherwise? She was the spitting image of Gabby, if Gabby were a few years older.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "Ooooo," the boy calls out. "Laaaaanguage!"
    "Hush, Noam," Laxmi murmurs to the boy. Even with Logan position between the pumpkin carving table and the unfamiliar girl - she still shifts her position so she's closer to the young teen, ready to add an extra layer of protection for the child should it become necessary. "Perhaps it would be best if you simply identified yourself, miss. Are you the sister who Gabby mentioned to us?" she asks - keeping her voice calm and polite - a small smile on her features despite the cautious stance her posture conveys.

Logan Howlett has posed:
One of Logan's brows lifts rather high as he looks this woman over. The scent was so close it almost amazed him, but there was just a few infinitesimal differences that most scent trackers would never be able to detect, they would truly believe by scent alone that this was Gabby. Just as Laura has the same over all scent, with those same infinitesimal differences, this young woman had the same unique spots.

"Gotta be Bellona," he confirms, keeping his place and letting his ears note the position of the boy at the table and Laxmi moving herself in front of him as well. Keeping his eyes on Bellona, he then adds, "Not sure what your beef with me is kid, it's not like I choose the situation. Trying to make the best of it of course, so if you'd like to go on hating me, feel free, but you're not a student, and visitors have to get guest passes, so next time... so that." There is a pauses there before the final addition of, "Why you bleeding?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Bellona rolls her eyes upward a bit in the way that teens often did, even if she wasn't a teen. The scars on her face were there, just as with Gabby, but hers were vastly different. Someone had taken more time to be inventive with how they carved up her face. "I don't have a 'beef' with you, I just don't like you. I don't like a lot of people. Or people in general." Irritated still, she drums her fingers against the helmet before shifting it off her hip to rest on the bike. "I'm not going to hurt anyone if that's what you think." As for the last question, she just pauses. Lifting a hand she gestures at the shoulder of her opposite arm. "Because I got a chunk of glass stuck in my shoulder. That's why I was looking for Gabby. Can't get a good grip to get it out." Pausing the young woman looks between Laxmi, Logan, and even the kid carving up a pumpkin. "She talked about me?"

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "She mentioned you, yeah. She said you were strong, and independent - and prefered managing on your own," Laxmi supplies. She glances towards Logan for a moment, then back to Bellona before asking, "If you'd like - I could go fetch one of the first aid kits? Or perhaps even see if Doctor McCoy is available? I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you with your injury. I'm afraid I don't know very much about first aid myself."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan shows no hint of emotion regarding Bellona just not liking him. What did it really matter if she liked him or not? Most people didn't like him, that's why he had enemies in the first place. He was good at concealing real emotions, so what was one more concealed? He hadn't asked for cloned daughters in the first place, but knowing they existed and two really hated him, it has an effect... concealed though it was.

"I could remove it," he offers, but makes no attempt to move any closer. "Gabby's talked about you a few times, yeah. Thought about maybe trying to introduce us, kids a dreamer, like that bout her."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Bellona seems to hesitate when Laxmi mentions what, exactly, Gabby said of her. For just a moment the angry expression that had seemed so ingrained into her features softens. In spite of all her anger, however misplaced, there were things that could get her to relax a bit. Even Logan's remark of them meeting earns a half-snort of almost laughter that doesn't quite make it that far. "Sounds like her. Good. One of us needed to get out of there with dreams intact." A slow, deep breath is taken. "I guess I could use the help." Reluctantly though it may be. A dip of her head is given toward Laxmi. "Could use a kit. Going to need stitches. No doctors though," she adds quickly, hastily, with a tone of absolute revulsion at the very thought. Her gaze then shifts to the kid before she turns back toward Logan with a shfit of her weight. "Where you want to do this? Gonna make a mess."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "Look - Noam. Why don't you go help yourself to some of the brownies in the kitchen, huh? We can pick up your pumpkin carving session in a half hour or so. Yeah? You can even stay up past curfew to finish. It's Friday night after all."
    Wait - brownies //and// staying up past curfew? "Absolutely Miss Mallick!" the teen replies - and he's gone in- well, in a literal flash. It's a little blinding, really.
    Laxmi rubs at her eyes, letting out a sigh. She should have known to close her eyes. "Alright, well - we keep one in here, don't we?" she murmurs to herself, turning in a circle. After all - in the garage is one of the places someone could easily get injured. She spots the red first aid + affixed to a cupboard, and she makes her way towards it.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan gestures toward the wood and auto shop as he says, "Two in there." He very expressly does /not/ look toward Noam as he leaves, but that rush of energized scent still hits his nose. No escape.

So neither Gabby nor Bellona had gotten his complete level of healing. If it had been him, the healing would have just shoved the glass out. That was the level of healing Wade had gotten from his DNA, but he had no idea about Laura and what she got. It was like a nightmare you never woke up from, having all of the things that happened to you against your will right there in front of you. Wade, Gabby, Bellona, Laura... all the result of the torture and torment he'd endured. The one thing, the one salvation his mind clung to, is that at least three of them got out, and Wade, though a royal pain in the ass, lived.

"In here's good enough, can hose it out of needed," he then adds as he looks to Bellona, still not moving. He doesn't want to trigger anything, and oddly finds himself wishing Gabby was actually there.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Unlike the other two Bellona isn't aware of the abilities of Noam. She'd already taken a step forward when that flash comes up causing her eyes to squeeze shut with a grimace and her hand lifting to rub at her eyes. It wasn't a look of pain so much as she seems a bit off balance for a moment. Perhaps this was a good thing; it was a distraction. One that sadly gets another curse under her breath. Language was something she had in plenty. "That works," she decides with a look to the door only to glance back again. "Best the kid doesn't see this." Even though she was barely older than him. There's a sincerity to that remark at least -- She wasn't trying to mess with anyone else's childhood. "What's with carving the pumpkin anyway?" The question comes as she reaches up to unzip her jacket. It's tugged down over her arm revealing the shoulder that was bandaged up as skillfully as someone could do on themself with one hand. It's not soaked through with blood though there was a damp pinkened spot. After a moment she adds, perhaps by way of apology, "I'm not good with people. Gabby's better."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "No need to apologize," Laxmi answers Bellona with a reassuring smile, as she carries the medical kit back towards the pair, offering towards Logan, "If there's anything I can do to help with this - just let me know what."
    Her attention shifts once more back to Bellona before she adds, "Honestly, I think it's a good thing you have somewhere you feel comfortable coming to when you do need help. Even the most self sufficient people can't tend to wounds on their own back. It might be better if you called ahead, though - we do have these safety protocols for a reason - to protect the kids here. And it'd be very unfortunate if some sort of incident started because of a staff member or student mistakenly trying to protect the school. You know?"
    She glances towards the carving table, then back to the girl before she asks, "Have you ever celebrated Halloween?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan was something of an expert on not being good with people, he'd been down that road, hell he paved that road, put of lovely landscaping along the sides, and erected numerous 'fuck off people' signs along that road. He saw that part of himself in Bellona, that fear to rely on anyone but herself because of all the pain an trauma she had endured. He almost said something about, almost pointed out it gets better in time, but he stopped himself. It wouldn't do any good, especially coming from him, he knew that from experience as well.

Accepting the first aid kit, he pops it open where he's standing to search through and see what's inside. It was more than the average home first aid kit, that much he knew, but he still wanted to make sure what he needed was in there.

"Gonna step over," he announces, keeping his hands in plain sight and moving slowly. It was like he was approaching himself, so he knew exactly how to keep his calm. "What kinda glass we talking about here, window?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Bellona gives a curt nod while glancing away to regard the table. It's purposefully away from Logan. A way to show she was trusting him, perhaps? She wasn't sure how else to apologize for coming off swearing at him when so far he was doing nothing but acting respectful. Something she'd not been told he would be like at all. This wasn't really something she was used to dealing with in any form. "I'm not going to shoot you. Just get it over with." The topic of Halloween at least was a distraction in and of itself. "No. We didn't celebrate much of anything. I've seen some decorations though. That explains it." There's an awkward pause as she considers her next few words carefully. "Beer bottle. Got a chunk cracked off before I broke the guy's arm. ... I'll keep in mind about calling ahead in the future."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "Thank you. I'm sure if you let Gabby know - she'll contact one of us, and we'll make sure everything's smoothed over." As Logan closes the distance between himself and Bellona, she holds back for the moment - uncertain if approaching would crowd the young lady too much. "Do you need me to hold the medical kit? Or pass you supplies?" she asks Logan uncertainly.
    She was beginning to feel a bit superfluous - but perhaps her presence as a neutral party was keeping uneasy 'family' dynamics under wraps.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Getting shot was the least of Logan's worries really, she could shoot him, he'd heal, rinse repeat, but he got what she was really saying from that.

Closing the distance, he offers Laxmi a nod, "Can't hold it and work at the same time." When she does come over, she is offered the open kit so he can grab the scissors and but the bandage off. "You got the pain resistance?" he then asks Bellona, already starting to look the wound over.

Reaching to a shelf behind him, he grabs a head flash light to slap on, flipping it on so it puts a wonderful little spot light on the wound and thus allows him to see just how deep and bad it was.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yeah. They screwed us all over with that pain resistance crap. Comes in handy at times. Not so much others." Bellona doesn't even flinch when he starts to examine her arm. The head mounted light that he opts for earns a lopsided smile from her in return--A rare sight on her. It was such an odd thing to see on someone she'd grown up being told stories about the old man being a cold blooded killer. Among other stories that the lab techs would prattle on about having heard from a cousin or coworker on the various projects that had cropped up over the years. As for the wound... It was deep enough to get into the muscle though thankfully missed anything life threatening. While blood was no longer flowing freely, it was that sticky-wet sort of wound that had only just begun the first few stages of mending. Which is to say, it was staunching the blood, swollen pink at the edges, and with the mottled yellow-purple of a burgeoning bruise against her arm itself. With her arm and shoulder bare it was hard to miss the other bruises that she'd obtained as part of the fight as well. If it weren't for her inability to feel pain she would likely have found it difficult to move as freely as she had been. "You'll probably want some paper towels or something." To Laxmi she adds, a bit belatedly, "So who are you anyway?"

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    Laxmi does indeed step forward to hold the kit for Logan - though at Bellona's question, her eyes widen and she lets out an embarrassed laugh. "Oh!" she remarks. "I- my apologies. How forgetful. Namaste, Bellona. I'm Laxmi Mallick. I'm one of the teachers here - I teach music predominately. I hadn't meant to be so rude."
    It was rare for Laxmi to get within arm's reach of anyone - simply as part of her religious and cultural beliefs. Today was the exception, of course, as she stands quite close to Bellona and Logan with the medical kit in hand.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Even with needing Laxmi to be so close, Logan is attempting to ensure that he doesn't actually touch her. Even in this situation, he did not want to cross that line of her culture and be the one to make her... dirty? Was that even what it was? He didn't really know, but whatever it was, he wouldn't be the one to do it.

No healing. She got all his anger and none of the benefit of the healing. That really sucked, but at least she wouldn't feel what he was about to do. First step, rubbing alcohol over his hand, the large tweezers and the wound, in that order. The alcohol is placed on the seat of the motorcycle so it was in reach.

"When I pull the glass, she's gonna start bleeding again," he says plainly to Laxmi. "Gonna need you to use some of that gauze to try and keep the wound clear so I can see the glass. If ya need to, pour more of that alcohol over it."

That is all the more warning Laxmi gets because with the light offering the needed illumination, he uses one hand to pull the two side of the wound open enough that he can see where the glass is, and the tweezers head right in to grab hold of the largest piece and pull it out.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Laxmi. Music teacher." It's repeated as she commits it to memory. It wasn't hard to forget, but it was a good habit to have, remembering things. When Logan starts to clean his hands and explain to Laxmi what he's about to do she glances back to the woman. "If it's too ... unnerving for you, just hand me the gauze. I can get it with my free hand." Even though she makes the offer, and it's perhaps too late to consider it, she asks uncertainly, "Sight of blood doesn't bother you does it?" Of course she doesn't ask that of Logan. Poor guy. She might not feel pain but she could feel the pressure of him working on her arm so turns to glance down and watch it happen. "Huh. Big peice."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I'm not exactly a fan of blood," Laxmi admit. "But needs must when circumstances dictate." She does wish that Logan had given her enough of a heads up to get gloves on, however - as much for Bellona's sake as anything else. It was important to keep wounds clean, after all.
    She takes the gauze as directed, trying to stem the worst of the bleeding. "Here?" she asks Logan - before adding in a quiet voice, "It really is okay if you touch me just now. The need to provide medical care does take precidence in such circumstances." She wasn't one to be completely impractical with her beliefs.

Logan Howlett has posed:
When Logan removes the big piece, he spotted a second smaller piece. With the blood cleared, he reaches to grab and remove it, then immediately reaches for a suture kit. He almost touches Laxmi in the process, almost... but he jerks his hand back and goes for the kit at another angle. Permission or not, it wasn't happening.

Using one hand to hold the wound closed, he tears the kit open with his teeth and grabs the already threaded needle with the other hand. Despite his own healing factor, the man had spent numerous years in the military and had the field medic training from several wars. Stitches were nothing, and without needing to wait for numbness, he could begin the process immediately.

"Small scissors in the kit," he states, perhaps too firmly. "Cut the edge of the stitch as I finish it and move to the next." Not a doctor by any stretch of the imagination, the stiches actually look pretty damn good. Done through blood and done quickly to try and get the bleeding to stop.

When the last stitch is done, the entire thing gets doused in rubbing alcohol once more, then wiped with fresh gauze, before he does a much better job of wrapping the wound up. "Take it easy on this for a bit," he comments as he wraps. "Gonna need time ta heal or you'll just rip the stitches out."