894/And Several Hours Later

And Several Hours Later
Date of Scene:	31 March 2020
Location:	Kitty's Room
Synopsis:	James stops by with food for Kitty, and the two commiserate about lost friends and family.
Cast of Characters:	Kitty Pryde, James Proudstar

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Kitty Pryde has posed:
After Lockheed summoned Doug and Illyana to check in on a dehydrated, sleep-deprived, unshowered and and emotionally drained Kitty Pryde, the latter had followed their instructions. Lots of water. Sleep. And then finally a shower. Her first in three days. Kitty stood under the hot water for a very long time, until the inside of her bathroom was steamed over. The water couldn't wash away what she felt inside. Though it was nearly six weeks now, the presumed death of her father in the attack on Genosha still ruled Kitty, day and night.

Finally turning off the water, she dries off and goes back into the rest of the room. A pair of female boxers are pulled on, and her old Cubs World Series championship t-shiert. It often had a way of making her feel better. Kitty walked over to sit cross-legged on her bed, Lockheed looking up as she rejoined him. "I know. I should get food. Just... don't know that I want to go see anyone right now," she says.

James Proudstar has posed:
*knock knock knock*

Well, whether she wants to see anyone or not, she's seeing -someone-! Even if it's only briefly, as the extremely tall and broad form of James Proudstar fills her doorway, a platter bearing a steaming bowl of a hot hearty soup, some crusty bread, and another tall glass of ice water.

"Hey. Doug and Illyana said you might need some chow."

Also, because at times James is as blunt as a hammer, "And also might be good to talk to someone who's kinda in the same place."

James moves over unbidden to set the tray in easy-but-stable reach of Kitty. "But I ain't one to force that kind of thing. Doesn't do any good. So if you want me to butt out, just say the word."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's hair is damp still, hanging loose about her shoulders rather than in a ponytail as it so often is. She looks much better than she had the hours earlier when the pair had come by, before she'd gotten the sleep.

Kitty gives James a soft, grateful smile. "Come in," she tells him quietly. She considers for a moment as he speaks of talking to someone who is in the same place. "Go ahead and close the door," she agrees. She scoots over a little bit to make room for the much, much larger man upon her bed.

"Thank you," she says to him as she looks at the food. "I am a little hungry," she admits, completely understating the situation. She gets the tray, setting the water on her nightstand and then bringing the rest over to sit across her knees. "I didn't realize you were going through something like this," she tells him quietly.

James Proudstar has posed:
"No problem." James replies by way of thanks, carefully sitting on the available space on the bed, "It's OK. I mean, word got around the Mansion some but lotta folks have had a lotta stuff on their plates. You more than most." He gives a slight shrug, "And a few dozen humans just doesn't amount to much when you stack it up against what went down in Genosha. I get it. Doesn't make it much easier, but I get it. But yeah...someone wiped out almost everyone left on the Camp Verde Reservation. Certainly anybody with any kinda serious relation to me or John. And I got no idea who, or even why." He gestures, vaguely, "So this place is pretty much all I got left."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty takes a few bites of the food, spoonfuls of the soup that she has to chew for the contents in them. Used to being fed things like this by Piotr, no doubt. As she listens and begins to understand what happened though, the spoon goes still, and then is slowly set down on the tray. Kitty wipes her lips with the napkin and sets the tray aside back on the nightstand.

"I'm sorry James," she tells him gently sliding over nearer to sit beside him. "I've been pretty myopic lately. I hadn't heard," she tells him. The girl reaches up, resting her hand on his shoulder if allowed, fingers curling over the top of it from behind.

Kitty gives a slow shake of her head. "That's... that's just horrible. I'm so sorry," she tells him again. She sits quietly for a few moments, her own feelings about the loss of her father indeed making it easy for her to relate. "You do have us," she says, looking up at the Apache with a gentle expression.

James Proudstar has posed:
"Nobody here owes me any apologies, least of all you, but I appreciate the thought anyway." James replies, glancing to Kitty and giving a little shake of the head, but he doesn't brush off the contact, reaching up and across his broad torso to give the hand on his shoulder a gentle pat with a hand that positively dwarfs her own. "But I was pretty single-minded about it too. Only really kinda started pullin' myself out of the pit in the last few days." He looks straight ahead, frowning a bit, "It's the not knowing that's the worst, isn't it? Not knowing who did it. I've never been the best with my temper...you remember when I first got here, but...." She can practically hear his teeth grinding, "This place taught me a lot. I came here with murder in my heart, and thought I'd gotten away from that. But if I knew who and where...." He clenches his fists, then relaxes them, "Dunno if I'd be able to hold back."

He sighs, "And then there's the guilt. What if you'd been there? Would it have made a difference? Feeling like even if you only managed to save one or two...it woulda been better than what we've got now."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's thumb brushes over James' hand when it rests atop her own. She keeps looking over to him as he talks, giving small little nods that show she understands how he is feeling. "Yes. You know it makes no sense. Didn't know it was going to happen to be able to stop it, to have reason to do differently. I keep thinking I should have stopped him from going to Genosha," Kitty says quietly. "He wasn't even a mutant. Just was looking to settle. Witness protection program actually. And he thought, I'll go and settle with my daughter's people," Kitty says, her voice tightening. "So he was there because of me."

Kitty looks down, falling silent. "The guilt," she agrees without looking up, and a tear rolls down her cheek. She hadn't cried in awhile, had cried herself out several times. But always in private.

James Proudstar has posed:
James shifts a bit to put a brawny arm across Kitty's shoulder and half-hug her. "Yeah. You know you couldn't have known but feel like you should've anyway. Or that you shoulda been with them even though there was no reason to think there was any real danger." There's certainly no judgment of any tears, and none of the usual platitudes about how everything happens according to a plan or time healing all wounds or whatever the heck else it is usually well-meaning people try to offer up in moments like these. "I dunno if it'll help you. But for me, I thought of John...my brother, you know...he was here before either of our time. Realized he'd have kicked my ass something fierce if I just sat around stewing forever. Whether I could get justice for my people or not, he'd want me to move forward. Live some kinda life, even if it's not always the easiest or the most fun. It's what we've got."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
The lithe teen is accepting of the arm that is slipped around her, and as James offers the near hug, he'll feel her press back against him. Accepting the comfort of another person, one who understands her hurt. And that large arm when it goes around her just seems to promise it could keep the world at bay for a little longer and let her grieve.

"I wish I'd known him," Kitty says of John. She lifts her head to look up to James, another tear having joined the first, this one trickling along the other cheek. Kitty swallows and takes a deep breath. "They'd want us to go on," she agrees, squeezing James' shoulder where her hand still rests. "I've been a little... consumed. And I don't know that I can let it go yet," she tells him, closing her eyes a moment, a third tear following the trail of the first. "Not until I find him and I know." She lets out a sigh. "But I can't let it hurt those around me. I've tried, to not make others deal with it because of me."

James Proudstar has posed:
"He could be an ass sometimes. He was prideful, maybe too much. But he was always a hero to me." James notes of his late brother, a bit of a grin there. "I think it's OK to be consumed. For a while. Probably natural. Everybody bounces back at different speeds, you know? And yeah...needing to know makes sense. And not letting things be a burden...but sometimes we gotta remember we got friends and family who are gonna be more burdened if we DON'T let 'em in. Part of what they're there for, right?" He glances down to Kitty and smiles, "And you've always been one of the first to start walkin' through walls if you felt like someone was hurting and you could do the least thing to help...kinda hard to keep you out, after all. So it's only fair you let the rest of us return the favor, right?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty nods slowly. "I just... I don't want to make people have to deal with what I'm going through," she says. "Even my friends. Especially my friends." She gives a soft sigh, glancing at the door which Doug and Illyana had come through hours earlier before she slept. "I have great friends," she says softly and sighs again.

Kitty looks up to James. "If I can help you, with tracking things down for your people? You know I will. If there's any thing out that way, cameras or systems I can hack into. Or if you need company to go investigate there. You just need to tell me," she offers, reaching over and resting her hand on his leg and giving it a pat.

James Proudstar has posed:
"I know. Hardest thing in the world for me is feeling like I'm somebody else's problem." James nods in response to her offer of help, "And I know that, too. The Feds have their own investigation going. Once this Genosha stuff is more sorted out, maybe we can look into it. I took in all I could while I was there. Wrote it down in a journal so I wouldn't forget any details. When the time is right, I'll share it. And maybe we hack the FBI to see what they dug up."

"In the meantime though, we just gotta work on that whole moving forward stuff. Maybe some days all we can do is manage to get outta bed, clean up, and eat. Maybe some days you only make it a couple steps. But at least it's something. I dunno if it'll ever hurt any less, and maybe that's good. Makes sure we don't forget. But we gotta remember the good stuff, and remember that there's still good stuff out there to find, someday. With your friends...you know, the family you get to pick."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty nods to the immense Apache. "Family," she agrees with him, and if he allows she gives him a tight side-hug. Well, it's meant to be tight but she can't hardly get her arm all the way around him to make it so!

Kitty looks over at the food again, reaching over to get the tray and rest it back on across her knees again as she sits cross-legged. "Speaking of, thank you for bringing me this," she says, flashing a soft smile up to James. "I'll have to give my compliments to the cook when I take the dishes back down," she says, before getting the spoon and gathering up some more of the hearty soup to eat.

James Proudstar has posed:
James' arm gives a tight squeeze in response to the valiant attempt at a hug....well for him a very very light squeeze but for Kitty it's a solid hug. "All right, all right." He's not really dissuading it though, "I gotta be careful with this stuff or it's gonna get out that I'm a big softie instead of a big mean injun." When Kitty disengages and returns to her food, James carefully rises to his feet, "All right, think I'd better let you eat." He does reach over and give the purple dragon a scritch behind the ears, so to speak. "I'll be around if you wanna talk more. You know...about anything, not just the heavy stuff."