8996/A Very Brotherhood Chanukah

A Very Brotherhood Chanukah
Date of Scene:	08 December 2021
Location:	The Dietrich Family Residence
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Clarice Ferguson, Raven Darkholme

---

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
The last time Lydia had gone to her parents house was to introduce her family to her girlfriend. That... didn't go well, to say the least. Lydia had left in anger, and she and her mom hadn't been on speaking terms since. Her father has tried to smooth things over between them and has managed a modicum of success. Enough so that Lydia agreed to come down with her girlfriend and 'sister' to celebrate the holiday.

Anywhere else her family home would be a humble affair. Only four bedrooms, a handful of baths and only 4500 square feet. But it has a /yard/. In /Brooklyn/. And a /pool/. That alone shows off the kind of wealth that her family possesses. The lawn is neatly trimmed and covered in snow, the hedges perfectly square, and the two trees that line the walkway up to the front door provide plenty of shade.

Despite her nervousness about the affair, Lydia was able to calm herself enough to put her Beast to sleep. She also warmed up her skin and put on a little bit of makeup to make herself seem less dead. She told the others that this would be a casual affair and she dressed the part. Blue jeans tucked into sheepskin boots, a thick cable knit sweater in russet tones and a thick wool overcoat makes a convincing argument that she had bundled up against cold. Between that and the makeup she looks positively human.

"Well. Here it is!" she says gesturing to the home. "This is where little Lydia grew up. My parents lived in a condo, but when my mom found out she was pregnant with me they decided that they needed to move into an actual home. Dad's cool but Mom is... well... she's a bit much at times. Dad said that he talked to her and we'll all try to get along."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice studies the house curiously, standing with her hands shoved deep into the pockets of a heavy coat. It was almost silly to have bundled up this much when they'd only be outside for moments after teleporting in - but the tropical-born mutant really dislikes the cold. Beneath the heavy coat, she wears a long-sleeved blouse in a dark green shimmering silk, with her every-present catseye bracelet and dragon ring. The coat is long enough to cover most of her jeans, and her feet as warmly tucked into genuinely fur lined boots. Her elfin ears are decorated with dangling earrings of silver and sparkling 'diamonds' - with a thin, matching necklace beneath the coat.
    "It looks nice. You lived here your whole childhood?" she muses quietly - and then suddenly adds eagerly, "Are there pictures of little-Lydia? Pete and Theo will want to see those!"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The last time Raven had met Lydia's parents things had not gone well at all, and that was when she was wearing her favorite African American skin. Today she was herself, cobalt from head to toe, with her flaming red hair. Her choice of clothing was a pair of skinny jeans tucked into a pair of black calf-skin knee boots and a sky blue turtleneck sweater. Over that she wore a fluffy ski coat, the hood up over her head because she did not like the cold. Lydia was the only one who knew that all of it was real clothing, something she had started doing as of late just for the fun of it.

The Dietrich family home was impressive, enough to make any American jealous... the dream realized and stretched out in front of them. "I wouldn't mind seeing pictures of little-Lydia," she comments with a grin. "Probably have to ask her dad about it though."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Oh Lord," Lydia groans. "If you mention baby pictures to my mother she'll be busy for /hours/ showing you pictures of me. You'll never be free of her. Still," she says in afterthought. "That might be a way to get on her good side."

She steps up to the front door and hesitates before ringing the front door. She takes a couple of breaths to remind herself to actually keep /breathing/ throughout their encounter before admitting that she's just trying to stall. Finally she presses the button and chimes ring in the house.

A faint, "Rachel, they're here!" can be heard somewhere in the bowels of the house, and before too long, the door opens to show Noah and Rachel Dietrich, Lydia's parents.

If you were to look in the dictionary under 'Ashkenazi Jew' you'd find a man who looks very much like Noah. He's a tall man, thin, with a neatly trimmed beard. Balding curly black hair pokes out from a yarmulke, and his skin is a bit swarthy. His hawk nose and squinty eyes would make it look like he's scrutinizing everybody suspiciously if it wasn't for the fact of his warm smile and pleasant demeanor. "Come in! Come in!" he says, and boy does that man radiate warmth and welcomeness.

His wife is a shorter woman, and has a more homely figure. It's obvious that Lydia gets her paler complexion from her mother, as well as having inherited her bright hazel eyes. Wavy brown hair falls to her shoulders and her round face gives her the feeling that she's heavier than she actually is. "Lydia, dear! Come in out of the cold," she says, taking a step back to let Lydia and her companions in. "I'm glad you were able to make it."

Noah nudges Rachel encouragingly to which Rachel grumps, "All right, all right." Once they're all inside and the door is closed, she steps up to Lydia. "I'm sorry about the way I acted the last time you came down," she says. "But you have to admit that learning you were gay was quite a shock! And that you were dating a terroERK." This time Noah nudged Rachel a bit fiercer with his bony elbow. "That is," she continues, "the leader of the Brotherhood. It's quite a lot."

Lydia nods in understanding. She knows her mom is trying, and appreciates the effort. "It's okay, mom." she says. "I probably should have warned you first." She takes a step back and gestures to the other two mutants. "Mom, Dad, I'd like to reintroduce you to my girlfriend, Raven, and our friend, Clarice. She's like a sister to me."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Mister and Misses Dietrich," Clarice says politely, holding her hand out first to Lydia's mother, and then her father. "You have a beautiful home." It's possible Clarice looked up 'polite things to say when meeting someone's parents' and went with the most cliche'd responses.
    "And honestly, we've decided that terrorism is so 2010s. We're actually dabbling in charity now - helping the community of Bushwick, and donating to a mentorship program for orphans of the genocide in Genosha. And helping with the Bushwick clinic, of course. Access to healthcare is such a hot-button topic these days..."
    Ah, and she'd startd so nice. Honestly, how many times are Mystique and Lydia going to need to step on her toes or kick her in the shins tonight? ...probably a lot. Why did they decide to bring her?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
After Rachel's comment, it takes Raven a moment in her head to put on her 'socialize with the partner's parents' brain, but the smile remains on her face as she extends her hand to Noah first, then to Rachel.

"It's good to see you both again," she offers in a cheerful tone, then immediately looks at Clarice and gives her a nudge. "Thank you for having us over during this holiday." She finishes with, the greeting anyway.

"I'll admit, Clarice is right, but we'll talk more about the changes another time," she adds after giving Clarice that look. From inside her coat she removes an unwrapped bottle of Taylor Fladgate 40 Year Old Tawny wine. "I did a little research to ensure that one, this was Kosher, and two, an appropriate gift." She offers the bottle to Rachel. "Happy Hanukah."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Both Rachel and Noah take the offered hands and they lead the trio deeper into the house. "Come," Noah says, "let me take your jackets." He takes them to put away in their hall closet while Rachel accepts the gift of wine. "Oh!" she says. "How thoughtful." She scrutinizes the label and says, "It's even a decent year! I'll go put this on ice."

Lydia turns and gives Clarice and Raven a helpless smile and leads them into the living room where the menorah lives. The living room is tidy and functional. Comfortable looking (and yet expensive) couches face a fireplace. Bookshelves line the walls and there's a dresser of sorts whose major function seems to be to hold and display various brick-a-brack. It's on this where the menorah resides.

Shortly they're joined by her parents. "Dinner should be ready soon, and it's about time to light the menorah," Rachel says.

"Would one of you like to light it?" Noah asks. "How much do you know about Chanukah?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice gives Mystique her most innocent smile. //What//? She relents after a moment with a small nod, before they're shown towards the living room. "Thank you so much," she adds politely as she shucks out of her coat, offering it to Noah, and stepping into the living room moments later. Her gaze traces over the various objects on display, searching for any photos of a younger Lydia, before the question about Hanukkah is asked.
    "Oh... well. Nothing, really. I heard there were candles? And that it's several days long." But she'd spent more time researching how to be a polite guest, than the holiday they were celebrating.
    "I guess you'll just have to teach me."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Raven smiles as the wine seems to be acceptable to Lydia's mother. She really doesn't care about the woman's opinion and yet at the same time, she does. It's an annoying little thing going on in the back of her head every time she thinks about Lydia's parents. How do you cope with the fact that you're over a hundred and forty years old and thus parents really mean nothing at all, and yet at the same time you /are/ dating their child, so of course what they feel matter?

"I'm afraid I don't know much more than they are considered holy days," she admits softly. "I meant to learn a little more about it, but time goes so fast."

Looking at the menorah she then offers Noah a smile, "I think it might be a good idea of you light it, and teach Clarice and I about it at the same time."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Noah nods and starts busying himself with putting several candles in the Menorah. "I'll give you the short version," he says, turning to face them. "Over two thousand years ago, Jerusalem was under occupation of the Syrians. King Antiochus Epiphanes took to our Temple there and desecrated it, as well as outlawing Judaism and it's practices. He set up altars and idols all around Jerusalem dedicated to the Greek gods and forced people to worship them."

"He was.... not nice about it," he continues. "There's a story where they tried to force an old rabbi to eat pork, and when he refused, even to let it touch his lips to pretend that he was eating it, they had him murdered. It was a forceful and cruel occupation."

"So a Jewish resistance movement formed, lead by the Maccabees." He opens the top drawer of the dresser and starts poking around there, looking for a lighter. "You might have heard of them. The Maccabees waged guerilla warfare against the Persians, and even won two battles where they were greatly outnumbered. Aha!" He pulls out one of those long necked candle lighters. "Found it!" He looks back up to those assembled, "More devout Jews will say that it was the will of God that they won, but more likely it was just superior tactics, and an overconfident Persian army."

"Really, that's what Chanukah is about. Perseverance of faith. Never backing down under overwhelming odds. Fighting back against those who oppress you." He gives Raven and Clarice a knowing smile. "Something which I'm sure you've had some experience with and can understand."

"The Menorah," he says, gesturing to it with the lighter, "represents when the Maccabees finally retook the temple. In temples there's a ner tamid... a lamp that's supposed to burn constantly. Of course the Persians put it out, so when they retook the temple they immediately relit it. Only problem was, they only had a day of oil, and, as the story goes, it'd be eight days before they'd get a shipment of oil to it so it was in danger of being put out. Somehow that day of oil lasted all eight."

"So we celebrate Chanukah by lighting the menorah," he says. "One candle for each of the days that the ner tamid stayed lit. We reflect on the importance of family and faith." He turns and flicks the trigger on the lighter and lights the centermost candle. He then starts singing softly in Hebrew, the blessings on the menorah and lights the three other candles in it one by one.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice listens to the story with genuine curiosity - heer smile broadening for a moment as he makes the comparison to more modern struggles. As he starts lighting the candles and singing, though, it's clear to those who know Clarice that she has something to say. Her brows are furrowed slightly to show a puzzled, questioning look, and she shifts her weight slightly, from one foot onto the other. But she remains quiet until the 'song' is over - and the candles are lit. "You said eight days, and one candle each day," she says then.
    But there's //nine// candles!

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The complete truth is that Raven has always been curious about Hanukah, so as Noah explains, she listens quite intently. Her knowledge consisted of holy days and oil that lasted eight days, and now she understood how those two things actually applied to the holiday. Would be a beautiful tell, if any part relating to a God was true. For one brief moment however, she felt a pang of jealousy over a father she never had and how wonderfully Noah explained it all.

When he starts singing, she lifts a brow and steps back and waits, just about to ask a question when Clarice speaks. Facepalm. It was a mental facepalm, but still.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's arm slips around Raven's waist as she listens to her father speak. The man is a natural born speaker, and is good with words, which is one of the reasons why he's one of the highest paid lawyers in the city. She squeezes her girlfriend close to her when he starts to sing the blessings, and she gets a little wistful smile on her face, as she remembers Chanukahs past.

When Clarice asks her question it garners a scowl from Rachel, but from Lydia she gets a giggle. "That's the Shammash. It's what you're supposed to use to light the candles of the menorah. It's technically not /part/ of the menorah but it is. It's kind of a go-between between us and the candles of the menorah."

They stand in silence to contemplate the light for while, reflecting on their family and all the joys it had brought them. "Well," Rachel says. "I'm sure the wine is chilled by now and the latkes are growing cold. Let's go to the dining room."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "So... eight days and a bonus candle?" Clarice concludes with a slightly wry smile. "I suppose that makes sense." She falls into silence as well, watching the candles for a few moments. After Rachel speaks, she allows herself to be guided towards the dining room.
    "The only tradition with candles I'm used to is birthday candles - and you're supposed to blow them out. But... since the whole point of the story is that the fire didn't go out... You don't blow on these candles?" she asks, looking from Lydia, to her parents for confirmation.
    This is followed immediately by, "What are latkes?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Raven slips her arm around Lydia's waist while watching the flickering fire, however she's not reflecting on anything. She had noted the ninth candle as well, but since Clarice just pointed it out without hesitation, one of the things she loved about the woman, she just accepted it as the 'bonus' candle.

As Rachal speaks her eyes shift to the woman, looking her over with a smile. She could see in the woman where Lydia got her looks, but then she could also see part of Noah in Lydia as well. With her arm still around her lover, she follows the others into the dining room. Her last visit ended there, she was hoping this one wouldn't end there as well.

"Tasty," she responds to Clarice with a chuckle, but that's about all she remembers regarding latkes. "Mrs. Dietrich is an amazing cook, and that's no attempt to blow smoke anywhere. I loved the soup I had the last time I was here."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"You're supposed to let them burn all the way to the bottom," Lydia says. "In fact if one of them accidentally blows out, you're supposed to relight it with the Shammash." She chuckles as she scoots out the seat for where Raven is going to sit. "You can sit over there," she tells Clarice, "Opposite Raven."

Rachel disappears into the kitchen to start bringing out food, and Noah hovers nearby and asks, "Do you want anything else to drink other than the wine? We've got filtered water, milk, soda, juice?" Lydia looks up at him and says, "Just water and the wine for me, please, dad." After he gets everybody's order he disappears into the kitchen as well.

When Rachel starts bringing out the dishes she explains each one in turn. "This is Challah," she says, placing the braided bread down. "It's an eggy kind of bread. You'll love it. This," she says after going back to the kitchen and returning with a cast iron skillet "This is a caprese shakshukah. Eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce." She fetches a large pot that must have come from a slow cooker, "Cholent, which is basically slow cooked lamb stew with root vegetables, and lastly..." She goes out and comes back, "Potato latkes! Basically shredded potato pancakes. Here's some apple sauce you put on it."

Noah comes back with the drinks, and sets out the wine, pouring a generous amount in each glass. "My God, woman," he says to his wife. "You've cooked enough to feed an army."

"Yes, but I know you'll eat it all in the next couple of days and it'll save me from cooking again for a while," retorts Rachel.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It all smells delicious," Clarice says enthusiastically, as she slips into the indicated seat, studying everything with a curious eye. "Honestly, I don't think I've had any of this before. I was born in Barbados, you see, and grew up in Genosha - so I'm mostly used to tropical, island cuisines. ...and Mootant Milkshakes."
    She shifts her gaze to Lydia before she adds, "I should send your parents some conkies! ...they can eat conkies, right? That's kosher?" She looks between her friend, and her friend's parents uncertainly.
    "I'll be happy with the wine, I think. And maybe a little water, as well. Thank you."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Nope, no way, Raven is /not/ sharing that she was born in Germany in 1879, that is /not/ happening. Just thinking about that makes the cobalt mutant twitch slightly. She wondered for a moment if Lydia's parents would start asking more questions about her or not. She told Lydia she wouldn't lie, but still, she wasn't certain about the age thing.

"I wouldn't mind some water as well as wine," she offers to Noah when he asks. She's willing to get it herself but she's not going to go breaking any social protocols right now.

"I've had all kinds of food, from all over the world, but nothing like this," she then comments, once Rachel as put everything out. "It looks wonderful and smells amazing."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Thank you," Rachel says, sounding pleased. It's an easy way to impress the woman, complimenting her cooking. "What's a conkie?"

Lydia's already got a latke on her plate and is digging into the shakshukah. "It's kind of like a sweet, tropical tamale, except you use banana leaves instead of corn husks," she says. "God, Mom. I miss your cooking."

"Well you shouldn't be such a stranger, then." Rachel replies. "I haven't heard from you in /ages/!"

Lydia ducks her head in embarrassment, "Sorry Mom."

Rachel waits her turn to start serving herself some food. "So," she says conversationally. "I was doing some research on you, Raven. You're a shapeshifter." She turns her hawkish stare to Lydia's girlfriend. "Does that mean that the possibility of grandkids is back on the table?"

Lydia nearly chokes on her wine. "MOM!"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "It's made with corn meal, and sweet potato, and pumpkin, and coconut, and butter, and spices, and raisins - it's very good," Clarice says enthusiastically.
    ...and then Lydia's mother asks her question, and her eyebrows go waaaaaay up. "Whoa. She just asked you to turn into a boy?" she laughs, shaking her head at the thought. "That's determined!"
    Grinning with amusement at this, she likewise starts to help herself to the food - based on Lydia's behavior. Apparently that's how things are done!

Raven Darkholme has posed:
It takes every fiber of Raven's will /not/ to just shift into a male at that exact moment. Both Lydia and Clarice can see the desire by the sparkle in her yellow eyes and the mischievous grin on her face. She had to take a slow breath to shove down the urge because yes, she's proud to be a mutant and show off what she can do, but also it might make Lydia's mother grin.

Putting a latke on her plate, then a little of the other things, she looks over at Lydia's embarrassed face, then back to Rachel. "Yes, I can take the form of anyone I have seen and heard," she explains plainly. "I can also assume any form my mind can put together, original and unique faces, male or female, or both for that matter, so... make of that what you will."

She wasn't going to out right say 'yes' about grandkids, given Lydia being a vampire likely made that impossible, but she would at least give Rachel some hope regarding it.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Rachel's eyes narrow, sizing up Raven. She didn't say 'no' so, in her mind, grandkids are sure to come. "As I thought," she says shrewdly. She sighs, "I suppose if she's to be with a woman, one that can give her children isn't so bad."

"Mooooom," Lydia whines pleadingly. "Can we just... not talk about kids? My life doesn't revolve around my uterus."

Noah coughs, trying to hide a grin. "So Raven, Clarice," he says, bringing the attention to himself. "You said that the Brotherhood is more into community service. Tell me a bit more about that."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Well, ever since I learned that my brother had survived what happened on Genosha, and had been living in an orphanage since the attack, well. It hardly seemed fair to sweep him away, and leave all the others behind, their lives none the better. So I started a Mentorship program, where people can visit their child once a week, and the Brotherhood provides a stipend that can be used to buy art supplies, or lessons, or to take the child out to a restaurant, or to see a show - each child and mentor gets to choose how they want to spend their money," Clarice explains in a cheerful voice. "Lydia's one of our volunteers, actually."
    Because this is what Lydia wants. To talk about children some more.
    "So we're doing more things like that. We also helped replant some forestland in Scotland after a mutant altered the saplings to help them better acclimate themselves to their changing habitat."
    All of the said, she takes a nibble of the shakshuka, and her expression brightens up. "Oh, this is good!"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A few nibbles here and there, because there was no way Raven was missing out on the food this time. She couldn't remember the meal that she had missed due to storming out, but it had been soooo good, and this... this was perfect. Another one of those jealousy moments, over having a mother who cared and cooked, and then it passed.

"We also do a lot of work in Bushwick," she adds after a sip of wine. "Working with the community to clean up the neighborhoods, establish suitable living places for families, working with the clinic and Hope House to aid the homeless and poor. It doesn't stop the hate groups from trying to do harm, but Clarice here oversees the operation of the Neighborhood Watch Patrols to help keep people safe."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Noah beams upon hearing the various charities that the Brotherhood has taken up. "I can see why Lydia joined you, now," he says. "She's always been active in mutant rights, even when she was a teenager. This sounds right up her alley. You'll have to let me know how we can help."

As for Lydia she does her best to eat like she used to. Her stomach just isn't made for it. She's used to the little nibbles here and there to enjoy the taste the food. This is the first time she's actually tried /eating/ and already the food is just sitting like a lump in her stomach. To this day she still has no idea where the food and drink she ingests /goes/. It certainly doesn't get processed and she hasn't had to go to the bathroom since she was alive.

She gets a few of bites out of each dish before she is just /done/. She stares at the cornucopia before her morosely trying to work out what she's going to say to her mother. She was hoping that she'd be able to eat through the meal but it looks like it just isn't happening.

Rachel looks at her daughter and scowls in concern. "Lydia, dear. Are you feeling well? I didn't want to say anything earlier, but you've hardly touched your food and you're a little pale. Plus there's whatever it is that happened to your aura." This is it. This is the moment that Lydia has dreaded.

She still hasn't worked out what she was going to say. "Sometimes we go on rescue missions around the world," she says. "Sometimes bad people do bad things to mutants and we go in and extract them before things get too bad. I've been going out into the field helping out in this operations from time to time." She winces. Better that her mother yell at her for putting herself in danger like that than finding out she's a vampire.

"There was one mutant... he could do things to people and I got hit with it." Things. Just leave it vague. "If we didn't go him he would have been used as a weapon and the kid just wanted to be a kid." She looks up at her mother, silently praying that she buys the lie. "They experimented on /kids/ mom. I just... can't sit by and not do anything."

She looks down at her plate. "But yeah. It changed how my mutant power looked and I don't eat as much now." She looks back up almost pleadingly, "But I'm /fine/. It's all just superficial stuff." Please, oh please let her accept that answer.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "And I don't let anyone go after kids," Clarice interjects, perhaps hoping to take some of the attention off Lydia. "They deserve a life, a childhood. You know, a chance to screw things up all on their own. If I had my say, no one else would have their childhood stolen from them - ever again. Human, or mutant. It doesn't matter." She wears that determined look she gets whenever she talks on this, or similar subjects.
    "Lydia was backing me up," she adds. "She knows how I get when it's- when it has to do with kids, like that."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
For this Raven chooses to keep her mouth full, because she doesn't want to be the one to lie, nor does she want to be the one to go 'oh yeah, you're daughter's a vampire because of me', so keep focus on food, keep mouth full.

When the lie was out there, Raven finally looked up at Rachel. "The Brotherhood still stands to protect all mutants in the world," she says with perhaps too much pride and authority in her tone. "But when it comes to children, we will stop at nothing to protect them, human or mutant. The things these people do to children is..." she pauses, realizing she was about to get preachy, and stops that by finishing with. "... no child should ever know that kind of horror and pain, no adult should either, but children deserve to be children and not have the darkness of twisted minds thrust on them."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Noah watches the interchange between the three placidly. Raven will recognize that mask that he's got one, one that she often wears to hide her emotions. When he meets her eyes, she can see the calculating part of the man. The cool assessment of somebody who deals with people lying to him all day as he sizes her up. When they break those eyes flick over to Clarice and Lydia before his eyebrows raise a bit. "Well," he says, pleasantly enough. "I can hardly argue with that. There may be legal issue with extricating children from their home countries or their legal guardians no matter how well intentioned you may be. I assume you have a plethora of lawyers to handle that aspect of it."

Rachel for her part scowls at her daughter. "Lydia, dear, I really wish you wouldn't put yourself in danger like that. I know your convictions are strong, but if you keep doing things like that, I might lose you." She sounds genuinely concerned for Lydia. A well placed concern.

Lydia nods, inwardly relieved that they're not challenging the lie. "I know, mom." she says. "But I can use my powers to help people! The opportunity is there and I... I just can't sit idly by while my girlfriend and best friend go off and face the danger by themselves."