Samirah Al-Abbas (daughter_ofloki) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2019-09-28 20:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, ~2019 september, ~25 points, ~~samirah al-abbas (daughter_ofloki), ~~~ariadne (building_dreams) |
Who: Ariadne and Samirah Al-Abbas
What: Samirah's arrival
When: Saturday Sept 28
Where: Ariadne's apartment
Status: Ongoing
Ariadne wasn't really sure how she'd ended up with a ward, but when she got the notification that she'd be moving into a two bedroom apartment due to being assigned a ward, she just nodded and accepted the paperwork. It wasn't like she couldn't handle a seventeen year old, and at least she would be able to relate a little bit. She was trying not to overthink it too much and had so far stopped herself from calling or texting her friends in a panic.
While she waited for Samirah to come by - she'd told her not to rush, if she wanted to check in with her friends first - Ariadne busied herself with tidying up the apartment. She'd changed the sheets on her bed and set out some pillows and an extra blanket on the couch, that way she could offer the teenager the choice of taking the bed or couch and both would be fresh and clean. She was just finishing up wiping down the bathroom when she heard the door open.
"Hi," she called as she hurried out to the main area. "Sorry, I was just- anyway, As-Salam-u-Alaikum. I'm Ariadne. It's nice to meet you." For someone who didn't look Muslim at all, the words sounded natural on her tongue.
***
Samirah did not know what was happening, but she had spent enough time in other realms to know that you needed to get the lay of the land before you did anything else. She had been told she couldn’t leave and that there were people from all sorts of worlds and walks of life. She had been told, too, that there would be a guardian assigned to her by the center. It was clear from walking through the streets that she was in the minority, but it was the same in Boston.
She had no idea what to expect as she walked up to the apartment doors with the key given to her. She hoped whoever she was with was nice and it was someone who had an open mind. People, she knew, could be closed minded to people who looked different.
These thoughts were on her mind when she walked into the room and was greeted with Arabic that she didn’t think she’d hear here. She tempered her surprise and offered a small, polite smile as she nodded her head. “Wa Alykom As-salam… My name is Samirah, or Sam, if you like. I’m sorry for being such an imposition and I am thankful you’ve agreed to take me in.”
***
"It's no trouble. It'll be a little tight tonight, but tomorrow we can move into a two bedroom and really get settled," Ariadne replied as she gestured to the kitchen. "Do you want some tea? We can get to know one another a little bit." It was just a suggestion, one she wouldn't mind if it were rebuffed. She knew how disorienting it could be upon first arriving in Madison. She'd at least been of an age where she didn't need to worry about guardianship or anything like that. For a seventeen year old, it was probably a little annoying, too.
"I've been here for almost a year now, this time around. I'd been here before for a while, went home for a few months here, and came back not much older, really," she explained. "It's...disconcerting, being stuck here. But I can promise from first hand experience that you go back to the point in time you left, none the wiser about the time you spend here." Ari could only hope that was at least mildly reassuring. "I'll do my best to answer any other questions you might have about being here, or about me. Those I can definitely answer," she offered with a smile.
***
“Tea would be great, thank you.” Her smile warmed a little Ariadne seemed nice, which was comforting. She also did get any strange vibes from her surroundings which was nice. It was almost like this place was entirely normal save for the fact that people from different worlds showed up and were stuck here. She wondered what Magnus or Alex would think of this place. She supposed that it was sort of like Hotel Valhalla in a way.
“You’ve been here twice then?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “It is comforting to know that people back home won’t notice I’m gone. My Jid and Bibi would worry sick if they knew I was gone for a long time and I doubt my friends would come up with a good enough excuse.” Plus there was Amir, but she tried not to think of the boy she loved too much.
“I’m not really sure what kind of questions I should ask, actually… Under normal circumstances it might be questions like what are the dangers here or who are the threats, but the Welcoming Committee told me Madison Valley is relatively peaceful.”
***
It felt a bit validating to have Sam agree to tea, like she was doing the right things at the right time. Maybe being a guardian wouldn't be an absolute mess, although it definitely helped that she was dealing with one teenager. The flashbacks of having triplet toddlers from one of the Dome's weird shenanigans had been enough to make her wonder if she was right for the job, but so far so good. She led the way into the kitchen and gestured to the table while she moved to get the kettle on.
"It can be peaceful, yea," Ariadne said as she lit the stove. "But weird things do, occasionally, happen. They can be good things, like a surprise trip to Europe. That happened recently, where one day we all woke up on a cruise ship. There can also be weird things, that might be good or might be bad. We had potential future children show up, which can be either or, and we also had a Sharknado. Which, if you come from a world that is better than this one and you don't know what Sharknado is, it's a tornado filled with sharks that eat people." It sounded incredibly ridiculous and Ariadne was definitely less than impressed by that particular nonsense.
"But, you can also ask about me, too." Ariadne would probably offer up that she was working towards converting to Islam by the end of their conversation, but she was curious to see if Sam would ask about it herself.
***
Samirah was a little easier to deal with than perhaps your average teenager since she was more mature. Her life had been so fraught with saving the world that small things didn’t bother her like they might a more ego-centric teen. Adriadne’s explanations of all the strange events that had happened and, presumably, could happen again, surprised Sam. She let the mixed emotion of know that stuff could happen to surface to her face. What would she do if her and Amir’s child were to show up. That seemed like a complicated idea that made her suddenly blush.
Clearing her throat - and her mind of the thought - Samirah tightened the fabric of her hijab around her head out of something to do. She didn’t like showing such vulnerability. Her eyes moved around the room for a moment and then landed back on her guardian. “Well, I guess one of the questions I’m interested in is what world you come from. I’ve never been to a place like this before and the idea that people can come from all sorts of places is really fascinating.”
***
While the kettle heat up, Ariadne busied herself with getting two mugs and the small selection of tea that she had, placing the items on the table so that Samirah could pick for herself what she wanted. She also got out the milk and sugar, and while she noticed that her new ward had tightened her hijab, she didn't say anything about it. Ari wanted her to be comfortable, but that would definitely take time.
"Well, my world is kind of boring, honestly. There aren't witches and superheroes and all of that, at least as far as I know. I grew up in the States, only child, and decided to pursue a career in architecture by studying in Paris. I love the meaning of design choices, the function and representation and how both go hand in hand. That's actually how I started on my journey towards converting to Islam," Ariadne explained. Since her world was fairly straightforward, she was using it as a chance to share more details about herself.
The kettle blew and she turned the burner off before pouring the hot water into their cups. "Amaar's mosque appeared, and he's been very welcoming of people who ask questions. I'm one of the few who keep coming back for more," she admitted with a small chuckle as she took a seat and began to fix her own tea. "I'm still trying to figure out if it's right for me, but so far? I think it could be." Ariadne still had some doubts, still worried if she was making the right decision or not, but the peace she felt when she was praying or reading the Quran was hard to beat, no matter how her mind turned each new thing over as many times as possible.
***
She knew about witches and superheroes in her world were fictional, but the Welcome Committee also explained that she might meet people in Madison Valley who were fiction in her world, but not in theirs. Sam had made the choice not to ‘out’ any of those people because she wouldn’t like to learn she was fictional either. Her own feelings on the possibility were fraught and she decided not to dwell on it if she could help it.
“I’m told Paris is beautiful. I’ve only ever been to the northern part of Europe.” It was on her bucket list. Magnus once had laughed that she didn’t just go because she could probably get their quickly, but somehow she wanted to experience some of the places in Midgard with Amir or with friends and not by herself.
The mention of Islam and a mosque truly piqued her interest. “There’s a mosque here?” It surprised her, but she noticeably relaxed in her shoulders. She’d gone without one before and had thought a place like Madison Valley wouldn’t have one, but she was glad to know that wasn’t the case. She made a note to go visit as soon as possible. “I’ve never met someone yet interested in converting to Islam. I admit I’m a little biased, but I love my religion. It gives me strength when things in my life grow increasingly erratic.”
***
It wasn't often these days that teenagers had the chance to see the world in any capacity, so the fact that Sam had seen some of Europe at all likely meant she had a reasonably stable upbringing. So far, Ariadne thought she was very well adjusted and a lot of her fears were gone now that she had a better sense of who her new ward was. Or at least, she had a better sense of how she was under pressure. "It might seem counterintuitive to the whole 'stuck here' thing, but there is actually a service that transports you to another city for a short period of time. I think...five days it is?" She'd never done it herself, but it was something she was considering.
"There is," she added, answering the question about the mosque. "Amaar's mosque from home appeared. It's understated, but very welcoming. There's only three other practicing Muslims in Madison, unfortunately. There's Amaar, Layla Siddiqui - his ward - and another woman, Zari Tomaz, who's from a future where she can't openly practice her religion. I've been doing morning prayers with Amaar and Layla in their apartment, more because I'm still getting the hang of it. I...wasn't one for faith, growing up. But I've...I guess I was just waiting for the right set of circumstances." That was the polite way to put it. Much neater than trying to explain she and a team of others infiltrated someone's mind for personal gain and she felt the toll of that no matter how she tried to push the guilt away.
Ariadne did smile though, at the mention of Islam giving Samirah strength in the face of insanity. "This place can definitely get a little crazy from time to time, but I'll always be here for you, literally because we'll live together. I think you'll like Layla though, and Amaar has a knack for saying just the right thing at the right time," she explained, introducing her friends a bit. "Also, Zari makes amazing halal donuts, and she's pretty great, too." It was a good group, all things considered. She knew they'd all be welcoming to Samirah, that was if she wanted to join them.
***
A service that transported you to different places was definitely strange if the whole point of this place appeared to make you stuck in one place, but Samirah knew from her life that strange rules were just a part of life. "I am familiar with travelling to different realms, though it's usually more or less on my terms. It's something I have to do considering the job I'm in back home." It was odd to be so forthcoming. In fact, just saying that much left her stomach feel a little uneasy. It felt like like she was exposing herself and that the show could drop at any moment. That, or Ariadne would be affected by the mist in an hour or so and forget when Samirah said.
Unlike Ariadne, faith had been a thing for her since she was born. In fact, it had been a little hard when she found out she was the daughter of Loki to understand how that would meld with her religion, but somehow it did. She wasn't sure her grandparents would understand, but that was a different story. "It's nice to know there are a few Muslim people here. Sometimes it can feel like the community is very small back home." Even though it was far from the truth, especially as the years went on and more people immigrated, it felt that way on occasion. Perhaps it had to do with the racism that was thrown at her and others.
"I look forward to meeting them." She smiled genuinely. "It's nice to know there's an imam here too. I think I'll try to reach out to him as soon as possible, if you think that would be okay?"