InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "no it's a rasin"

Connor (leconnortemple) wrote in vas_captio_rpg,
@ 2010-07-06 14:17:00

Entry tags:

connor temple, illyana rasputin

Who: Ilyana Rasputin and Connor Temple
What: Going to go play at a carnival, of course
When: Mid-morning, day 2
Where: Starting at the shops, then heading around town
Rating: PG to PG-13, I'd guess, mostly for language
Status: Incomplete

Connor was, admittedly, a bit nervous about the morning's adventure. Things had changed around town. There were places with electricity, for one. That hadn't happened before. And he'd found himself locked into the library the night before, which had never happened before. Not that he'd been in any hurry to leave, but it was just plain weird. The library itself had even changed, hardly the piece of junk it had been before. Not exactly sparkly and new, but it really didn't look like it was about to go crashing down, either. And there were houses, which was where Ilyana was staying. Actual houses? Now he knew he'd remember if those had been around before.

Then there were the people. Some people seemed to remember most things, like he did. Others only had vague recollections of having been there before. And then there were the others, the ones like Ilyana, who didn't remember a thing. So she wasn't going to remember running around playing with them when she'd been brought there as a six year-old. She didn't remember Andy, she didn't remember Rose and Lexie and Sarah Jane, and she didn't remember Dora. The girl he was meeting? It was definitely not his little friend playing April anymore. It was another woman entirely. Mostly.

He had his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants as he made his way over to the shops. He had to wonder if it was still as easy to just grab what you needed, like a bunch of pathetic looters after a natural disaster or a riot. A pair of shoes never hurt anyone. Neither did a jacket or, say, pants that weren't his jimjams.

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leconnortemple
2010-07-13 03:27 am UTC (link)

Connor just desperately wished he could remember more. He knew he was lucky, retaining at least some solid memory of the place from the time he'd been before. He wasn't walking around with large gaps in his recollection of the place, or no knowledge at all. That didn't make it any easier to deal with the fact that some things still weren't coming together for him. How well had he known her? Or was it all from that silly period of time when they were just innocent six year-olds with no sense of keeping secrets?

Letting things go was something he was learning to do slowly. Not completely, of course. Connor was determined to stick the tiny details to memory this time around. He'd have sworn Ilyana had said her friend was Russian, like she and her brother. So why was 'home' Scotland? But he wasn't going to dwell. His friends and people he could trust here were few and far between, and he knew when people he did like didn't remember anything, he had to be more careful and start from scratch. So instead of hounding her with questions, he did what he did best. Making her smile was officially at the top of his list of things to do. "What the hell is crinoline?" he asked, picking up one of the huge, itchy skirts on his way towards the back. "Who could possibly find this comfortable?"

The choices for men's clothing were limited, but not impossible. Idly, he played with the skirt as he browsed, twirling it around, draping it over his head, and eventually dressing the sole male mannequin in it. "There, sir, that's much better. And in return..." He pulled the long-sleeved t-shirt the non-living male was wearing off and tossed it over his arm. "Good old fashioned bartering. Just like our ancestors," he teased in Ilyana's direction. Jeans were more important, of course, and an extra pair of shoes if he could find them. But, admittedly, it would make all the difference in the world between feeling clean and feeling filthy if he had a full change of clothes.

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ex_darkchyld899
2010-07-13 03:02 pm UTC (link)

She looked back as Connor picked up the skirt and laughed. "Crinoline is supposed to make the skirt puff out more. It's a meshy sort of fabric that's really stiff. Had to wear it under a dress for a party once. It's really itchy when you sit down." She made a face.

"I dunno, I think my friend Rahne would like it." She looked over the dress in question. "She likes girlier things than, say, Dani and I do." Ilyana shook her head. She'd never seen the appeal in skirts and dresses like that. Way too cumbersome.

By the time Connor made it back to the meager menswear section, Illyana was laughing straight out. She tapped her chin and regarded the male mannequin thoughtfully. "I think it suits him," she said at last, unable to quite keep the grin out of her voice. "It looks way better on him than it would on you."

Satisfied that the mannequin was at least decent, she turned her attention to the clothing at hand. "Most of the mens' pants are too big for me, but I bet there's at least something in your size," she said. "Gambit's a bit taller than you, and maybe a bit wider in the hips, but I haven't exactly made a study, so I can't say for sure. But I don't think he took everything that might fit you." She glanced down at Connor's feet. "And there's a shoe store next door. That's where I found these." She kicked her own foot up so he could see her loafer. "Got a pair of sneakers in my bag, too. The shoe store is mostly mens, believe it or not, so you should be able to find something there."

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leconnortemple
2010-07-16 06:15 pm UTC (link)

"Your friends all have these ridiculously awesome names," he commented with a grin. "Seriously. I have ones with boring names like Abby and Sarah. Where do you collect these people?" Sure, Dani was probably a nickname for like, Danielle or something, but still! And Rahne? Kitty? Definitely nothing like anyone he knew. Maybe it was an American thing.

Or a Russian thing, the little voice that occasionally invaded his head stated. But this one didn't sound like the mentoring voice of Nick Cutter or the teasing voice of Stephen Hart. No, this was definitely his own, just curious. Hmm.

He listened to her talk about the clothing as he thumbed through, picking up a pair or two that looked like they might fit or would, at least, be too large. Better than too small. That screamed 'uncomfortable and will make you look like a dork'. "You don't have an advanced degree in Sizing Men From a Distance?" he teased, glancing over at Ilyana. "Color me amazed. Who'd have thought?" Still, if the creepy Gambit was the one Connor remembered from the day he and Chris had arrived the last time, he knew exactly what she meant. Connor was all shoulders in comparison to the redhead. Grabbing another shirt, this one with longer sleeves, he started looking around for something to carry it all in. "Where'd you pick up the old lady bag?" he asked, then blushed slightly, wondering if it was actually something of her taste and not...well, in fairness, it was really ugly no matter which way he looked at it.

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ex_darkchyld899
2010-07-16 10:29 pm UTC (link)

"We go to a private school in New York," Illyana said, shaking her head a little and smiling. "It recruits internationally, so we get lots of interesting names." Although, there was no one from England at the mansion at the moment. Not since Betsy disappeared.

She snorted when Connor mentioned the 'advanced degree'. "Sorry, no, failed that class," she said, smirking. "Too easily distracted." Oh, how Rahne would have blushed if she'd heard. And Dani would have rolled her eyes, and 'Berto would have wiggled his eyebrows at her.... She turned away, looking through the shirts again. Illyana Rasputin did not get weepy about things, damn it.

At the mention of her 'old lady bag', Illyana chucked a thumb toward the front of the store. "There's some near the more Donna Reed-style dresses," she said, chuckling. "Trust me, I'd rather have a backpack, but at least it can carry a decent amount of stuff. And it's easier than Gambit's shopping cart." She looked back at Connor. "Although, you'll look about as ridiculous carrying one as I do, if not more. We're both, like, 80 years too young for these things."

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leconnortemple
2010-07-21 03:12 am UTC (link)

"Ah, yeah, I was a private school kid, too. Just not as international, I guess. Mostly kids from the UK, English mostly, a few Scottish, some Welsh." At his casual mention of the Scottish kids, he could almost hear Cutter's brogue in his head and he could still feel the painful memories it brought back. Times like that he missed Abby more than he could imagine. She would have understood. Hard to believe it had only been two days.

He refused to dwell, not when Ilyana was teasing about men's sizes and old lady bags and he really did need to just deal with the fact that he was stuck here. Again. "No idea what you're talking about," he joked, "I am going to look awesome with a big old carpet bag. Like Mary Poppins or something. It'll be insanely brilliant." In truth, he was horrified at the idea, but it was still something to carry things in, and it meant he wouldn't have to drop his things off in the library before they went off to inspect the carnival. Wincing, he tried to grab the one the least 'girly' looking, a blue one with no pattern. "This is so...wrong," he finally declared, throwing the pants and shirts he'd found in there without a second thought. What was he going to do, worry about wrinkles? Hardly.

"All right, one pair of shoes should be enough for now if you want to go ahead and head over to the carnival. To be honest, I'm a little creeped out thinking what we're going to find over there but..." Shrugging, Connor gave her a sort of sheepish look. "Around here, it's usually better to just face things head on. If they want you to experience something, they'll make you do it regardless."

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ex_darkchyld899
2010-07-21 07:16 pm UTC (link)

"We had an English girl with us for a while. Betsy Braddock. She was closer to Piotr's age, though, than mine, although she was really good friends with Doug...." She blinked. Now was not the time to dwell on the dead. But thinking of Betsy made her remember the day they'd come back from the Ani-Mator's lair, bringing Doug's body with them, only to see the X-Men supposedly killed in an explosion in Dallas - Betsy and Piotr with them.

The Mary Poppins comment had her laughing again, though, leaving her little chance to dwell on the past. "You're more of a Bert than a Mary," she laughed, thinking back to the film. Rahne had it on VHS back home, or did at one point. "Although, if one of these can hold as much as hers did, I could deal with it looking way too old-lady." She watched Connor try to pick out one of the bags, and shook her head as he grabbed the plainest one of them all. She walked over to him, picking up one of the floral-print ones and waving it in his face. "Sure you don't want this one instead?" she asked, teasing very much in her tone of voice.

She tossed the bag aside, not caring to put it back where it had been hanging. It wasn't like there was a clerk to yell at her, or anything. "We'll be fine," she said. What could be in a carnival that would creep him out? Unless it was like one of Arcade's carnivals.... She shivered a little at that thought. She'd been six when she'd been trapped in his Murderworld, and it was the scariest thing she'd ever experienced, until Belasco had stolen her away, and shown her what scary really was like.

"I'll protect you from the scary clowns, don't worry," she teased, but the intent behind the comment was sincere. If there was anything that could harm either of them there, she'd take it down. She was still a New Mutant, still a sorceress and, hell, still a demon. And nothing in that carnival could be scarier or more dangerous than the Darkchylde.

Enough of that thinking. She grabbed Connor's free hand and started toward the door. "Let's meet whatever's waiting for us head on, then."

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