8749/Why Is Family So Complicated

Why Is Family So Complicated
Date of Scene:	20 November 2021
Location:	Clarice Ferguson's Quarters
Synopsis:	Clarice and Lydia discuss their respective parental woes.
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Lydia Dietrich

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    It's been a long couple of days for Clarice - days that she's largely taken off of work while trying to keep an eye on her younger brother. To the best of her knowledge, Theo was asleep again - but it was hard to tell, since he and Pete had hardly left the room. She'd been bringing the boys regular meals - though she keeps bringing Theo's plates back to the kitchen largely untouched.
    At the moment, the magenta-hued mutant has let the guinea pigs out of their pen, and is sitting on the floor with them, feeding them greens as she tries to distract herself from her worries.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
The door chime rings to let Clarice know she's got a visitor before the door opens and Lydia pokes her head in. "Hello?" she says, looking about the room. Spotting Clarice and the piggies, she grins. "Hey, Clarice. Haven't seen you around much and wanted to check in." She moves on into the room and shuts the door behind her. "Everything okay?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Lydia - hey," Clarice greets her friend - a smile briefly brightening her features. Her gaze flicks towards the bedroom, as if the door could have opened without her noticing, before her attention returns to her friend. "Things are... complicated. I think the boys are asleep - bit hard to tell, though. I just got back from Rahne's birthday party." She gently runs her fingers along the back of one of the piggies before she asks, "Did you want to help feed them?"
    She holds out some cilantro towards Lydia - though she keeps a few more sprigs for herself.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Yeah?" Lydia asks, settling down on the floor next to Clarice, taking the cilantro. "How'd it go? What'd you get her for her birthday? I wish I'd've known, I'd've gotten her something."

She takes a spring and holds it down to Winnifred, trying to entice her to eat, but the piggie won't have anything to do with it. Instead Mary waddles on over to nibble on the herb. Once again, Lydia is amazed at how blase these animals are towards her presence when most domesticated animals seem to become overly anxious around her.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I took her to see the Northern Lights," Clarice explains. "And I gave her a necklace that was sorta - I meant it to be an Alice in Wonderland thing? It has little glass bottle with shimmery blue fluid that says 'drink me.' And a golden key like Alice found on the table - only it was a locket, with little keyholes cut in the locket showing there's something there - and inside was a tiny minature painting of her and me together." A smile crosses her features as she adds, "She liked it well enough."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's lip split into a grin at Clarice's description of the locket. "That's so sweet. I'm sure she loved it. If you see her before I do give her a hug and wish her a happy birthday for me, okay?"

Mary finishes the sprig of cilantro and greedily makes for the other sprigs, which Lydia holds away. "Now, now," she tells her. "Let the others have a chance to have some." She lays another sprig in front of Sarah who happily starts munching on the cilantro.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Sure," Clarice agrees. "I will. I mean - she's spending some more time with her mom right now but- I'm sure I'll see her again, soon."
    Just as she had some time earlier in the Medbay, Clarice's gaze is drawn towards where her brothers are both resting, before her attention returns to find Winnie chowing down on the little handful of sprigs she still holds - all of them. At once. "You little pig," she mutters quietly, before opting to just say what's on her mind lately.
    "The next time you see Theo, can you- I don't know. He's having a tough time right now."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia chuckles softly at Winnie's antics. "Sure. I'll help if I can. What's going on?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice continues to let Winnie hog the cilantro, her gaze locked down on the creature as she explains quietly, "We found out our father's alive," she explains. Somehow, it doesn't sound like the joyous news it ought to be. "I got a chance to talk to him, to get to know him some, which was great, but- I mean. He's not exactly... He wasn't very happy about Theo just out and saying that he's Trans in the middle of the Police Precinct where he works, and- well. Theo's not taking it well."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's eyebrows furrow in concern. "I... that would be rough," she says. "I think he probably should have waited until they were somewhere more private, but I can see how that'd come up." She frowns a bit, "I take it his father doesn't approve."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "No, he doesn't," Clarice admits, her voice quiet. "He..." The conflict it obvious on her features - mixed with the pain the felt at seeing her brother suffering again, and her own confusion, and frustration. "I mean, in a way I can't really blame him. He wants the little girl he- that he thought he knew, you know? It must be even harder for him than it was for me. He knew //Cynthia//. He knew //her// his whole life. And then he thinks he lost everyone - that his whole family died, and to find out in the same instant that both of your daughters are still alive, only now one of them is saying she was never his daughter at all-" She shakes her head quietly. "I can kinda get, you know?
    "And at the same time, I want to punch him in the face for making Theo hurt this much." Lifting one hand, she rubs it quickly across her eyes. "I just want to knock some sense into him. Maybe he just needs a little more time?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods in understanding. "It was an awful lot to take in all at once," she says. "Time will help. I'd contact him and meet up with him when he's not at work, and talk to him some. Then from there you can introduce him to Theo again."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'm not sure Theo wants to see him again. At least - not until I'm //sure// he'll call him Theo. That he'll call him his son, not his daughter," Clarice answers quietly.
    "I mean - they let dad have the rest of the day off - what with his dead daughters showing up out of the blue, you know? So I did spend some time with him. And I'll go see him again in a few days, see if he's- If his mind's changed at all. But in the meantime, Pete and I got to figure out how get Theo out of bed - and //eating// again."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia scowls, her eyes roaming over to where Pete and Theo's bedroom are. "He's taking it pretty rough," she observes quietly. "His father... isn't going to come around in a day. It takes time to process and..." she winces, "Sometimes parents don't come around at all. My mother still has issues with me being a lesbian."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah," Clarice confirms quietly. "I mean- He thought they were both dead, and then he met me and was afraid to tell me the truth, and he did I kinda had a tough time with it for a little bit and- I mean. I guess the point is he's been through enough already that- yeah. He's taking it rough." The handful of cilantro is gone - and Winnifred zooms of, disappearing into a little tunnel and hunkering down in there for the moment.
    "I've dreamed about meeting dad, you know. That he might be alive, that I could finally get to know him, and we could be a family. I didn't think it'd ever actually happen - Theo said he was dead. I just- this isn't how I pictured it all going. But I guess maybe I should have."
    She lets out a sigh, then finally looks over towards Lydia. "Your dad's okay with you being a lesbian - isn't he?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Give him time," Lydia says with a soft smile. "He'll probably realize that having a son that will talk to him is better than having a daughter that won't. He probably wants the same dream you do, of being a family again. I just..." she shrugs. "I just hope he comes around sooner rather than later."

She nods at the mention of her father. "Oh, he'd guessed I was a lesbian a long time ago," she says with a chuckle. "But he kept it to himself probably because he knew how badly mom would take it." Her features pull into a frown, "I've only talked to her once since then. She's ... adjusting. I think she has more problems with the fact that my girlfriend was on the FBI's most wanted list until recently."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah," Clarice agrees. "I thought, umm... I thought maybe it'd help to bring him the photo album Theo and I started making together. Maybe just- seeing how happy Theo can be, when he's being himself... Maybe it'll help him understand better." She's silent for a moment before adding, "Or maybe I can just have Pete make dad feel how //awful// Theo feels when he isn't being himself. That's waht- I mean, it //terrified// me into accepting it. The thought of him hurting himself if I didn't accept it - that I might lose him after finding him..." She shoots Lydia a brief look that shows how frightened she'd been after feeling Theo's pain for herself.
    "Maybe that's what dad needs - to really help him understand. He loves his daughter - we just- we need to get him to love his son."
    Easier said than done, sometimes.
    "And Raven can definitely be a lot for anyone to get used to. Umm... Should I- would you ever want me to meet your dad? Or your mom?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia scowls. "I don't like the idea of putting those thoughts in his head," she says. "Not unless he consents. It'll be a hard sell, too. Bringing in some strange boy to put somebody else's thoughts in your head. I'm not sure if even /I/ would be comfortable with it. It's a little extreme."

Back to the topic of her parents. "I want us all to get together for one of the days of Chanukah. I think my mom can be cordial enough for that. The real issue is hiding the fact that I'm a vampire from them. I don't..." she shakes her head. "I don't think that either of them would understand that."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Well - I don't like the idea of doing things without consent, either. I'd try to convince him," Clarice agrees. "I mean - I agreed to letting Pete put the memory in my head. I'm glad I did, though it still... I hate knowing that Theo was in that much though, though I guess there's memories of mine that would be-" pretty difficult to live with, as well.
    As for Lydia's concerns about keeping her nature secret from her parents, Clarice gets up moving towards her desk. She opens a drawer, pulling out a device that looks like a wristwatch, and putting it on her wrist. As she presses the buttons on the sides of it - her magenta hued skin vanishes, instead revealing a girl with deep, rich brown skin, and hair with a kinky texture framing her features. "Wouldn't something like this help?" she asks uncertainly.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Well, I've got that trick that makes me look more alive," Lydia says. "Sure I'd be paler than usual, but at least I'd look /alive/. The real trick is coming up with an excuse as to why my ectoplasm looks like this now." She waves a hand through the floating black flakes in example. "The whole 'near death experience' excuse that we're spreading around the Asteroid will only exacerbate matters. So... I've got about a week to come up with something."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Right," Clarice murmurs in a thoughtful tone, before turning off the image. She settles back in on the floor next to Lydia again - reaching out to touch her friend's cold hand. It was still something she wasn't used to, and she doubted she ever really would. "Well. I mean, you could say it was caused by an illness, and that doctors are still investigating it? Or simply say you were exploring your powers, and 'unlocked' the change? Or..." What other excuses could there be? "It was caused by an unexpected interaction with another mutant's gift?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia hums thoughtfully. "Hmm. The illness would explain a lot... why I'm paler and why my mutation is the way it is. I'd only have to fight with my mom trying to take control of my life again and trying to find another cure for me." She scowls, however. "Now that I think about it, she'll insist on what it's called and do some research on it." She looks up from the piggies who are snuffling around hoping that she'd produce more cilantro for them. "She's a surgeon, you know. The best in her field."

She turns her hand to hold Clarice's and gives it a squeeze. "I'll think of something."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Well, if she's a doctor - maybe best to go with the 'interaction' explination," Clarice remarks. "Or you could say that you were trying to help a mutant who was newly manifesting their powers - they weren't in full control, and this is the result. But... you know them much better than I do, obviously," she says wryly, squeezing back. "You'll figure it out. It'll be fine."
    Her gaze flicks to Theo's door once more before she adds, "I should probably get the piggies put away, and go check on the boys. I've, uhh.... been sleeping with them. Just to make sure Theo knows how much I support him. You know?" Because she worries - too much.
    "I'll tell them both you send your love and support, though."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia leans over to give Clarice a hug. "Tell them they can talk to me if they want to," she says. "They probably know that already, but I'm 'biggest sister' so maybe it'll help." She gets to her feet. "Let me know how it goes with your dad, okay? You all deserve to be a happy family together."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice returns the hug tightly. "I will," she promises quietly, before letting go - climbing to her feet, as well. This sets the piggies skittering around the room, squeaking in excitement.
    "And of course I'll let you know how things go. Maybe you can help me talk some sense into him, one of these days," she says in a wry tone.
    "Take care."