She is ... Who: Illyana, Xi'an What: Xi'an gets the news, Illyana tries being compassionate. When: Backdated to Saturday, after Xi'an got the news. =| Where: Kitty and Xi'an's Apartment. Ratings/Warnings: PG-13, mentions of kidnapping Status: Complete
Xi'an glanced at her cellphone again before hiding her face in her hands. Kidnapped. There had been an earthquate, and Kitty had been kidnapped. Probably a feat made possible by the chaos of the earthquake. And she couldn't do anything but wait. Waiting was making her feel sick. The twins were taking a nap, but she'd have to tell them something when they woke. She didn't know how to handle having to tell them this.
At the moment, Illyana was mainly thinking that she'd had enough earthquakes already to get a proper introduction to what life was like living on a fault line. They could stop, any moment now.
She headed out into the living room after getting off the phone with Clarice to make sure the hamsters hadn't bitten her to death. Her mood was tentatively happy, though Katya was still missing. That all changed when she noticed Xi'an.
"Something has happened."
It wasn't a question.
Xi'an took a deep breath and moved her hands away from her face. "I just found out that Kitty's been kidnapped. The authorities are looking into it, but there apparently haven't been any demands made." She closed her eyes and swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I...I can't lose her..."
The thought of Kitty being kidnapped was a foreign one to Illyana. She'd always believed that Kitty was so capable and strong - first from the stories Piotr had told about her, though she wasn't a ninja then - then, from her own experiences with her recently.
And how had that even happened when she could walk through doors? They must have taken her by surprise. The thought made her angry. She wanted to run out after whoever did this, but like Xi'an, she was helpless.
She took a deep breath and let it out, then sat down next to her, "Katya. She is ... very capable and fighty, da? I am sure she will be alright."
Xi'an nodded. "She is. But I still worry." What if she'd been hurt in the quake, along with being kidnapped? If she was injured, she wouldn't be able to fight anyone off as easily, and she wouldn't able able to use her power as well as she normally would. Xi'an rubbed her face and sighed. "I hate not knowing what's going on."
"Well you are not alone in this. Katya has been my friend for a long time. I do not like feeling useless." Illyana hated it, in fact, though it was a state she'd been in, on and off, for several years now.
It wasn't the time to bring up the fact that she understood via being unable to fight Cancer with a sword and pointy sticks, however. Illyana took a few minutes to try and boot up her brain-mouth filter. It barely existed, "... Do you want some coffee?"
"I would love some coffee." Coffee was good. It was routine, it was normal. Drinking coffee would give them something to do besides just sit there, even if it wasn't much.
Xi'an gave Illyana a faint smile. "Thank you. And thank you again for helping the twins calm down after the quake. I'm glad you were here for them."
Sometimes normal was an extremely huge comfort. Illyana got up off the couch and fired up the Keurig, glancing behind her to give Xi'an a bit of a smile in return, "It was nothing. They were being overly exciteable. I was home, and would have gone crazy if they kept up. It was as much for my benefit as theirs."
That managed to get a chuckle out of Xi'an, the way Illyana described it. "I can imagine that they were rather exciteable, yes. They haven't been through a quake like that before. I hope they don't have to again." She just hoped that Kitty was found and returned before Leong and Nga had too much time to worry about her.
"They like to be exciteable anyway, they are like little hell things." Illyana brought the coffee mugs over and took a seat again, then handed Xi'an hers, "But they are cute little hell things. So I suppose it is alright."
Kitty's absence would have to be explained somehow, Illyana knew. She didn't bring the subject up. She wasn't sure how to do that gently.
Xi'an chuckled. "Yeah, they're cute little imps." She took her coffee from Illyana and took a sip. She leaned her head back against the couch and sighed.
"I do not look forward to telling them about this..."
"I am wondering if we want to fabricate the truth. There is much that children that young will not understand," Illyana replied a bit bluntly, though she tried to keep her tone soft.
She wasn't sure the twins would understand the idea of Kitty being kidnapped or in danger, without flipping out on the both of them. Flipping out was not really what either wanted, she was sure.
"I'm pretty sure they'll understand kidnapping is scary," Xi'an said. "At least it will be easy than telling them I was the only family they had left when they were two." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Maybe we just start with 'Kitty's missing' and not take it further than that..."
"What I am wondering is if we need to scare them overly much, before they really need to be frightened," Illyana sighed. She spun her coffee mug in her hand, and took a sip, thoughtfully.
"...We could say that she is missing. And that people are trying to find her. That is not a lie."
Xi'an nodded. "Missing but being looked for is good. They can understand that, and it won't alarm them too much." This sort of thing was much easier when one had someone to talk things over with.
There was another long pause for coffee drinking, and then Illyana nodded. She glanced at Xi'an, wondering if the other woman needed a hug, or a shoulder-pat, or some other form of human contact. Kitty was her lover, so this was definitely harder on her.
She erred on the side of putting a hand on Xi'an's shoulder, and squeezed a bit, "I will go with you when you tell them. That way you are not alone."
Xi'an smiled at Illyana and patted the hand on her shoulder. She was glad the younger woman was there and that she wasn't having to deal with this alone. "Thank you. I really appreciate that."
"You are welcome. I know I do not do much to earn my keep. I will do whatever I can."
She patted Xi'an's shoulder again, then withdrew her hand and went back to staring into her coffee mug, "I am not sure what else to do... I have already cleaned everything."
"I also appreciate the cleaning," Xi'an said. She took a sip of her coffee and thought for a moment. She was really glad she'd stocked up on groceries before the quake. "You could help me decide on what to have for dinner, I guess."
"I would offer to cook it, but I do not really think you want me doing that. I have not really cooked much in years," Illyana joked a bit, then got up and headed for the kitchen. She figured she could at least root around and see what they had available.
"It should be something the twins like to eat, that way they will be distracted."
"Good night for spaghetti and meatballs, then." Xi'an stretched and stood up. Cooking would help keep her mind occupied. She needed that right now.
"I will ... boil the pasta. I think I can manage that." Illyana picked out the curly kind, because that was fun, and put it on the counter.
Xi'an smiled and set about preparing things for the sauce and meatballs. She was very glad that she and Kitty had taken Illyana in when they had.