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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 7, 2011 23:14:35 GMT -5
So, into the dark convent they went. He wasn't very pleased with the situation, but he tried not to let it bother him much. As they moved into the building Alistair took note of the young woman typing away on her little electronic device. ~Is she texting? Bloody... At a time like this?~[/color] He thought to himself, a bit upset by how she seemed to take things to lightly. Again, he calmed himself within seconds.
The mutant looked around at the fine floor and walls, and then turned his gaze upward to the dim chandelier. “Our help is on the way.” Said his companion. Price put his attention back on Maia at that point, and listed to the rest of what she had to say. "Might as well stay standin' if I'm gonna be moving again." He replied plainly.
Only a few seconds went by before a door opened up. Alistair's head shot toward the sound, his eyes widening for only an instant before narrowing a little to make himself look more intimidating. However, they returned to normal when he saw it was but a nun approaching. “You know how I am, Julian, I love to bring home strays.” Alistair cocked an eyebrow once more, his eyes shifting to Maia again. It was an interesting choice of words, at least, Price thought so. Was this a regular occurrence with her? “Let’s get you taken care of.” Said the nun. Alistair complied and went to follow her, but stayed close to Maia. He wasn't sure about the older woman yet, mainly because she was a nun, which Alistair knew was wrong of him. But, too many times nuns and the like had tried to "cleanse" him, and by "cleanse" I mean burn. Seriously, what was with people believing fire to be a cleaning tool? Anyhow, though the events were during the time that mutants were being forced to register the memories were fresh.
Alistair was slightly relieved to hear that Maia hadn't ratted on him and told this woman what had happened, and at the same time he was wishing she had already come up with some clever tale. The mutant was taken aback by the news of this nun being Maia's mother. A serious "WTF expression" came upon his face before he could fight it. It was just too weird. After all, weren't nuns supposed to be celibate? Cause, honestly, that whole "forbidden fruit" thing was pretty much the whole turn-on guys had for nuns, and without that a lot of fantasies were going to be ruined. Then again, maybe he heard wrong? "How's that?"
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 7, 2011 23:36:15 GMT -5
Maia gave a mild chuckle at his face, feeling a little guilty for taking this so lightly. She opened the door to a small room. She flicked on the lights and walked inside. The room had 2 sets of padded tables for him to choose to sit on. It was brightly lit, allowing Alistair to see what was inside. Julian followed them inside, taking time to look over Alistair’s shoulder as she walked behind him.
She walked over and sit on the table on the far side of the room. She watched him, making sure he didn’t need help as she explained. “Well, my life isn’t a mystery to anyone who asks. When I was born I was dropped off in an orphanage in Brooklyn. Julian, here, raised me. She was the lucky nun to become momma.” She chuckled weakly, as if she felt like a burden more than a gift. “She was the first and only person to believe in what I could see. She actually helped me fine tune it.”
Julian rolled up her sleeves and went to the sink to wash her hands. “Please remove your shirt, sir.” She said calmly. As she dried her hands and grabbed a pair of gloves she turned around to face them. “I believe momma is as close a term as any.” Julian smiled over at Maia and stepped toward Alistair. “I’m not going to ask how this happened,” She spoke softly, giving a glance to Maia.
For a moment something seemed to pass between them until Maia looked away to Alistair. “Julian and I both work closely with people who are… different. She’s used to me bringing home people who are hurt or people who need a place to hide. Though I have to say you’re the worst so far.”
“And cutest.” Julian muttered before peeling part of Alistair’s shirt away from the wound.
Maia blushed darkly, but laughed none the less. “That to, but I’m sure this isn’t the time to stroke his ego. You’re a nun you can’t say that anyway!” She laughed nervously.
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 8, 2011 14:25:13 GMT -5
Once inside the next room Alistair saw a couple of padded tables, which meant this was probably the infirmary. He walked over to one of them and sort of slid up onto it. He gave his wound a quick check just before Maia started talking again--it had stopped bleeding. But, that would all change once they started trying to get the bullet out.
Alistair turned his gaze to Maia again, a sad look in his eyes. Her past sounded like a most difficult one, and her tone reflected that well. ~Well, we're a fine pair of misfits, aren't we? An English boy from the upper-middle class of London, and an orphan girl from Brooklyn.~ He thought to himself, a very small and crooked grin coming to his lips for a moment.
“Please remove your shirt, sir.” The request caught him off guard, though looking back on it he wasn't really sure why. He knew he'd have to take his shirt off at some point, but that didn't make it any less weird; taking his clothes off in front of a nun. ~Bugger.~[/color] Alistair took the jacket and set it down beside him, it looked pretty well ruined. He felt a bit guilty for trashing the girl's clothes. He'd have to do something to make it up to her. Price carefully pulled his left arm into his shirt without the use of his wounded arm, and then used his good arm to remove the shirt the rest of the way. He let the bloodied and torn shirt hit the floor, revealing a well defined six pack and firm pecks.
“I’m not going to ask how this happened,” said the nun. Alistair silently thanked God for the small favor. He tried to ignore whatever Julian was doing to him, and just focus on Maia & Julian's words. The two had an interesting relationship, it was more sisterly than mother-daughter in Alistair's opinion. After a couple more sentences it was revealed that this sort of thing was normal for Maia, which kind of surprised him. She didn't look like the type, but then again she didn't look like a poor little orphan girl either.
A bit of red rushed to Price's cheek when the nun, of all people, called him cute. He'd had women call him sexy, hot, and a lot of other things he wouldn't repeat, but never cute and never by a nun. He wondered if this lady really was a nun, or if maybe she was faking it, but that thought was driven out by pain from her peeling off a piece of shirt that had been burnt to his skin. He grunted lightly, but quickly redirected his attention to Maia, who went on to agree with Julian. ~Well, Alistair ol' boy, this is certainly one of the oddest situations you've gotten yourself into.~[/color]
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 8, 2011 16:39:30 GMT -5
Maia gave another laugh at Julian, her own blush showing she was just as shocked as Alistair. She caught his eye for a moment, watching his colors fade and swirl as he listened to them. When the shirt came off her blush darkened into a noticeable shade. It wasn’t the fact she hadn’t seen a shirtless man before, even one what was well toned, but for some reason this particular six pack struck her.
She rose to her feet and walked around the room to distract herself. The last this she needed was to embarrass herself any more than she already had. After her face cooled she turned to watch Julian work. She moved her way around the table when Alistair sat and looked a little closer at the wound. She grimaced and lost a little color when Julian pulled some of the shirt away.
The bleeding had stopped, but surely it was going to pour now. She looked at Alistair, her eyes holding signs of remorse and compassion for his pain. “Can I get you anything before we start?” She asked. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”
Julian had already risen to her feet and started gathering things to remove the bullet. Gauze, antiseptic, and an arrange of small metal tools to dig and pry the shell out of his shoulder. She sat a small cup down on the table next to her and dropped two pills into it. Without looking up from her work she said, “Maia, this will take the edge off. We don’t have anything stronger here.”
Maia, without a word, turned and grabbed the cup. She walked over to Alistair and held the cup out to him. “Need water?”
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 8, 2011 17:02:51 GMT -5
Alistair just barely caught Maia blushing at the sight of his exposed body, which actually made him feel a little more comfortable, or perhaps just more confident. After a bit the girl took to walking around the room, and Price just tried to clear his mind. He gradually pushed away his surroundings, then the sounds, and eventually there was nothing. It was just him and utter white. A tiny black speck amongst endless and flawless snow. The mutant was nigh motionless, aside from his breathing and the beating of his heart; he didn't even blink for quite some time.
After a little while he started to let bits of sound seep back in, just in case they needed to ask him something important. He tuned in just in time to hear somebody ask if he needed anything before they started. He just shook his head, still seeming like he was in a trance. A moment later he heard Maia ask if he needed water, and then he allowed his surroundings to return so he could see what she was handing him. He furrowed his brow just a little; the trance was broken, and it would take a couple minutes before he could get back into it. "How 'bout a bottle of Jack?" He thought aloud as he grabbed the little cup, not realizing at first that the words had escaped his mouth. There was little indication that he realized he had made a mistake, so it seemed as though he meant to say what he did.
Alistair toyed with the idea of just taking the pills dry, and trying to play off his earlier words as a joke, but after a few seconds he decided to wait and see if a bottle was produced. It certainly would make this whole thing much easier now that his trance was broken.
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 8, 2011 17:15:04 GMT -5
Maia gave a smile, at least he still had a sense of humor. She looked over at Julian, who was returning her gaze. “Oh goodness, just go get it.” Julian shook her head, her humor showing through. “We do not have jack, mr. Alistair, but we do have a communion wine that will knock your socks off.” She turned back to her work as Maia left the room, walking a little faster than she should be. She was in a hurry to get away from the topless man for two reasons. One blood wasn’t her strong point, it never had been. And two she wasn’t exactly used to being in the same room as a well toned man that long.
Julian turned to Alistair as Maia left. “You’ll have to excuse her if she seems overly cheerful. I’m afraid that would be my doing. I’ve always taught her to look on the bright side.” She grabbed the tools she had gathered and walked over to him. She looked at his shoulder once more and nodded, already planning on how she was going to get the bullet out. “She has a sweet heart though.”
After a moment Maia came back into the room, carrying a bottle of wine. She had two glasses in the other hand. She hesitated at the door, as if she knew they were talking about her. “I got the wine.” She said softly, walking back over to Alistair. She poured him a glass and handed him the pills, her hand lingering as if she were trying to sense what was said when she was gone.
“I’m going to start as soon as you take your pills.” Julian said from behind him, her knife ready.
Maia gave him another pained look and moved away from them, allowing Julian space to work and Alistair breathing room.
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 8, 2011 21:57:52 GMT -5
There was a short silence in the room, followed by an even shorter sentence from the nun. A spark of hope tugged at the right corner of Alistair's mouth, but that was quickly squashed when he heard what the substitute would be. "The Frenchman's Jack. Lovely." He was disappointed, but the wine would be better than nothing.
Mr. Price watched the young woman scurry off to get the wine, a strange uneasiness coming over him. Why was he nervous all of a sudden? Was it because of the convent, or the nun? Maybe it was the idea of being alone with a stranger while wounded? But, then again, Maia wasn't exactly an old friend. So...why?
“You’ll have to excuse her if she seems overly cheerful. I’m afraid that would be my doing. I’ve always taught her to look on the bright side.” Alistair turned his gaze to the older woman now, trying to keep the pain out of his thoughts, but it was getting harder. “She has a sweet heart though.” "I see that." He replied lowly, his eyes shifting toward the door as though they were waiting for her to come in at that moment.
It wasn't long before Maia did enter, and she was carrying the earlier mentioned wine. Price sighed, and silently hoped this stuff was stronger than he expected. He couldn't help but notice the two glasses and wonder who they were for. He soon found that one glass was for him, which was disappointing; he had hoped for a bit of lenience, which would translate into "just giving him the bottle". But, he accepted. He threw back the pills, chugged down the wine, and sighed as he braced himself. "Okay. Let's do this."
Alistair went to move into a better position for Julian when he noticed Maia moving away. "Don't go too far, love." He said commonly. "I might need something to focus on."
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 9, 2011 19:48:01 GMT -5
Maia just watched him when he spoke. She wasn’t sure exactly if she was going to be the best person to focus on, but she would give it a try. She poured half a glass of wine, chugged it, made a face of this was a nasty idea, wiped off her mouth and gave a smile. Her smile faded when she noticed Julian moving into place. She shifted closer to Alistair, pulling a stool from under the table and sitting down facing him.
“I’m sorry we don’t have anything stronger.” She told him, she had meant the pills, but then again the wine wasn’t enough either. “Julian normally gets everything over with pretty quick.”
“I’m going to start, mr. Alistair.” Julian said from over his shoulder. “Would you like for me to tell you what I’m doing so you’re not surprised, or just do what I must to get it over with?”
Maia gave him an uneasy look. Though she knew knowing what Julian was doing might ease his nerves, it sure wasn’t going to help her stomach. She was never one for blood and gore, her timid, sunshiny nature was proof of that. She folded her hands in her lap and waited for everything to begin.
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 9, 2011 20:39:27 GMT -5
Alistair could tell Maia was nervous, probably more nervous than he was. What an odd girl. But, it was that bit of strangeness in her that Alistair was taking a shine to. Her almost little girl like traits just brightened things, even if only a little. Even though at first he thought she might be a bit of an air-head with how lightly she took the situation, he now saw that it was just innocence and optimism; at least that's how it seemed.
The girl tried apologizing, but Price just grinned a little. "Don't fret, love. I've been through worse." He replied. By then the nun was ready to start things. Alistair's heart sped up for a few seconds, but he quickly calmed himself. "No thanks. I'd rather put it all outta my mind, if I can, until you're finished." He said in a surprisingly calm tone.
Alistair readied his mind for the pain he was about to be in, trying to focus on anything else. He needed to block out the pain if he didn't want to start screaming. "Alright, Maia, tell me something." He just needed something, anything, to keep his mind busy.
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 9, 2011 21:00:00 GMT -5
“Tell you something?” What on earth could I tell him? She didn’t have time to think of anything interesting before Julian started prying the wound open.
“Um, I grew up in Brooklyn, like I told you before.” She stared at his shoulder, watching Julian work; thankfully the crest of this shoulder hid her view of the gore. “I was left at the orphanage when I was a few days old, so I don’t know my real birthday. A little fun fact, anyway….”
Maia paled and turned away as Julian pushed the wound apart. She looked into Alistair’s eyes to keep talking, hoping she wouldn’t make a fool of herself and faint. She twisted her hands together on the side of the table close to where he was sitting and continued.
“Your eye color really pops out when you mix in your astral color.” She looked around him, trying to find more words. “I knew something was different about you when I saw you in the dinner. You had something I never saw before, green speckles… like scales reflecting the sun. I’m still amazed by them.”
The first clink of metal hitting the dish made Maia look again. Julian was running antiseptic laced water over the wound to clear a spot for her to resume working. Maia closed her eyes when the watered down blood dripped onto the table within her view. She clenched and unclenched her hands before clearing her throat.
“Tell me about yourself.” She said without opening her eyes. “it will give you something to talk about.”
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 10, 2011 16:22:10 GMT -5
Alistair focused his grey-blue eyes on Maia, listening carefully to every word that came from her mouth. She started in on what Price thought was going to be her life's story, and then stopped as the nun opened up his wound. Alistair grit his teeth as they morphed into fangs for only a second, a result of a sort of defense mechanism he'd discovered some time after his powers manifested. He pushed his lips together to hide his fangs until they returned to normal, and then looked to Maia once again.
When the girl started talking about his eyes and what she called "astral color", Alistair felt rather flattered. It wasn't everyday a comely young woman complemented him in such a way. It made for a sufficient distraction. A clanking caught Alistair's attention, and let him know that the bullet was out. ~Thank God the hard part's over.~[/color] He thought to himself. He immediately put his mind back on Maia, preparing to block out whatever pain would come next.
“Tell me about yourself.” She said without opening her eyes. “it will give you something to talk about.” "Okay. Well, I was born in London, but my family is originally from Yorkshire. I came to the States when I was in my early teens, and have spent a good portion of my life here. I did go back in my twenties for a bit, and did some martial arts competitions." Price said, occasionally grunting lightly when he felt the sting of the antiseptics.
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 10, 2011 19:23:04 GMT -5
“I’m nearly done, Maia,” Julian said as she sat down the bottle and picked up a needle to thread his skin back together.
Maia nodded, knowing the words were more to assure her then to assure Alistair. She looked back at him, watching the dots of flashing color dance around him. She looked back into his eyes and smiled slightly. “I would have loved to learn something useful, like karate or jujitsu, but the best I got was meditation and yoga. The little I do know I’ve learned through trial and error.”
Julian snipped the thread from the last stitch and grabbed a gauze strip. She started wrapping the wound. “Do you have a place to stay the night, Mr. Alistair? We have several guest rooms on the men’s side of the building.”
Maia looked at Julian as she spoke and rose to feet. She gave Alistair’s hand a caring pat and then held the gauze as Julian tapped the bandage into place, her fingers pressing around the wound carefully. “You’re more than welcome to stay here. I stay here a lot, the pancakes in the morning as soooo worth the early wake up call.” She peeked over at him and flashed another smile, this one holding humor and hope that he might decide to stay, even if it was for a few hours.
Something about him was nagging at her. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know about his life and so on. “If you don’t want to stay, maybe, you wouldn’t mind going with me to get coffee or something… as a thank you for helping me tonight? I know it’s late and all,” She shrugged.
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 11, 2011 3:16:52 GMT -5
The nun stated that she was nearly done, which was a relief. Man did he hate getting shot; it was such a chore to fix. A few cuts or gashed he could deal with, even a stab wound, but bullets were a serious pain in the neck. Though his healing factor wasn't the most impressive, it definitely surpassed humans--this wound that was currently getting stitched would be good as new in a few hours.
“I would have loved to learn something useful, like karate or jujitsu, but the best I got was meditation and yoga. The little I do know I’ve learned through trial and error.” "It's never too late to learn." Alistair said calmly, no longer feeling any pain. "Maybe I could give you a bit of instruction as a way of showin' my thanks." Price grinned at the young woman, who seemed to be much more relaxed now. By the time he finished talking Julian was done with his wound and giving his hand a pat like an affable aunt. She asked if he had someplace to stay, and said he was welcome to stay with them. He did have somewhere to stay, but that was clear across town. Even so, he didn't want to take advantage of these people. "I've got a flat in town, actually. But thanks." He replied after Maia reinforced the welcome.
Then something interesting and unexpected happened. The young woman, Maia, asked him out for coffee. By now he was sitting up straight, still quite shirtless, and smiling. He was tempted, but honestly he felt like hell. After all, he had just been shot, and it was getting pretty late. However, this girl was interesting. She was a strong girl, he could tell that much from how she made the first move to stop the madman. Alistair had a thing for strong women. "Sure. Let's grab a drink." Price answered after a short moment. "I, uh..." He looked down at his bare torso, and then to the women. "Don't suppose you have a shirt I could borrow?"
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Post by Maia Veronna on Jul 11, 2011 8:44:30 GMT -5
Maia flashed a grin when he accepted her offer of coffee. She thought for a moment then nodded when he asked for clothing. She had a few men’s shirts that she liked to lounge in at times. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room, letting Julian clean up.
Julian walked in front of him and gave a kind smile. “I know you feel horrible, don’t let her drag you out if you’re not up for it.” She warned, though her tone was kind. “She has always been a nighthawk and obviously has never been shot. Pain isn’t something she’s had much of.” She chuckled.
Julian turned and grabbed a few things to throw away. “Would you like a few more pills to take with you? And the bottle of wine, we have plenty.”
A moment later Maia returned with a grey, flannel shirt. “It’s not the best looking, but its clean and big enough for you.” She said as she entered the room. She handed him the shirt; though it was a men’s shirt it smelled clearly of her perfume, a fruity, sweet scent. She looked over his shoulder, touching his arm slightly to make him move just a little as she made sure the bandage was properly in place, doing so without hurting him. "Julian, your skills never cease to amaze me."
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Post by Alistair Price on Jul 11, 2011 10:11:15 GMT -5
Again the young woman went from the room, leaving Alistair alone with Julian. This time, however, he didn't feel so uneasy. The nun had done right by him, so she had his trust. The woman started expressing concern for him next thing he knew, which brought a grin to his face. She was a kind woman.
"No need to worry over me. I heal fast." He said with a slight chuckle in his voice. It was sort of nice to have somebody worry over him for a change; living on his own he didn't really have anyone to fret over him. “Would you like a few more pills to take with you? And the bottle of wine, we have plenty.” "I should be fine. But, I won't say no to free wine." The mutant said, and then gave her a friendly wink.
A moment passed and Maia reentered the room, and she was carrying a shirt he usually wouldn't want to be caught dead in. ~Flannel? Or, dear Lord.~[/color] He thought to himself, and then another thought entered his mind. ~Alistair, ol' boy, you're starting to sound like your father.~[/color] He took the shirt anyways, and started putting on after Maia checked his bandage. "Thanks for everything." Price said to Julian and Maia as he hopped off the table. "So, love, anyplace particular you wanted to go?" Alistair asked with a cockeyed grin.
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