9597/Vampire in absentia

Vampire in absentia
Date of Scene:	12 January 2022
Location:	Mystique's Quarters
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Raven Darkholme, Jonathan Sims

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
One of the nice things about being a vampire is that you no longer sweat. This means Lydia's two hour workouts in the training room doesn't leave her a filthy swampy mess. She can just... come from a training session sit down and start writing without having to worry about taking a shower in between.

She's been doing that a lot. Intense training then straight to writing. Every day since the invasion of the angels. She's not even writing on her computer, but blowing through journals left and right, and keeping them locked in the room's safe when she's not there. She only really breaks to feed, sleep, and cuddle with Mystique. And maybe have mind blowing sex. Maybe.

Right now she's in the post workout phase, having come right from the training room. She's dressed in a white cotton sports bra, and black yoga pants. She's barefoot and has her tightly curled brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She's got one of the journals open and is very carefully writing things down. She's doing everything to make sure her script is clearly legible for anybody who can read Hebrew.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Every move that Lydia makes, Mystique has ensured that either she is watching and there, or that someone else is reporting the movements. She's been worried about Lydia since the sixth, knowing what happened she knows what her lover is going through, but she also knows there nothing she can say or do, aside from the mind blowing sex, to help.

The call for a teleport from Jon got him sent Gates. She honestly had no idea how Lydia would take a visit from the man, but after nearly a week of the same pattern, it was time to shake it up a little. The worst that could happen is Lydia would be mad and they'd have angry sex later.

Once Lydia returned and went right back to her journals, Gates received a text from the cobalt mutant that he was clear to teleport Jon to the asteroid, and right into the room.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon is wearing full SHIELD tactical gear when he comes up, with shiny new rank pins and a badge that reads 'Agent Sims.' Evidently he's not bothering to hide his affiliation anymore, given what's happening--though presumably he won't introduce himself as a SHIELD agent to, say, the press. He looks strained, but less tired than he might be expected to be. Someone's been making sure he eats and sleeps, at least.

    He hunches his shoulders immediately on stepping through the portal. Being away from Earth... /physically/ bothers him at the moment. He takes a deep breath and lets it out, trying to push away that feeling, while he looks around. "Ahh... hello," he says, hoping not to startle anyone too much.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia is a bit surprised that Gates ported Jon right into her and Raven's suite. She knew that Jon would eventually show up and that she'd eventually have to talk to him, but she had expected that she would be /told/ first before he showed up. Knowing that Gates would never have done this without Raven's approval she gets a bit of a glare from the vampire.

Softening she swivels her plush office chair around to face the man. She takes in the sight of him, in the SHIELD tactical gear. He never really told her about his involvement with the group save for a fleeting mention here and there, so seeing Jon dressed as a full SHIELD field agent is another unwelcome surprise.

"Hello, Jon," she says coolly. "Here on business? What can we do for you?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Wearing a pair of white jeans, and a white tank top, her feet bare and pulled up into the massive chair with her, Mystique is sitting at her desk when Jon appears. To those in the room it looks like he walks through the door without opening it, making it obvious a portal was in use, but then she knew he was coming. There's nothing on the monitors save screen savers running, and as Jon 'appears' she turns the chair around to to offer him a nod, a tablet in her hands and one on her leg. In her ear is the comm unit in which she listens to everything happening on the very populated asteroid, security reports, reports from the kitchen about supplies, everything that goes on is filtered through H & D, and then to her.

Accepting the well earned glare, she offers a smile in return. Sometimes it paid to be the boss, you could pull shit without too much trouble, but she'll deal with that later.

"Come in Jon," she offers as she unfolds herself from the chair and stands. "Please, have a seat. Would you like some coffee or tea?" She gestures to the two large chairs in the middle of the room, the only indication of decoration really, beyond her personal weapon collection.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Tea would be lovely, thank you," Jon replies to Mystique. He goes to sit down, adjusting the staff collapsed to the size of a baton at his hip; he didn't wear his ICER, but he keeps running into situations where being wholly unarmed turns out... potentially bad.

    "That... depends on what you call business?" he says once he's settled, frowning slightly at Lydia. "I mean... you weren't at the meeting yesterday. You haven't answered calls or texts. Honestly, I would've done this yesterday, but it's been... a rather busy twenty-four hours." His brow furrows slightly, unable to quite tell where the cool tone is coming from.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia shrugs dismissively. "It's been a rather busy week, all in all." She snaps the journal closed and sets it with the others. "I... didn't know you had a meeting yesterday, but I doubt that I'd have had anything meaningful to contribute."

"Soooo," she says drawing out the word. "What does SHIELD want with me? I spooked too many people when I fed off of Sara?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Speaking quietly into the comm requesting the 'real' tea, and not the crappy shit, Mystique moves to sit back in her chair. Crossing right leg over the left, she folds her hands in her lap and observes the body language of the two people in the room. Lydia was feeling sorry for herself, on guard against the SHIELD uniform that appeared in the room. Jon was exhausted physically and mentally, and clearly concerned about his friend.

"Congratulations on the promotion, Jon," she offers idly with the same smile. "You've earned it."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon nods to Mystique. "Thank you," he says simply.

    Then he looks to Lydia. "I'm not here for SHIELD," he says in an even tone. He picks up the lanyard around his neck, briefly, lets it drop. "I wear these fatigues every day. I'm dressed in tac gear because I just came back from checking on the teams at the bridges. I'm /living/ at Grand Central Station, just now. Martin and I have shoved a couple of cots together in a store room for some privacy; I wanted to leave the hotel rooms at the Hyatt for civilians. I am the Field Commander of the SHIELD detachment providing operations and logistics for the defense of Manhattan against the armies of Heaven, and I didn't really have time to change into civilian clothing."

    He sighs. "I am also one of the leaders of the Justice League Dark, and your /friend/. That's why I'm here. I thought something might be wrong."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods in understanding, as Jon explains the situation, her lips pressed into a thin line. She takes a moment to collect her thoughts before offering, "Yes, well, /I'm/ what's wrong," she says without rancor. "I'm a liability in the field. I can't be trusted. Phoebe even mentioned it at the meeting you'd called and she's right."

Her brows furrow in frustration and she huffs out a breath, "I mean, for God's sake, I tried to /eat/ her. If she was any less capable as she was I probably would have, and I'd never be able to live, or whatever it is that I do now, with myself. And when the angels came..." she flings a hand out to gesture at where the Earth would be, "I froze. I froze and let the Beast take control again and it wanted to get as far away from there as it could."

"So, I'm here, training, trying to learn how to better control it in stressful situations, and when I'm not doing that," she lays a hand down on the pile of journals that she's been working on. "I write. I refuse to be just your cheerleader, Jon, so I'm doing what I do best. I'm chronicling everything that's happened. That's happening. I'm trying to keep it as impartial as I can which.... makes for really dry reading, I admit. But, if we all survive this, there needs to be a record of it."

She looks over at the pile of journals and scowls. "They say that history is written by the victor, and traditionally when that happens the opposite sides are cast as the villains. I don't want that to happen to Ms. Fairchild, or the people who follow her. Or Michael, too, really. He's done terrible things but there's more to him than that. There's /nuance/ there, and I want to record that, too."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
There's a large number of things Mystique could say, but she won't, not in front of Jon anyway. She's been watching Lydia's decent into self pitty and training for a week now, with no indication of it even remotely close to stopping. She had no idea what all the journals were until that moment, but it made perfect sense to her that her love would be the one to try and write both sides equally.

Standing up she walks over to the main door and opens it, just as a young man appears with a trolley, on which is the tea, cups, and all the extras one might want with tea, including cookies. Taking the cart she offers a nod of thanks then aims the trolley over to the chairs Jon is sitting in.

"I remember the first time I went into a real fight," she comments idly, reaching for the pot to pour tea into one of the cups for Jon, and one for Lydia. "I mean a fight that truly mattered, not some random school yard scuffle. I was sixteen, thought I was king shit of the world for having joined up with other mutants who believed that I believed. We were going up against some cowboy nut bag, mutant hating bastards."

Jon is offered his tea, then she takes one to Lydia. "When the shooting broke out, I panicked and ran, which got me shot in the back, and got one of the people on out team killed. We've all been there Lydia," she offers her lover a soft smile. "You can't plan for ever contingency, that's an impossibility."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon sits back a little, crossing one leg over another. "Alright," he says. "That's entirely fair. You need to train, to be prepared for dangerous situations--perfectly reasonable. You need to figure out how to get your Beast under control. You want to write this all down, and I of /all/ people applaud the idea of ensuring both sides are heard. If you truly wish to take down /her/ side of things, perhaps we can arrange an interview with Fairchild through the Titans. Otherwise, standing orders are not to engage."

    He raises his eyebrows. "Why the bloody hell didn't you just... /say/ that? 'Hey, Jon, I need to take some time and get my head and heart in the right place?' Plenty of people have been doing that--assessing themselves, where they fit, whether they can be in the field. There's no shame in that."

    He reaches out to take the tea and says quietly, "I still freeze. It's how I got through primary and secondary. Hold still, let them get the aggression out. Fighting back--which is my first instinct--just made them angry." He shrugs, jaw shifting, as he puts in a splash of milk and a heaping of sugar. "My SHIELD training seems to be helping. If I think of it like a medical emergency, rehearse the steps, it helps."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods, looking up at Raven. "But this /isn't/ the first time I'd been in a combat situation since I've turned. This isn't even the first time I've disobeyed orders from when I was /alive/. Remember China? I'm undisciplined and the Beast has only made it worse."

She scowls. "I have... a technique that puts the Beast to sleep. But I have to be in the right frame of mind to do it," she mumbles more to herself than anybody else. "I need to learn meditation techniques so I can calm myself in stressful situations to put it away."

Shaking herself she redirects her focus back to Jon. "I don't know," she admits. "I just... didn't want to talk to anybody about it for a couple of days. And then... it just kind of continued. I'm just chalk full of bad decisions, it seems," she says bitterly.

Quickly changing the subject, "I'd like that, meeting Ms. Fairchild. And Michael, too, if he'd allow it, but I don't know if I can get close enough to him to even ask without being blasted to bits. Maybe if things go well with Ms. Fairchild, she can arrange something."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique makes certain that the tea she sets on Lydia's desk is exactly how she likes it, then leans to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Stop beating yourself up," she states quietly, lovingly then places another kiss on her forehead. "We've all been through it. Enough already."

Standing up, she indicates the tea before she walks back to the trolley to make herself a cup. She wants to scream something akin to, 'No going near angels!' at Lydia, but she doesn't control what the woman she loves does, or Lydia wouldn't be leaving the asteroid... ever... during all this.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I make no promises, with regards to Fairchild," Jon says softly. "I cannot be certain she's totally keeping the communication lines open, and to be frank, she may take issue with the simple fact that you're a vampire, if she doesn't presume you must be a spy or an assassin. But I'll ask Troia what she thinks." He sighs. "If nothing else... perhaps you can ask for her view of this when it's all said and done." He says this with surprising confidence that Caitlin will survive this conflict.

    He regards Lydia quietly, then. "She's right," he says bluntly. "It's good to recognize your mistakes, to try to learn from them. But dwelling on those mistakes endlessly does no good." A pause, and then suddenly, "Do you have a therapist? I mean, I recommend therapy to everyone... but you just went through a major life change, perhaps you should talk to someone."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia would pout but the kiss on her forehead washes that away. She takes the tea and wraps her hands around the cup, taking in its warmth. She brings it up to her nose and lets the scent fill her nose, which helps wash out all the other scents that she's picking up. Closing her eyes she takes a gentle sip of the hot liquid, just enough to taste. It's a calming ritual, one that helps settle her mind. Raven knows her well.

After a few quiet moments she opens her eyes at Jon and quirks a grin. "Do you think sending her a copy of one of my books will help or hurt my case?" Though, more seriously, she shakes her head. "I don't have a therapist. Is there a therapist out there for vampires? Maybe there's a support group. Vampires Anonymous."